Baader 2" 90° Erecting Amici Prism Diagonal with 1.25" Eyepiece Adapter # AMICI-2 2956152

Enjoy your 2" eyepieces for viewing of deep sky objects at night or for terrestrial objects during the daytime with this Baader 2" 90 Degree Amici Prism Erecting Diagonal. This diagonal comes with a 2" barrel, which fits into 2" focusers, and can either accept 2" eyepieces or 1.25" eyepieces when used with the included adapter.

The Amici Prism has long been favored as the best choice for producing correctly oriented images in refractors and cassegrain type telescopes. However, the production of an amici prism is complex and requires a much higher level of quality than a standard mirror or right angle prism diagonal. Prism faces must be polished smooth, flat, and very accurately located at the proper positions and angles. The sharp roof edge must be made vanishingly fine. These demands on prism quality are the prime reason why even expensive amici prism diagonals have developed a deserved reputation for poor image quality.

Even the so-called premium quality amici prisms typically produce astigmatic or asymmetrical images and display a bright prominent central diffraction spike (the roof edge diffraction spike in the Baader Amici is extremely faint). Also, making matters worse, undersized prisms are used to save cost and large housings give the false illusion of a large clear aperture (as is the case with most so-called 2" amici star diagonals available today).

Baader Planetarium produces what is perhaps the finest amici prism star diagonal available today. The prism has been made to the proper specifications, in order to provide image quality that suffers from none of the defects found in commonly available correct image amici diagonals. The finest 7-Layer Multi-Coatings ensure the image is bright and contrasty. The precision machined aluminum housing provides a stress free mounting and precise location for the prism, unlike the typical weak plastic or crudely cast and machined housings found on lesser diagonals. The end result is a correct image diagonal that is good enough for more than just high-quality terrestrial viewing.

Correct image diagonals have been used traditionally for terrestrial viewing, and limited to low (under 100X) magnifications. The high quality of Baader's diagonal lets you use much higher magnifications without aberrations or image breakdown for both astronomical and terrestrial uses. The diagonal is perfect for matching astronomical charts or sketching correctly oriented planetary detail. It also functions well with the Baader Maxbright BinoViewer and Baader/Zeiss Mark V BinoViewer, to provide correctly oriented binoviewing. Many users have commented on how wonderful it is to enjoy correct-image views of all planetary and deep sky objects, and that they would not go back to traditional star diagonals. Finally, views that match star and lunar charts!

The clear aperture of this diagonal is 38mm, large enough to accommodate many 2” eyepieces. With the widest-field eyepieces, however, with field stops larger than 38mm, you may see some vignetting.

The 2" nosepiece of this diagonal is threaded to accept standard 2" astronomy filters (M48x0.75). The 2" eyepiece holder features a brass compression ring, and it cannot be separated from main diagonal body.

Diagonal weight = 23.8oz

Baader part #s AMICI-2 and 2956152