Big Big Scopes (1 Viewer)

[Jay Turberville]

Jay, Thanks, I did find that interesting. Too bad the 2" diagonal is so expensive. It probably requires 8" of in focus and weighs 3 lbs.

Yep. And from the standpoint of using a small cat for relatively inexpensive digiscoping, it completely defeats the purpose. OTOH, Unless I missed something, I see no real reason that such a device couldn't be produced for far less money. The 1.25" isn't exactly cheap either.

 

[hinnark]

Hi,

there are 2 eyepieces exclusive for the Zeiss Diascope offering by a German astro manufactorer called Baader Planetarium. One with 140x magnification and of 20x (greater field of view than Zeiss own 30x ep). Unfortunately I didn´t found somebody who could report about experiences with them.

Steve

 

[jvanoyen]

I was thinking it was William Optics or TeleVue, but as I went to check it out, it seems that my memory has combined data to make new and false data.

There is an Amici Prism that is phase corrected and of very high quality. But it is not a 45 degree prism, it is a 90. and is made by Baader Planetarium.

http://www.alpineastro.com/optical_accessories/optical_accessories.htm#amici summary

So perhaps there isn't a 45 degree phase coated 1.25" erector. I'll prbably nose around a bit more to see if I can scare one up.

BTW, there is a fourth option. TeleVue has a 60 degree erecting mirror. finder.

Jay, does that Lomo 70mm have removable eye pieces. If so what is the smallest magnification on, say 15x?
Thanks!
Jerry

 

[Jay Turberville]

Jay, does that Lomo 70mm have removable eye pieces. If so what is the smallest magnification on, say 15x?
Thanks!
Jerry

Yes, it does have interchangable eyepieces. It uses the standard 1.25" astronomical eyepiece.

I'd suggest staying at around 20x. But that is going to be hard since the scope has a relatively long focal length. I'm pretty sure mine is 800mm without using a mirror finder. But I've read that some are more like 900mm. That puts you at or above 25x with a 32mm TeleVue. But this is still a viable approach. You just need to be careful and use less camera zoom.

I'd look for a 25mm eyepiece with around 20mm of eye relief if you can find one.

Either that, or think about a Rubinar 1000mm lens instead.

I'd also suggest that you read my article discussing the pros and cons of catadioptrics before spending any money.

http://www.jayandwanda.com/digicat/digicat.html

 

[mrpjdavis]

I'd also suggest that you read my article discussing the pros and cons of catadioptrics before spending any money.

http://www.jayandwanda.com/digicat/digicat.html

What a superb article, Jay!

Thanks for that.

Pete