Hey folks,
I'm looking at completely replacing the stock focuser on my Skywatcher Esprit 100 and was considering a Primaluce Esatto 3?
*** Forgot to mention in my initial post the reason for wanting to replace the stock focuser***
I bought my Esprit second hand and I've never been 100% happy with the smoothness of the focuser...as time has gone on, the focuser tends to 'stick' and grind along its travel. I have a Giotto and Alto attached to my scope and control my sessions via an Eagle, so thought it made sense to stay in the Primaluce ecosystem! Lol! 
Is anyone out there using this combo or any alternatives?
I use ZWO EAFs, Pegasus and Celestron auto-focusers on my other scopes, so already have experience with them, but as I'm looking at replacing the stock focuser on my Esprit, I was interested in anyone's experience doing this...
Thanks so much for any advice and hope you're all having a great weekend,
Steve |
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Hi Steve,
I use the esatto-3 " on my Esprit 80, I had to manufacture an adapter for it as the Esatto focuser do notnhave a specific adapter for the Esprit 80, it work flawlessly! If you need I have the Adapter and the 60mm flange in case contact me via [email protected].
cheers
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Timothy Prospero:
Hi Steve,
I use the esatto-3 " on my Esprit 80, I had to manufacture an adapter for it as the Esatto focuser do notnhave a specific adapter for the Esprit 80, it work flawlessly! If you need I have the Adapter and the 60mm flange in case contact me via [email protected].
cheers
Thank you so much for the info, Tim and the adapter offer! Very kind and I'll certainly be in touch if I go ahead with the Esatto! Nice to hear you're getting on well with it!
Have a great weekend,
Steve |
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Hi Steve,
I've been using Esprit 100 coupled with ESATTO 3" and ARCO 3" for over a year now. They work brilliantly with superb precision. With 700,000 steps, ESATTO has way higher precision than any other electronic focuser I used in the past. Not to mention 0 backlash. With the right tuning in NINA I'm getting perfect bell shape for every single focusing routine. Another benefit is that I keep my telescope in focus position and never revert back to 0 position. It allows to start imaging sessions in no time.
In terms of things to take into account. Since ESATTO along with the adaptor replaces part of the tube, and due to the nature they are mounted, it may introduce a slight tilt, so you will have to use tilt adjuster in your imaging train (I'm using Gerd Neumann CTU as it alows to fix/adjust tilt in minutes).
Another thing to note is that if you decide to go with ESATTO + ARCO, you will need to get a shorter adapter. I believe the standard they recommend is 60mm, but I had to switch to 40mm, as otherwise I couldn't reach focus.
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I'm using the Esprit 100ED and the focuser that comes with it is fine. My images are sharp, stars are small and round, even with 4 hours of exposure time.
I wouldn't spend the money for a "better" focuser unless I was seeing problems with the stock focuser, which I am not. Are you using a Bahtinov mask or electronic focuser to obtain the best focus possible? Are you checking focus every hour or so? Are you making sure that you're sufficiently tightening the focus lock? If you're weighing down the image train with extra accessories that could put extra stress on the focuser, so that could be an issue as well.
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Jerry Gerber:
I'm using the Esprit 100ED and the focuser that comes with it is fine. My images are sharp, stars are small and round, even with 4 hours of exposure time.
I wouldn't spend the money for a "better" focuser unless I was seeing problems with the stock focuser, which I am not. Are you using a Bahtinov mask or electronic focuser to obtain the best focus possible? Are you checking focus every hour or so? Are you making sure that you're sufficiently tightening the focus lock? If you're weighing down the image train with extra accessories that could put extra stress on the focuser, so that could be an issue as well.
I have no problems with the stock focuser on my Esprit120 either and I am using 50mm filters+oag. I wouldn't buy just a focuser to replace this one, that's just spending money to spend money. If however I was having issues, or finding imperfection in my images due to any reason I would spend any amount of money I could afford to fix it. Perfection is my goal. I did just purchase a nitecrawler because no other rotator out there that attaches to the back of a focuser is worth any money.
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Hi Steve,
I've been using Esprit 100 coupled with ESATTO 3" and ARCO 3" for over a year now. They work brilliantly with superb precision. With 700,000 steps, ESATTO has way higher precision than any other electronic focuser I used in the past. Not to mention 0 backlash. With the right tuning in NINA I'm getting perfect bell shape for every single focusing routine. Another benefit is that I keep my telescope in focus position and never revert back to 0 position. It allows to start imaging sessions in no time.
In terms of things to take into account. Since ESATTO along with the adaptor replaces part of the tube, and due to the nature they are mounted, it may introduce a slight tilt, so you will have to use tilt adjuster in your imaging train (I'm using Gerd Neumann CTU as it alows to fix/adjust tilt in minutes).
Another thing to note is that if you decide to go with ESATTO + ARCO, you will need to get a shorter adapter. I believe the standard they recommend is 60mm, but I had to switch to 40mm, as otherwise I couldn't reach focus.
Great info and thanks for sharing your experiences, much appreciated, mate!
Glad to hear its working out for you...yes, I had been wondering how the adapters connected and looking at some pics online, I can see where the possible tilt issues could come into play...
Have a great week and thanks again!
Steve |
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Jerry Gerber:
I'm using the Esprit 100ED and the focuser that comes with it is fine. My images are sharp, stars are small and round, even with 4 hours of exposure time.
I wouldn't spend the money for a "better" focuser unless I was seeing problems with the stock focuser, which I am not. Are you using a Bahtinov mask or electronic focuser to obtain the best focus possible? Are you checking focus every hour or so? Are you making sure that you're sufficiently tightening the focus lock? If you're weighing down the image train with extra accessories that could put extra stress on the focuser, so that could be an issue as well.
Thanks so much, Jerry!
Yes, I see that I stupidly omitted my reasons for wanting to replace the stock focuser in my initial post...
I bought my Esprit used and although the focuser initially performed well, it started to 'stick' in places along the travel and I could feel a slight 'grinding' as I moved the focuser in and out.
I suppose I could get it looked at and repaired, but as I have an Eagle, Giotto and Alto already attached to the scope, I thought I may as well go 'the whole way' and grab an Esatto! Lol! ;)
Appreciate you taking the time to respond though and glad to hear your getting on ok with your focuser...I love my Esprit and the optics are still superb in my copy, so its a keeper!
Have a great weekend and best wishes from Scotland,
Steve |
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Matthew Proulx:
Jerry Gerber:
I'm using the Esprit 100ED and the focuser that comes with it is fine. My images are sharp, stars are small and round, even with 4 hours of exposure time.
I wouldn't spend the money for a "better" focuser unless I was seeing problems with the stock focuser, which I am not. Are you using a Bahtinov mask or electronic focuser to obtain the best focus possible? Are you checking focus every hour or so? Are you making sure that you're sufficiently tightening the focus lock? If you're weighing down the image train with extra accessories that could put extra stress on the focuser, so that could be an issue as well.
I have no problems with the stock focuser on my Esprit120 either and I am using 50mm filters+oag. I wouldn't buy just a focuser to replace this one, that's just spending money to spend money. If however I was having issues, or finding imperfection in my images due to any reason I would spend any amount of money I could afford to fix it. Perfection is my goal. I did just purchase a nitecrawler because no other rotator out there that attaches to the back of a focuser is worth any money.
Thanks Matt!
I forgot to mention the reasons for wanting to change the stock focuser in my initial post (my bad! Lol!)...
My Esprit was purchased second hand and although the optics are superb, I found that as time went on, the focuser lost some smoothness and I'm getting some stickiness and a slight grinding as I move the focuser along travel...
I could get a repair, but as I have a few other Primaluce accessories attached to it (including and Eagle for control), I thought it made sense to stay in the 'ecosystem' and grab an Esatto! ;)
Great to hear that you're having no issues with yours and appreciate you sharing your experiences with me...very much appreciated!
Have a super weekend and thanks again,
Steve |
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Hey Steve.
I am not sure I would agree with other people's posts on this chain. There are many reasons why a good auto focuser is a worthwhile investment. Personally, I have used manual, ZWO and now have the Esatto 3" and I am so happy with my investment. I set up my rig at night and run routines in NINA (advanced) and its just brilliant! If you want to sit there and manually adjust all night...all power to you! ;)
I have the 3" on my Esprit 100. Super easy install. I purchased all items on the PLL website and found I didnt need one of the extension tubes that they suggest. I have provided this feedback to PLL who indicated that for their Esprit, it required the additional extender....just keep this in mind. If you want me to send the product # of the extension tube I have but have not used let me know. You dont need custom adapters if you use the PLL adapters - available for ordering.
I now own a few PLL bits of kit. There are some quirks. The biggest one is that at times, you need to update the firmware. It is not a big deal but I have found it may not connect at start up in NINA. You then need to go into the PLL software, connect, update drivers, disconnect and then load NINA. Not a big deal but with all things astro, there are little things like that worth knowing in advance...makes it easier to problem solve when setting up at night.
Biggest difference for me vs ZWO is the speed...which depending on your seeing and tolerances, can make a big difference in a night of shooting.
Hope that this helps you. IM me if you want to catchup or need to ask any questions...happy to help.
From one Steve to another Steve!
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One more thing, I think many are curious how the new ZWO rotator will perform. No doubt a custom adapter would be required. I raise this as going focuser / rotator combo starts getting expensive! Not to mention that you then need to consider how you do flats in a sequence too...assuming you want to run multiple targets in a night. Most when spending this level on astro would want to get the most and then therefore need to solve for that too.
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Jerry Gerber:
I'm using the Esprit 100ED and the focuser that comes with it is fine. My images are sharp, stars are small and round, even with 4 hours of exposure time.
I wouldn't spend the money for a "better" focuser unless I was seeing problems with the stock focuser, which I am not. Are you using a Bahtinov mask or electronic focuser to obtain the best focus possible? Are you checking focus every hour or so? Are you making sure that you're sufficiently tightening the focus lock? If you're weighing down the image train with extra accessories that could put extra stress on the focuser, so that could be an issue as well.
Thanks so much, Jerry!
Yes, I see that I stupidly omitted my reasons for wanting to replace the stock focuser in my initial post...
I bought my Esprit used and although the focuser initially performed well, it started to 'stick' in places along the travel and I could feel a slight 'grinding' as I moved the focuser in and out.
I suppose I could get it looked at and repaired, but as I have an Eagle, Giotto and Alto already attached to the scope, I thought I may as well go 'the whole way' and grab an Esatto! Lol! ;)
Appreciate you taking the time to respond though and glad to hear your getting on ok with your focuser...I love my Esprit and the optics are still superb in my copy, so its a keeper!
Have a great weekend and best wishes from Scotland,
Steve
Well, if I were experiencing that I'd get a new focuser too. One astrophotographer said that this pursuit is a "rabbit hole" in terms of how much one can spend on upgrades, new gear, replacements, etc. My Esprit is out in the backyard imaging the Veil Nebula right now but there's a fair amount of turbulence in the air so guiding is not going as good as it could.
Where in Scotland are you? My wife and I are going to Edinburgh for a vacation in September. We live in San Francisco, California.
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Steve Pratley:
Hey Steve.
I am not sure I would agree with other people's posts on this chain. There are many reasons why a good auto focuser is a worthwhile investment. Personally, I have used manual, ZWO and now have the Esatto 3" and I am so happy with my investment. I set up my rig at night and run routines in NINA (advanced) and its just brilliant! If you want to sit there and manually adjust all night...all power to you! ;)
I have the 3" on my Esprit 100. Super easy install. I purchased all items on the PLL website and found I didnt need one of the extension tubes that they suggest. I have provided this feedback to PLL who indicated that for their Esprit, it required the additional extender....just keep this in mind. If you want me to send the product # of the extension tube I have but have not used let me know. You dont need custom adapters if you use the PLL adapters - available for ordering.
I now own a few PLL bits of kit. There are some quirks. The biggest one is that at times, you need to update the firmware. It is not a big deal but I have found it may not connect at start up in NINA. You then need to go into the PLL software, connect, update drivers, disconnect and then load NINA. Not a big deal but with all things astro, there are little things like that worth knowing in advance...makes it easier to problem solve when setting up at night.
Biggest difference for me vs ZWO is the speed...which depending on your seeing and tolerances, can make a big difference in a night of shooting.
Hope that this helps you. IM me if you want to catchup or need to ask any questions...happy to help.
From one Steve to another Steve!
Excellent info, Steve! Thanks so much for taking the time to get back to me and share your tips and experience!
Yes, I use auto-focusers on all of my other rigs and was only holding off on getting one for the Esprit until I decided which route to go...really leaning towards the Esatto now...
I'll definitely pop you a PM in regards to the correct PLL adapters to get and appreciate the offer of your kind assistance!
Have a great week and best wishes from Scotland,
Steve |
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Jerry Gerber:
Jerry Gerber:
I'm using the Esprit 100ED and the focuser that comes with it is fine. My images are sharp, stars are small and round, even with 4 hours of exposure time.
I wouldn't spend the money for a "better" focuser unless I was seeing problems with the stock focuser, which I am not. Are you using a Bahtinov mask or electronic focuser to obtain the best focus possible? Are you checking focus every hour or so? Are you making sure that you're sufficiently tightening the focus lock? If you're weighing down the image train with extra accessories that could put extra stress on the focuser, so that could be an issue as well.
Thanks so much, Jerry!
Yes, I see that I stupidly omitted my reasons for wanting to replace the stock focuser in my initial post...
I bought my Esprit used and although the focuser initially performed well, it started to 'stick' in places along the travel and I could feel a slight 'grinding' as I moved the focuser in and out.
I suppose I could get it looked at and repaired, but as I have an Eagle, Giotto and Alto already attached to the scope, I thought I may as well go 'the whole way' and grab an Esatto! Lol! ;)
Appreciate you taking the time to respond though and glad to hear your getting on ok with your focuser...I love my Esprit and the optics are still superb in my copy, so its a keeper!
Have a great weekend and best wishes from Scotland,
Steve
Well, if I were experiencing that I'd get a new focuser too. One astrophotographer said that this pursuit is a "rabbit hole" in terms of how much one can spend on upgrades, new gear, replacements, etc. My Esprit is out in the backyard imaging the Veil Nebula right now but there's a fair amount of turbulence in the air so guiding is not going as good as it could.
Where in Scotland are you? My wife and I are going to Edinburgh for a vacation in September. We live in San Francisco, California.
LOL! A rabbit hole it certainly is! ;)
Hope you got on ok with your Veil session and have fun in Edinburgh this fall...I live just outside Stirling (in between Edinburgh and Glasgow)...
Have a great week and thanks again for your help,
Steve |
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Hey folks,
I'm looking at completely replacing the stock focuser on my Skywatcher Esprit 100 and was considering a Primaluce Esatto 3?
*** Forgot to mention in my initial post the reason for wanting to replace the stock focuser***
I bought my Esprit second hand and I've never been 100% happy with the smoothness of the focuser...as time has gone on, the focuser tends to 'stick' and grind along its travel. I have a Giotto and Alto attached to my scope and control my sessions via an Eagle, so thought it made sense to stay in the Primaluce ecosystem! Lol!
Is anyone out there using this combo or any alternatives?
I use ZWO EAFs, Pegasus and Celestron auto-focusers on my other scopes, so already have experience with them, but as I'm looking at replacing the stock focuser on my Esprit, I was interested in anyone's experience doing this...
Thanks so much for any advice and hope you're all having a great weekend,
Steve
Hey Steve,
I'm using this combo - Esprit 100ED and Esatto 3". I totally love it. No issues. Really easy to swap out. Next purchase will be an Arco...
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Hey folks,
I'm looking at completely replacing the stock focuser on my Skywatcher Esprit 100 and was considering a Primaluce Esatto 3?
*** Forgot to mention in my initial post the reason for wanting to replace the stock focuser***
I bought my Esprit second hand and I've never been 100% happy with the smoothness of the focuser...as time has gone on, the focuser tends to 'stick' and grind along its travel. I have a Giotto and Alto attached to my scope and control my sessions via an Eagle, so thought it made sense to stay in the Primaluce ecosystem! Lol!
Is anyone out there using this combo or any alternatives?
I use ZWO EAFs, Pegasus and Celestron auto-focusers on my other scopes, so already have experience with them, but as I'm looking at replacing the stock focuser on my Esprit, I was interested in anyone's experience doing this...
Thanks so much for any advice and hope you're all having a great weekend,
Steve
Hey Steve,
I'm using this combo - Esprit 100ED and Esatto 3". I totally love it. No issues. Really easy to swap out. Next purchase will be an Arco...
Great to hear Mike! Thanks so much for letting me know and glad its working well for you... looking forward to getting it all set-up...best wishes from the northlands! |
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Well my Esprit 100ED focuser is not "fine"... like Steve's it is not smooth anymore. To make it smooth I have to loosen the tentionscrews so much that it starts to wiggle. And if its not smooth it is an issue with any electronic focuser (senso sesto 2 and ZWO EAF in my case). My Esprit is 4 years old and its just a matter of time until the teflonpads wear out inside. So a new focuser for the 100ED is not "just spending money" - its a bad design. But I am looking at a rather traditional replacement - would not spend Esatto 3 money on an Esprit.
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Hi Steve,
I've been using Esprit 100 coupled with ESATTO 3" and ARCO 3" for over a year now. They work brilliantly with superb precision. With 700,000 steps, ESATTO has way higher precision than any other electronic focuser I used in the past. Not to mention 0 backlash. With the right tuning in NINA I'm getting perfect bell shape for every single focusing routine. Another benefit is that I keep my telescope in focus position and never revert back to 0 position. It allows to start imaging sessions in no time.
In terms of things to take into account. Since ESATTO along with the adaptor replaces part of the tube, and due to the nature they are mounted, it may introduce a slight tilt, so you will have to use tilt adjuster in your imaging train (I'm using Gerd Neumann CTU as it alows to fix/adjust tilt in minutes).
Another thing to note is that if you decide to go with ESATTO + ARCO, you will need to get a shorter adapter. I believe the standard they recommend is 60mm, but I had to switch to 40mm, as otherwise I couldn't reach focus.
Could you share your NINA settings for the focuser please ?
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I'm planning to upgrade my Esprit 100ED with an Esatto 3" + ARCO rotator.
On PLL website, the recommended adapter recommended is this one:
https://www.primalucelab.com/focusers/adapter-esatto-3-for-skywatcher-esprit-100-ed.html
Can anyone confirm that this adapter will work?
Also, acquiring a Riccardi reducer is also a possibility for the future. Does anyone know if these two can work together?
https://www.teleskop-express.de/en/astrophotography-and-photography-15/imaging-correctors-for-telescopes-138/riccardi-0-75x-apo-reducer-and-flattener-with-m63x1-thread-11122 |
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Hi Steve,
I've been using Esprit 100 coupled with ESATTO 3" and ARCO 3" for over a year now. They work brilliantly with superb precision. With 700,000 steps, ESATTO has way higher precision than any other electronic focuser I used in the past. Not to mention 0 backlash. With the right tuning in NINA I'm getting perfect bell shape for every single focusing routine. Another benefit is that I keep my telescope in focus position and never revert back to 0 position. It allows to start imaging sessions in no time.
In terms of things to take into account. Since ESATTO along with the adaptor replaces part of the tube, and due to the nature they are mounted, it may introduce a slight tilt, so you will have to use tilt adjuster in your imaging train (I'm using Gerd Neumann CTU as it alows to fix/adjust tilt in minutes).
Another thing to note is that if you decide to go with ESATTO + ARCO, you will need to get a shorter adapter. I believe the standard they recommend is 60mm, but I had to switch to 40mm, as otherwise I couldn't reach focus.
@PhotosFromTheBackyard this is the exact setup I’ve been considering. Can you please answer a couple of questions?
I assume the imaging train is Esatto, Arco, 40mm adapter, field flattener, then you have 55mm of backfocus after that?
Also, will the Esprit100 fill a full frame image circle?
Thanks for the info!
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For about 3 months I have been using the Esprit 100 + Esatto 3" and Arco 3", to this I add a Ricarrdi reducer with 77-78mm backfocus with filter wheel and qhy268mm, the whole set has its weight, and I can say that everything fits very well set and I think I don't have tilt. Attached image. I think you shouldn't have anything from Tilt.
I am attaching assembly images in case it can help.
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