Visiting raig at Photokina 2016 fair

Sept. 28, 2016

Raig visited the most important photography and optics fair in Europe, the Photokina 2016

Cologne, European capital of photography

Between September 20 and 25, Cologne (Köln) became the European capital of photography and optics, thanks to the Photokina fair, which is held biannually. It is the world showcase for photography and all the applications derived from it, including everything related to astronomy and outdoor optics.

Entrance to the fair

Raig was visiting the fair and was able to see the latest news and the great diversity of products on the stands of the different brands of outdoor optics and astronomy.

Zeiss Conquest Gavia 85 Terrestrial Telescope 30-60x85

Top brands, latest products

Binoculars, monoculars, ground-based telescopes, rangefinders, microscopes, astronomical telescopes, etc ... A huge range of products including the latest innovations in outdoor optics and astronomy.

At the fair they exhibited a wide variety of reference brands, which Raig has already incorporated into his extensive catalog. Nikon, Kowa, Zeiss, Swarovski, Steiner, Minox, Celestron, Meade, Skywatcher, Benro, Manfrotto, Yukon, etc. stand out, as well as other less consolidated brands, but which also offer very interesting product alternatives.

Faced with such a vast product showcase, Raig's staff were able to experiment with it, learn about all the latest news, and were also delighted with the operation of instruments and accessories.

What stand out for outdoor optics?

Without a doubt that the latest news from manufacturers is always the highlight of these exhibitions, below we detail some products to consider:

Terrestrial telescopes:

Nikon Monarch 82 ED

Nikon launches a state-of-the-art ground-based telescope with ED optics, extra-low dispersion and 82mm aperture. This treatment guarantees a correction of the chromatic aberrations in different ranges of the light spectrum. You also eliminate distortions in the field of view and get better image sharpness. Different possibilities of lenses with zoom from 20 to 60X / 30 to 60XW are offered and also with fixed magnification of 38W.

Nikon booth

Zeiss Conquest Gavia 30-60x85

Zeiss has just covered an important space in its renowned catalog of ground-based telescopes. Until now we have highlighted its older brother, the Victory Diascope. With the Conquest Gavia 30-60x85 , Zeiss presents us with a lighter, more compact, faster focusing terrestrial telescope that incorporates optical technology based on HD and ED, therefore extra-low-dispersion and high definition, eliminating any chromatic aberration. An ideal tool for nature observation and digiscoping.

Binoculars:

Kowa Genesis 22

Without a doubt, the most important novelty in the world of binoculars is the Kowa Genesis 22 series , which includes the 8x22 and 10x22 models. We will not be much mistaken if we say that its XD (ED) optical technology has amply overcome the challenge of improving the image quality of the Genesis series and thus obtaining a compact binocular, of extraordinary quality. The combination of the optical improvement and its lightness, are the best guarantee of this unique product from the Japanese brand Kowa.

What do we highlight about astronomy?

The arrival of wi-fi and accessibility to control your telescope from your tablet and smartphone has revolutionized the new generations of telescopes. Several brands incorporate control through wi-fi technology, among which Celestron and Skywatcher stand out. These brands have presented different novelties at Photokina:

Celestron:

AstroFi series

It presents three different models depending on the optical design: Refractor (90mm), Maksutov-Cassegrain (102mm) and Reflector (130mm) .

Through the SkyPortal app, it allows you 100% control of your telescope through your smartphone or tablet. A unique Wireless experience. Automatically search for your celestial object, and when it appears on the screen you will be able to consult all the astronomical information available on that celestial point. This makes the AstroFi a first-rate teaching tool and very practical to use, even for children. They incorporate the SkyAlign alignment system and multi-coated optics. Regarding the mount, this is altazimuth, equivalent to the mount of the SLT series.

Nexstar Evolution series
Nextsar Evolution 8 "HD

The Nexstar Evolution series was the first to incorporate control via WI-FI, after a resounding success, Celestron has incorporated the Edge HD optics of the prestigious AVX series into the Nexstar Evolution 8 "HD . Thus, to the comfort it brings us the wi-fi control system, is joined by the highest HD image quality, to achieve a perfect definition in your observations. One of the great possibilities of this telescope is the automatic alignment and search of any celestial object through StarSense , an accessory already included in the telescope that will allow a very precise alignment, previously only within reach of the most advanced series. They also showed us the possibility of adding a wedge to the mount of the Nexstar Evolution 8 "HD to convert the mount into equatorial and thus adapt the equipment to astrophotography.
Celestron stand

Inspire series

The Inspire series is another of Celestron's great innovations, in this case it is not about telescopes with wi-fi technology but an evolution of the Astromaster initiation range, with an altazimuth mount.
It consists of three models of refracting telescopes, with 70, 80 and 100mm aperture respectively, with an altazimuth mount and loaded with novelties in their design and use. It incorporates an improved starpointer model finder with two circles that help to better focus the target. The lens cap transforms into a practical mobile adapter for the eyepiece, with it you can take pictures of the stars. And finally a red LED light located on the mount, with it you can illuminate the eyepiece tray and other operations that you have to do in the middle of the night.
Meade

We also had the great opportunity to visit the Meade brand exhibition and be able to inform ourselves about future developments in its catalog. We can already advance the launch of the new ETX 80 and 90mm models, with reinforced mount, interchangeable optical tube (replaceable), memory of 30,000 objects, audiostar guide, more solid and finer gears and new design with suitcase included, as well as a future ETX Maksutov-Cassegrain 127mm and f / 15 model, a powerful telescope for observation. planetary
Meade stand