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Post by Ales - iStar Optical on Jan 7, 2015 0:06:32 GMT -5
Hello everyone,
I can see the new year 2015 is not starting well for iStar. Couple of my friends called me today, asking me if I read the article which Mr. Rohr himself posted on Cloudy Night. Well, I was NOT aware of this post and I was NOT aware of the fact that we have a bad lens and unhappy customer out there.
The astigmatism seen on this lens can be result of several things besides bad manufacturing as most iStar haters were quick to suggest. People should first remember that this lens traveled across the ocean from USA to Europe and lots of things can happen in transit. A pinched lens, tight front ring or damage to one or both elements due to an accidental drop are all to be considered before making any kind of judgement. Im not saying that we could not send a bad lens, it is only very, very unlikely since we test each lens twice before it is actually shipped. Why the owner of this lens did not contact us first and why did Mr. Rohr himself posted his findings publicly on CN instead of supplying results to the buyer, is beyond me. Mr. Rohr never posted anything directly on CN, why a bad iStar lens was his first... I can only speculate.
Anyhow, we do take care of our customers and we do replace bad lenses even if the damage was done in transit. Mike Harden told me that owner of this lens contacted him today. For some reason this customer patiently waited after all this went public and irreversible damage was (once again) done to our small company. I just wanted to tell everyone one important thing. I don't do this business to get rich. For that I have another one which I run and manage parallel with iStar. I can assure everyone that every dollar iStar generates goes right back into research, prototype development and production. I created iStar because of my love for designing and developing lenses and telescopes. And I can assure you that what happened today makes me sick in stomach! Well, I said enough. And it was not at all pleasant. regards,
Ales
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akhael
Junior Member
Posts: 18
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Post by akhael on Jan 7, 2015 0:38:30 GMT -5
Hi Ales and Happy New Year (nevertheless) ! I read this post and reacted to it as I am waiting right now for a 100 mm F12 and considering a 180 mm. Some people tend to only see the dark side of things, I guess it's because of the world we live in, but some had a more rational reaction. Of course things can happen during transportation but that's not the first thing they'll consider. As I stated in my comment on CN I couldn't find on the web bad things about the quality of your products or your customer support (well, except the occasional ill-tempered random guy who can never understand) and only had good advice and communications here. Don't let this deter your motivations. I have the feeling people are passionate in the good sense of the word here. Best regards Chris
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Post by Viktor Z. on Jan 7, 2015 3:04:36 GMT -5
This is very sad. Should not have happened this way to not giving a chance for Istar to replace the defective lens, before anything is published. If the testing reveals that the lens is in fact bad, the issue should be sorted out first with the manufacturer, since there is a warranty, right? Then, a generous offer by Istar to send the new lens directly to the re-testing to make sure that the lens owner is happy, would have left everybody happy. But for sure, I would send the lens to a different testing facility this time...
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Post by Mike on Jan 7, 2015 16:48:24 GMT -5
Yes, we are wondering why Mr. Rohr posted this test result on CN himself. He has tested bad or poor performing lenses from several other manufacturers but never posted the results on CN. We will of course take care of the customer with a replacement or refund including any shipping or import taxes he incurred. It is most likely to be shipping damage but that cannot be assessed until we get the lens back. No one here is scrambling for damage control. Something happened to the lens and we will simply take care of it as any competent company would. The "Drama Queens" on CN never cease to amaze me.
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Post by istarmullet on Jan 7, 2015 17:10:05 GMT -5
Drama queens is apropos. I would also employ buffoons, blowhards, rumor mongers, self-important, lonely, depressed, and most importantly, entirely irrelevant.
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Post by scopejunkie on Jan 7, 2015 18:44:10 GMT -5
The Rohr thread on CN has been unlocked after I started a new one pointing to Ales's response in this thread. I would love to know why Rohr started his thread in the first place.
Scopejunkie
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rgm
Full Member
Posts: 65
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Post by rgm on Jan 7, 2015 18:47:42 GMT -5
I was sure that Istar would stand behind their product. Ales and Mike have responded and set the record straight.
I could not agree more with istarmullet. It is indeed a sad day when a few can do such damage to a Company and seem to get away with it. I am waiting for the day when CN will finally ban these "self important blowhards" for life.
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Post by bn1777 on Jan 7, 2015 19:15:58 GMT -5
That will never happen , its just to easy for the moderators to lock iStar threads nilly-willy when it suites them , instead of looking at the whole picture . All the best for the new year Ales and Mike , I hope this carry on is the only speed hump this year . Another very satisefied iStar owner . Brian. ( ps. , I probably sic. wont reply to CN;s on this one ) I was sure that Istar would stand behind their product. Ales and Mike have responded and set the record straight. I could not agree more with istarmullet. It is indeed a sad day when a few can do such damage to a Company and seem to get away with it. I am waiting for the day when CN will finally ban these "self important blowhards" for life.
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Post by Mark Harry on Jan 7, 2015 19:46:46 GMT -5
Have purchased an Istar 4" F/12 lens, and tested it to 1.5 arc seconds resolution on point source. Very happy with it. I took exception to Rohr's tests in not being very relevant, mis-interpreted, or just plain absurd. Igram data reduction seems to be way off. I felt the problems indicated was a slight color undercorrection caused by a small spacing error, and possibly a tipped lens (astigmatism). Perhaps the gap was too large which causes both defects? Retaining ring too loose? Could be a simple fix. Or, I could be totally wrong! Don't count on CN policing their site and weeding out the idiots.
I do not understand how Rohr's evaluation was even allowed. I have had the OPINION that Rohr is a guy who makes noise to get noticed, but I feel he has gone way too far, and is certainly lacking integrity and professionalism in this case. He has certainly lost any respect I may have had. Too bad any of this happened, but Rohr certainly deserves the majority of the blame. Regards, and best wishes, Mark
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Post by istarmullet on Jan 7, 2015 20:20:16 GMT -5
For what it is worth, I think CN clearly recognizes and understands how infantile Barnett and Gord are. Their agenda is clear. Hopefully CN mans up and bans them.
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Post by K on Jan 8, 2015 6:10:48 GMT -5
The owner of the subject lens has posted on CN, it appears he did not know that Herr Rohr had started the thread. Begs the question: Why would Herr Rohr proceed in such an unprofessional manner, what is his motive. Surely he should show some professional courtesy and advise the owner of the lens to take the matter up with the supplier of the lens.
Smells of a personal vendetta .................
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Post by Mike on Jan 8, 2015 8:46:28 GMT -5
In this case, the moderators in my opinion, acted appropriately by locking the thread. Thanks to Jim Curry they opened the thread for us to post an appropriate reply. We were not allow to single out any particular poster. The gist of the post was to show the real problem with the lens cannot be determined until we get the lens back and the issue was resolved with the customer right away. Why Mr. Rohr posted this malicious and vindictive thread is beyond us. Last year Ales went to his facility and developed a good rapport with him so you would have thought he would have given us the benefit of the doubt. We wanted to use him for future lens testing. Mr. Rohr has shown his true self as an incompetent and unprofessional individual. My comment using the term "Drama Queen" was not meant as an insult to CN or its moderators. Mr. Barnett has again shown himself as a petty joke and disgrace to the amateur astronomy community. Thank goodness small minded individuals like him are few and far between in our circle. As far as Mr. Acorn, he has once again proven to be a disappointment. After all Istar did to satisfy him he has shown what a vindictive individual he is. The two of them no longer make me angry, just sad.
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Post by istarmullet on Jan 8, 2015 11:38:57 GMT -5
Concur with you Mike on the action of the CN mods; my comments were directed not at them but at the detractors. Kudos to CN for allowing you guys to post.
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Post by Ales - iStar Optical on Jan 11, 2015 2:23:03 GMT -5
After reading some follow-ups on CN, I noticed that Mr. Barnett has recently suffered from a short AND long term memory loss. Very sorry to hear that. So anyone who doesn't already know how and where iStar scopes are designed and made, please read the whole story right here on this web site or on istar-optical.com Most companies transferred their entire production to China including 3 biggest names in the industry. iStar is definitely not one of them... :-)
Now to the actual subject I wanted to talk about. We are soon going to post a recent test of iStar 204mm F6 lens tested by a highly respected professional from United Kingdom. It will appear both on our web site and ISC. Stay in touch!
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Post by skybender on Jan 11, 2015 6:15:40 GMT -5
Everyone knows that nothing in life is perfect. We also know that at some point catastrophic failure affects us all equally. Negative publicity is inevitable.
When somebody waits 6 months for something, then it arrives damaged, they are generally not going to wait another 6 months for a replacement. Yes accidents do happen in transit. They should also be reported publically.
Some people react to stress and negative situations quite differently, especially when their IQ points are involved. Some individuals using exceptional , but abnormal neuronal clarity. These people refuse second chances.
Dont let this stuff bother you. There are what? Four or five telescope manufacturers in the world? LMAO people need to get real with this field. It is a very tiny industry. Nearly non-existant, and there is a very small production outlook in the optical industry. We are repeatedly faced with astronomical scrutiny because most customers expect perfection used in nasa satellites (which are also far from perfect, remember the hubble telescope?) You guys try your hardest to bend over backwards to support the needs of buyers.
Astrophysics probably has their share of negative publicity. I am sure they got lawyers to remove them from the internet also.
In 7 years, kids wont even know what a telescope is.
Sad but true. Telescopes are not ipods.
One man could literally take over the entire telescope industry. It is that small and can be instantly manipulated by one product, or one review. People are very quick to judge, and not at all quick to purchase.
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