I am looking for a side-by-side comparison of the TV NP101, and the AP Traveler.I have heard good things about both scopes, but would like to know if one out performs the other,( in all categories; i.e. color, star images, planets, etc.). Thanks, Richard
TV NP101 vs AP Traveler
Started by astrofossilbee, 03/05/2005 05:37PM
Posted 03/05/2005 05:37PM
Opening Post
Posted 03/07/2005 11:06PM
#1
I've done some detailed testing on both models,
and can confirm they are very close. Most of
the testing was on and optical bench with an
artificial star around 400x, but also outdoor
testing on real stars. I tried three of the
NP-101s and two Travelers.
The NP-101 has a bit less false color. The difference,
though small, was consistent. Considering
it has 4 elements instead of 3, I guess that is to
be expected. However, I will add that the
NP-101s all needed some collimation work to reach
maximum performance. They had traveled a long
ways, and all arrived a bit out of collimation and
showed some coma initially.
The AP Travelers tended to have slightly better surface
accuracy (less zones in the glass), but it was
a small difference. Initial collimation was
rather better in the Travelers.
Besides the optical performance, the Traveler is
a bit smaller package. You can also obtain
field flatteners for use with medium format
cameras, so it is a bit more flexible. These are
some other differences to ponder.
and can confirm they are very close. Most of
the testing was on and optical bench with an
artificial star around 400x, but also outdoor
testing on real stars. I tried three of the
NP-101s and two Travelers.
The NP-101 has a bit less false color. The difference,
though small, was consistent. Considering
it has 4 elements instead of 3, I guess that is to
be expected. However, I will add that the
NP-101s all needed some collimation work to reach
maximum performance. They had traveled a long
ways, and all arrived a bit out of collimation and
showed some coma initially.
The AP Travelers tended to have slightly better surface
accuracy (less zones in the glass), but it was
a small difference. Initial collimation was
rather better in the Travelers.
Besides the optical performance, the Traveler is
a bit smaller package. You can also obtain
field flatteners for use with medium format
cameras, so it is a bit more flexible. These are
some other differences to ponder.
Funding Member
