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Which Classic Takahashi do you like the best

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#76 Terra Nova

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Posted 17 September 2017 - 02:29 PM

Wow! Now where did I put my nitroglycerin tablets! ;)


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#77 starman876

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Posted 17 September 2017 - 04:15 PM

just buy lots of takahashi products. real good for a steady heart beat and a smile on your face.
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#78 Terra Nova

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Posted 17 September 2017 - 04:33 PM

Yes! Takahashi's are definitely good medicine! They'll cure what ails ya! Well, everything but your pocketbook! ;)


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#79 starman876

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Posted 17 September 2017 - 06:56 PM

WIN_20170917_19_24_53_Pro.jpg ]here is a DPAC of the SKY 90 objective

 

every high end objective I have tested looks pretty much the same.  It tells me that there must be an alignment problem with my set up. On the other hand when I test a lens that is not really that good there is no mistake it is a bad lens.

 

 


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#80 starman876

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Posted 17 September 2017 - 07:26 PM

Yes! Takahashi's are definitely good medicine! They'll cure what ails ya! Well, everything but your pocketbook! wink.gif

However, if you sell 10 classic 60mm scopes you can sure buy a nice Takahashi.  


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#81 Richard Whalen

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Posted 17 September 2017 - 09:09 PM

While I have not owned any Takahashi telescopes, just finders and eyepieces I have used several of their APOs friends have owned. All were fine telescopes, the most memorable  visually was a FCT200. For imaging my friends Epsilon 300 Astrograph is really stunning.


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#82 doctordub

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Posted 22 September 2017 - 07:49 AM

I purchased an Apo from a CN member in CT in 2014, a Takahashi  FS-152. What a Christmas present for me!

CS

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#83 starman876

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Posted 26 September 2017 - 01:32 PM

Darn these hurricanes messing up my clear sky.  However, I sure wish that was all the people in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean had to complain about.  



#84 Chuck Hards

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Posted 27 September 2017 - 08:37 AM

I purchased an Apo from a CN member in CT in 2014, a Takahashi  FS-152. What a Christmas present for me!

CS

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Jonathan, that thing is a beast!  I bet the views are fantastic.  


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#85 Joe Cepleur

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Posted 27 September 2017 - 10:49 AM

I'm late to the game here, but have been thinking about this thread for several days. There is no valid reason to restrict commenting on specific models of telescopes to those who have owned them. The forums would become quite boring and exclusive, and most of us would learn far less, if we adhered to that standard.

 

There are many ways to become familiar with a telescope. A friend might have one, or one might have a valid comment to make after observing with one just once at a star party. At issue is whether the claims being made are justified, in light of the level of experience of the astronomer making the comments. If I started spouting, in endless detail, about the comparative virtues of various models of Takahashis, I'd be wasting everyone's time, because I do not know them. I'll say instead that, at NEAF this year, Takahashi had a new 4" f/9 refractor, on a magnificent mount, for $2,500, which struck me as the best value in all of astronomy, based on Takahashi's reputation and the obvious quality of the build. I had the sense that, rather than struggle with slow sales in the current economy, Takahashi built a costly telescope, and then value-priced it. I wanted one, but was $2,500 short! 

 

This past weekend, at the Acadia Night Sky Festival, I finally got to observe through a Takahashi for the first time. This 90mm f/5.6 was astonishing. The view was no brighter than one might expect from 90mm, yet the flatness of field was close to perfect, even with the cheap eyepiece chosen for a pubic star party (Celestron 8-24mm zoom). More significantly, the sharpness of the view, with its shocking level of detail, was what I would have expected from a much larger telescope. Now I liked this one, the ultimate grab-and-go, and I think it was old enough to be called a "classic!" The only flaw I could see, if it were one, was that the contrast was not as good as, for example, was seen in ScottAstroNut's 4" f/15 Unitron. I suspect that is an inherent function of the focal lengths, so that the Tak is still the best it could be in this class of tiny telescopes that act like big telescopes. So, sorry not to know the model number, but I'll vote for this one! 


Edited by Joe Cepleur, 27 September 2017 - 10:49 AM.


#86 starman876

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Posted 27 September 2017 - 11:04 AM

most likely was,a sky 90

#87 Joe Cepleur

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Posted 27 September 2017 - 05:51 PM

Thanks! That sounds right; I think it was a "Sky 90." Looked to me like the ultimate grab-and-go, yet I have no doubt that I'll fall in love with every Tak I try, and keep changing my mind! It was on a Vixen Porta Mount. 

 

For those of us who are currently Tak-less, any Tak is likely to seem like a miracle in glass. I've never seen so much detail through a scope so small. It whet my appetite for high-end optics! 


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#88 starman876

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Posted 27 September 2017 - 06:07 PM

They are nice scopes.  I have been impressed with their refractors/



#89 rolo

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Posted 27 September 2017 - 08:08 PM

I'm late to the game here, but have been thinking about this thread for several days. There is no valid reason to restrict commenting on specific models of telescopes to those who have owned them. The forums would become quite boring and exclusive, and most of us would learn far less, if we adhered to that standard.

 

I disagree. One of the biggest problems in these forums is folks commenting on the performance of equipment they've never owned. Also, looking through a scope once at a star party is not sufficient to make an accurate evaluation of it. You need to own a scope for a while to get to know it and have a chance at good steady seeing conditions. 

 

Frankly, I'm shocked some folks will judge an entire brand or design from owning a bad one or looking once at a star party. I've seen many poorly collimated scopes at star parties and owners swearing it's the best scope they've ever had. After a quick lesson they're ecstatic their scope is better than they thought.


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#90 rolo

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Posted 27 September 2017 - 08:16 PM

I purchased an Apo from a CN member in CT in 2014, a Takahashi  FS-152. What a Christmas present for me!

CS

Jonathan

Love the FS152' if not for AP180 I would have never parted with it.


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#91 starman876

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Posted 27 September 2017 - 08:35 PM

I'm late to the game here, but have been thinking about this thread for several days. There is no valid reason to restrict commenting on specific models of telescopes to those who have owned them. The forums would become quite boring and exclusive, and most of us would learn far less, if we adhered to that standard.

 

I disagree. One of the biggest problems in these forums is folks commenting on the performance of equipment they've never owned. Also, looking through a scope once at a star party is not sufficient to make an accurate evaluation of it. You need to own a scope for a while to get to know it and have a chance at good steady seeing conditions. 

 

Frankly, I'm shocked some folks will judge an entire brand or design from owning a bad one or looking once at a star party. I've seen many poorly collimated scopes at star parties and owners swearing it's the best scope they've ever had. After a quick lesson they're ecstatic their scope is better than they thought.

I cannot agree more. 


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#92 Joe Cepleur

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Posted 27 September 2017 - 10:11 PM

"Frankly, I'm shocked some folks will judge an entire brand or design from owning a bad one or looking once at a star party."

 

Come, now! Read what I said:

 

"At issue is whether the claims being made are justified, in light of the level of experience of the astronomer making the comments." 

 

I did not judge an entire brand, nor an entire design. As someone who has had close to no experience with expensive telescopes, but extensive experience with finely made, ATM long focus scopes, a superb 16" f/4.5, and commercial telescopes reworked by a master optician, I was clear that, upon my first view through this small Takahashi, I was struck by how the view matched, in some specific regards, what I have seen through larger telescopes. This possibility was quite striking, and beyond my expectations, so I answered this thread's question with a specific, valid, somewhat tongue-in-cheek comment: "Give me this one!"

 

The thread did not ask for people with extensive experience with Takahashis to compare various models with their godly expertise. It asked, "Which is your favorite?" It is a bit cheeky of me to claim a favorite from a sample of one, yet my observation about it is valid. Should I ever become familiar with other Takahashis, my favorite may change. No doubt that, had I had a first experience with a similar Astro-Physics, TeleVue, TMB, or other premium telescope, my response may have been the same. My expertise is not with Takahashis broadly, but in appreciating that such a small instrument can yield such superb views. 

 

My club owns many telescopes that I will never own. Does that mean I have no right to comment about them? What about telescopes belonging to friends, that I have used extensively? We do not want people pretending to have knowledge that they actually lack, yet we benefit nothing, and lose something, by forbidding comments from members who clearly state what they know, while clarifying the foundations and limits of their knowledge. 


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#93 Terra Nova

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Posted 28 September 2017 - 06:10 AM

imawake.gif

 

Own the legend!

 

https://www.cloudyni...mc-classic-apo/


Edited by terraclarke, 28 September 2017 - 06:15 AM.

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#94 starman876

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Posted 28 September 2017 - 09:24 AM

That is a great scope.  


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#95 Terra Nova

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Posted 28 September 2017 - 11:49 AM

Mine is my favorite! For sure!!


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#96 rolo

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Posted 28 September 2017 - 12:05 PM

"Frankly, I'm shocked some folks will judge an entire brand or design from owning a bad one or looking once at a star party."

 

Come, now! Read what I said:

 

"At issue is whether the claims being made are justified, in light of the level of experience of the astronomer making the comments." 

 

I did not judge an entire brand, nor an entire design. As someone who has had close to no experience with expensive telescopes, but extensive experience with finely made, ATM long focus scopes, a superb 16" f/4.5, and commercial telescopes reworked by a master optician, I was clear that, upon my first view through this small Takahashi, I was struck by how the view matched, in some specific regards, what I have seen through larger telescopes. This possibility was quite striking, and beyond my expectations, so I answered this thread's question with a specific, valid, somewhat tongue-in-cheek comment: "Give me this one!"

 

The thread did not ask for people with extensive experience with Takahashis to compare various models with their godly expertise. It asked, "Which is your favorite?" It is a bit cheeky of me to claim a favorite from a sample of one, yet my observation about it is valid. Should I ever become familiar with other Takahashis, my favorite may change. No doubt that, had I had a first experience with a similar Astro-Physics, TeleVue, TMB, or other premium telescope, my response may have been the same. My expertise is not with Takahashis broadly, but in appreciating that such a small instrument can yield such superb views. 

 

My club owns many telescopes that I will never own. Does that mean I have no right to comment about them? What about telescopes belonging to friends, that I have used extensively? We do not want people pretending to have knowledge that they actually lack, yet we benefit nothing, and lose something, by forbidding comments from members who clearly state what they know, while clarifying the foundations and limits of their knowledge. 

I didn't say you, I said folks. You took it personal and the wrong way like it happens so many times in the forums. It's one of the reasons why my posts are way down and won't start any more topics on new classics I buy. I've contributed many excellent scopes to the classics and they all end up the same way, full of off topic discussions comparisons and arguments.

 

Sorry if I came across the wrong way.smile.gif

 


Edited by rolo, 28 September 2017 - 12:27 PM.


#97 Bomber Bob

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Posted 28 September 2017 - 12:08 PM

I like that Takahashi FC-76 MC, but I'm not crazy about duplicating apertures.  I'm leaning toward 120mm or larger aperture, where the APOs make more sense to me than F15+ achromatics.  OTOH, if I bought an FC-76, I'd sell the Galactic; and, based on Terra's reports, my Questar would have competition as a high-performance grab & go.  Way too many options these days -- like a SkyWatcher 120mm APO that's cheaper than the FC-76 -- back in the old days, we had Towa or everybody else.



#98 starman876

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Posted 28 September 2017 - 02:20 PM

I might be having a bino Tak fc 76 soon.


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#99 doctordub

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Posted 01 October 2017 - 07:50 AM

 

I purchased an Apo from a CN member in CT in 2014, a Takahashi  FS-152. What a Christmas present for me!

CS

Jonathan

Jonathan, that thing is a beast!  I bet the views are fantastic.  

 

Hi Chuck,

The views are fantastic. No CA at focus, and fantastic Planetary even at low Alt. when using an ADC. The Tube is long, 49" with CAA but light, about 23 lbs.

It is easy to handle if carried vertically with a handle.

CS

Jonathan


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#100 doctordub

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Posted 01 October 2017 - 07:51 AM

 

I purchased an Apo from a CN member in CT in 2014, a Takahashi  FS-152. What a Christmas present for me!

CS

Jonathan

Love the FS152' if not for AP180 I would have never parted with it.

 

The only way I would let mine go would be for a 7" AP or TEC!

CS

Jonathan


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