Well...
It looks like the ship may come in early next year for those of us that own standard achromatic refractors and want to reduce the CA similar to or better than the performance of the Chromacor. From the information I have, it looks like the Raycorr CA corrector (Istar Optical) will be offered (the visual version) in the first quarter of 2013. The Raycorr is to come in a three element version for visual observers (like me) and a more expensive six element PRO version for super visual and astrophotographic applications. If interested (shoot me a PM) I can send a spot diagram I received from Istar (with their permission) showing the expected performance of the 6 element version combined with one of Istar's 6" F/8 R30 achromats. Stunning to say the least
Sure looks nice on paper. If they pull this off we are talking about a 6" apo (for those of us that build our own) at a cost well below ( I would guess about 20 to 25%) what you would pay for the cheapest commercial unit 8)
I have been told that there will be none of the problems associated with the Chromacor such as special spacers and alignment issues. (I sure remember fighting with mine.) The Raycorr unit will come pre-attached to an Istar Dielectric 2" diagonal. Looks like this thing is going to be Plug and Play 8) I have opted for the 3 element visual unit when it becomes available to use with my Celestron C6R. The lens in my C6R is excellent so this is going to be interesting to see how this plays out. I look forward to giving a test report as to how this thing performs. Time frame? March/April 2013. Fingers crossed
No, I do not work for Istar. Like many, I've been waiting for a replacement to the Chromacor and have been interested in the Raycorr's development after I first heard of it back on 2010. If I have my way I would like to combine the 3 element Raycorr visual unit with a 8" or 9" F/8 lens. This would be a dream scope for me. Priced a 8" APO or simi-APO lately? I sure hope they can pull this off. I'm already saving the pennies for a 9" F7.7 lens that they offer. (My original plans were for an 8" F/8.8 but why not spend the extra money and go bigger? Same scope length.) I have the pier for the mount I need to build, and a focuser for the open OTA I plan to build. If this comes to pass, you will see it here for sure
Keith
It looks like the ship may come in early next year for those of us that own standard achromatic refractors and want to reduce the CA similar to or better than the performance of the Chromacor. From the information I have, it looks like the Raycorr CA corrector (Istar Optical) will be offered (the visual version) in the first quarter of 2013. The Raycorr is to come in a three element version for visual observers (like me) and a more expensive six element PRO version for super visual and astrophotographic applications. If interested (shoot me a PM) I can send a spot diagram I received from Istar (with their permission) showing the expected performance of the 6 element version combined with one of Istar's 6" F/8 R30 achromats. Stunning to say the least
Sure looks nice on paper. If they pull this off we are talking about a 6" apo (for those of us that build our own) at a cost well below ( I would guess about 20 to 25%) what you would pay for the cheapest commercial unit 8)I have been told that there will be none of the problems associated with the Chromacor such as special spacers and alignment issues. (I sure remember fighting with mine.) The Raycorr unit will come pre-attached to an Istar Dielectric 2" diagonal. Looks like this thing is going to be Plug and Play 8) I have opted for the 3 element visual unit when it becomes available to use with my Celestron C6R. The lens in my C6R is excellent so this is going to be interesting to see how this plays out. I look forward to giving a test report as to how this thing performs. Time frame? March/April 2013. Fingers crossed
No, I do not work for Istar. Like many, I've been waiting for a replacement to the Chromacor and have been interested in the Raycorr's development after I first heard of it back on 2010. If I have my way I would like to combine the 3 element Raycorr visual unit with a 8" or 9" F/8 lens. This would be a dream scope for me. Priced a 8" APO or simi-APO lately? I sure hope they can pull this off. I'm already saving the pennies for a 9" F7.7 lens that they offer. (My original plans were for an 8" F/8.8 but why not spend the extra money and go bigger? Same scope length.) I have the pier for the mount I need to build, and a focuser for the open OTA I plan to build. If this comes to pass, you will see it here for sure
Keith
Scopejunkie
40 year old restored C14 with recirculating cooling w/Skywatcher DOB GOTO Conversion (CPC14)
Synscan DOB mounted Sky-Watcher Evostar 150mm/1200mm ED Refractor
"Rescued" Craig's List Orion 120mm/1000mm Refractor
USAF Vet
