103 replies to this topic

[James700]

James, I can't believe you pulled the SDP card...you know my Kryptonite!  Now, if you ever find a 150SDP, we have some talking to do!

now it sounds more difficult to get a Nikon 80ED than Pentax 150SDP, at least to me

[Kitfox]

now it sounds more difficult to get a Nikon 80ED than Pentax 150SDP, at least to me

 

Lightning struck twice for me, just getting a chance to touch both of these scopes.  Alas, the owner of the 150SDP said I would need to talk to his heirs.  And he is 10 years younger than me...   When I got the chance to get the little 80, I didn't hesitate.  I am in the process of setting it up with a Sony IMX455 chip camera just to see how good it really is.  My expectations are probably too high, but we will see!  I will post a few EAA images here once I get everything mounted, square and flat.

Edited by Kitfox, 01 April 2025 - 09:08 PM.

[James700]

Lightning struck twice for me, just getting a chance to touch both of these scopes.  Alas, the owner of the 150SDP said I would need to talk to his heirs.  And he is 10 years younger than me...   When I got the chance to get the little 80, I didn't hesitate.  I am in the process of setting it up with a Sony IMX455 chip camera just to see how good it really is.  My expectations are probably too high, but we will see!  I will post a few EAA images here once I get everything mounted, square and flat.

yes, please post the test images by that little 80, I haven't seen anywhere else. Speaking of 150SDP, there was actually a chance very recently, obviously someone was faster. Anyway we should focus on Nikon for this thread 

[PawPaw]

Nikon's mount cover for the 8cm "water pipe" mount.

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[Kitfox]

Nikon's mount cover for the 8cm "water pipe" mount.

 

A director's chair AND a mount cover?  I didn't even know these existed!

[James700]

Nikon's mount cover for the 8cm "water pipe" mount.

this cover fits well for all Nikon 65/80/100 mounts. My only complain is that it is not sufficiently water resistant. One of my Oriental motor on the RA side of 65 mount got broken probably due to raining...

[Bomber Bob]

Too bad that Nikon (& Zeiss) left the amateur scope market.  There's a very nice Nikon 65mm EQ Kit on ZEN... for Years... and it hasn't sold yet.  IIRC, it's about $2K...  (I got my 1972 TS-65S / 1000 S-APO Triplet + S-1 EQ for about 1/6th that price.)

 

Closest I've gotten to that top-top-tier was a 1974 CZJ Telementor II...

[James700]

Too bad that Nikon (& Zeiss) left the amateur scope market.  There's a very nice Nikon 65mm EQ Kit on ZEN... for Years... and it hasn't sold yet.  IIRC, it's about $2K...  (I got my 1972 TS-65S / 1000 S-APO Triplet + S-1 EQ for about 1/6th that price.)

 

Closest I've gotten to that top-top-tier was a 1974 CZJ Telementor II...

surely a pity. According to my note, Nikon at least produced a few hundreds of 100ED. The earliest S/N I'm aware of has #015 while the latest #680. Its mount shares probably half of the 3-digit S/N. Nikon 65mm has one more digit capacity, should be produced considerably more, in particular with another production series for ED version. I wonder how many of those Nikon are still being used?

Edited by James700, 03 April 2025 - 10:11 AM.

[PawPaw]

this cover fits well for all Nikon 65/80/100 mounts. My only complain is that it is not sufficiently water resistant. One of my Oriental motor on the RA side of 65 mount got broken probably due to raining...

My cover came as a surprise as it was not shown in the pics of the Nikon 8cm I won.  It needs a new treatment of water repellant coating.  

[PawPaw]

Too bad that Nikon (& Zeiss) left the amateur scope market.  There's a very nice Nikon 65mm EQ Kit on ZEN... for Years... and it hasn't sold yet.  IIRC, it's about $2K...  (I got my 1972 TS-65S / 1000 S-APO Triplet + S-1 EQ for about 1/6th that price.)

 

Closest I've gotten to that top-top-tier was a 1974 CZJ Telementor II...

https://zenmarket.jp...ode=p1114026866

That Nikon S65 mount has definitely been around at least a year or more.  It is missing the counterweight and shaft,  no finder,  the latitude lever is missing and most importantly no legs.  The odds of finding the missing parts are astronomical.  For the asking price it should be a complete system in immaculate condition with all the accessories.  

 

https://zenmarket.jp...ode=h1177026759

I was surprised this one flew under the radar.

Here is an example of one that sold recently that is complete.   While not in pristine condition the objective pic looked decent and no obvious dents or dings in the OTA.  Complete with both eyepieces diagonal and finder.  The most important consideration for me is the objective cover......important!  Even with the leg brackets bent it is a reasonable asking price.   

 

A Zeiss telementor would be wonderful to see in person.  Of course I can live vicariously through Dave Trotts videos! 

[PawPaw]

surely a pity. According to my note, Nikon at least produced a few hundreds of 100ED. The earliest S/N I'm aware of has #015 while the latest #680. Its mount shares probably half of the 3-digit S/N. Nikon 65mm has one more digit capacity, should be produced considerably more, in particular with another production year (81'+86') for ED version. I wonder how many of those Nikon are still being used?

James can you comment on Nikon's S/N nomenclature? 

 

For example all the 6.5 Achro I have seen starts with the #1.  The two examples of the 6.5 ED I have seen starts with the #6.  

All the 100 ED examples I have seen,  4 examples mostly pictures,  start with "81"  which I assumed was the year.  

 

First picture is the 6.5 ED that resides in Nikons museum  S/N  61001

Second picture is a 6.5 ED S/N 60013

Third picture is a 6.5 Achro  S/N 10056

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[Erik Bakker]

Not sure about those refractor S/N rationale, but with camera lenses and camera’s, Nikon often uses one or two leading digits to denote the area where the equipment was exported to as the native market: Japan, Asia, Europe, USA, Canada, Oceania, Middle East, but not necessarily so. 

[vahe]

The Nikon ED100/1200 is one of the finest 100mm visual performers ever made IMO. The complete system with equatorial mount, finder scope, eyepieces and visual accessories is a stunningly competent and integrated visual observing system. It takes a lot of extra aperture of very high quality and very stable skies to outperform it on the planets under real world conditions. 

 

 

 

Ok, just curious, this is definitely off topic, for planets has anyone done a comparison of Nikon ED100 F12 and Takahashi FC100 F9 DL ? How do these two doublets compare?

.

Vahe

[PawPaw]

Ok, just curious, this is definitely off topic, for planets has anyone done a comparison of Nikon ED100 F12 and Takahashi FC100 F9 DL ? How do these two doublets compare?

.

Vahe

There is one documented comparison between an older Takahashi FC 100N and the Nikon 10cm ED here:

https://www.dark-sta...kon-100-ed-f12/

 

Not aware of a documented comparison on the FC100 F/9 DL

Edited by PawPaw, 03 April 2025 - 08:32 AM.

[Erik Bakker]

Many years ago I had an opportunity to use a Nikon ED100/1200 on it’s original mount. What it showed on the major planets was so impressive that I personally only hope a 100DZ will show as much. For planetary observations, sight unseen, I would pick a pristine used sample of the Nikon ED100/1200 on it’s native mount over any 100-106mm refractor new or used, regardless of make or production year. Some ED100 samples show some yellowing in the glass because of aging, yet others don’t. So I would pick one that still has pristine glass. The master optician that made the 100ED’s was a true master of his craft and the 2 glass elements Nikon supplied him with to turn into 100m f/12 ED doublets was of very rare and very high quality. In my mind, it is perhaps the best 100mm refractor  for visual use ever made. And I’ve have used and owned superb samples of many Zeiss, Astro-Physics and Takahashi 4”refractors. A pristine sample of the Nikon 100ED is not easy to equal in planetary performance in the real world, let alone surpass.

 

I have no experience with other Nikon astronomical refractors, but am confident these are if very high quality too.

 

As a side note, I have a 2012 ED82-A f/6 Nikon spotting scope with all it’s native eyepieces. It is a stunner that still amazes me each time I use it. The detail, richness and nuance of colors and contrast it shows on Jupiter, or anything else for that matter, is astounding. At 75x, it has shown me the best cloud detail and Red Spot on Jupiter I’ve ever seen in any of my scopes at that magnification. Spotting scopes are generally not that good on the planets. The combination of quality in design, manufacturing and the special properties and quality of all the glass elements used in the visual chain must be very special to lead to this result. 

 

Only my Takahashi fluorite doublets played in a similar league. Can’t believe I just confessed that. But hey, I feel safe here, it’s Nikon-itis after all 

 

 

[James700]

James can you comment on Nikon's S/N nomenclature? 

 

For example all the 6.5 Achro I have seen starts with the #1.  The two examples of the 6.5 ED I have seen starts with the #6.  

All the 100 ED examples I have seen,  4 examples mostly pictures,  start with "81"  which I assumed was the year.  

 

First picture is the 6.5 ED that resides in Nikons museum  S/N  61001

Second picture is a 6.5 ED S/N 60013

Third picture is a 6.5 Achro  S/N 10056

It’s all not crystal clear, only some common wisdom I learned over the years. All 100ED I’ve seen start with 81, given it was only released on 1980, reasonable to believe 81 was for the production year. For 65 the convention is different, all achromat models start with 1, ED models start with 6. The ED convention applies to 80ED as well (all from 6, like the one shown above by Steve). I actually got myself wrong this single-digit for 65 series is not correlated to production year 81’ or 86’, simply because 65 achromat was only released from 83’. The mount also has S/N, which I’m not sure following the same rule, clearly not making sense for 65 series.

[PawPaw]

Appreciate your insight James.......Probably safe to say the 6.5 ED at the Nikon museum is the first one made  being #1?  Or did they make 1001 of them....not. 

[James700]

Many years ago I had an opportunity to use a Nikon ED100/1200 on it’s original mount. What it showed on the major planets was so impressive that I personally only hope a 100DZ will show as much. For planetary observations, sight unseen, I would pick a pristine used sample of the Nikon ED100/1200 on it’s native mount over any 100-106mm refractor new or used, regardless of make or production year. Some ED100 samples show some yellowing in the glass because of aging, yet others don’t. So I would pick one that still has pristine glass. The master optician that made the 100ED’s was a true master of his craft and the 2 glass elements Nikon supplied him with to turn into 100m f/12 ED doublets was of very rare and very high quality. In my mind, it is perhaps the best 100mm refractor  for visual use ever made. And I’ve have used and owned superb samples of many Zeiss, Astro-Physics and Takahashi 4”refractors. A pristine sample of the Nikon 100ED is not easy to equal in planetary performance in the real world, let alone surpass.

 

I have no experience with other Nikon astronomical refractors, but am confident these are if very high quality too.

 

As a side note, I have a 2012 ED82-A f/6 Nikon spotting scope with all it’s native eyepieces. It is a stunner that still amazes me each time I use it. The detail, richness and nuance of colors and contrast it shows on Jupiter, or anything else for that matter, is astounding. At 75x, it has shown me the best cloud detail and Red Spot on Jupiter I’ve ever seen in any of my scopes at that magnification. Spotting scopes are generally not that good on the planets. The combination of quality in design, manufacturing and the special properties and quality of all the glass elements used in the visual chain must be very special to lead to this result. 

 

Only my Takahashi fluorite doublets played in a similar league. Can’t believe I just confessed that. But hey, I feel safe here, it’s Nikon-itis after all 

 

IMG_6416.jpeg

IMG_2196.jpeg

thanks a lot for sharing the impression of Nikon 100ED in comparison many other premium refractors. Spotting scope is of course belonging here as well. I love my older ED78 spotting scope, now get inspired to try out the newer ED82-A or maybe latest EDG 85 as well?

[Kitfox]

Erik finds a way to get the coolest stuff!

[James700]

Appreciate your insight James.......Probably safe to say the 6.5 ED at the Nikon museum is the first one made  being #1?  Or did they make 1001 of them....not. 

That’s very interesting! See what I found. That museum 65ED with S/N 61001 was as same as the one sold on Yahoo auction on November 11, 2020. Nikon bought it for preparing its 100 years anniversary?!! The picture was a snapshot of that auction.

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[PawPaw]

Now that is fascinating......you are quite the detective! 

[James700]

Now that is fascinating......you are quite the detective! 

without the S/N on the museum 65ED you found out, I wouldn’t have noticed at all…

 

Nikon hold the special exhibition of their telescopes on October of 2021 as part of their 100 years celebration. This 61001 65ED was an essential part of that exhibition. Well, it was 30 years after they stopped the production line, I would not be surprised too much they didn’t have any sample in stock… But from Yahoo?

[Erik Bakker]

thanks a lot for sharing the impression of Nikon 100ED in comparison many other premium refractors. Spotting scope is of course belonging here as well. I love my older ED78 spotting scope, now get inspired to try out the newer ED82-A or maybe latest EDG 85 as well?

You mean like this? 

 

 

[James700]

You mean like this? 

exactly! I kept the angled version ED78 and actually passed the straight one to Steve (sorry!)

[Erik Bakker]

You can see the differences in form factor and optical coatings, but the optical quality in the ED78A I had was just as superb. Only contrast and color saturation, along with a little bit extra brightness were improved with it’s successor, the ED82A and that is the one I kept. I think the EDG85 is of very similar quality and perhaps smidgen brighter due to the 3mm extra aperture. I does use very different eyepieces, with a bayonet to attach them to the scope.

 

Personally, I think I would keep the ED78A.  From the 2 samples I’ve seen, they have very consistent high quality.

 

The EDG85 is NLA new, but if you come across a well preserved sample with perhaps a few native EDG eyepieces, I would go for it.