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A 150 mm Achromat and a 120 mm Apo, a personal review. by John Baars
Performance of and differences between a 150mm widefield achromat and a 120mm apochromat. A personal review. Apple and pears are both fruit. Comparisons between the two are normally not done. Different taste, shape and bite. Still, we do it all the time. Consumers know the differences. Why bother for... Read more...
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX. GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets). Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5. Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS,*Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40 Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt. Amateur astronomer since 1970.
Well, black background or not, I squinted through it Very nice, John! It was quite an interesting read; definitely some points to ponder.
Thanks again and all the best,
Mark
"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4, AZ-EQ5 and SolarQuest mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.
Solar:
H/A - PST stage 2 mod with a Baader 90mm ERF on a Celestron XLT 102 (thanks Mike!)
Ca-K - W/O 61mm, Antares 1.6 barlow, Baader 3.8 OD and Ca-K filters with a ZWO ASI174mm.
W/L - C80-HD with Baader 5.0 & 3.8 Solar film, Solar Continuum 7.5nm and UV/IR filters with a Canon EOS 550D. Member of the RASC
Excellent comparison, based on a long time experience with the telescopes!!!
Thank you John for sharing,
JG
6" F/5 Sky-Watcher achro, 2" BBHS Star Diagonal, 2" zenith prism, 1.25" Takahashi prism Leica 82mm APO Televid Eyepieces: Docter UWA; Leica B WW and WW Asph. Zoom; Leica HC Plan S and L, monocentric; Pentax SMC XW, O-, XO; Tak MC O, Carl Zeiss B WW, and Pl, E-Pl, S-Pl, W-Pl;
Swarovski SW; Baader Symmetric Diascope Edition; Nikon NAV SW, ; TMB supermonocentric; Rodenstock; Vixen HR; TV Delos Filters: Astrodon, Astronomik, Baader, Balzers, Zeiss West and East, Lumicon Binoculars (7x42 up to 15x85): Docter Nobilem, Leica Ultravid, Nikon Astroluxe, Swarovski EL Swarovision; BA8 (Kunming Optical)
Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), ZWO OAG, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, ASI 220mm mini , IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut, N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
Dog and best bud: Jack
Sky: Bortle 6-7
My Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/Juno16/
Hello John. A superlative comparison and analysis report. I knew going in that the chromatic aberration would be an issue. To my knowledge, there are 6 of us on this forum here using a 6" class achromatic refractor. You and JG use the SkyWatcher branded 150 f/5. Bigzmey (Andrey) and I use the Celestron branded 150 f/5. Don Quixote (Mark) and Helicon (Michael) use the Explore Scientific 152 f/6.5. They work great on the moon, until you get near the limb, and then the chromatic aberration sets in, and the planets look like a kaleidoscope. But wait, we use these for the beautiful wide field, high contrast, and sharp views on the DSO's (faint fuzzies). Most of us have another more suitable telescope that we can use for planetary work. Thanks for your great comprehensive report John, and the very best of regards.
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
>)))))*>
Thanks John: great comparison: well done!!! As you say, it is pretty much as expected, especially with planetary and lunar views in the apo: but it is great to have a more in-depth analysis.
Marshall, I also have the Celestron 150 f5 achro. Great for widefield and faint fuzzy views on a budget. I would love to have an Esprit 150 or the Evostar 150, but I couldn't justify it without selling my TSA102: and that isn't going to happen; so my achro has to satisfy my lust for size- and it does it surprisingly well.
Keep up the good work John, and happy viewing.
- Dean
Telescopes: 12" f5 dob, Celestron CPC800, 150mmf5 Celestron achro, Tak TSA102, TV76, ETX125...
Binos: Steiner Wildlife XP 10x26, Swarovski 8x30 Habicht, Zeiss SFL 8x40, Vanguard Endeavour 10.5x45, Fuji FMTR-SX 10x50, Tak 22x60, Orion Resolux 15x70
Eyepieces: way too many (is that possible?), but I do like my TV 32mm plossl, 13mm Nagler T6, 27mm Panoptic and 3-6mm Nagler zoom, plus Fujiyama 18mm and 25mm orthos and Tak 7.5mm LE
DeanD wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2020 11:35 am
Marshall, I also have the Celestron 150 f5 achro. Great for widefield and faint fuzzy views on a budget. I would love to have an Esprit 150 or the Evostar 150, but I couldn't justify it without selling my TSA102: and that isn't going to happen; so my achro has to satisfy my lust for size- and it does it surprisingly well.
- Dean
Hi Dean. I am sorry that I missed you in the group. Well, that makes 7 of us now. I really enjoy my XLT150R refractor, as it is easy to carry out, setup, and a joy to use. This Fraunhofer doublet refractor does a great job on the faint fuzzies for the cost. A scope this size in a ED or APO version is way out of my price range, especially since I am retired now. Thanks for reminding me Dean, and the very best of regards.
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
>)))))*>
Excellent review John! Matches my experience to the letter. 150ST is my favorite scope for open clusters, large nebulae and low power walks along the Milky Way. It is also riches surprisingly deep on faint galaxies, even though I now have bigger guns for that.
Smaller APO/ED scopes my favorite tools for doubles and casual planet/Moon observing.
When I want to go deep for faint galaxies or high resolution on planets/Moon, I roll my large SCT out.
Thanks for the review John. 6" Achros despite some of the weaknesses, are excellent scopes for general observing. My 6" frac is out almost every clear night.
-Michael Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50 Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl Camera: ZWO ASI 120 Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs Latitude: 48.7229° N
helicon wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 2:50 pm
Thanks for the review John. 6" Achros despite some of the weaknesses, are excellent scopes for general observing. My 6" frac is out almost every clear night.
Well, now I count 8 of us using this variety of telescope.
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
>)))))*>
helicon wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 2:50 pm
Thanks for the review John. 6" Achros despite some of the weaknesses, are excellent scopes for general observing. My 6" frac is out almost every clear night.
Well, now I count 8 of us using this variety of telescope.
Everyone should have it. A great performer in amazingly compact and lightweight package.