Tweedledee Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I just wanted to relay what a pleasurable time I had this evening doing some casual observing in the backyard. I was using my ST120, and the things that made it so good were the fact that I was using a simple alt az (AZ4) mount, a Baader 2" 90 degree erecting prism and an ES 8x50 correct image illuminated finder. This combination means that everything you look at is exactly the same orientation as the star maps and naked eye view of the sky. It is much nicer to use a set up with these items which make finding objects so simple, and panning around the sky you always know exactly where you are and never get lost. When using a conventional setup without the correct images makes it so much more difficult and time consuming trying to do the mental somersaults to relate the view in the scope/finder to a star map or your own knowledge of the sky. These correct image accessories aren't particularly cheap, but I feel they have really transformed the way I observe and let me find far more stuff and enjoy the hobby even more. Tonight I just had the most wonderful time mainly panning around the cluster rich milky way regions of Monoceros and Orion and a few other constellations. Monoceros especially is an area to get lost in because unlike Orion, which everybody tends to know their way around with all its bright marker stars, it is made up of faint stars in an unimpressive pattern. Most people could draw the pattern of Orion pretty accurately from memory, but not many could do the same with Monoceros. At least with correct image accessories, the unicorn can be tamed and navigated much more easily with direct easy reference to a star map. It is well worth giving Monoceros a good session as it is jam packed full of interesting stuff if you can only locate them. +seven_legs, tuckstar, Werisit and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Sounds like you had a great time. Amazing how something so simple can improve your viewing so greatly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckstar Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Sounds like you had fun. Do you think you lost much light through the prism? Did it matter for the objects you were looking at, or is that where the expensive bit come in☺ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Visually I can't see any difference in brightness as compared to my old Meade UHTC mirror diagonal, although theoretically there would be a tiny percentage. Theoretically the prism does cause a small amount of vignetting on my 25mm 100 degree eyepiece as the EP field stop is slightly bigger than the clear aperture of the prism. This should dim the view at the field edges. I have moved stars from the middle to the edge of the field and can't be sure if I can see any difference in brightness, if so it is negligible. All my other eps are fully illuminated by the prism. Therefore my conclusion is that correct image viewing is a big bonus in convenience for me. Also it should be said that the variation in the sky conditions from night to night, or indeed the deterioration that can happen over short periods, would have a far greater effect on the view than the transmission loss or vignetting. The only downside is the extra expense, but for me it is definitely worth the convenience tuckstar and Smithysteve 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 It was a very clear night here as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I'm still to buy one of these Pete. I know I said I would but other non astro things keep spending my money It's a great set up you have for relaxed observing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werisit Posted October 20, 2021 Share Posted October 20, 2021 Hiya. I'm just looking at old threads and found this one. I too use an ST120 on Alt Az mount (Vixen Porta 2). I whole heartedly agree on the correct image diagonal. I enjoy just steering the scope around and using maps to find objects and the manual Alt Az and correct view makes it a very enjoyable experience. And of course Lunar observations make much more sense to my addled brain. I plan to buy a wider field Ep, currently my most used is a 21mm Baader Hyperion. The Double Cluster is a wonder in this combo. Any recommendations on 2"Ep's in the up to £200 range will be very welcome. I did originally buy the Baader 2" correct image diagonal from Telescop Services but I couldn't get a sharp image with it. It was quite blurred compared with my cheap 11/4" skywatcher item. I couldn't make them understand (language barrier?) that it wasn't a problem with lack of focuser travel, so in the end I sent it back. Eventually I found that APM do one so bought that and it's great. Cost an arm and a leg mind! As for performance against a mirror, I don't notice any difference in brightness but there is a small trade off in sharpness and contrast. For example, the ST120 with a mirror diag will show the GRS on Jupiter no trouble but with the prism I find it's there but not so well defined, likewise the cloud belts. It's also not best for splitting double stars. Happy Hunting, Alan. BAZ and +Streetbob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 I regularly use 1.25" Amici prisms for lunar viewing. For a long time I used a 2" Baader (the Long Perng one) for rich field, then I used the APM 2" Amici. Eventually I bought the stupid expensive Baader 2" Amici. Although it was the weight of the 2" prisms more than anything else that made me change back to mirrors for rich field, especially on small refractors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+seven_legs Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 nice report, I always regretted selling my ST120 scope. The wide angle views you can get are amazing. Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post +Bino-viewer Posted November 8, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted November 8, 2021 (edited) I have a Baader 2" Amici in my inventory, which is set up for binoviewing. It not the megabucks version, but its performed very well. I also use it for terrestrial viewing from time to time. Shown here you can see the Baader Amici in the middle is about 1 cm longer in the body than my other two Baader prisms. My newest (and best) diagonal is the 2" BBHS mirror, below my HW. Although i prefer the 2 eyed view in general, this new mirror has given me some spectacular mono views with my 12.5mm Docter UWA, with and without a Powermate, particularly with my larger 140mm refractor. I think a good mirror diagonal will usually beat a good prism. Edited November 8, 2021 by Bino-viewer +Streetbob, Tweedledee, Nightspore and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted November 9, 2021 Share Posted November 9, 2021 18 hours ago, Bino-viewer said: I have a Baader 2" Amici in my inventory, which is set up for binoviewing. It not the megabucks version, but its performed very well. I also use it for terrestrial viewing from time to time. Shown here you can see the Baader Amici in the middle is about 1 cm longer in the body than my other two Baader prisms. My newest (and best) diagonal is the 2" BBHS mirror, below my HW. Although i prefer the 2 eyed view in general, this new mirror has given me some spectacular mono views with my 12.5mm Docter UWA, with and without a Powermate, particularly with my larger 140mm refractor. I think a good mirror diagonal will usually beat a good prism. I have the Baader 1.25" and 2" BBHS Amici prisms. I also have the cheaper 2" 'Baader' Amici which I am pretty sure is actually Long Perng. It's not bad really, particularly for rich field. I'm starting to come to the conclusion that mirrors are better than prisms in many respects. I have the 1.25" Baader BBHS mirror and the 1.25" Sital ceramic mirror and often think they are slightly brighter and have better contrast than even the BBHS prisms. It might be my imagination though. Tweedledee and +Streetbob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 Still got my ST120 and 2" Baader erect image prism. It is a nice cheap grab n go setup 👍. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 (edited) 5 hours ago, Tweedledee said: Still got my ST120 and 2" Baader erect image prism. It is a nice cheap grab n go setup 👍. I used to think that my ST102 was cheap. Then I added a better focuser ... ... and then another ... Then I added a MoonLite. Then I bought a new mount/tripod for it. Suddenly; it wasn't so cheap lol. Edited November 10, 2021 by Nightspore Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 Love it 👍. That's a proper pimped-up scope now 🙂. Matching green pinstripe down the dewshield perhaps 😊. Nightspore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 1 hour ago, Tweedledee said: Love it 👍. That's a proper pimped-up scope now 🙂. Matching green pinstripe down the dewshield perhaps 😊. Yeah, we could start a thread 'Pimp my Scope' lol Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 2 hours ago, Nightspore said: Yeah, we could start a thread 'Pimp my Scope' lol In my former life on EMS, I could probably have had some input on that thread 😅. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 48 minutes ago, Tweedledee said: In my former life on EMS, I could probably have had some input on that thread 😅. I could contribute a bit: +Bino-viewer and Tweedledee 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 The WO bino's are in an Omegon Amici above. Now the set is pimped out with a WO Amici and TV Enhanced Aluminium mirror. I tighten the helical focuser by winding to maximum height to use with the bino. I use it primarily for lunar viewing. +Bino-viewer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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