Comments on: The Vixen ED100SF Refractor – Superb Optical Quality

By: ancelmo

ancelmo — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:01:57 +0000

http://teoriadacosmofsica-graceliana.blogspot.com/

By: Tammy Plotner

Tammy Plotner — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:28:23 +0000

I was very pleasantly surprised at the advances Vixen Optics has made in recent years. The antiques are highly prized, and if well-cared for, there is no reason why today's Vixen refractors shouldn't be of equal lasting value. It's nice to know that if you're going to invest that type of money in a telescope that it's going to be worth it and the scope itself will hold that value throughout its lifetime. I was very appreciative of the opportunity to use such a valuable piece of equipment since I know that just my short term handling will cause it to be reduced to "like new – open box" condition. After just a few weeks I could understand why some folks choose to go with larger refractors as their primary telescopes….

But I could still never afford the aperture.

By: marcellus

marcellus — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 14:25:16 +0000

I'd love to look through one at a star party…

By: von Dawson's Express

von Dawson's Express — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 10:05:33 +0000

Try a T.Cooke and Sons 4-in from 1850…
Real optics….
I have a access to one, unfortunatly its stuck in a town centre now and so it has to battle light pollution.
My personal weapon of choice is my LXD-55 AR5 it works so differntly to the 'shaving mirrors' my local society has.
Great review, may be one day I'll get a Vixen.

By: James B.

James B. — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:19:46 +0000

Just 4" dia.? What a waste of money. Nothing beats a 6" or larger APO TMB refractor. But my dream scope would be a 24" F8 APO refr.on a GOTO mount and a 10kx10k chip CCD camera.

By: BrianV

BrianV — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:08:37 +0000

Great review Tammy.

Like you, I've been a reflector fan all my life… you can't beat big aperture!

But I tried out an ED from Stellarvue (similar to the Vixen scope) and I'm astounded by the quality of the optics. Binary stars and star clusters are great in this scope. And you're right about the razor-sharp view of Jupiter. But the wide-field views of the Veil Nebula and star fields of the summer Milky Way are impressive too.

In a perfect world, a 18" Obsession AND a 4" ED refractor… Nirvana!