Any customer review of new tsn-99? (2 Viewers)

[Coloradodipper]

Hi Coloradodipper,

What were the dimmer moons on Saturn?

Rhea, Tethys, Dione or Iapetus?

Regards,
B.

To be honest, it might have just been Titan, at 70X neither Saturn or it's moons are very big. Jupiter on the other hand was simply spectacular last night, made my wife feel instantly better about the money we paid for the ATX95.

 

[Coloradodipper]

Glad you got a good scope now. What you describe sounds excellent. On my scope, the sunshade has loosened out quite a lot in use, to the point that it is a bit too loose now. My focus action is pretty good, but the zoom in most of the ATX modules is stiffer than most people would prefer, and it tends to stay the same.

As you seem to have lucked out with a good sample, you might enjoy adding the Extender X 1,7x teleconverter to your kit. It works really well with the ATX and is especially nice if you use the scope for planetary or lunar viewing. For terrestrial viewing in steady airs it also extends your useable magnification range at least up to some 100x.

Do add some star-test photos if you get the chance.

I'm pretty happy with it, it's basically what I saw in the 85 in Scotland that got this whole ball rolling, albeit with a brighter image. What is crazy though is how good that Vortex Razor 27-60x85 is that I am replacing with the 95, textbook SA, stig and coma correction. It just suffers from lower overall contrast and moderate CA. I have a hunting buddy who ought to buy it.

I'm mulling over the idea of the 1.7X but I imagine eye relief really suffers when using it. And of course atmospherics play a big role, I was seeing current based distortions in cold weather this morning even at objects as close as 100' feet in the 50-70X range.

As for pics of the star test, I still need to get that dialed, it just does not represent the optics well just hand holding a camera in front of the eyepiece.

 

[Binastro]

It might be possible to see 5 Saturn moons with really good 95mm or 99mm spotting scopes at 100x, or if one has really good eyesight.

I have seen Enceladus with a 150mm Maksutov at 95x from a city balcony, and my friend saw Tethys and Mimas with a fine 60mm Japanese Royal refractor.

I have often wondered how good these large spotting scopes are.
In actual fact they don't seem great, although they work well for bird watching and large field of view observations.

Regards,
B.

 

[Coloradodipper]

It might be possible to see 5 Saturn moons with really good 95mm or 99mm spotting scopes at 100x, or if one has really good eyesight.

I have seen Enceladus with a 150mm Maksutov at 95x from a city balcony, and my friend saw Tethys and Mimas with a fine 60mm Japanese Royal refractor.

I have often wondered how good these large spotting scopes are.
In actual fact they don't seem great, although they work well for bird watching and large field of view observations.

Regards,
B.

It's possible I was seeing them then, I have been out of astro for a few years while doing overseas assignments and a two year long house remodel. Now that is over, I am back to looking skyward and bird-ward.

As for a spotter being a good astro scope, I feel pretty good about mine filling that role for when I don't want to setup my 16" dob. Last night was good seeing and exceptional transparency, I found several brighter planetary nebula in short order and it looked amazingly good for a 95mm scope.

 

[Binastro]

Are you viewing from a high altitude site?

Regards,
B.

 

[Coloradodipper]

Are you viewing from a high altitude site?

Regards,
B.

8,000 feet elevation in a rural area.

 

[Binastro]

I saw 15 or 16 Pleiades without optical aid at 7,800ft on La Palma in 1988 with Saharan dust in the air.

M33 was easily seen to direct vision.

Magnitude 7.2 zenithal limit.

You might manage mag 7.5 on the best nights.

I suppose you can see the Geggenschein where you are.

You are in a great area for astro viewing.

Regards,
B.

 

[Coloradodipper]

I saw 15 or 16 Pleiades without optical aid at 7,800ft on La Palma in 1988 with Saharan dust in the air.

M33 was easily seen to direct vision.

Magnitude 7.2 zenithal limit.

You might manage mag 7.5 on the best nights.

I suppose you can see the Geggenschein where you are.

You are in a great area for astro viewing.

Regards,
B.

It is really good, we do have bortle class 2-3 skies at our home and I routinely take the big scope up to 11,000 feet to even darker sites.

This professional astronomer is a friend and neighbor about a mile away, he has two observatories on his property, I am considering building one on mine:

David A. Aguilar

Reconnect with Harvard and your classmates through our alumni directory, programs and events, stories, news, and more.

alumni.harvard.edu

 

[Binastro]

The highest I have been is Arosa in Switzerland at about 10,000ft.
The air was very clean and clear.

My 20.5 inch Newtonian was at about 200ft altitude in a city suburb.
It was too big for me.

The 14.5inch Newtonian was much easier to use.

B.

 

[DRodrigues]

...
I'm mulling over the idea of the 1.7X but I imagine eye relief really suffers when using it. And of course atmospherics play a big role, I was seeing current based distortions in cold weather this morning even at objects as close as 100' feet in the 50-70X range.
...

Congrats on a good sample of the ATX95!
The extender doesn't affect eye-relief...
I used my STX95 and use my STX115 without the extender to resight marked ducks until 220m cr-telescopes. Over that distances I used/use both with the extender!...

Yes, you have to "play" with the atmospheric conditions to get the best from the scope. I never will forget first reading of flamingo colour rings at >500m, at the end of the day, during winter and was with the Optolyth 100 at 126x...

 

[Coloradodipper]

Congrats on a good sample of the ATX95!
The extender doesn't affect eye-relief...
I used my STX95 and use my STX115 without the extender to resight marked ducks until 220m cr-telescopes. Over that distances I used/use both with the extender!...

Yes, you have to "play" with the atmospheric conditions to get the best from the scope. I never will forget first reading of flamingo colour rings at >500m, at the end of the day, during winter and was with the Optolyth 100 at 126x...

I ordered it earlier today…;-)

I feel like now I should post over in the Swarovski forum now that I have moved on from the Kowa Scope. I’ll do that once I get some more to contribute.

Thanks Kowa fans, sorry it did not work out.

 

[kabsetz]

Was going to comment on the eye-relief, but David was quicker. Eye-relief and AFOV stay the same for all the zoom settings, but true FOV is lower at equal magnifications since the zoom has larger AFOV at higher settings. Thus 50x with extender is at the zoom's lowest AFOV.

You will find the extender improves views of moon, Jupiter and Saturn a fair bit

 

[kaveman]

Picked up the 99 and have been thrilled with the low light performance and resolution throughout the zoom range. Helpful around now as we’re heading into the darker months in the northeast. slightly large for my current Gitzo fluid head setup, however I actually prefer how lightweight and effortless the panning feels when the friction knobs are adjusted correctly.

The arca plate allows for perfect balance which works great with the dual screw receiver. My next step is to explore the digiscope solutions. I was torn on the Swaro to match my love for the habichts. What sold me in the end was the dual focus knob. An absolute treat to use continuously throughout a session. Also I found its cold weather performance to be Fantastic.