Thanks for the suggestion. I've not considered those, as yet.Have you considered astro refractors? They will take mag to theoretical limit. Bulkier and no manual zoom ring are the downsides. 100 and 120mm ed doublet are the sweet spot imo.
SUVs sell like hot cakes and generate a lot of profit for their producers but no-one needs one, except perhaps for towing a caravan.But if Lecia and Swaro are claiming that such boosters are worth their time to make, market and sell, and - by implication - worth our time to buy, then I'm at least happy to see what they have to offer and take it from there.
I make a difference between "empty magnification", i.e. magnification too high for a given objective lens diameter, and the limits imposed by the seeing. With scopes in the 80-100mm range the seeing is usually the limiting factor. However, as soon as you get below ~1mm exit pupil in terrestrial viewing you're getting pretty close to empty magnification. Very small exit pupils in the 0.5mm range MAY work pretty well for astronomy, however, in terrestrial viewing they get exceedingly difficult, for a variety of reasons. Floaters for instance become very visible. Also it becomes very, very difficult to keep the eye pupil inside the exit pupil of the scope.I like experimenting with empty magnification, and have even gone as high as 720x with my Razor and NL. The results were pretty crummy, of course, and I'm sure that any image over 70x or 80x would certainly be on its way to similar levels of deterioration.
Two points: If you want to experiment with boosters, get a Zeiss 3x12. There are plenty of threads on the Zeiss, and it's a very versatile instument. You can easily use it with binoculars as well. They're a lot of fun. And with regard to the ATX 115, make sure you star test it throughly before buying. Like the big Kowa there seems to be quite a few lemons about.That said, I'm still curious to see for myself the results which might be provided by the Televid or ATX boosters. But the ability to compare experiences with other users here is very helpful. I might indeed find that an ATX 115 image at 119x is not going to do it for me. We will see!
Don't forget there are other manufacturers that make excellent tripod, such as Really Right Stuff and Berlebach. And if you want to get a tripod that can handle anything, have a look at Sachtler. However, their carbon fibre tripods will cost about as much as a top scope - without the head.As for the tripod, I am fully sold on the qualities of Gitzo. If I was to upgrade my scope, I would certainly feel as though I would need to trade in my Series 1 Traveller for something more robust, such as a Mountaineer or Systematic, Series 2+, I guess [edit: maybe I'd splash out on a 4 or 5, if that's really going to make the winning difference].
To be fair, the APM binoscopes are nice, but hardly suitable for "normal" birding. Too big, too heavy, too slow.For binocular views you could add the 80/82/100/120/150mm binoscopes from oberwerk or APM, you can use nice wide field eyepieces and select the magniclfixarion you want. I run my APM70 at 35x or 50x, very immersive. Individual eye focussing, a little more fiddling if you constantly change the distance you’re liking at. They’re not light, so understanding your ability/desire to carry stuff about is important.
And a 127mm MAK is definitly unsuitable for normal birding IMO. Nice to look through, nice for astronomy, but not on in windy day at the coast.I was just out with a 127mm Mak, running around 65x, it can’t work at a lower power and so I’ve got a red dot finder to enable me to get it on target quickly as the field is rather small. It’s fun to turn tiny dots into detailed birds.
Nice combo. I find it too heavy for my puposes, but it's a really nice combo - provided you got a cherry.So because I am a wildlife and bird behaviour watcher and photographer (i.e. I do not run with year lists etc (not that there is anything wrong with that)), I purchased the BTX+95 combo.
And don't forget you tried the scope on a Gitzo in a shop. Outside, in the field, you may need even more stability. There's no wind in a shop ...My immediate challenge is then that my current tripod is not quite as good as the Gitzo one I tried it on in the store. Its ok, but I am going to upgrade to a fluid gimbal (both for photography at 1400mm and BTX scoping) and probably a 4 series Gitzo, and probably the Swaro BR balance rail. Why? Because the image through the scope is superb, but not perfect, and it’s the tripods fault.
Which video head have you got? There are several video heads that can handle the BTX+95mm quite easily.And in my view the gimbal choice is worth considering. My current video head is ‘ok’, and good enough to allow me to easily pan and follow a bird in flight. With binocular vision its really easy to follow them and feel like you are part of the flock (if thats your thing!)
That's a most important point. Too many people fork out a lot of money for a scope - and then go cheap on the tripod+head. That can be very expensive. At the very least they'll have to buy a better tripod+head sooner or later because they realize they need better support. Or the the scope topples over ...Anyway, in conclusion, suggest you consider a BTX AND regardless of the scope chosen, consider a good tripod and head at the same time as part of the experience, especially at the magnifications you are considering.
My current video head is a Manfrotto 701HDV. I’m unsure whether the instability I am seeing is because of this or the tripod (an old Manfrotto aluminium 095X I think its called). But there in lies the lesson personally learned - I want to upgrade both tripod and head now! For me though gimbal is the way to go I think, not another video head because of the photography side - and a shorter lighter tripod hence the model I am considering. (I now need to go look up what a cherry is…)Nice combo. I find it too heavy for my puposes, but it's a really nice combo - provided you got a cherry.
And don't forget you tried the scope on a Gitzo in a shop. Outside, in the field, you may need even more stability. There's no wind in a shop ...
Which video head have you got? There are several video heads that can handle the BTX+95mm quite easily.
That's a most important point. Too many people fork out a lot of money for a scope - and then go cheap on the tripod+head. That can be very expensive. At the very least they'll have to buy a better tripod+head sooner or later because they realize they need better support. Or the the scope topples over ...
Hermann