TS optics TL APO 804, a small review. (1 Viewer)

Thanks Fernando for the details explanation. Putting aside the mobility and weight factor, which is the main superiority of the 804, how would you rate these 2 scopes with the 80ED fitted with the 1.6X TN versus the 804 fitted with the 2 x TN, in term of image IQ, sharpness, ease of getting spot on focus and DOF.

With the excellent (though not perfect) IQ of TN found thus far, would it occur to you that instead of getting a scope with longer FL, stay with a shorter ones and put in a TN. I am not sure of your climate but here, being equatorial, humidity always stays in the higher 80s to 90s. I do find atmospheric distortion to be the bigger challenge to getting good shot with further away object.

Instead of going longer FL such as the 900mm or 1000mm, I might look at something around the 500-600mm but with faster aperture for ease of focusing.

You're welcome

I can't answer on the TNs, I'm really not using any. I have a set of Kenko Pro300s, 1.4x and 2x.
I started playing with TNs but never got to fully assemble any yet. Maybe in the future I'll try to fully assemble a 2x, since I find the Kenko 2x introduces a bit of CA in the OOF areas, but so far the 2x TNs I tested introduced a lot of curvature, unlike the kenko 2x that is perfectly flat on the 804...or very close to it.
The 1.4x I don't want to trade for a 1.6x, since I prefer the magnification of the first. Also my 1.4x is very sharp, I nearly can't see a difference in sharpness with it on or off.

Yes, atmospheric distortion is a issue here too, specially from this time of the year when things start heating up. That said there's definitely a place for a long scope, 800mm is perfectly usable most of the times, I made most of the ED80 shots with the 1.4x on and I never had that much problems, except on some specific occasions like ground level shooting. Of course I never shoot past 9AM or 10 at the most in the spring or summer, so I escape the hottest hours.

I'm not going to a more than 800 scope, it will be something with 700 or 800 around F/7, basically it will be this:
http://www.apm-telescopes.de/apm-su...-baader-steeltrack-focuser_proinfo_17153.html

this:
http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop...tor-115-800mm---color-free---3--Crayford.html

or this:
http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes...fractor-Telescope/pc/-1/c/1/sc/10/p/99614.uts

The second seems the best choice for what I want now, longer and heavier, but already having a portable option that makes more sense. Also the price sounds better.
That said is the only non FPL53, but according to reviews that’s not much of an issue with this scope, being a triplet it’s easier to design a CA free scope or close to it.

I'd love a shorter scope too, a 600mm F/6 or a 660mm F/6 would be great, but there aren't really that many choices in this range. There’s the TS 600mm F/6 (long pergn), witch was my main choice when I started thinking about replacing the ED80, but the fact that very little people are using it, the inconsistencies in the descriptions, some places it’s stated as FPL53 other aren’t, and the fact that it is a 100mm diameter F/6 doublet, doesn’t give me that much confidence. A doublet at this aperture even if it has FPL53 glass will have noticeable CA, and if doesn’t have FLP53 I really don’t want anything with it
And the other choices in this range are all far too expensive for me.
Also, it's worth mentioning that sharpness isn't the only factor in IQ, there's other things that get degraded by the TN/TC, contrast, colors, bokeh, overall image clarity get's affected by the usage of TCs. It maybe be hardly noticeable in most cases but it's there, so if I can I still prefer not to use one.

A bigger objective scope for speed and another shorter scope for travelling purposes would be handy but they all doesn't come cheap (more expensive actually). 600mm or slightly longer would be enough for more purpose use. Too long would loose the flexibility for my use. When shooting in the jungle as we mostly do, trees would normally be in the region of 20-30m high so we are looking at around 30m-50m to subject. But sometime, some would come within 6m and those are the ones we certainly wouldn't want to miss. Lighting are always a big problem shooting from under canopy.

alphan said:

A bigger objective scope for speed and another shorter scope for travelling purposes would be handy but they all doesn't come cheap (more expensive actually). 600mm or slightly longer would be enough for more purpose use. Too long would loose the flexibility for my use. When shooting in the jungle as we mostly do, trees would normally be in the region of 20-30m high so we are looking at around 30m-50m to subject. But sometime, some would come within 6m and those are the ones we certainly wouldn't want to miss. Lighting are always a big problem shooting from under canopy.

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Same conditions here in Singapore! Especially backlight always introduce CA in my shots when shooting with sparse leaves and bright sky even though the sun is shining from behind me.

We both have the same kind of climate and forest thus the same problem except that we got more forest to select LOL. Unfortunately, we cannot venture into virgin forest lest we became the hunted.

alphan said:

We both have the same kind of climate and forest thus the same problem except that we got more forest to select LOL. Unfortunately, we cannot venture into virgin forest lest we became the hunted.

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I hope to meetup someday with you over at your forest. Then you can show me around to capture some of your endemic species.:t:

tbc said:

I hope to meetup someday with you over at your forest. Then you can show me around to capture some of your endemic species.:t:

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LOL. Not a problem. As a matter of fact, with the ridiculously cheap fares going on every now and then, it may cost you less to fly here, shoot and get back than a visit to your local limited forest.

alphan said:

LOL. Not a problem. As a matter of fact, with the ridiculously cheap fares going on every now and then, it may cost you less to fly here, shoot and get back than a visit to your local limited forest.

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Alphan,

Drop me your email, I'll discuss the details with you.:t:

tbc said:

Alphan,

Drop me your email, I'll discuss the details with you.:t:

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Check your PM.