Apochromatic - any difference in daylight?

Buying a refractor mostly for daylight terrestrial use. Is there much practical difference between apochromatic and not? Say a TV-85 vs a Pronto. Would I see any real difference between the 2?

Yes, there will be a difference - the apo scope will give higher contrast images free of false color. This appears as a bit of purple colored haze over the image at high magnifications. An equal size apo will have slightly sharper images assuming it has well made optics. When comparing a Pronto to the TV-85 the TV-85 has a double advantage of better corrected optics and a bit more aperture. I haven't compared these two scopes but I would guess that you see a bunch of difference except in lower light (twilight) conditions and when using high maginification.

Joplin

>>Buying a refractor mostly for daylight terrestrial use. Is there much practical difference between apochromatic and not? Say a TV-85 vs a Pronto. Would I see any real difference between the 2?
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I have been using a Pronto for the past 2 and a half years for birding and digiscoping. I recent purchased a used Orion ED-80. I also have used several other achromats for birding. I have a pretty good idea what the Pronto can do during the day.

I bought the ED-80 for astronomy but I was quite surprised how much better the daytime views are, particularly at higher magnifications. The Pronto is pretty weak at 60x while the ED-80 is still clear, sharp and contrasty. The ED-80 is still nice at 120x, haven't gone any higher.

I am not sure what I am going to do with the Pronto, I may sell it or may keep it for a while. I did loan it out a couple of weeks ago. The the ED-80 is certainly my choice, clearly a better scope than the Pronto.

jon isaacs

The Apo will appear sharper, as it will focus visible light more or less equally.

I bought a compact Pentax 65ED spotting scope for terrestrial use primarily during the day, but also for camping casual astro observing. What is really neat about the Pentax is it's ability to take 1 1/4" eyepieces and it's excellent color correction.

I use a Stellarvue 85mm apo and it is fantastic. Apochromatics are great!
The Apo will appear sharper, as it will focus visible light more or less equally.

I bought a compact Pentax 65ED spotting scope for terristrial use primarly during the day, but also for camping casual astro observing. What is really neat about the Pentax is it's ability to take 1 1/4" eyepieces and it's excellent color correction.

I use a Stellarvue 85mm apo and it is fantastic. Apochromatics are great!

ed manspeaker said:
Say a TV-85 vs a Pronto. Would I see any real difference between the 2?

At one point I owned both of these scopes and was able to make comparisons between the two. The views through the 85 are clearly better, but as others have pointed out, the choice will depend on what you want to do with the scope.

If you like pushing your equipment to the limit and really dislike fringing color, the tv85 the way to go (or the tv76). On the other hand, the pronto gives fine views if you're willing to limit the power (to 30x-40x, imo).

Duane