Seeking general advice about the TV 85

I am on the verge of purchasing a TV 85, and thought I would seek some general advice before I did. I am an avid photographer, but I am relatively new to astronomy (I've had a Celestron ST80 and Equitorial mount for about a year.)

My short-term goals are to put together a quick-grab rig that can provide high quality images of the moon and planets to a very discriminating audience (kids aged 3 and 6)

In general, I need advice on a good alt-az mount that can provide steady views through the 85 at moderate to high powers. Any insights on the 85 would also be greatly appreciated, as I have never actually looked through one. Thanks.

Thomas Lowry

Thomas,

There are several reviews of the TV 85 on cloudynights.com. There is also a yahoo Televue discussion group with 1500+ members. You may want to sign up for that group and do a search on the TV 85. I have seen many postings of the TV85 there. Some even provide links to they own astro photos.

Erik D

Hello there Thomas,

Well, perhaps we can have pushed you over the edge ;-).
Indeed, the TV-85 can show you the moon and the planets
quite well. For an idea of what an 85mm can do on the
moon, please read this.
http://members.cox.net/ronby/Observations/TV-102_TW-85_moon.htm
Though I'm no fan of AZ mount ;-), the TV-85 seems pretty
solid to me on the Panaromic Mount (at a Tele Vue Day I
saw as I was looking at the solar flares through the
Solarmax).
http://www201.pair.com/resource/astro.html/regular/products/tele-vue-optics/pg24.htm

Stu over in the Televue eGroup at ..
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TeleVue/
..has been doing remarkable photography with his digital
camera and his TV-85!

As for astrophotography, you'll find some of the finest
photos taken through the TV-85 here...
http://www.abmedia.com/astro/ (the Witch Head - my favorite)
http://www201.pair.com/resource/astro.html/regular/products/tele-vue-optics/sean.walker.html
http://www201.pair.com/resource/astro.html/regular/products/tele-vue-optics/tv85.photos.html
http://c-woodruf.tripod.com/unguided_sbig_st5_tv85.html
http://c-woodruf.tripod.com/unguided_sbig_st7_tv85.html

Best wishes,
Ron the 4-inch Tall Evangelist B[ee]