New! Antares enhanced silver 98%+ reflectivity dielectric coating 2" full CNC engineered mirror star diagonal for straight 2" eyepiece fittings.

This stunning new 2" mirror diagonal features high-performance state-of-the-art glass-work: the mirror is precision ground to a flatness of 1/10th wave (minimum) and features dielectric 6-layer enhanced silver coatings with over-coating protection for a light efficiency of over 98% reflectivity across the entire visual spectrum.

The diagonal has truly superb high-precision CNC engineered metalwork and this beautiful piece of equipment looks just as good as it functions! The engineering and design is outstanding - the rigid aluminium body and attachment fittings are CNC milled and lathe turned to strict tolerances from solid stock throughout - the high quality gloss anodised finish will give a lifetime of handsome service.

Features:

Superior 1/10 wave glass-work with better than 98% reflectivity with state-of-the-art enhanced silver 6 layer dielectric mirror coatings.

Rigid, high-performance metalwork CNC engineered from solid stock.

Brass compression ring for 2" eyepiece holding.

Included: ultra low-profile (zero length addition) 1.25" to 2" eyepiece adaptor with brass compression ring - threaded for filters.

Safety: the chrome 2" nosepiece features a safety recess and the eyepiece holder a safety step inside to protect mirror from collisions with long barrels on Barlows and eyepieces.

Yet another great feature of this diagonal is that you can attach 2" filters not only to the 2" nosepiece as normal but the user can also attach a filter to the 1.25" to 2" eyepiece adaptor. This is a very useful feature if you wish to use a ND or deep sky filter with every 1.25" eyepiece and not have the inconvenience of swapping the filter each time. .

And the venerable competition?

Compare this Antares high-performance 2" diagonal carefully with competitor offerings - in particular to the Williams Optics and the various look-a-likes offered by our competitors. The Antares 2" 2MD-DM diagonal has a body fully CNC milled from a solid block of aircraft quality aluminium. The WO and clones are made from several components screwed together, nicely done - but not solid. Check out the 1.25" adaptors supplied with the WO and clones - nicely done to be sure, very shiny, but at least 5mm thicker than they need to be - and thatīs bad news for anyone with limited in-focus movement (the situation found on many of the short focal length refractors so popular at the moment). The adaptor supplied with our new Antares 2" CNC diagonals is ultra low-profile being recessed to add nothing to the length of the diagonal when the adaptor is inserted. These are small points, certainly - but they matter, it is, after all, the small details that Antares gets right time after time that makes the whole Antares accessory range one of the best in the world.

So whatīs so great about the new Antares CNC 2" diagonals?

Well I have to admit to being a bit of a soft touch for great looking kit! And these Antares high performance 2" diagonals really hit the spot! From the richly chromed and recessed brass nosepiece (on the 2" fit version) to the zero-addition 1.25" to 2" eyepiece adaptor these diagonals have been beautifully designed. The whole unit just feels superb in the hand - it looks as though every angle on the metalwork has been thought about and done to perfection. Quite simply these are the best diagonals Iīve ever looked through! James SnS.