5/15/05
Below are
my current "favorites". I no longer own most of these, but still stand
out in my mind. While I love a number of scopes, eyepieces, and
binoculars,
these came straight to the top of my list. As the list changes, I will
update.
MY
FAVORITE AIRLINE PORTABLE SCOPES:
ASTROPHYSICS TRAVELER (105MM
F/5.8 APO
REFRACTOR)
TELEVUE 85 (85MM F/7 APO
REFRACTOR)
TAKAHASHI SKY 90 f/5.6
(Note: A/P Stowaway
still too hard
to get, Teleport 7" is not out yet. Both the Traveler and the Televue
85
fit easily in overhead airline storage bins (Sky 90 too) The Traveler
is
a bit heavy, and "challenging" to buy)
FAVORITE
REFRACTORS:
5" TAKAHASHI FS128/FC125
5" F/6 ASTROPHYSICS EDF
6" ASTROPHYSICS EDF
6" TAKAHASHI FS152
6" TAKAHASHI FC150
(High contrast,
great ccd scopes, and
great planetary in mediocre "seeing" conditions)
FAVORITE
MID-LARGE DOB:
14.5" STARMASTER EL HYBRID
(ZAMBUTO MIRROR)
(On the ground
observing, all around
observing scope, breaks down easily for travel, GOTO tracking)
FAVORITE
SMALL DOB
STARMASTER 7" (NO LONGER
MADE, BUT AVAIL.
2ND HAND)
(DGM optics
Dobs are similar
in fit and finish, and are off-axis with no obstruction, check them out)
FAVORITE
LOWER COST SCOPES:
TELEVUE RANGER
MEADE ETX
ORION SHORT-TUBE 80MM
(What can I say,
good for the little
bit of money spent. I especially like the Ranger)
MY
MOST USED EYEPIECES
22mm Televue Panoptic
14mm Televue Radian
4mm Televue Radian
(Radians perform
superbly on-axis,
have great eye relief, and a wide field, but have off-axis
"color".
The 22 Panoptic matches my exit pupil in most scopes best for deep sky.
It has some pin-cushion distortion, but is otherwise sharp across the
field
with high resolution and contrast, enough eye relief and a wide field)
MY
FAVORITE BINOCULARS
12x50 Superior E (NIKON)
(Not perfect, but
close. Easy to hand-hold,
almost sharp to the edge)
MY
FAVORITE MOUNT
Astrophysics A/P 900 GTO
(Not perfect, but
nearly so. A great
GOTO mount but pricey.)