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> I don't know any amateur astronomer using a refractor, let alone one with this budget. Refractors are very popular in amateur astronomy and astrophotography.
by jjav 4y ago
> I don't know any amateur astronomer using a refractor, let alone one with this budget.
Refractors are very popular in amateur astronomy and astrophotography.
https://www.cloudynights.com/forum/67-refractors/ https://www.cloudynights.com/forum/67-refractors/
The pricing on this Hyperia is pretty silly though. You can get a Takahashi 150mm refractor for ~$15K (well, if you can get one) which surely is far better quality optics than this unknown brand, and adding all the extras for feature parity should still come in at half the price or less.
- DeinFreund 4y agoThanks for the correction! Was probably my local bias tending to either cheaper reflectors or using public observatories.
- rerdavies 4y agoApparently, they are very popular. But why are they very popular?
- gliptic 4y agoVery good contrast. Usually no need for collimation. No diffraction spikes (well, SCT don't have that either).
- joelshep 4y agoIn my experience, a decent refractor just does what it needs to do, without drama. There's no mirror to collimate, no mirror to flop. Once the imaging train is dialed in, you let it cool for a bit, you focus, you take pictures. It just works. I confess to missing a reflector's diffraction spikes, but the unobtrusiveness of a decent refractor is almost luxurious given everything that can go sideways with astro-imaging.
- jjav 4y agoAgreed. I debated for a long time but went with refractors (StellarVue). The simplicity and quality are nice, and as you say it just works. I'll probably get a large reflector at some point, maybe, but refractors are great for simple high quality. Astrophotography is my primary interest.