Top 10 Collector Scopes! Over 20 Rare/Collectible Telescopes Shown!
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- Опубликовано: 7 авг 2024
- An excellent article by Thomas Back about Astro-Physics telescopes is here: www.csun.edu/~rprovin/tmb/tmb1.html
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Nothing makes my day like a hot cup of coffee and a new Ed Ting video on a Sunday!
You flatter me! Thanks so much.
@@edting You're very much Welcome! I look forward to your annual Sunday video's every single time. They truly are inspiring. So thank you Ed..
Came here to say just the same. Thanks Ed.
Sunday, hot chocolate, and watching Ed Ting. And I have never owned a telescope in my life!
@@ginopagnani7286 unintentionally asmr but wonderful.
On vacation in the great smoky mountains. Setting on the deck on a cool afternoon watch another Ed Ting video. Don’t get any better than this.
Haha, thanks for the nice words.
When I worked at OPT we had a used traveller stolen during a busy Saturday. One of our customers saw it on eBay and we were able to buy it back. It had a Borg scope as a finder and it was never even removed making it easy to identify.
Thanks for mentioning Todd Gross. I bought a Pan 35 from him back in the 90s. He was a great seller, it was a fun interaction. I really enjoyed his web pages, too, much as I have yours and these videos.
Fantastic to see a new video from the best astro guru on RUclips. Thanks Ed always a pleasure, greetings from UK
For me lately, Pentax Apochromats of the past several decades really do it for me. The 75 EDHF II, with its superb optics, unique built in flattener, sliding dewshield, and its smoother lines over its first iteration is magnificent. With completely proprietary attachment formats, It truly evokes a sense of the nostalgic, if naive optimism of Japans Bubble era economics, where some very daring ideas were allowed to come to fruition under the false pretense of limitless cashflow and skyrocketing stock valuations. That some of these quirky, fantastic scopes made it stateside and were sold by Abercrombie & Fitch of all places, which adds to their unique allure. I've got a newer SDHF, but still love the EDHF II the most.
Every time I see you sitting at your desk, I start heavily salivating over all the absolutely gorgeous telescopes sitting behind you. One day, I hope to have even a third of a collection such as yours. Again, thanks for all the amazing information on all these beautiful older scopes. I love seeing them!
Great video Ed. Definitely be keep an eye out for these on the buy and sell listings.
Incredible optics history lesson, to be honest, there is no one else that produces videos of this knowledge, professionalism and excellence on this subject, thank you.
What another great video. I had to chuckle at your (mistakenly) calling the RH305 as a "3-inch f/3.8 astrograph" at the 17:49 mark! It speaks volumes at the degree to which I listen to your words that I actually wondered whether that really was true ....
I LOVE the fact that at least one of the Travelers has the "classic" dings that mine also came with, from unsuspecting owners who didn't realize how svelte the rings were and used too long a socket cap screw.
That final table is unbelievably droolworthy. Thanks again for yet another wonderful experience.
Thanks for mentioning the Tasco and Sears large refractors. Spent a lot of time ogling at them in the catalogs back in the day!
I bought a skywatcher xt8 dobsonian and I’m so excited I’ve just been watching your videos non stop
Great video. Oh man what nostalgia. Thanks Ed. Excellent video. You made me second guess an old Sears scope. If I see made in Japan on it I may grab it up.
Cool. Didn't know was so privileged to look through my brother's travel telescope. He often brings it to family gatherings to let us all see the cosmos. Takes it on planes & on various trips. Good investment & he takes excellent care of it.
I watched nearly every second of the Astro-Physics Traveller section with my mouth wide open in awe at that scope. Wow man that was a great video with some incredible scopes.
Got mine in 1993 after talking to the optician and learning he redesigned the telescope to optimize it for each new batch of glass. Had to wait 6 months for it. I have taken it to hundreds of public star parties / outreach events over the years. I’d estimate 15,000 people must have looked through it.
Hi Ed! Love your videos! They helped me to get intro to the hobby. I’ve started three months ago but devoured all your videos to get up to speed. I own 10inch Meade SCT, TV85mm (green), Stowaway 92 (3rd run), FCT-100(89). I think I have all the telescopes I need now! But still looking forward to find AP Traveler!
Thank you for the information.
I bought a complete and very good condition Tasco 7te-5 a few months ago for less than a tank of gas. All the original manual/literature included. It had a letter in the case from 1971 of a guy looking to get the specs of the scope, and a reply on the bottom from the Tasco service dept. The scope has the royal astro objective in it and is one of the sharpest scopes Ive ever looked through
Damn, that video was so much fun. I very much appreciate your passion and dry humor.
That video was fun to shoot, but I was nervous. A lot of that stuff doesn't belong to me and I had to make sure the stuff got back to their owners.
What a delightful video to watch...thanks Ed...greetings from Brazil
Nothing beats an Ed video with a clear night to come!
Every time I watch one of your videos it always, somehow, gets me wanting a refractor.
Hey, Ed, I had a Celestron Super Polaris C102 ( I wish that I could have had the F for fluorite version) What really impressed me, aside from the optics, was the polar-axis finderscope which helped greatly when polar aligning; not always a pleasant task but necessary.
Very insightful Video.
I had experience with 2 raycraft mirrors, both were refigured GSO mirrors, in 2005, Scott (anttlers optics) was working with raycraft on his enhanced newtonians built on GSO scopes with curved spider, antares seconday, flocked tubes and raycraft refigured primaries. He sent me an 8"f5 for review, and my friend who had his hardin/gso 12" dob rebuilt by James Grigar into an obsesion style truss dob, was impressed and sent his mirror off for refiguring, which made his dob truly premium. The premium 12 could best my good example c11 . The 8" I had for a few months was amazing
Well, I have been fortunate enough to have acquired 2 of your most collectible telescopes. I have a Questar field model and my most prized telescope (drum roll…), a Takahashi FC-50!
At 65 now, my FC-50 is my most used telescope and the telescope I’m taking into my OLD-old age.
That being said, if I lived down the street from you, I most certainly would have loaned you the FC-50 for your video.
Another excellent video!
I love vintage refractor and as you said, i collect a specific builder for my collection : SYW Yamamoto. a great manufacturer who worked a lot with Takahashi. they are probably the best achromatic refractors i ever watched through :)
Hey Ed, I'm a beginner and love your videos, especially the ones aimed towards beginner purchasing advice. Have you thought about expanding on your beginner series to practical lessons on star gazing? Things like using star maps, locating objects through your finder scope etc.
there is tons of that online, go look!
Thanks Ed, missed your videos
I think everyone has their favorites. Mine would be the Vixen 102mm f/9 and 90mm f/9 Fluorites. Both doublets with exceptional optical perhaps legondary performance. Got me totally hooked on refractors!
Yeah, I'm surprised Ed did not mention these. I would never sell my 90 f/9 Fluorite, and would probably buy a 102 f/9, too, if I see one for sale.
What a great video! I have one of the first AP Travelers, though Terry Dickinson bought one before me, and described it as the Questar of refractors. I got mine in 1991 and tested it for Astronomy magazine, along with the first 6inch f/7 EDFS, the model with the smaller 2.7-inch focuser, not the 4-inch intended for medium format film imaging. The Traveler I have has the glossy painted tube. Underneath that paint is a beautiful anodized black tube. Looked fabulous but it created constant tube currents that resulted in slightly astigmatic star images at all times. It never settled down. Back went the Traveler to Roland to paint the tube. It provided the insulation needed to stop the heat transfer. Problem solved. My Traveler lived for years in Australia, usually in a hot storage shed, to be used only once every one to two years on my visits. I brought it home in 2017, and only now exposed to cold Canadian nights is the paint beginning to chip off exposing the anodized finish below. I’m not sure what’s under the finish of the textured tube Travelers you showed. When Marge showed the prototype of the 130 f/6 EDT it, too, had a black tube - a Traveler on steroids I called it. The first production models, which I have one of, has a glossy white paint finish. Later models have a crinkled finish.
In collectible scopes, there are also the rare Quantum Maks, in 4 and 6 inch sizes, made by former employees of Questar? And I would think any StarMaster Dob is now a collectible.
Mr. Dyer,
Have your "The Backyard Astronomers Guide" still by my bed for great reading. One of the best astronomy books ever.
Hey Alan: Another one I consider a collectable is the Takahashi 9” SCT. I recall Terry D. and you bringing one to the Waterton Alberta Star Party.
I picked up an old AP 4” F/6 rich-field telescope the other day. First triplet I’ve owned. Cosmetically, it’s in rough shape, but the views it provides are smile-inducing
Nice video Ed!! 😀
Hi Ed. Great video. You missed the Ceravolo's Mak-Newts. They beat any AP up until the 130 mm on planets. I have the 145mm but I've seen through the 200 mm and they are all marvelous. The difference between mass manufactured correctors and mirrors and optician grade correctors and mirror is obvious in these scopes. I have to give it to the traveler though for contrast. One night I was able to see more Barnard objects through my friend's Traveler than through my Ceravolo 140mm.
The Ceravolos are excellent, yes.
I have an 8” f5 Cerevolo MN; the only 8” f5 Peter made and his first.
200mm Ceravolo is edged by an AP 180 f/7.0. On planets. But not by much.
Great! Thanks Mr. Ting!
A new rabbit hole for telescopes.
Very enjoyable, thank you
That was fun! I don't think I would enjoy using one of those holy relics. My only relic-level scope is a Sears 6345 which is nerve wracking enough, but man what a scope! That's the pinnacle of the good department store refractor, a 90mm Astro Optical masterpiece.
Ed, your review pushed me over the edge and I bought a Stowaway from someone like you who got one in the last production run. I love your videos, and in your 'what is in my collection' video recently I notice that we share a bike. I also have a Litespeed Ghisallo (and some others). Thanks for being the super pleasant and informative resource to the community. I'd like to meet you in person at a star party one of these days.
Mark
A Stowaway AND a Ghisallo - yes!
Wonderful review Ed. Thanks for the work. Your thoughts on Zeiss?
I've only seen them in passing. I need to do a long term test. The problem is getting someone to part with theirs!
@@edting I knew a guy with an 100/1000 Zeiss APQ and the original Zeiss Abbe Orthos - pinpoint stars without any false color even at maximum magnification!
Great review ! I have one of them : the Traveler. The version with AP focuser, new from 1999 (I am the first owner). But I have a rarest one, probably less than 20 in the world, the OMC 200. A Maksutov (Rumak) : 200f20. This is a great instrument for double star (and planetary). The issue with this one are the eyepieces. The longuest available is the Pl55 from TV.
Love the video❤️. Can you make the next video with the beutiful scopes in the backround facing the opposite way just for a twist😅?
Nice Ed.
An excellent addition would be the TEC140ED.
Ed , you are amazing
Thank you man
Great video! I'm surprised that Cave-Astrolla was only mentioned in passing, and nothing at all was said of D&G Optical, the elusive US-made long focal length achromatic telescope manufacturer.
Perhaps a budget version of the collector scope video would be appreciated? Scopes like the Astroscan and vintage Celestron C90 are certainly collectable, though not so expensive to buy. Their quality is (much) lower, and quantities produced are higher. Nostalgia is a powerful thing when it comes to collecting!
Love my Astro-Physics STAR12 ED, and only around 5kg!
Found an old F 7.1 70/500 mm small achromat branded by rokinon ( some models also branded as skywatcher) for dirt cheap, owner wasnt really into astronomy. Paired with a nikon D5300 it does pretty well even with no filters. shows little CA in photographs, I've seen similar results in the Sharpstar 61 suprisingly. Not sure if anyone's heard of this particular scope but I'm surprised by its performance.
Sold my FCT-125 a few years ago. I miss it a bit, but wasn't using it much and had too many 5" apos. Still have my Borg 125SD, 125ED2.8, Pentax 125SDP, TOA130F and Questar Duplex alongside other smaller Borgs, Taks, Pentax etc..
This man is the Jay Leno of telescope's
Thank you!
Back again lol a few weeks ago i managed to pick up both an SP-C102f and a mint c80 OTA to replace a rougher one I have on a Polaris afew days later, came with a 26mm silvertop too.. both kinda found me and I got them for a great price. The C102f is unbelievable. crazy sharpness and contrast.. same league as my TSA120. I will absolutely never part with it.. I just need to find a black, manual moonlight focuser for it.
I didn't know the Starmaster Oak Classic was so rare. I've been using one as my only telescope for years. Mine came with the Zambuto mirror, but also with a plastic helical focuser, which I very soon replaced with a MoonLite focuser.
Ed, very nice video! I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I've been a fan for many years.
I've owned several of the scopes you reviewed, but at present my group of scopes contains only two "collectibles"; neither of which were on your list. (1) TEC 110FL and (2) Zeiss AS63. The Tec is #13 from 2010 and the Zeiss, according to Wolfgang Wimmer at Zeiss, was made in November of 1963 (so it would still qualify for your 1950> list). Any opinion on either model?
I think I know the current owner of the "orphan" Brandon 130 lens. He lives about ten minutes from me and I've looked through the scope that was built around it.
Ed…would you make a similar video on collectible eyepieces😊
I have an eight inch cave on an a stroller mount from nineteen sixty four, Leaf ratio was f four point five.
nice video
Ed is that your Oak Classic? Looks great!
Bryan, North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club, your neighbors south of the border in MA
The Version 2 Stowaway actually has about the same focal length as the 3. Both are around f/6.6. The f/7 engraving on the 2 is a “round numbers” approximation.
You really know how to make us feel like kids Ed, you make great videos. Could you dedicate a video to your own collection? And how you started it? I am so curious about what you do for living (if I may ask) because when my wife knew that I expended 10k in my telescope she was not amused at all. I cannot think on how much money you have put on that collection. How do you do that? :) Hahaha
Ed, have you ever had the chance to experience a Quester larger than the 90mm? I recall ad's in Sky and Telescope from the early 1980's showing a 7" and I think a 12 or possibly 14" that looked like a piece of art! By the way, you should do a video on Eyepieces! There are so many different types, and prices. It would be good to hear your thoughts on which ones are best for various types of telescopes. Thanks!
7 inch Questars don't quite match top 178-180mm apochromats. I had two of the Questars. Optically, they are just as good, (f/15 focal ratios versus f/9-ish) but the central obstruction takes away a bit of the contrast. Plus, you MUST make sure they are cooled down otherwise they won't compete against a large apo refractor.
The 12" might be among the rarest telescopes and they came with a sturdy mount, designed for an 18" giant!
What are your thoughts about a Williams Optic 110mm doublet
I use my 9vr with my sv305 pro. It's perfect for lunar and solar framing.
Nothing better than seeing a 699.00 small Dob (Oak Classic) blow away scopes costing XXX times more money. I feel very fortunate to own one of the Zambuto versions.
Hi Ed, Hi from Sweden! What’s the best telescope and mount if l’m Interested in both visual and Astro photography.
Wow these look amazing. Hey there in new to the hobby, I picked up a vintage GREENKAT telescope but finding it difficult to find any decent info on the. Can anyone help?
Ed you should have mentioned the Tasco 20TE. Talk about rare and extremely expensive in the mid 1960s...I believe they were around $999 USD at the time.
Yes, the Tasco 20TE is in the same class as the 4" f/15 #152 Unitron - very collectible!
I was hoping for the rabbit hole and pre-WW2 scopes. Nice video anyway
What do you think of f/3-f/4 for visual work? Your f/4 Orion looks interesting.
Also considering a Tele Vue-85 as a travel scope :)
Televue TV140 are pretty rare and collectable. Also Nikon made refractors at one point.
Dynascope 6 inch reflector. $200 when they came out in the seventies. Coolest reflector you ever want to see!
They were $194.95 FOB Connecticut when I bought mine at age 12 in late 1969. I still have it. I took it on a solar eclipse cruise NYC to Africa and back in 1973. My father, to discourage anyone from pilfering it on the cruise, wrote my name on the tube in magic marker. I nearly freaked out, but didn't, because not too many parents let their 15 year old go to Africa alone! Near me on the ship's deck for the eclipse were folks with rather expensive equipment, including a Questar 7, and a rare Minolta 700mm mirror lens among other things. Nobody was going to steal a 4 foot long 6 inch reflector tube. Or anything else for that matter. Amazing group of people on that cruise, mostly owning their choice of equipment already.
Great video, but I was expecting to see the TEC 110 there as well
What about the Celestron Onyx 80 EDF. Discontinued late 2000s/early 2010s and have some great glass.
I'd add the Vixen Fluoride's. The 80's and the 100's are going for crazy prices.
Two extremely rear scopes that you didn’t mention the Zeiss west APQ F10 and F640 4” and of course their 5”. Zeiss also made the incredible AS F10 telescope also in 4”, this was a doublet.
Ed, the Celestron 102 you mention is a nice scope, but the real gem is the C1022F. The fluorite model is the one to get... if you can find one. Keep up the good work!
Thanks. The C102F appears in the "Buy This Not That" Celestron video at about the 5:50 mark.
Ed Ting! Let’s go! Seriously you have to be one of my fav Astro you tubers!
No mention of the TMB 100/800 cnc with the LZOS number triplet lens? Should be on the list.
I guess you could say that anything of high quality is collectible, but you have to draw the line somewhere. A very limited number of people would foam at the mouth over the thought of owning a scope that long and skinny. They wouldn't mind looking through it, they just wouldn't lust over it as much as the A-P 105/600 that Ed finished up with.
I don't think I'll be acquiring any of those anytime soon. For a compact refractor, I'll stick with my TV101. I bought it years ago from an Arizona bird-watcher who wanted something lighter. I wouldn't mind one of those big D&G achromats, if I had the space for it, which I don't.
will you say the vixen 81s are give triplets a run for it money when we speak optic?
Darn, Mine is the 102 AZ Celestron dark blue. A good scope thou.
I acquired an AP Traveler 2 weeks ago and will never be parting with it (until the day I die, that is)
I think an idea for a video subject could be " Sleeper Scopes" and include nice Vixen scopes sold under Tasco,Celestron,Cometron etc.. there are a lot of Japanese quality instruments that appear as department stor junk scopes...Just an idea. Thanks for the videos!
Not a bad idea. Let me think on this...
Have you tried apm telescopes in Germany? They do some huge scopes.
Ceravolo Mak-Newts are an excellent collectors Canadian made telescope.
Agreed, the Ceravolos are excellent scopes.
Thanks for this insightful information how can I email for some personal details
I have a Takahashi FCT-65 , there were only 1000 built.
Hey ed, what is that light-blue refractor on the right of the video?
The Brandon 94 and 130 are covered in the video.
Well who knows what people have seen with Queststar's or other things a lot depends on the seeing conditions,the persons eyes and where they are.I was listening to an astronomy programme where a person was saying that they had seen M81 with the naked eye!It was,he said, from the top of a mountain.
Hi, so the one they sell now on their website (for Takahashi FC series) are all new series and you don’t recommend them? 2:24. Thanks
All Taks are recommended.
Are the photographs on canvas behind you in some of your videos photos you’ve captured through your telescopes?
Yes, I did all of those.
Ed have you reviewed dobs by Hubble Optics?
I haven't seen one of those yet!
Hey Ed, I'm thinking of buying my first telescope and I'm interested in going with either a 150mm Maksutov or a truss Dobsonian telescope. What is your opinion on truss Dobsonians, are they any good? I'm thinking of either a GoTo 10 inch Dobsonian or a 12 inch non-GoTo Dobsonian. Any input would be of great value, thanks!
Stick with the 8" Dob. Use a 10 or a 12 and you'll see why. The 8 will show you plenty and it'll get used more. I usually advise people to stay away from Maks as first scopes because their long focal lengths require large mounts. You wind up spending lots of money and the rig is no longer portable. Maks make excellent second scopes though.
@@edting Thanks a lot!
I dont recall what scope it was, but I think ot may have been a Questar...
Years and years ago when the internet was still young, I read an article about a 3.5" scope that looked like it or maybe an ETX and the subject was the specific choice of aperture and FL. The concept was that the aperture and FOV fell just inside the size of micro air cells, permitting much sharper practical resolution than larger apertures, by essentially seeing 'between' atmospheric turbulence. Ive been searching for that article for years and been unable to find it, again.
It was a common theme in Questar advertising. I would have liked to corner their marketing department and ask them if that was a reason to not buy the Questar 7 and 12 inch scopes!
Excellent! Thanks Ed, now I need to wipe the drool off my face :-)
I was checking how much does it costs; I have mine in storage I do not use it trying to sale it.
It was from my father,( traveler 105mm f6 EDT Astro-physics usa )
I have just woken up and watching this video I am not sure if I have, maybe I am dreaming thats me and gone to heaven!
Ed, what about TMB's????? Thomas is gone now and they were superb scopes in their time. I think you missed on that one but otherwise, great vid and subject. Nice "hot stove" talk going on around the country now, I'm sure, because of your vid. Keep it up!!!!
Good points. The concept of "collectible" is subjective. As much as I like the TMBs, I'm not sure I can point to any one model and think to myself, "Aha - that is a collectible and I must have one." Contrast that with, say a Traveler. There is no question. You want it.
@@edting I agree 100%. I knew and liked TMB/Thomas, have also met and dealt with APM/Markus, bought high-end stuff from ARIES/Valery and so forth many times. Super quality stuff, just not any specific iconic, collectible product that everyone is after.
Hmmm. I thought you might have an Alvan Clark refractor on your list
In the section on vintage scopes, I drew the line at 1950 to avoid going into "historic" territory. That's a whole another set of videos in itself!
@@edting
I really enjoy your posts.
Intes Micro?