Re: Advice on use of straight finder?

On Jun 27, 4:09 am, Margo Schulter <mschul...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hello, everyone, and I'm seeking advice on the ergonomics of how
to use a 9X50 straight finder with a minimum of neck strain. This
finder, which looks quite nice, is on my new Sky-Watcher 20cm f/6
Dobsonian, which I hope will be seeing its first light within the
next week or so.

While a friend very favorably impressed with the construction of
the scope advised me that I might consider a right-angle finder
or red dot finder (the Telrad looks like a good choice for the
latter approach), making the most of the straight-through 9X50
finder very much appeals to me. This finder seems, so to speak,
a not too distant cousin to the 7X50 binoculars I use with
Taki's 8.5 Magnitude Star Atlas, often in light-polluted urban
conditions with a limiting magnitude around 3, for starhopping
by asterisms not readily visible to the naked eye. At my age,
maybe the smaller exit pupil of the 9X50 finder might help <grin>.

Would people have advice as to minimizing strain with this type
of finder? Here are some possible questions which occur to me as
someone focusing mainly on deep-sky observing:

(1) Might it be a good rule to avoid or minimize
use of the finder at or very close to the zenith?
An alternative might be to use as a kind of finder
my widest-field EP, a 30mm "not-quite-Nagler" with
a tad more than 2deg TFOV at 40X. Maybe some
extra study of an atlas for areas of interest that
are going to be near the zenith during a given
observation could make this strategy more successful.

(2) Might a good adjustable observing chair help with
finder ergonomics, as well as with other aspects
of observing like being more relaxed and thus
able better to concentrate on those elusive
faint fuzzies?

Maybe people's experience might reveal other aspects of the
question that haven't occurred to me; thank you in advance
for any suggestions.

Most appreciatively,

Margo Schulter
mschul...@xxxxxxxxxx

Hi:

I suspect with a little practice you'll find the straight through
finder is not as much of a problem to use as you think. A right-angle-
correct-image finder is an option, but I find these actually _more_
awkward to use.

Unk Rod

.

Relevant Pages