Posts Made By: Parri Munsell

I'm in the market for a 2nd portable scope and have my eye on the Skywatcher 6" F5. The Skywatcher is a very rare beast and I'll have to get one imported but might be worth the pain considering you get 150mm in a 31 inch / 16 lb tube.

My delema is whether I buy this scope knowing there will be a lot of secondary color or whether I go for a higher quality 4" F6 such as the Burgess Optics model.

Primary use would me the Messier objects.

So the question is:
Higher quality 4" or lesser quality 6"?

Any and all opions welcome.

I am looking into one of the $300 25x100 binoculars which have been advertised lately. It looks like three companies are carrying them. Apogee, Burgess and APM. Apogee and Burgess are $300. APM is selling them for $280.

Does anyone know if there are any differences between the three? The specs seem slightly different ( eye relief ) but I am not sure if this is rounding error or truely represents a different design between the three dealers.

I'd also be interested in knowing what kind of case each comes with.

Feedback for anyone who knows these answers or has bought a set of these binoculars from one of these three vendors would be greatly appreciated.

Clear Skies and thanks for the help.

I believe the Meade 14mm UWA is one of the best eyepieces out there. It gives a true spacewalk feel and for me, has perfect eye relief of around 13-15mm. No blackout effect at all. I use this eyepiece more than any other in my set and before the type 6 came out would say it had very little competition.

One big advantage ( no pun intended ) of the Nagler 13mm type 6 is its smaller size. The Meade 14mm UWA is definately a large/heavy eyepiece. Plan on rebalancing your scope if you are moving between the 14mm UWA and other smaller 1.25" eyepieces.

There are some comparitive reviews out there between the two. A google search should find them. Most of what I have read has placed them on par or put the Nagler slightly ahead visually... the Nagler however wins hands down when you consider the smaller size. Last I checked the Nagler was even about $10 cheaper.

How about on grass? Do you get any advantage of using vibration suppression pads if you put your tripod on anything other than cement?