!THIS IS A LEGACY ARTICLE! CLICK HERE FOR THE MOST RECENT BEST BUYS!
ScopeViews’
Best Buys 2018
Here are my best buys for 2018, sifted
from many recent reviews, some ongoing. Things have changed again this year as
new models have come along and some old favourites (like Takahashi’s TSA-102)
have gone out of production.
Best Buy High-Power Astronomy
Binoculars
Swarovski
15x56 SLC HD
Swarovski’s
15x56 SLC HDs are my favourite astronomy binoculars – I now own a pair myself. The
15x56 SLC HDs are some of the best binoculars I have ever tested, period, with
a wide flat field and outstanding correction for false colour as well as very
sharp optics and good eye relief. But only if you can handle the weight and
shakes – try before you buy. They work well on a tripod too, but the adapter is
extra.
Astronomy
performance is astoundingly good if you can hold them steady – they will find
things 10x50s just won’t and they cut through sky glow better too.
They are
shown here next to last year’s best buy in this category – Zeiss’ 15x56
Conquest HD. The Zeiss remain a great binocular, but the Swaros are smaller,
better made and have a better corrected field. Right now, the discounted price
difference often isn’t worth the sacrifice, so the SLC HDs are my new best buy.
Best
Buy General Purpose Astronomy Binoculars
Swarovski 10x50 EL
Given that 10x50 is perhaps the ideal
format for a general purpose astronomy binocular, it’s a shame there are so few
premium examples to choose from. Neither Zeiss nor Nikon make a premium 10x50
at the time of writing. That’s not a problem though, because Swarovski make a
10x50 version of their Swarovision EL line and if you are prepared to spend the
cash it is a superb do-everything binocular.
The EL 10x50 shares its basic qualities
with other members of the EL range. It gives a wonderfully wide, flat, bright
and aberration-free view. It’s not a big or heavy binocular for a 10x50 either.
So if you choose to buy it you get the best of both worlds – a view like the
best birding binoculars, but the night-sky reach of something larger. The only
price you’ll pay (literally – they are much the same cost as the 10x42 EL) is a
couple of hundred grams extra weight.
The 10x50 EL is anything but cheap, but
I can justify its best buy status because it does everything so well it you
could save you money by being your only binoculars.
If
you want to treat yourself to just one pair of fine binoculars for birding and
astronomy, make it a pair of Swarovski 10x50 ELs.
Best
Buy Budget Binoculars
Nikon Monarch 5 10x42
These binoculars seem to be a bit of an
exception to the rule that you get what you pay for. Online you can get them
for as little as £250, yet the view is very comparable with the next price
bracket up which includes budget models from premium brands at over twice the
price.
On the upside, it is very light weight,
well made and gives a bright, sharp view. The Monarchs use ED glass to kill
false colour and do it as effectively as any binocular I have tested. They
handle well, have good eye relief for specs-wearers and a smooth focuser too.
They work well for birding, but very acceptably for casual astronomy as well.
The only downsides to the Nikon Monarch
5 10x42s are that they have a narrow field of view and a bit of astigmatism at
the edges; but overall, it’s an excellent binocular from a quality brand for a
modest outlay.
Best
Buy Travel Binoculars
Zeiss Victory 8x32 FL
If you want a pair of ‘proper’
binoculars for that special trip (or maybe lots of special trips) it’s going to
have to be small and light or you’ll end up tossing it out of the case to make
room for more underwear. I know, I’ve been there.
So, which is the smallest and lightest
proper binocular that gives a really great view? The answer, in my view, is
easy – the Zeiss 8x32 FL.
The Victory 8x32 is an old model now.
It’s the last of the Victory FL range still on sale and there’s a reason: it’s
still an unbeatable package. The 8x32 FL is tiny but it gives a wide, bright,
sharp view, has an excellent focuser and is very rugged.
You’ll appreciate the composite body of
the tiny FLs because it’ll keep your hands warmer on the deck of that
ice-breaker you’re taking beyond Svalbard. And its super-bright optics will let
you find the Magellanic Clouds and Eta-Carinae on that big trip down under.
Competition? Not really. Yes, the
Swarovski EL 8x32 gives just as good a view, better even, but it’s
significantly larger; heavier too. The Leica Ultravid 8x32 HD is just as
compact and slightly lighter, but it has too little eye relief and a lower
level of optical performance. The Swarovski 8x30 Companion is even lighter, but
the view just can’t cut it –narrower and dimmer and not HD. The Kowa 8x33’s
focuser is too stiff and its view not as sparkling.
The only downside is that the deals you
could once get on the 8x32 FLs seem to have all dried up. Perhaps everyone has
cottoned on to the fact it’s (still) in a class of its own.
Best
Buy Travel ‘Scope for Eclipses
Takahashi FS-60Q
Lunar eclipse through Takahashi FS-60Q.
The FS-60Q is a tiny portable
quadruplet refractor. It consists of the FS-60CB (an F6 fluorite doublet) with
a special doublet 1.7x extender called the ‘Q Module’ threaded into the OTA. It
sounds weird, but the result is superb small apochromat with a very well
corrected and flat field covering a 44mm image circle (in other words you get a
flat field across a full-frame sensor). The extender also removes most residual
aberrations, so the FS-60Q works at very high magnifications and image scales
for its size.
All that makes the FS-60Q a super-sharp
600mm telephoto lens for fantastic photos of the Moon that belie its small
size; it works brilliantly as a visual instrument too. It packs up into a tiny
carry-on bag and will fit on the smallest mount. So it’s ideal for travelling to
eclipses – both Solar and Lunar.
Questar
The reason this category has two best
buys is that the FS-60Q is just a telescope, whilst Questar is a complete
package in a way nothing else is: a tiny carry on case that contains ‘scope,
finder, mount, drive, star and Moon maps, eyepiece, barlow lens and a
white-light solar filter. No, it’s not cheap, but nothing else comes close to
its functionality as a travel scope. That case contains everything you need
(except maybe for a camera adapter).
Optically, Questar is a long-focus
Maksutov, so it’s not nearly as flexible as the FS-60Q for imaging, though
perfect for eclipses.
Best Buy 3” Refractor
Takahashi FC-76DCU
The FC-76
replaced Takahashi’s superb-but-big FS-78. It is lightweight, very well
corrected and good for high power visual use as well as imaging (the field is surprisingly
flat, even without a reducer/flattener). If you want a basic flattener, Tak’
make a cheap-but-good one that will cover full frame.
The FC-76
comes in two versions. The FC-76DS weighs about 3kg and has a sliding
dew-shield for maximum compactness. The FC-76DC has a fixed dew-shield and so
is longer, but only weighs a paltry 1.8 Kg. The most recent version, the DCU,
splits in half for easy carry-on portability and gets the nod from me.
Up to now,
you had to do this by buying the FC-76 objective unit for an existing FS-60C. From
this year, the FC-76DCU should be available to buy as a complete product, but
in the meantime, you can create a complete split-tube FC-76 from the objective
unit, even with no FS-60C. Here’s how:
·
Buy the FC-76
objective unit – Takahashi part TFK07650
·
Buy the tube
assembly to convert an FS-60C into an FS-60CB – Takahashi part TSK06211
·
Buy a 2”
Feathertouch focuser – Starlight Instruments part FTF2025BCR
·
Buy the
adapter for the focuser – Starlight Instruments part A20-302
·
Alternatively
buy the 2” Moonlite focuser with FS-60C thread (you could even ask for a 2.5”
drawtube instead of the standard 1.5”)
·
Just thread
it all together!
(usual
disclaimer – I take no responsibility for this working out! Please check the
part numbers with Takahashi/Starlight Instruments/Moonlite before you order!)
Best
Buy 4” Refractor
Takahashi FC-100DC
The TSA-102 – last year’s best buy - was
one of the most perfect small telescopes, but sadly it’s been discontinued. You
can still buy Takahashi’s 100mm equivalent of the FC-76 discussed above, though.
The FC-100D is a fluorite doublet and though it’s not quite as well corrected
as the TSA-102, it is pretty good, with low false colour, a flat field and good
coverage (hence the ‘D’ for Digital tag). So the FC-100D is great for imaging,
with various reducers available but still good without. Surprisingly, it also
works very well for high powered visual use too.
There are two versions. The FC-100DC is
lightweight and has a fixed dewshield. The FC-100DF is heavier, gets a sliding
dewshield and a beefier imaging-worthy focuser. Unless you need the imaging
focuser, get the FC-100DC – light, cheapish, portable and great.
Best
Buy Budget Refractor
Sky-Watcher Evostar 100ED
This is easy. The Sky-Watcher 100ED Pro
has excellent optics with minimal CA and a smooth dual-speed focuser. It is a
proper 4” APO, so shows a lot more than smaller APOs. Yet it’s available for a
very modest price, much less than the 120ED. It’s light-weight too, so you can
mount it on an EQ5. And you can get a cheap reducer for imaging.