David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Lucky me, I've had some decent skies this week  . In addition to nabbing a couple new asteroids and a new galaxy with my Dob for my observing log, I had some fun at the other end of the aperture scale. I settled on three Naglers for my SV50 Sparrowhawk, 13mm, 9mm and 5mm (all type 6 of course!) The "Sparrowhawk" is the Stellarvue 9x50 finderscope with an ego.  I used the 13 basically for a finder eyepiece, as it produces about a 5º true field. There were a few objects that I could not see in the 13 (too dim or too small) but showed up well in the 9 and 5mm. Nearly all my observing was with the 5mm at 20x. Here we go:
Double Cluster: Of course I have to view that one, it's obligatory! 
M15 Globular: Really stunning in the 9 and even the 5. The glob is nested in a very pretty star field, and is quite bright.
M2 Globular: Pretty, like a cotton ball, but mostly isolated from stars so it's not as visually striking as M15.
M71 Globular in Sagitta: I was pleasantly surprised to see this one in my suburban skies as a very pale indistinctly round patch of light. Best with the 9mm.
M27 PNe: What can I say, this one is very bright and absolutely stunning even with the 5 Nagler. I really get the impression I'm using a much bigger scope!
M57 PNe: Tiny but still ring-like in the 5mm.
Delta 2 Lyr: I love this star grouping. Delta 2 is a red giant at the apex of a double triangle. Use a small scope for this one: too much aperture shows too many stars and ruins the effect.
Double Double: Okay, only got a Double. 
M52 Open Cluster "Scorpion": Wow!  A distinct glowy patch with a bright star in its western edge. Very pretty!
Eta Cas, double star: Very easily split with the 5mm, with a very dim companion 10" due east.
Almach, double star: Quite a bit harder at 9.6" separation (4 tenths makes a difference with a 50mm scope!) The companion, ENE of the primary, is quite bright at magnitude 5 so both stars had rather large airy discs adding to the difficulty.
M103 Open Cluster: Four stars in a flattened diamond embedded in a haze of light visible with averted vision.
NGC 663 Open Cluster: Near M103, this one is large and bright and an easy catch.
NGC 654 Open Cluster: Also near M103, I think I spotted this one but not too sure.
M11 Wild Duck Cluster. This one is very pretty with a low power, wide field view. I could see the eyes of the Duck. 
(Early morning targets): M44 Beehive: That, and the Little Behive in Canis Major are nice targets for the Sparrowhawk.
NGC 3692 Eskimo Nebula: This one is almost invisible in the 13 Nagler, but shows up as a dim but well defined tiny round patch of light in the 9mm or even the 5mm.
M42 Orion Nebula: Unfortunately I had a 20 day old Moon in the sky, but saw some nice nebulosity anyway. With the 5mm the Trapezium is nicely resolved. With the 9mm I could get strong hints of M43 in my averted vision.
M81/M82 Galaxies: M81 was rather easily seen with the 9 or 5mm, but I had too much Moon to get a good view of M82; almost, but no cigar! 
M67 Open Cluster "King Cobra:" Daylight was encroaching so I was surprised to catch this one, albeit very dim, as a roundish patch of light. It was still a good catch, my last for the sessions this week. I'll try again under better skies. 
Thanks for reading!
David E
SV50 The Sparrowhawk.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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johnnyha
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 11/12/06
Posts: 1141
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eXCELLENT!
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Johnny
Spicewood, TX
Sherman Oaks, CA
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Doug76
Postmaster
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 5574
Loc: SE Louisiana, future Texan
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I will be testing out my new 50mm, a Tasco 6TE, when I get back home. From the little use I've put it through so far, it's a real little gem. The Moon was outstanding through it, as was Jupiter at 86x.
I refinished it, removing those side blisters used to mount it on it's original yoke mount, and fill in the holes. Going to mount a dovetail to it so I came put it on my good mounts.
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Doug
Truckstop Astronomer
The Universe, the light of God, in all it's majesty
6 achro refractors, 50mm-150mm
1 apo refractor, 90mm
1 SCT, 8 inch
UO Abbe Volcano Tops
Faworski Ortho's
Panoptic 24mm
Carton 100mm f/13 under construction
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bkruschwitz
member
Reged: 04/15/09
Posts: 40
Loc: Waco, TX
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Wonderful report, David! Following your adventures on Stellarium makes me realize what an "all-nighter" you describe.
Thanks,
Bob
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TONGKW
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/16/07
Posts: 572
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I often use my Mini Borg 50 refractor (50 mm f/5 achromat) on a small guide mount and a photo tripod during travelling. The view is sharp when looking at the moon at up to 100x. The CA is minimal with a minus violet filter. But I have yet to find a good night to see if the double double can be split.
K W TONG
Telescopes: C8+CG-5GT, TSA102+HEQ5 PRO, MK67+Voyager, NexStar 6SE, C5+Mizar K, WO ZS80FD+Kenko NES, Megrez 72FD+Kenko KDS, Mini Borg 50, PST
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dlapoint
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/18/03
Posts: 529
Loc: Moncton NB Canada
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cool report
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Derek
Orion 72mm Eon
Orion 100Ed (Back again)
C4.5
Naglers 16mm T5, 9mm T6
Orion Planetary ep's 5-6mm
Antares 3 Element Barlow
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Patricko
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/30/07
Posts: 1534
Loc: SE New Mexico USA
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Outstanding David!  I think these small scopes really sharpen our observing skills as we know that there is not a photon we can afford to waste.
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Clear skies,
Patrick
INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY ASSOCIATION
60MM TELESCOPE CLUB!
"You can always have better, but will you ever be happy with what you have?" - Me, myself, and I
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SkyscraperJim
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/07
Posts: 537
Loc: Providence, RI
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Thanks for that great report.
I just got a mini-Borg 50mm f/10 that is waiting for the skies to clear. I needed a finder/guidescope for when I'm doing photography through my main scopes and figured the f/10 would also be a great little lunar and double star scope.
If all goes well, it will see first light tonight at the observatory.
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Jim
TMB/APM 130/780 (#185) on G11
TMB/APM/Lomo 80/600
Tele Vue Pronto (#3533) on Half Hitch
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1120
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Hi!
I consider to get a Stellarvue 50mm finderscope to use as a very small and portable telescope:
http://www.stellarvue.com/f50.html
Anyone who knows about the CA performance of this tube? I have three eyepieces who are listed in my signature below. I like the idea of a wide field low powered 7,7x50 90deg scope. But will this tube provide a good image without annoying CA using 10mm eyepiece and 20x?
5mm and 40x I understand will not be very good with an achromat of this short focallength.
Also I wonder if it's possible to remove the correct image prism and change it to a mirror? There are advantages and disadvanges of course; a correct image prism will make the scope to a good daytime spottingscope, but I know that a mirror will provide significantly sharper image.
Regards, Patric
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*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Nikon Sporter I 8x36
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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mikey cee
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/18/07
Posts: 3531
Loc: bellevue ne.
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Doug...That Tasco 6TE looks so much better. Nice job there. Mike
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7x35 and 10x50 sears tower binocs, 3" f/10 edmunds reflector, 2.4" f/11.7 manon refractor, 6" f/8 jaegers refractor, "The 8 Ball" 8" f/13.3 brandt refractor, 3" f/15.8 sans&streiffe refractor, 3.1" f/15 selsi refractor(towa 339), 2.4" f/15 sears refractor, selsi 30x30mm spyglass, criterion 5-draw 25x45x75x spyglass(1957), 4.25" f/14.8 tasco 20te.
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TomN
sage
Reged: 01/14/09
Posts: 264
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This makes me think I need to really appreciate the views in my larger refractors. I use my 66mm often and find the views very pleasing. But I tend to take for granted the larger aperture views. Gotta keep things in perspective... Tom
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Amateur Astronomer since 1962.
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nyc_nurse
sage
Reged: 07/29/09
Posts: 254
Loc: nyc
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Quote:
I will be testing out my new 50mm, a Tasco 6TE, when I get back home. From the little use I've put it through so far, it's a real little gem. The Moon was outstanding through it, as was Jupiter at 86x.
I refinished it, removing those side blisters used to mount it on it's original yoke mount, and fill in the holes. Going to mount a dovetail to it so I came put it on my good mounts.
Wow. Don't remember my Tasco looking anything close to that. But then again I guess Tasco's weren't built all the same. Weirdest thing, I remember my 60mm red Tasco was stopped down behind the objective to around 40ish. Your's sure looks pretty though.
David - great report. I added NGC3692 to my list of things to see tonight. Thanks!
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Sam P.
www.agirlandaguy.blogspot.com
Pentax 7X50
TV-102 APO w/ (Starbeam - on backorder  )
Ash Gibraltar w/ SkyTour DSC
NZ3-6, N9T6, N13T6
TV 20 Plossl
Pan 24, 35
Pentax XW10, XW14
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Hi Patrik. The Stellarvue F50 has a simple F4 achromatic doublet (focal length 200mm). So as you suspect there's quite a bit of CA. For my deep space use, it virtually non-existant and in fact star colors are pretty and accurate at medium powers. I easily see violet fringing around the Moon. IMO there is too much violet fringing to perform well on Jupiter. Now the other scopes mentioned have either better glass or longer focal lengths and will perform much better on planets and the moon, at the expense of the "wide open views." To my knowledge there is no method of changeing the diagonal, the helical focuser is built into it. Because of the design of this scope, I doubt anyway that you would see any difference if a mirror diagonal could be used.
Your Vixen LV's will come to focus. The Meade 5K 26mm will vignette as it has too wide a field of view. The other Meade 5K Plossls will work, but I find the 5.5mm to be the best performer as the others are too soft at the edges for this scope. Out of the eyepiece's I've used, I recommend:
Any "standard" 4-element Plossl 25mm or less.
Meade 5000 series 5.5mm Plossl.
6 and 9mm Orion "Expanse" eyepieces (not the 15 or 20).
Nagler Type 6 or Panoptics (best by far but of course very expensive).
TMB Planetary's.
Vixen LV's or NLV's.
The Televue Powermate or Meade TeleXtender will work but most 2- or 3- element barlows will not reach focus.
Note that this F4 optic has noticeable field curvature, and for wide field eyepieces the Naglers correct for this the best that I have used.
Hope this helps.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Quote:
Quote:
I will be testing out my new 50mm, a Tasco 6TE, when I get back home. From the little use I've put it through so far, it's a real little gem. The Moon was outstanding through it, as was Jupiter at 86x.
I refinished it, removing those side blisters used to mount it on it's original yoke mount, and fill in the holes. Going to mount a dovetail to it so I came put it on my good mounts.
Wow. Don't remember my Tasco looking anything close to that. But then again I guess Tasco's weren't built all the same. Weirdest thing, I remember my 60mm red Tasco was stopped down behind the objective to around 40ish. Your's sure looks pretty though.
David - great report. I added NGC3692 to my list of things to see tonight. Thanks!
Thanks Sam. That Tasco 6TE is an old Japanese made 50/600. I have one and can recommend it to anyone that finds one in good shape on the used market. It's actually my favorite scope to use on Venus as the small aperture produces little glare and there's no CA.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Quote:
I often use my Mini Borg 50 refractor (50 mm f/5 achromat) on a small guide mount and a photo tripod during travelling. The view is sharp when looking at the moon at up to 100x. The CA is minimal with a minus violet filter. But I have yet to find a good night to see if the double double can be split.
K W TONG
Telescopes: C8+CG-5GT, TSA102+HEQ5 PRO, MK67+Voyager, NexStar 6SE, C5+Mizar K, WO ZS80FD+Kenko NES, Megrez 72FD+Kenko KDS, Mini Borg 50, PST
Great looking little scope ther K W!  I'm thinking about getting a go-to mount for mine. 
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Quote:
I will be testing out my new 50mm, a Tasco 6TE, when I get back home. From the little use I've put it through so far, it's a real little gem. The Moon was outstanding through it, as was Jupiter at 86x.
I refinished it, removing those side blisters used to mount it on it's original yoke mount, and fill in the holes. Going to mount a dovetail to it so I came put it on my good mounts.
Doug, are those great little scopes or what! Excellent refinishing job too.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Thanks everyone for all the replies. I had a lot of fun this week with my little Sparrowhawk!
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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starrancher
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 620
Loc: Northern Arizona
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Quote:
I will be testing out my new 50mm, a Tasco 6TE, when I get back home. From the little use I've put it through so far, it's a real little gem. The Moon was outstanding through it, as was Jupiter at 86x.
I refinished it, removing those side blisters used to mount it on it's original yoke mount, and fill in the holes. Going to mount a dovetail to it so I came put it on my good mounts.
Doug , I have that same tube along with the tripod legs , yoke & a broken hub . Does anyone know where I might find the tripod hub so I can put this thing together ?
Thanks
Dave 
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LXD75 AR5
LXD75 SN8
Series 4000 Plossls
Misc. other stuff
Fort Rock , Az .
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1120
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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David E,
Thank you for your answer!
According to what you say I understand that the size of the opening between prism and tube is too narrow to provide a full image with the 60deg AFOV of the 26mm Meade eyepiece.
Will a vixen LV 20mm with 50deg AFOV provide full FOV without vignetting? That would give 10x and 5deg TFOV, and it's also quite good.
One of the reasons this kind of scope attracts me is that a 90deg diagonal makes it much more comfortable for astronomical use than a binocular. Also I have slightly squinting eyes and can't make use of a stereoscopic view, so for the total light gathering I don't gain of a binocular compared to a monocular. Therefore I think I would get the optical performance of a very good binocular at a fraction of the price. And Stellarvue belongs to the best available finderscopes, I think?
Regards, Patric
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*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Nikon Sporter I 8x36
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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bsim
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/04/08
Posts: 1060
Loc: New York City
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Patric: I believe the clear aperture of the Stellarvue SV50 is around 21-22mm. My favorite EP is the Nagler 13T6. It's wonderful and I find the SV50 to be very useful as a nice wide-field scope.
Doug: Did you construct a metal tube and focuser for the GalileoScope objective?
For cheap 50mm fun, buy a Galileoscope. They're $20. It's a 50mm f/10 and produces wonderful images. You can fit a diagonal and they mount easily on anything. I had fun at a dark site. M33 and M31 looked nice.
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Doug76
Postmaster
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 5574
Loc: SE Louisiana, future Texan
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Quote:
Quote:
I will be testing out my new 50mm, a Tasco 6TE, when I get back home. From the little use I've put it through so far, it's a real little gem. The Moon was outstanding through it, as was Jupiter at 86x.
I refinished it, removing those side blisters used to mount it on it's original yoke mount, and fill in the holes. Going to mount a dovetail to it so I came put it on my good mounts.
Doug , I have that same tube along with the tripod legs , yoke & a broken hub . Does anyone know where I might find the tripod hub so I can put this thing together ?
Thanks
Dave
You can have mine. It's in perfect shape. PM me with an address. When I get home I'll send you the entire mount. I have no need for it.
And thanks for the comments on my little one, guys. Carol (Siderea) sent it to me. All hail Siderea!
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Doug
Truckstop Astronomer
The Universe, the light of God, in all it's majesty
6 achro refractors, 50mm-150mm
1 apo refractor, 90mm
1 SCT, 8 inch
UO Abbe Volcano Tops
Faworski Ortho's
Panoptic 24mm
Carton 100mm f/13 under construction
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Doug76
Postmaster
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 5574
Loc: SE Louisiana, future Texan
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Quote:
Doug: Did you construct a metal tube and focuser for the GalileoScope objective?
Nope. I advertised for the tube, focuser, dew shield and cell for a 50mm. I was going to put the G-scope lens in it. Siderea (All Hail ) sent me the complete 6TE-5. The Towa lens in it was as good or better than the G-scope lens, and I wouldn't have to cut the tube shorter for the G-scope lens if I just kept the original lens in it. So that's what I did. My friend Sheldon is getting the G-scope lens to test it out.
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Doug
Truckstop Astronomer
The Universe, the light of God, in all it's majesty
6 achro refractors, 50mm-150mm
1 apo refractor, 90mm
1 SCT, 8 inch
UO Abbe Volcano Tops
Faworski Ortho's
Panoptic 24mm
Carton 100mm f/13 under construction
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Quote:
David E,
Thank you for your answer!
According to what you say I understand that the size of the opening between prism and tube is too narrow to provide a full image with the 60deg AFOV of the 26mm Meade eyepiece.
Will a vixen LV 20mm with 50deg AFOV provide full FOV without vignetting? That would give 10x and 5deg TFOV, and it's also quite good.
One of the reasons this kind of scope attracts me is that a 90deg diagonal makes it much more comfortable for astronomical use than a binocular. Also I have slightly squinting eyes and can't make use of a stereoscopic view, so for the total light gathering I don't gain of a binocular compared to a monocular. Therefore I think I would get the optical performance of a very good binocular at a fraction of the price. And Stellarvue belongs to the best available finderscopes, I think?
Regards, Patric
Patric, that is correct, the clear aperture of the SV50/F50 is about 21mm, and the Meade 26 5K Plossl has about a 27mm field stop diameter. I don't own a Vixen 20mm NLV but I'm sure there would be no vignetting. The SV50 would actually perform better than hand held 50mm binoculars because you have a rock steady image with it mounted on a tripod, and you can get more magnification as desired. The only other 50mm finderscopes I have experience with all are cheaper brands. They have nice views but they don't have the features of the SV50.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Quote:
Quote:
I will be testing out my new 50mm, a Tasco 6TE, when I get back home. From the little use I've put it through so far, it's a real little gem. The Moon was outstanding through it, as was Jupiter at 86x.
I refinished it, removing those side blisters used to mount it on it's original yoke mount, and fill in the holes. Going to mount a dovetail to it so I came put it on my good mounts.
Doug , I have that same tube along with the tripod legs , yoke & a broken hub . Does anyone know where I might find the tripod hub so I can put this thing together ?
Thanks
Dave
I would put this question up in the Classics Forum here and you will probably get some good help. 
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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Doug76
Postmaster
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 5574
Loc: SE Louisiana, future Texan
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I've already offered him the mount from mine. I'm not going to use it.
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Doug
Truckstop Astronomer
The Universe, the light of God, in all it's majesty
6 achro refractors, 50mm-150mm
1 apo refractor, 90mm
1 SCT, 8 inch
UO Abbe Volcano Tops
Faworski Ortho's
Panoptic 24mm
Carton 100mm f/13 under construction
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mikey cee
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/18/07
Posts: 3531
Loc: bellevue ne.
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My little 50mm just happened to come along for the ride. It is kind of neat to compare views in it from the 108mm that it spots for.  Mike
Edited by mikey cee (10/10/09 06:41 PM)
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Quote:
I've already offered him the mount from mine. I'm not going to use it.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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Doug76
Postmaster
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 5574
Loc: SE Louisiana, future Texan
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Wow Mike, that is awesome!
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Doug
Truckstop Astronomer
The Universe, the light of God, in all it's majesty
6 achro refractors, 50mm-150mm
1 apo refractor, 90mm
1 SCT, 8 inch
UO Abbe Volcano Tops
Faworski Ortho's
Panoptic 24mm
Carton 100mm f/13 under construction
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Quote:
Wow Mike, that is awesome!
I agree! What is that device under the optical tube just behind the dew shield?
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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Doug76
Postmaster
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 5574
Loc: SE Louisiana, future Texan
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Looks like a counterweight.
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Doug
Truckstop Astronomer
The Universe, the light of God, in all it's majesty
6 achro refractors, 50mm-150mm
1 apo refractor, 90mm
1 SCT, 8 inch
UO Abbe Volcano Tops
Faworski Ortho's
Panoptic 24mm
Carton 100mm f/13 under construction
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mikey cee
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/18/07
Posts: 3531
Loc: bellevue ne.
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Doug...Yes they are indeed CW's. You have to be carefull when taking things apart for restoration cleaning. Under each set screw lurks a small brass pin that protects the plated rods. I was most fortunate in that both side scopes have intact crosshairs too. The 50mm also came with it's original screw in black plastic lens cap. Mike
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7x35 and 10x50 sears tower binocs, 3" f/10 edmunds reflector, 2.4" f/11.7 manon refractor, 6" f/8 jaegers refractor, "The 8 Ball" 8" f/13.3 brandt refractor, 3" f/15.8 sans&streiffe refractor, 3.1" f/15 selsi refractor(towa 339), 2.4" f/15 sears refractor, selsi 30x30mm spyglass, criterion 5-draw 25x45x75x spyglass(1957), 4.25" f/14.8 tasco 20te.
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Doug76
Postmaster
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 5574
Loc: SE Louisiana, future Texan
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That's a very nice rig.
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Doug
Truckstop Astronomer
The Universe, the light of God, in all it's majesty
6 achro refractors, 50mm-150mm
1 apo refractor, 90mm
1 SCT, 8 inch
UO Abbe Volcano Tops
Faworski Ortho's
Panoptic 24mm
Carton 100mm f/13 under construction
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Svezda
sage
Reged: 06/01/07
Posts: 264
Loc: Texas
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M81/M82 Galaxies: M81 was rather easily seen with the 9 or 5mm, but I had too much Moon to get a good view of M82; almost, but no cigar!
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maknewtnut
Vendor (Teton Telescope)
Reged: 10/08/06
Posts: 859
Loc: SE Idaho
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Patric,
APM carries the same 50mm finderscope in Europe if you want to avoid overseas shipping and customs duties.
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Mark
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1120
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Quote:
You can have mine. It's in perfect shape. PM me with an address. When I get home I'll send you the entire mount. I have no need for it.
That is close to exactly the same as my first telescope I recevied at christmas around 30 years ago. My scope had no optical finder, and the knobs for turning the tube were round. Otherwise it's very identical. It was f/12 and included a 12,5 and 6mm eyepiece. The view with 48x was quite clear without noticable CA. With 100x the image was dim and with bad contrast, but still worked for studying the moon. The objective had a slight blue coating and the eyepieces were completely uncoated (I think it was plastic lenses too), so taking in consider these facts a high class eyepiece surely would improve the image. Several years later I bought a 22mm eyepiece of better quality than the other. That provided 27x and much clearer and better image quality.
My impression is the same as the usual when it comes to cheap telescopes: the objective lens was of a much higher class (and of glass) than the eyepieces, and if it would be multicoated and using good multicoated eyepieces I think the image quality would be really good.
Regards, Patric
--------------------
*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Nikon Sporter I 8x36
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1120
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Quote:
Patric, that is correct, the clear aperture of the SV50/F50 is about 21mm, and the Meade 26 5K Plossl has about a 27mm field stop diameter. I don't own a Vixen 20mm NLV but I'm sure there would be no vignetting. The SV50 would actually perform better than hand held 50mm binoculars because you have a rock steady image with it mounted on a tripod, and you can get more magnification as desired. The only other 50mm finderscopes I have experience with all are cheaper brands. They have nice views but they don't have the features of the SV50.
I think I will go for the StellarVue finderscope. When I purchased the Meade 26mm eyepiece, I changed it out to my Vixen LV 20mm and payed the difference. At the latest starparty the same dealer still had it unsold, so I will likely by it back...
Regards, Patric
--------------------
*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Nikon Sporter I 8x36
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Quote:
Quote:
You can have mine. It's in perfect shape. PM me with an address. When I get home I'll send you the entire mount. I have no need for it.
My impression is the same as the usual when it comes to cheap telescopes: the objective lens was of a much higher class (and of glass) than the eyepieces, and if it would be multicoated and using good multicoated eyepieces I think the image quality would be really good.
Regards, Patric
I think that's true even today. I have a couple of modern mass-produced scopes that showed noticeably better views with upgraded eyepieces. The eyepieces that came with your scope did have glass lenses, but they most likely were not coated causing light throughput to be diminished. I also have some better brands of these eyepieces like Unitron and Criterion and they definately have much better image brightness. A lot of people who own these classic scopes often convert them to 1.25" eyepiece format.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1120
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Quote:
Patric,
APM carries the same 50mm finderscope in Europe if you want to avoid overseas shipping and customs duties.
Hi Mark and thanks for the info.
At THIS page I can see some similar finderscopes, but are they selling SV under the APM-name?
Regards, Patric
--------------------
*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Nikon Sporter I 8x36
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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Preston Smith
Military Observer
Reged: 04/24/05
Posts: 3449
Loc: Eureka, Pa
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Quote:
Patric,
APM carries the same 50mm finderscope in Europe if you want to avoid overseas shipping and customs duties.
IMPORTANT QUESTION:
Mark, do the APM scopes have the same objective (same specs, glass, coatings, etc) as the F50? I asked this question before in an earlier thread but did not get a response from you.
Oh, and does it have the same eyepiece as the F50?
Thanks!
--------------------
Preston
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Isaiah 40:26
SV115T,NHII,SV70,SV50 and Tele Vue Ranger
Vintage Refractors: Asahi-Pentax, Edmund Scientific, Tasco, Unitron
60mm Telescope Club
Edited by Preston Smith (10/11/09 12:15 PM)
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bsim
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/04/08
Posts: 1060
Loc: New York City
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Kunming United Optics makes the finders. web page
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Quote:
Quote:
Patric,
APM carries the same 50mm finderscope in Europe if you want to avoid overseas shipping and customs duties.
Hi Mark and thanks for the info.
At THIS page I can see some similar finderscopes, but are they selling SV under the APM-name?
Regards, Patric
I can't seem to access that page but I'll answer this way. I like to stick to Stellarvue brand when I can but of course they are easy to buy here in the States. If you can find another brand with the same features (helical focuser with eyepiece holder and RACI prism) and it's easier and cheaper to get I would go for it.
Now do be aware that there were two different helical focusers used over the years. The newer style has more travel and will accept more eyepiece designs including a Rigel pulse reticle. The older style will not have enough travel to accept the Rigel pulse. I think the newer style focuser is all that Stellarvue sells now but you might want to double check another brand if that is a feature you want. If you get one with the older style focuser you can still use the eyepieces I mentioned in this thread including your Vixens.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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kfred
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/11/03
Posts: 2158
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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I really like the Stellarvue 50mm Finderscope; use one an as finderscope on my 6" Mak; and the other as an grab-and-go.
Recently gave 4 F50’s away to friends as gifts…
Fred
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Trixie
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Sometimes I use my 8" Dob as a finderscope for my F50.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1120
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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I was going to order from Stellarvue site, but shipping to Europe is $104.37!!! That's the highest price for a small package I ever have experienced, and it's the only available alternative. I think I have to look somewhere else...
Regards, Patric
--------------------
*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Nikon Sporter I 8x36
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1120
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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After a tip from an astronomical friend I ordered a SV50 spottingscope, which I understand is the same scope but with cheaper eyepiece, from http://www.optcorp.com. The shipping with UPS is $40,98 which is a more acceptable and normal price...
I can't wait for my new ultra-portable grab and go scope!
Regards, Patric
--------------------
*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Nikon Sporter I 8x36
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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Doug76
Postmaster
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 5574
Loc: SE Louisiana, future Texan
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Good choice Patric. Enjoy!
--------------------
Doug
Truckstop Astronomer
The Universe, the light of God, in all it's majesty
6 achro refractors, 50mm-150mm
1 apo refractor, 90mm
1 SCT, 8 inch
UO Abbe Volcano Tops
Faworski Ortho's
Panoptic 24mm
Carton 100mm f/13 under construction
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Fantastic Patrik! I'm glad to see you will get one of these fine telescopes! And yes, the two are basically the same, although you may end up with the old style helical. That's really not a problem unless you want to use an illuminated reticle like the Rigel. There are plenty of eyepieces that will work! If you join the Stellarvue Yahoo Group, you will find in their FILES section a file devoted to the Sparrowhawk, along with an eyepiece chart.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1120
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Thank you for the good wishes!
When I checked my email this morning I had received a shipping notification with tracking number. The order has been shipped 2 hours! after it was placed...
Regards, Patric
--------------------
*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Nikon Sporter I 8x36
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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Preston Smith
Military Observer
Reged: 04/24/05
Posts: 3449
Loc: Eureka, Pa
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Hi Patric!
Here's a review I wrote a while ago of the version of the F50 that you will be getting. You can do so much with this little refractor!
Stellarvue F50 Refractor
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Preston
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Isaiah 40:26
SV115T,NHII,SV70,SV50 and Tele Vue Ranger
Vintage Refractors: Asahi-Pentax, Edmund Scientific, Tasco, Unitron
60mm Telescope Club
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Patricko
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/30/07
Posts: 1534
Loc: SE New Mexico USA
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Excellent read Preston, I can't help but wonder how many SV50s have been sold because of it. I've come very close to ordering one myself, they look very humble yet easy to use and functional.
--------------------
Clear skies,
Patrick
INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY ASSOCIATION
60MM TELESCOPE CLUB!
"You can always have better, but will you ever be happy with what you have?" - Me, myself, and I
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Clive Gibbons
Mostly Harmless
Reged: 05/26/05
Posts: 13461
Loc: Oort Cloud
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Looks like the SV50 isn't listed by SV anymore, so if folks want one, they'd do well to find a dealer who's got it in stock. (The finderscope models are still available).
Perhaps SV could introduce a CF version of the scope.
It would look cool and the reduced weight could minimize their shipping costs.
--------------------
A few telescopes of dubious value.
Understanding wife, two curious cats and one sadly departed.
"Semper ubi sub ubi"
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1120
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Hi Preston, and thanks for the link. Actually I have read two other reviews of this scope, but not this one at CN until now!
The common conclusion of all of them is that the SV 50mm is a good value with very good optical performance to be a short focal length achromatic tube.
Regards, Patric
--------------------
*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Nikon Sporter I 8x36
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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Preston Smith
Military Observer
Reged: 04/24/05
Posts: 3449
Loc: Eureka, Pa
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Quote:
Perhaps SV could introduce a CF version of the scope.
It would look cool and the reduced weight could minimize their shipping costs.
Hi Clive! Why not a CF version with an ED triplet?
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Preston
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Isaiah 40:26
SV115T,NHII,SV70,SV50 and Tele Vue Ranger
Vintage Refractors: Asahi-Pentax, Edmund Scientific, Tasco, Unitron
60mm Telescope Club
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Clive Gibbons
Mostly Harmless
Reged: 05/26/05
Posts: 13461
Loc: Oort Cloud
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That would be even cooler.
--------------------
A few telescopes of dubious value.
Understanding wife, two curious cats and one sadly departed.
"Semper ubi sub ubi"
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Quote:
Looks like the SV50 isn't listed by SV anymore, so if folks want one, they'd do well to find a dealer who's got it in stock. (The finderscope models are still available).
Basically, the Stellarvue "SV50" was sold as special kit including the F50 with the old style helical focuser and the mounting ring. I think he did that to clear the older versions out of his inventory. Now the mounting ring must be purchased separately from the (newer version) F50. BTW any 50mm refractor or finderscope with the tube's outside diameter 54mm or less can use this mounting ring.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Quote:
Thank you for the good wishes!
When I checked my email this morning I had received a shipping notification with tracking number. The order has been shipped 2 hours! after it was placed...
Regards, Patric
I've purchased from OPT before, they are very nice people there.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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drago
member
Reged: 01/11/08
Posts: 95
Loc: Latvia
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i use a beer bottle telescope
http://www.opticsplanet.net/apogee-beer-bottle-telescope.html
approx 2 years ago this charge me with delivery around 50 us dollars...
only minus - not changeable eyepiece without coatings.
on other side - really seems like a bottle, and right image
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Sky-Watcher 100ed refractor on old HEQ5
Sky-Watcher 15075 refractor on EQ5 with motors
Orion Optics Europe 200 F6 newton
wo 66sd on modified synta AZ3
npz 8x50 seeker
18x50 beer bottle telescope
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1120
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Today I received Stellarscope SV50. Very portable and nice built. The included 23mm eyepiece works great with eyeglasses when eyecup is downfolded. The complete instrument is in a high quality performance.
About the optical performance I from the beginning knew that this cannot be compared to a high class telescope like my former 66mm Scopos ED APO tube.
23mm eyepiece provides 9x magnification and the image is very crisp and bright. Sharpness is very good though not that super razor sharp as the APO. But I think it will rival or outperform many high-end binoculars.
I was completely aware of that an achromatic f/4 tube will not be the instrument for high magnifications. Therefore my 5mm Vixen LV eyepiece with 41x providing slight purple edges around very bright light sources didn't dissapointed me. BUT; this effect isn't worse (likely less noticable) than my experience of many usual 50-60mm achromatic spottingscopes at 40x, and this tube has only 205mm focal length. Actually I think the colour correction is quite good.
The worsening of the sharpness is noticable when compare 9x to 20,5 and 41x. Though 20,5x provides a pretty good image. I understand the main reason is the erecting Amico-prism. This actually could be described at a 90deg roof prism. Against bright light sources you can see the typhical light spikes. Or star filter effect, which I use to call it.
Also the exit pupil is slightly oval.
Personally, I for the optical performance prefer a usual non-erecting prism, or mirror.
I tried, and it's possible to remove the prism from the tube. My wondering is if it would be possible to replace this prism with a common non-erecting 90deg prism or a mirror. No doubt that such a measure would significantly improve the optical performance and sharpness, especially at higher magnifications.
The main reason I searched for a finderscope with 90deg diagonal is that I wanted a more comfortable alternative to a 7-10x binocular. I didn't even made the demand of using 20x with good result. If I can use 10-12x that's enough.
Conclusion: You can hardly find any better optical instrument for this price.
Regards, Patric
--------------------
*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Nikon Sporter I 8x36
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 12909
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Hi Patric ,
I enjoyed reading not only your first day summary , but the whole story in this thread leading up to your most recent purchase .
The main thing is that you seem satisfied that the product can provide you with the 6 key elements that you wanted -- budget priced , acceptable quality , monoscopic , low magnification , wide field viewing at a comfortable angle !
By the way -- I hadn't realised that you had sold your 66mm ED scope !
Clear skies and best wishes
Kenny
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If everyone is thinking the same thing , no-one is thinking - General George S.Patton
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Patric, I'm glad this has worked out for you. OPT gave you some great service! Yes this little scope has its limitations, but it also has some great strength to take advantage of. I installed a red dot finderscope to make pointing easier.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 12909
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Just to get the facts straight in my mind , is the clear aperture of this 50mm scope only 21mm , then ?
Kenny
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1120
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Quote:
Hi Patric ,
I enjoyed reading not only your first day summary , but the whole story in this thread leading up to your most recent purchase .
The main thing is that you seem satisfied that the product can provide you with the 6 key elements that you wanted -- budget priced , acceptable quality , monoscopic , low magnification , wide field viewing at a comfortable angle !
By the way -- I hadn't realised that you had sold your 66mm ED scope !
Clear skies and best wishes
Kenny
Yes, that's right! This scope fulfilled my desire in these respects.
The ED APO I sold some months ago to a friend.
Clear aperture is if I got it right the same as field stop; the opening between prism and tube.
Regards, Patric
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Quote:
Just to get the facts straight in my mind , is the clear aperture of this 50mm scope only 21mm , then ?
Kenny
Yes I believe that is correct, so that any eyepiece with a field stop diameter (FSD) larger than 21mm will produce vignetting.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1120
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Yesterday I tried my Celestron Plössl eyepieces to SV50. 32mm eyepiece provides 6,4x and an exit pupil larger than I can make use of for the brightness sake. But what a clear and sharp image! Unfortunately the field is slightly vignetted at the edges. It was the same when tried 15mm Plössl. I thought that the field stop limitations had to do with the AFOV possibilities. The included StellarVue 23mm eyepiece has wider AFOV but without any vignetting.
Regards, Patric
--------------------
*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Nikon Sporter I 8x36
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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Erik Bakker
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/10/06
Posts: 534
Loc: Haren, The Netherlands, Europe
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Quote:
My little 50mm just happened to come along for the ride. It is kind of neat to compare views in it from the 108mm that it spots for. Mike
Mike, amazing scope, that 108.
Clear skies,
Erik
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Visual astronomer, main instruments:
Fully mounted Questar 7 P-BB
Celestron C 102F f/8.8 fluorite
Vixen FL 70S f/8 fluorite
Celestron C 55F f/8 fluorite
Sets of Zeiss, TeleVue and Brandon eyepieces
Zeiss 7x50 Marine B/GA
Zeiss TM german equatorial
Gitzo 224 with Manfrotto 501 fluid head
Unitron alt-az mount
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Erik Bakker
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/10/06
Posts: 534
Loc: Haren, The Netherlands, Europe
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Hi David,
Great report and a wonderful way of demonstrating the power of the mighty 50mm scope.
I have similar experiences with my 55mm fluorite. Under good conditions M81 and M82 are easy and some structure can be seen in M82. The Double Double is easy in the 4.8 Nagler. In the 4mm Zeiss Abbe it can split Epsilon Bootes. M13, M15, M3 etc. take on a grainy appearance sometimes even being partially resolved. All dependent on the clarity of the atmosphere and lack of light pollution of course. On the planets and the moon, any eyepiece between 10 and 4mm shows a beautiful image, almost standing still as if no seeing exists. Of course it is no big scope. But the purity and stability of the image never cease to amaze me. With the 16 N T5 and 9 N T6 it is a surprisingly powerful deep sky instrument. Did I say Pleiades ? M42 ? M31 and companions? M27 ? The list goes on and on. The tiny and mighty 55mm is an always ready companion. Attached is a picure showing the 55mm between it's 70mm and 102mm brothers for scale.
Clear skies,
Erik
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Thanks for the post Erik. I once took my SV50 to a public star party. The guys with the big SCT's spent almost as much time with my scope as they did with theirs! I also once had a lot of fun with a club member that owns a great pair of 8x56 Swarovsky's. Boy, talk about beautiful wide open views!  We spent almost the entire evening going back and forth between his Swav's and my SV50. He was almost as impressed with my SV50 as I was with his binocs.
--------------------
David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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starrancher
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 620
Loc: Northern Arizona
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O.K. I have to start out & thank Doug for sending me the little table top mount that I needed to use my Tasco 6TE refractor that I have had packed away for about 5 years . I was given this scope along with the original 3 Huygens oculars . 20mm , 12.5mm & 5mm . Also the .965" prism diagonal & the tiny 5x finder . It was in perfect shape aside from the dust & not having a mount . After cleaning & mounting , it saw its (first light) last night . Starting out on the Moon , I went through all of the oculars starting with the 20mm at 30x , then the 12.5mm at 48x & the 5mm at 120x . This little scope actually threw up a pretty impressive Lunar image ! The poor Huygens oculars that get such a bad rap surprised me with very nice views using the 20mm & the 12.5mm . The 5mm even focused up with a little effort among the shaking , although the image was fairly dim but not at all mushy !
So I went on to Jupiter . At 30x , the image was very sharp , & although tiny , the equatorial belts & both polar regions were plainly visible . At 48x I got the best view with still a small image but pretty darn good detail considering the size of the disc . The 4 Moons were perfect pinpoints & Jupiter's limb was hard line crisp . At 120x , focusing was a chore but was achievable , & although the image was larger I really couldn't see a benefit as far as surface detail went due to the dimming of the image . It was just the beginning of the "Fun with a 50mm refractor" journey & I can't wait to try some open clusters for starters on the DSOs' . I wish I had some magnifications to fill in between 48x & 120x so I'll have to keep my eyes open for a couple .965 oculars to fill the gap . All in all , this was a kick in the pants & I'm impressed at the quality of the images from both the scope & the badly talked about Huygens oculars !
Thanks again Doug for helping me resurrect this little classic !
--------------------
LXD75 AR5
LXD75 SN8
Series 4000 Plossls
Misc. other stuff
Fort Rock , Az .
Edited by starrancher (10/29/09 12:59 PM)
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Clive Gibbons
Mostly Harmless
Reged: 05/26/05
Posts: 13461
Loc: Oort Cloud
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Good reading for those who enjoy pushing the envelope with small refractors.
--------------------
A few telescopes of dubious value.
Understanding wife, two curious cats and one sadly departed.
"Semper ubi sub ubi"
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Glad to see you're having fun with the little guy! Those stock oculars were usually optically sharp, but uncoated so light transmission suffers. That's not much of an issue on the Moon or Jupiter of course. Still, if you can find a quality .965 aftermarket eyepiece (like a Plossl) in the 6-10mm range I'd grab it.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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Erik Bakker
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/10/06
Posts: 534
Loc: Haren, The Netherlands, Europe
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Quote:
Good reading for those who enjoy pushing the envelope with small refractors.
Thanks for the link Clive.
The report reminds me of some great deep-sky observing I did the last two winters under the pristine winter skies in the German Eiffel with my 55 and 70 fluorites. The deep-sky was so inviting that I didn't even bother with doubles, moon or planets. Amazing feeling with such small scopes. But that is what superbly dark and transparent skies tend to do with me.
Clear skies,
Erik
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Visual astronomer, main instruments:
Fully mounted Questar 7 P-BB
Celestron C 102F f/8.8 fluorite
Vixen FL 70S f/8 fluorite
Celestron C 55F f/8 fluorite
Sets of Zeiss, TeleVue and Brandon eyepieces
Zeiss 7x50 Marine B/GA
Zeiss TM german equatorial
Gitzo 224 with Manfrotto 501 fluid head
Unitron alt-az mount
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Doug76
Postmaster
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 5574
Loc: SE Louisiana, future Texan
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I bought one of these, as it was cheap and had good specs.
http://cgi.ebay.com/10MM-wide-angle-965-inch-telescope-KONIG-eyepiece-NEW_W0QQitemZ250323847860QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a4876cab4
Turned out to be a really decent eyepiece. 60x and a 1deg field in that scope. Big eye lens.
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Doug
Truckstop Astronomer
The Universe, the light of God, in all it's majesty
6 achro refractors, 50mm-150mm
1 apo refractor, 90mm
1 SCT, 8 inch
UO Abbe Volcano Tops
Faworski Ortho's
Panoptic 24mm
Carton 100mm f/13 under construction
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starrancher
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 620
Loc: Northern Arizona
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Check out these Antares .965 Plossls . 20 bucks each . Click on page 2 also .
http://handsonoptics.com/index.php?keyword=.965&submitSearch.x=7&submitSearch.y=7&main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1
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LXD75 AR5
LXD75 SN8
Series 4000 Plossls
Misc. other stuff
Fort Rock , Az .
Edited by starrancher (10/29/09 09:53 PM)
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Doug76
Postmaster
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 5574
Loc: SE Louisiana, future Texan
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Yep, already saw them. Seems a good deal. May try a couple soon myself.
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Doug
Truckstop Astronomer
The Universe, the light of God, in all it's majesty
6 achro refractors, 50mm-150mm
1 apo refractor, 90mm
1 SCT, 8 inch
UO Abbe Volcano Tops
Faworski Ortho's
Panoptic 24mm
Carton 100mm f/13 under construction
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starrancher
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 620
Loc: Northern Arizona
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Alright , round two with the little Tasco . I took it out just for a short time & did a re visit of the Moon & Jupiter then thought ah ! ...M45 ! I just miss getting the entire cluster in the FOV with the 20mm Huygens . I have an old 22mm Kellner coming & hopefully I can grab the whole cluster with it . Other than that , the stars were tack sharp & it was neat to see my first open cluster in such a small scope . Orion was coming up & I figured I'd try for the Nebula . With all of the Moon glow & the under abundance of aperture , I wasn't expecting much , but the little dude actually did pretty darn good . At 30 power using the 20mm Huygens I was able to split cleanly 3 stars of the Trap . At 48 power using the 12.5mm Huygens I was able to grab 3 of 4 stars constant with the 4th blinking in & out here & there . How cool ! This is ending up being way more fun than I ever expected ! I can't wait for the Moon to go away so I can see what else is possible & how much better M42 can get with a little 50mm .
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LXD75 AR5
LXD75 SN8
Series 4000 Plossls
Misc. other stuff
Fort Rock , Az .
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Doug76
Postmaster
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 5574
Loc: SE Louisiana, future Texan
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Quote:
Just to get the facts straight in my mind , is the clear aperture of this 50mm scope only 21mm , then ?
Kenny
The clear aperture of the scope is 50mm, but it will only take without vignetting eyepieces with a field stop of 21mm or less.
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Doug
Truckstop Astronomer
The Universe, the light of God, in all it's majesty
6 achro refractors, 50mm-150mm
1 apo refractor, 90mm
1 SCT, 8 inch
UO Abbe Volcano Tops
Faworski Ortho's
Panoptic 24mm
Carton 100mm f/13 under construction
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Quote:
Alright , round two with the little Tasco ...
I think you're hooked on 50mm. I expect that Kellner to have more field of view than your Huygens, but it should still be very sharp at the edge.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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I just came in from a brief but successful evening with my Spectrum 1 (Towa-made 50/600 refractor). The Moon was nice, with some craters visible at the south pole. Crisium was close to the limb, but Mare Orientale was better positioned. At high power I easily spied Lacus Autumni. Lacus Veris was hidden behind the limb. Jupiter looked nice with three moons (Ganymede was behind Jupiter). The two equatorial bands were very prominent at high power, and some shading of the southern hemisphere could be discerned. I put in my Meade MA25, which gives about as much true field as you can get in .965 format. From Jupiter it was an easy star-hop to Neptune, just 1/2º NE from 44 Capricorni. It was easily visible with averted vision at first, and as my eye got more dark adapted I could just see it with direct vision.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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desertrefugee
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/06/07
Posts: 1221
Loc: Arizona
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It has been fun following this thread, since I have a couple of very good, older Circle T 50mm f12's.
I am very glad that there are other, like-minded souls who also appreciate the utility of small aperture instruments.
How small? Here's a shot of one of my 50mm scopes next to a 76mm f15!
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"Illimitable ocean, without bound, Without dimension, where length, breadth, and height, And time, and place are lost." - Milton
-Darrell
Reflectors - 76 to 305mm (f4.7 to f9.2)
Refractors - 50 to 120mm (f5 to f16.7)
Binoculars - 6x15 to 22x100
N. Phoenix, AZ
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starrancher
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 620
Loc: Northern Arizona
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Thanks for posting Darrell ! ...It was too late for me when I read your warning about staying away from the classic scope forum . After getting the little Tasco up & runnin' , I ended up cruisin' for a bruisin' through all 44 pages of the refractor classifieds .  I think the sickness has already settled in .  
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LXD75 AR5
LXD75 SN8
Series 4000 Plossls
Misc. other stuff
Fort Rock , Az .
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desertrefugee
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/06/07
Posts: 1221
Loc: Arizona
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--------------------
"Illimitable ocean, without bound, Without dimension, where length, breadth, and height, And time, and place are lost." - Milton
-Darrell
Reflectors - 76 to 305mm (f4.7 to f9.2)
Refractors - 50 to 120mm (f5 to f16.7)
Binoculars - 6x15 to 22x100
N. Phoenix, AZ
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starrancher
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 620
Loc: Northern Arizona
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Round three with the Tasco ! O.K. I received a few more vintage oculars (6mm , 9mm , & 22mm) from another CN member since my last posting & was able to grab a chance amongst a bunch of cloudy nights with the little 50 . M31 , & what a trip it was to see this thing in a small scope . Even in the suburban sky (red) , I was amazed at what I got ! Using the 20mm Huygens at 30 power , M31 was well framed in the field of view with the amount of light being grabbed . I was able to see M32 in the same field without much effort at all ! Simply awesome ! M110 was more difficult which I found strange because in larger apertures , M110 seems to be easier to I.D. than M32 . I does make sense to a certain extent though . (Another thread) . ..But with some panning of the scope & some averted vision , I was able to grab it . I've heard you can get both companions in good binoculars but other than the fact that I know I can't hold 'em steady enough , I gotta wonder about that .
Next it was time for me to nail down NGC869 & NGC884 , yep the famous Double Cluster . It took a couple tries for me to grab it as it's a little tough to use the severely stopped down finder that this scope sports & it was really easier just to sight down the edge of the finder & pan a little through the main objective . Alas , I was there & it was just so fun to see this object in such a small aperture & with more magnification than the binos' offer . Although dimmer at more than the 10x that my binos' push , the little 50 provided another unique view . I tried this dual object at 27x , 30x & 48x . All were nice but I think with this small aperture it looked best at 48x using the 12.5mm Huygens .
Finally , it was a re visit to M45 , & with my newly acquired 22mm Kellner , the entire cluster now fits in the field of view .
I am still amazed at the images that these badly talked about vintage oculars are producing . They sure seem to be working just fine so far !
I'll post again as the weather permits .
Dave
Edited by starrancher (11/09/09 05:41 PM)
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1120
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Yesterday night I was at a small starparty with some friends. Then I did my first real test of the sky with my Stellarvue SV50. Though I could soon notice that the sharpness wasn't comparable with my former Scopos 66mm ED APO the performance with 9x seemed to be at least comparable to my Swarovski 7x42. 20,5x provided a very nice image of the Pleiades. Using 41x the result wasn't that good.
I am not dissapointed at all. This small scope does it's job as I expected as a low powered comfortable alternative to a binocular. But I still thinking about how much better it could be if changed out the amici-prism to a usual prism or a mirror. I am sure that even 41x would work excellent.
Regards, Patric
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*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Nikon Sporter I 8x36
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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starrancher
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 620
Loc: Northern Arizona
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Well , short rounds four & five came Saturday & Sunday nights for the little 50mm Tasco .
Saturday Night:
Out the gate was the open cluster M41 in Canis Major , sometimes called the "Little Beehive" . 30x magnifications was just right on the pleasingly bright sparse cluster . Since I was in the area I went ahead & slewed over to M47 in Puppis . This cluster is a nice little gem that looked great at 30X , but its' next door neighbor M46 was so dim , at first I wasn't sure I was bagging it . 30X was the best magnification on it but I gotta say it's not an impressive cluster in the small scope .
Mars was up & I wanted to check out the Beehive anyway , so I slung on over to the fourth rock & focused up at 120X . I didn't spend much time there but got a nicely defined crisp limb on the orange orb with a bit of surface mottling . I had a bit of a hard time tracking down M44 & ended up using Mars as a guide to it knowing that it was just passin' through last week . Panning a little , there it was in all its' brilliance filling the entire view of the scope at 27 power . What a nice , wide , bright cluster . That thing takes up the field of view of M45 & I don't recall that being the case when viewing it through larger scopes . It's funny how different things look through a small aperture .
Sunday Night:
I called it short & sweet as the first of the three objects that I added to the 50mm list was Albireo . With only 50mm to work with you just can't jam up a bunch of magnification & the separation in these two components was tight tight tight . I could barely get the fainter Blue component outside the diffraction ring of the brighter Orange component . Again , another completely different view of any Albireo I have ever seen . It almost makes me wonder if that is really what I was lookin' at . I fiddled with focus & eyepieces ranging 48X to 67X magnification & I'd say the cleaner view was at 48X . For my first Planetary Nebula through the little guy , we went to M27 , the "Dumbbell" . Sighting down the side of the finder scopes tube , I got into the general area , popped in the 20mm ocular at 30 power & started to pan . Then re directed , then panned ..., then re directed & panned again , & whoa , there it is ! It was faint , but what a gas ! (pardon the pun) . The Dumbbell really did best at no more than 48X magnification . Originally I had planned to grab M35 , M36 , M37 & M38 , but they would still be obscured for awhile , so I figured on callin' it quits early but not before one more . I told myself , you bag M15 & we'll call it .
I had to do a bit of panning & re directing with this one too . That stopped down finder scope really isn't much more than an ornament that sits on the scope & without any help from it & some cruising across , I found the fuzz . Yes the great M15 fuzzball in Pegusus ! My first Glob in the Tasco 50mm ! Yeehaww ! As well , the Glob did best between 30x & 48X . I'm used to pushin' 125x to 195x on this stuff but it's still "Fun with a 50mm refractor" !
I'll post again as I add more to the "Bagged It" list for the Tasco , & until then , I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming !
--------------------
LXD75 AR5
LXD75 SN8
Series 4000 Plossls
Misc. other stuff
Fort Rock , Az .
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David E
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/25/06
Posts: 3021
Loc: North Carolina
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Great report! If I were you I'd ditch that optical finderscope and put on a red dot finderscope. Keep the optical as a suvenier of course.
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David E
If you keep a stack of old Orion catalogs in your bathroom, you might be an astro-redneck.
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starrancher
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 620
Loc: Northern Arizona
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Quote:
Great report! If I were you I'd ditch that optical finderscope and put on a red dot finderscope. Keep the optical as a suvenier of course.
Thanks Dave ! & your right , I'm thinking seriously about a red dot or maybe even rigging a green laser pointer into the stock finders bracket . It sure would make pointing easier .
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LXD75 AR5
LXD75 SN8
Series 4000 Plossls
Misc. other stuff
Fort Rock , Az .
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starrancher
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 620
Loc: Northern Arizona
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M35 , M36 , M37 & M38 ......Are in ....the bag !
And so ends round six .
--------------------
LXD75 AR5
LXD75 SN8
Series 4000 Plossls
Misc. other stuff
Fort Rock , Az .
Edited by starrancher (11/19/09 02:19 PM)
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Doug76
Postmaster
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 5574
Loc: SE Louisiana, future Texan
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I'm going to mount a 6x30 finder on mine. The supplied finder is useless to me.
--------------------
Doug
Truckstop Astronomer
The Universe, the light of God, in all it's majesty
6 achro refractors, 50mm-150mm
1 apo refractor, 90mm
1 SCT, 8 inch
UO Abbe Volcano Tops
Faworski Ortho's
Panoptic 24mm
Carton 100mm f/13 under construction
|
starrancher
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 620
Loc: Northern Arizona
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The supplied finder has to be stopped down to about 5mm . So I guess you could say it's a 5x5 .
--------------------
LXD75 AR5
LXD75 SN8
Series 4000 Plossls
Misc. other stuff
Fort Rock , Az .
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