PRIMALUCELABAIRY ED100 Doublet Apochromatic

THE COMPLETE REVIEW

By all means I am no pro compared to some of the people out there. In fact, i'm so not pro as I have only been doing astronomy since the beginning of 2016. I didn’t buy my first telescope until April of the same year. So what makes me so qualified? Well nothing really. However, just like every new person into the arena of Astronomy, it is filled will pitfalls, booby traps and endless hours of head scratching and blank stares when acronyms are uttered forth like a spell only Gandalf the Grey can mutter without the lords of hell raining havoc.

Perhaps, as you can tell, is my unique humorous approach to something that can be quite scary and there is nothing more I hate than seeing an individual who has parted with hard earned cash on a telescope that they struggle with.

So with that in mind, I hope everyone no matter what skill level they are, can appreciate a light side to reviewing a telescope and hopefully be compelled to become apart of this great community.

INTRODUCTION

A huge thank you to Daniel and Farah at Woodland Hills Camera for loaning me this scope.

Returning home with the non descriptive brown box and removing the tape, I was presented with a bubble wrap carry case which inside sits the PrimaLuceLab 100ED Doublet APO. This Italian brand of telescopes is the brainchild of Filippo Bardaschia and Omar Cauz whom collectively have multiple years of experience in radio and astrophotography. Their passion to create quality products is liken to Ferrari producing high end sports cars for the world to marvel at. Sadly however, the comparison stops there. After removing the crunchy plastic wrap, the heavy aluminum tube with PrimaLuceLab's distinct red décor, I realized that I have seen this type of refractor before!

My immediate thoughts was of the William Optics FLT98 with RotoLock Focuser. The only real difference was that it's red and not orange.

After a quick search on the internet, I soon discovered that the AIRY ED100 was different. Different in the way that this particular scope is a doublet vs the FLT98 which is a triplet. Not forgetting the minor difference of one being 98mm and the other being 100mm. (Wow! 2mm)

As I lifted the tube out to inspect it's cool white surface I felt like I was holding a serious piece of machinery ready to strike down any stray missiles that dared to cross my path. The perfectly machined parts come together to form a cylinder of absolute viewing power. It definitely has was it needs in the looks department. The glass on the inside, as I cracked open the lens cap for the first time, glowed with colors reflecting off the multiple layers of optical coatings. Not a spec of dust occupied the shiny piece of glass as the workmanship of this tube poured out.

With great haste, I proceed to the all important mount and that's where everything came to a screeching halt. The red rings that clamp round the belly of the beast was missing something. Upon inspecting the case once more only to find a small set of keys and a rather small cleaning cloth, I realized that this didn't include any way of attaching said scope to mount. It's like buying a Ferrari 488 and not having any seats. At a high price that could buy a complete kit ready to go including mount, I felt the lack of any kind of dovetail rather disappointing. Luckily, I have a Losmandy style dovetail bar handy. Considering the smallest of plates that PrimaLuceLab sells, the inclusion of such an item is perhaps a luxury that even the cheapest of enthusiast, would expect to receive.

For all you serious astronomers out there, you know you have to have all the extras and gizmos strapped to your already heavy spying device. The very idea of going out with a telescope and not having bits and pieces hanging off this wonderfully crafted device is pure sacrilege in the eyes of a fellow astronomer. But there is one big problem. How do you get all this stuff on there?

I soon discovered the Orion EON 104mm ED-X2. The stealth bomber of the refractor world. This unworldly device is almost identical in design and includes everything you need to attach all your extras at $1000 more. Maybe PrimaLuceLab believes that it wants to give you the option of exploring your own method of attaching more at a price that is less. Or maybe it's just there way of saying you don't really need all the things that would make your fellow friends in the dark glow red with envy.

Either way you are paying for precision and quality of design. The pinnacle of what all show pieces should look like. After all, you are buying Italian re-badge luxury.

OUT OF THE BOX FIRST REACTION

The beauty behind having something made with fine quality workmanship is the knowledge that everything is at a precise standard. The use of all things metric from the size of each screw to every possible attachment makes life a little easier when figuring out how to connect the assortment of accessories we come to rely on when standing outside in total darkness.

The Apochromatic optical design ensures the minimal of chromatic aberration while deploying the less popular and misunderstood doublet element. At 100mm diameter giving a wide-field 600mm view of the sky, you are sure to fit even the largest of large objects dead center and still have room to park your Ferrari in view.

The highly engineered Hybrid-Drive focuser moves back and forth with ease and enough resistance to make sure when you see the edge of that razor blade from 1000m away, you know it's going to stay in focus.

At a hefty 5kg, that's 11lbs to all you imperial troopers out there, this metal tube is no feather weight and rightly so. When connected to your mount, it forms a good solid platform on which to take pictures of the stars or your neighbors garden shed.

What sets this apart from a lot of telescopes is the OnAxisLock which is a self centering mechanism that grabs hold of whatever you put into it and tightens it's grip without leaving a mark. The system also allows for some serious weight to be applied meaning that the even the heaviest of cameras will stay stuck and not slide off and hit the floor. The system itself is the same as some of the high price point telescopes that features the same locking ring.

The scope allows you to do both visual and photographic astronomy using an assortment of rings and things to attach your camera. Of course, all these pieces are at an extra cost. PrimaLuceLab also has field flatterners on offer that quite honestly seems to make no sense why they would not come as standard since anyone who uses such a device is going encounter those wondrous issues of discovering hundreds of spinning comets. For the beginners and novices, it is nothing more than just a strange effect that hours and hours of pouring over message boards and forums to find a fix for something they don't know.

Now for the engine of this beast, the beating heart of the soul, the very stuff dreams and nightmares are forged from. The Lenses! Made in Ohara, Japan, the FPL-51. This type of glass is rock hard. In fact its harder than rock! It doesn't expand and contract like other glass meaning that when under pressure to perform, it doesn't go weak at the knees. However the performance is not without it's draw backs. Like a car with bad gas mileage, this lens suffers from chromatic aberration. Enough to annoy even the most eagle eyed observers. But does it really matter compared against even some of the best consumer lenses money can buy? The answer is, no it doesn't! While chromatic aberration is still noticeable and inherent in all lens based designs, it still performs admirably. Like all refractors they excel when used with Monochrome CCD's.

LET’S GETTECHNICAL

LET THE GAMES BEGINBefore we start showing pornographic images of nebula and swirling clouds of stars more commonly known as galaxies, we put the scope up against its bastard cousin that was adopted by a rich man. The Canon 70-200mm L Series Lens.

Why compare a telescope to a camera lens? The idea of comparing your refractor with a reflector telescope is like comparing a Ferrari 488 to a Ducati 1098S. Both can get from point A to point B in neck break speeds. Except, ones got 4 wheels. The other only has 2. Since a photograph lens is pretty much the same thing, it's a better comparison. Of course, the Canon 70-200mm only has a maximum focal length of 200mm and the AIRY ED100 has a fixed focal length of 600mm, the test is to compare it's optical quality with a tried and trusted tool that most photo nerds would only dream about.

We took similar shots of an exciting wooden pole outside our window and settled in for some real science. We let the camera decide the color balance automatically and examined the histogram for every piece of information.

Amazingly, the AIRY ED100 performed incredible well and both histograms showed similar peaks with all 3 prime colors separated with good strong peaks. The Canon's superior glass and experience gave the perfect benchmark to which the AIRY ED100 is measured against.

When inspected close in, very little evidence of chromatic aberration was noticeable in full daylight. The produced images are as sharp as the Canon 70-200mm lens. So sharp, you could probably take an image of someones credit card from 10 miles away and still be able to read it to buy more accessories to attach to your already over weight behemoth.

But that's not what you want to do with your telescope. No! You want to see tiny dots against a black background. Interestingly, that's exactly what a refractor is good at. When compared to a reflector telescope, refractors make the skies seem more organic. That smooth glossy feeling like your looking through glass. Definition between star and background is so defined when look through an eye piece, you almost fear that the tube is focusing cosmic rays into your retina and turning you into the subject of the next Incredible Hulk movie. Cloudy nebulae glow with excitement with just a slight hint of color.

Does this scope truly deliver its promise to mesmerize you with life changing moments? In manner of speak it does. However, where this scope seems to fail is when using higher powered eye pieces. We tried a 40mm, 18mm and a 7mm. The 7mm just did not give the performance promised as the chromatic aberration became very noticeable on planets. But lets face it, you didn't consider buying this telescope to look at planets nor get up close and personal with ET. Where the AIRY ED100 excels is the vast view of the sky. One can always tell when looking through glass and when one looks through a mirror and this scope certainly doesn't disappoint from a visual aspect.

So what happens when you attach your camera to that life squeezing 2 inch OnAxisLock? The results speak for themselves.

Canon L Series EF 70-200mm f4.0

Prima Luce Lab AIRY ED100

Daylight performance is almost on par with the Canon L Series Lens.The 3 color bleed is chromatic aberration showing in the historgram.

This test is specifically to see the difference in histograms as a side by side comparison. Since benchmarking requires a control, the best control is not another telescope but a camera lenssince a refractor is the same principle and people are use to the results produced by camera lenses. You may consider this an unfair test, but is it fair to compare a bicycle to a motor bike?

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Prima Luce Lab AIRY ED100

As you can see by the histogram, there is obvious chromatic aberration compared to the Canon L Series Lens.

PrimaLuceLabs ED100 APOPrimaLuceLabs Field FlatternerCanon 60D (Unmdoified)Celestron CGEM60mm f/4.0 FinderscopeASI120mm Autoguide CameraPHD2 Autoguider Software

Eagle NebulaSingle Sub400ISO 10min ExposureDark Frame for Noise ReductionModerate Light pollutionStacked & Edited in Photoshop

Lagoon Nebula5 Sub Frames200ISO 10min ExposureDark Frame for Noise ReductionLow Light PollutionStacked & Edited in Photoshop

Eagle Nebula30 Sub Frames200ISO 2min ExposureDark Frame for Noise ReductionModerate Light pollutionStacked with Deep Sky StackerEdited in Photoshop

North American Nebula10 Sub Frames

400ISO 5min ExposureDark Frame for Noise Reduction

Moderate Light pollutionStacked in Deep Sky Stacker

Edited in Photoshop

So how does the AIRY ED100 measure up? Overall I would be quite happy to own one of these. While they are no Takahasi, the optics are extremely good. The size and portability behind this cylindrical tube is so brilliant, you can carry it in your arms like Paris Hilton clutching her beloved pooch.

The design and finish of the AIRY ED100 feels like quality and you just cannot help but admire the orange peel surface which doubles up as grip to make sure you have a firm hand around it. The smooth red accents lends itself to a well tailored suit.

The mechanics on the focus are good and smooth. A little stiff on the knobs but in reality, that stiffness helps to get that fine focus without over shooting the mark.

The only real draw back is the inability to attach accessories. The red clamps around the telescope allows for just your finderscope or autoguider and the annoyance of having the swap the two around resulting in re-balancing in the dead of night praying that nothing slides off and onto the floor.

The stunning visuals the optics produce are enough to make an eagle eyed astrophotographer jealous with envy. Stars are pinpoint pricks in the night sky. In fact, the AIRY ED100 performs so well that it's difficult to work out which star is which when doing the all important alignment process. Even though this is a doublet, it still gives results with relatively low chromatic aberrations. My only disappointment is that some of the colors it produced seem rather strange and images have odd tints of green leaking in. Some stars exhibit strange purple hues around the edges.

While a field flatterner is a must, the AIRY ED100 still produces acceptable results without it.

So if your a person of high taste with Italian designer suits, Italian cars with custom leather finish, a home decorated in the finest Italian upholstered furniture, you would be proud to have this Italian ornament made in Taiwan sitting on your mantle piece.

FINAL THOUGHTS

SPECIFICATIONSOptical Design

Optics

Diameter (mm)

Focal Length (mm)

Focal Ratio

Optical Tube Material

Focuser

Eyepiece Holder

Weight

Apochromatic

FPL51 doublet (Abbe Number 81.54)

100mm (4 inches)

600mm

6

Aluminium (or Aluminum for the US)

2.7” Rack & Pinion Hybrid-Drive

50.8mm OnAxisLock

5kg (11lbs)

PrimaLuceLabs AIRY ED100 Refractor

This review is for informational purposes and is not endorsed or a paid advertisement. All images featured in this guide are taken by Simon Tang and written by Simon Tang. Images herein maybe used for non-commercial and promotional purposes.PrimaLuceLabs and the PrimaLuceLabs Logo are property of PrimaLuceLab iSrl, via Roveredo 20 / b 33170 Pordenone. All other logos and names are property of their respective owners.