221 replies to this topic

[ChenZhenFromJingWu]

Yeah he's trying to back out on me too. 

 

Told him to make it happen.

 

Hold the line.

[skyjim]

Like I said try and look at Amazon, they had a fire sale on this same scope for $559 plus tax and I paid exactly 12 dollars for express shipping, had it in two days from California. You have to keep checking Amazon during the day and when they list these sales be ready to pull the trigger. Good luck 

[RKC193]

The 102mm is out of stock in ebay Svbony store. Says it will take a month for another batch to arrive! Will keep looking for it in Amazon, but in the meantime, trying to get hold of an 80mm. 

[firemachine69]

You American folks get a much better deal from Ebay than us Canadians do. Up here it's cheaper to go through Amazon, either .com or .ca.

[sbpb28314]

The 102mm is out of stock in ebay Svbony store. Says it will take a month for another batch to arrive! Will keep looking for it in Amazon, but in the meantime, trying to get hold of an 80mm. 

RKC193,

 

IF you need a link, try this one:

 

https://www.amazon.c...oding=UTF8&th=1

 

They put it on their 80mm product page but have an option to select the 102mm. It seemed in-stock when I checked today.

Edited by sbpb28314, 17 December 2021 - 03:13 PM.

[RKC193]

Thanks sbpb28314. I do see that in Amazon, but priced way higher than what they offered before (ref #79), so not too keen on buying it at the current price. Will wait and watch if prices drop.

[~RA~]

This may seem an odd thing to ask, but can any owner of one of these tell me how the focuser/flange/tube all fit together? What sort of screws/threads/fittings, etc.?

 

Thanks!

[George Methvin]

After having and using this scope over the past few months all I can say is that I am very happy with it. The fit and finish of this scope is first rate, and the views are outstanding it's all I could ask from a 102mm F/7 ed scope that cost well under $1000.00 dollars.

[RichA]

You American folks get a much better deal from Ebay than us Canadians do. Up here it's cheaper to go through Amazon, either .com or .ca.

If you are talking $40-$50 difference, yes.  But if it's more than $100, simple solution is, ship to a U.S. address (there are a lot of  free companies like Shipito) then have it forwarded to the Canadian address.  However, downside is, you'll pay the tax for the state it's shipped to AND when it's forwarded into Canada.  You may be able to claim back the U.S. paid tax.

U.S. shipping rates state to state are cheap.  For the Svbony, it's free.  All you'll pay is the U.S. tax (maybe 8%) the shipping to Canada ($60 depending on the scope) and the Canadian tax. 

On Amazon.ca, prices vary wildly, with (for example) the 80mm costing between $550 ($380 U.S.) and $750 Canadian!

[gene 4181]

This may seem an odd thing to ask, but can any owner of one of these tell me how the focuser/flange/tube all fit together? What sort of screws/threads/fittings, etc.?

 

Thanks!

 Theres an adapter thats threaded into the tube  and that adapter receives the focuser .  The focuser has a groove machined into the circumference  and the adapter has 3 brass screws most likely  fashioned too tighten into the machined groove closely  but not too tight so it (focuser) still  rotates . The larger silver screw  tightens against the body too "lock" the focuser in  your preferred  position.  Roughly , thats it in a nutshell ,,, This is a generic description of what I've seen with  the KUO,SV  and past Astro-telescopes.  

[~RA~]

 Theres an adapter thats threaded into the tube  and that adapter receives the focuser .  The focuser has a groove machined into the circumference  and the adapter has 3 brass screws most likely  fashioned too tighten into the machined groove closely  but not too tight so it (focuser) still  rotates . The larger silver screw  tightens against the body too "lock" the focuser in  your preferred  position.  Roughly , thats it in a nutshell ,,, This is a generic description of what I've seen with  the KUO,SV  and past Astro-telescopes.  

This is very helpful, and thank you.

 

Are you able to tell if the tube threads are M68? I'm assuming the adapter is male, and the tube is female?

[akdwivedi]

I am very tempted to purchase this. But I also have a orion120st which gives me 600mm. focal length. This is 714mm..  would it be better to replace the 120st with this doublet. I m sort of very attached to 120st but have too many scopes at same focal length. 

[SteveG]

I am very tempted to purchase this. But I also have a orion120st which gives me 600mm. focal length. This is 714mm..  would it be better to replace the 120st with this doublet. I m sort of very attached to 120st but have too many scopes at same focal length. 

 

This scope will be better optically, and only suffer a minor loss of widest fov. The 714 mm will show far less field curvature, especially at low powers. Plus being an ED doublet, light will be more tightly focused, even at low powers.

[Oldfracguy]

I just inquired about this exact scope, since Astronomics does not have the AT102ED in stock.  Here is an excerpted portion of the reply I received from SVBONY yesterday (1/4/2022):

 

This is my inquiry:

 

"I live in the United States, in California.  I want to know about your Warranty and Return policy before I make an order.  If I am not happy with the performance of a product, or it has come with damages or defects, how do I return it for a full refund to my Credit Card?  Who pays for the return shipping?  Also, can I use my U.S.-based bank credit card to purchase products from SVBONY?"

 

This is a portion of the SVBONY response:

 

"This is Tyson from Svbony, thank you for your reaching!
May I know the model that you need? Normally we provide a 1-2 year warranty to the orders on our page.
We support PayPal for the payment, and if the item was damaged due to the factory or the shipping, we will issue you a full refund.
As for the return shipping, it depends on the specific number. If it's too high and both of us could not afford it, you can just keep the old one and we will send you a new one or issue you a refund."

 

I just thought I would share this with anybody considering making a major purchase from SVBONY.

 

Regards to all!

[Cbaxter]

I just inquired about this exact scope, since Astronomics does not have the AT102ED in stock. Here is an excerpted portion of the reply I received from SVBONY yesterday (1/4/2022):

This is my inquiry:

"I live in the United States, in California. I want to know about your Warranty and Return policy before I make an order. If I am not happy with the performance of a product, or it has come with damages or defects, how do I return it for a full refund to my Credit Card? Who pays for the return shipping? Also, can I use my U.S.-based bank credit card to purchase products from SVBONY?"

This is a portion of the SVBONY response:

"This is Tyson from Svbony, thank you for your reaching!
May I know the model that you need? Normally we provide a 1-2 year warranty to the orders on our page.
We support PayPal for the payment, and if the item was damaged due to the factory or the shipping, we will issue you a full refund.
As for the return shipping, it depends on the specific number. If it's too high and both of us could not afford it, you can just keep the old one and we will send you a new one or issue you a refund."

I just thought I would share this with anybody considering making a major purchase from SVBONY.

Regards to all!

That is a promising response, I think. It would be great if that person could clarify "factory defect" for example, if you get a copy of this scope that shows way too much CA or other aberrations that are not typical of most samples, will they consider that a defect and replace or refund? It's one thing to get a scope that we know has CA then complain, but we should be able to expect a reasonable amount of consistency between samples of the product, so that what one person gets is very close to what most others got, in quality and performance.

Edited by Cbaxter, 06 January 2022 - 03:08 PM.

[paulsky]

Hi,

IT, s a good telescope for visual observations of planets?

Thanks

[paulsky]

I mean, My usual place is not for DSO, but planets, moon, Sun and... Very few objects like m42, Pléyades.. 

[Oldfracguy]

The other day I received a response from SVBONY.  Their best price on the SV503 models, which appear to be identcal to the ATxxED scopes from Astronomics, are higher overall.  When you factor in shipping from Hong Kong, the overall cost is higher.  Even adding sales tax, and not including the CN member 2.5% discount on scopes (5% on accessories), the Astronomics price is lower.  It's only a matter of one's patience, that's all.  If you can, just wait until Astronomics has the scope you want back in stock.

 

Best regards to all!

f

[George Methvin]

Never was good at waiting LOL Iam to old and time is getting shorter. I got my SVBONY SV503 a few months ago order it off Amazon had it at my house in around 4 days and yes, I did pay about a hundred more than the CN price at that time if Astronomic had there scope in I would have bought from them but I did not feel like waiting not knowing if prices would jump higher and had no idea what the waiting time was for Astronomic scopes and was not sure there would not be a price increase in them.  I saw a chance and I took it, several months ago I also bought the Astro-Tech 80mm ed from Astronomic then they had it in stock, so I order it.  I have to say both the Astro-Tech AT 80ed and the Svbony 102mm ed SV503 are very fine scopes both are built well, and the optics are very sharp very little if any CA to be seen on bright objects I am very happy with both these fine scopes, 

[~RA~]

Current price on the AT is US $599, before shipping (no idea), and pre-CN discount. I ordered my SV503 102ED a week and a day ago, and got it yesterday. I paid US $535 New Year's sale price for the package which includes the finder shoe. I added a 2" to 1.25" adapter to the order, US $13. Total price including shipping ($87.18) to Texas was US $614. I also had coupon, so the comparison is not totally fair.

 

The scope platform is likely identical, but maybe not every detail (I'd love to hear from someone who can compare them side-by-side). For one, AT is now advertising a new retractable dew shield, which I think has been standard on the 503 from the beginning (again, correct me if I'm wrong). I think the main difference now is the 503's fully rotating focuser, which I don't see mention of on the AT page.

 

I really want to support Astronomics and Astro-Tech. I don't love the SVbony logo or graceless name. But price, feature, and availability tipped me in that direction. And for what it's worth, SVbony customer support on the lead-up to my purchase was genuinely amazing.

 

As for the scope itself, unboxing looks very promising. Even the foam cradle in the box is worth keeping. As for the view? Locally the Meteoblue seeing has been sub arcsec and clear for the last several days. Today and for the coming week... overcast, naturally.

 

Enjoying the discussion.

Edited by ~RA~, 20 January 2022 - 01:43 PM.

[gabebalazs]

I'm thinking about this refractor. I've purchased quite a few stuff from SVbony and overall I'm pretty satisfied.

 

My primary focus is on astrophotography with the 102ED. However, I've been doing pretty well with my current setup, which is actually "terrestrial" based so to speak. I'm coming from having been a bird photographer and using my Sigma 150-600mm for most of my astro photos on my Sony A7III, A7RIII, and Ha modded A6000 bodies.

My lens is a super nice copy, sharp and very even across the frame (I've owned about 8 lenses in the birding lens category in the past 14 years and this one's the best copy). I can shoot it wide open at f/6.3 at 600mm with good results.

But obviously it's still a telephoto lens and not a telescope. 

 

So my dilemma is how much would I gain (or not) by buying the 102ED in terms of AP?

Edited by gabebalazs, 06 March 2022 - 12:08 PM.

[Jim in PA]

I'm thinking about this refractor. I've purchased quite a few stuff from SVbony and overall I'm pretty satisfied.

 

My primary focus is on astrophotography with the 102ED. However, I've been doing pretty well with my current setup, which is actually "terrestrial" based so to speak. I'm coming from having been a bird photographer and using my Sigma 150-600mm for most of my astro photos on my Sony A7III, A7RIII, and Ha modded A6000 bodies.

My lens is a super nice copy, sharp and very even across the frame (I've owned about 8 lenses in the birding lens category in the past 14 years and this one's the best copy). I can shoot it wide open at f/6.3 at 600mm with good results.

But obviously it's still a telephoto lens and not a telescope. 

 

So my dilemma is how much would I gain (or not) by buying the 102ED in terms of AP?

I don't have a Sigma, but have the Svbony 102ED and a 100-400 Canon IS lens that I use with a Canon DSLR.  I'm thinking your Sigma is going to be very comparable to the 102mmED scope with your sensors.

 

Just looking at the glass, I would prefer the scope for AP.  I'd bet your integration time would also be less with the scope.  But enough to spend another $800 or so? (you should also get the focal reducer/field flattener if you plan on doing AP with this scope).  I don't know if your results are going to be that much different.  Now, if you want a telescope, for other telescope uses, then I would definitely consider this scope.

 

 

[gabebalazs]

I don't have a Sigma, but have the Svbony 102ED and a 100-400 Canon IS lens that I use with a Canon DSLR.  I'm thinking your Sigma is going to be very comparable to the 102mmED scope with your sensors.

 

Just looking at the glass, I would prefer the scope for AP.  I'd bet your integration time would also be less with the scope.  But enough to spend another $800 or so? (you should also get the focal reducer/field flattener if you plan on doing AP with this scope).  I don't know if your results are going to be that much different.  Now, if you want a telescope, for other telescope uses, then I would definitely consider this scope.

That makes sense.

I'm not sure though how my integration times would be shorter with the scope, it's an f/7 my lens is f6.3. But of course with the flattener it would go down to like f/5.6, so yes, in that case they would be. And probably the scope had a little better t-stop number than the lens.

Edited by gabebalazs, 06 March 2022 - 04:18 PM.

[Jim in PA]

That makes sense.

I'm not sure though how my integration times would be shorter with the scope, it's an f/7 my lens is f6.3. But of course with the flattener it would go down to like f/5.6, so yes, in that case they would be. And probably the scope had a little better t-stop number than the lens.

Yes, essentially.  I was looking at my experience using a 100-400 with lots of glass elements, compared to what I've been seeing with the Svbony 102ED with the FR/FF.  It seemed to me that the images were brighter, faster, with the scope vice the lens.  I also think the refractor design is inherently better for DSO AP in a number of small ways.  Enough to ditch the lens and spend money on a refractor that doesn't offer much improvement in resolution etc?  I don't know but my gut feeling is, if I'm going to spend more money, I would rather move up than laterally if that makes sense.

 

The way I was looking at this, was to find a simple way for my nephew (13y/o) to enter DSO AP.  The scope I had onhand that would work, was too big for him to handle.  So the Svbony doublet made sense to me.  Now, if my aim was to improve upon the results from either the Svbony doublet or Canon lens, I think I would be looking at 70-80mm triplets that are designed specifically for DSO AP.  As it stands, the Svbony is a great scope and is useful to me as a visual "almost" GnG, so it was a no-brainer to get one.  The rotating focuser is something I was skeptical of at first, but it proved itself as very useful and I'm glad to have it now.

[Jim in PA]

Hi,

IT, s a good telescope for visual observations of planets?

Thanks

Hi Paul,

 

I think this scope is not "ideal" for visual obs. of planets, but will work well as a kind of "Jack of all Trades" for planetary and DSO's like M42.  In the 4" frac class that I personally have onhand (f/5 achro, f/10 achro, and the Svbony f/7 ED doublet), I would be using my f/10 achro with my Baader contrast booster (or yellow filter, fringe killer etc).  I'm lucky enough to have an optically excellent 180mm Mak so it's been awhile since I used a 4" frac for planetary obs.  But before I had the Mak, I think I would've gone with the f/10 achro with filter over the Svbony ED f/7.