Eq, Goto, $2000-$4000?

[GazzMeister]

Hi All

I was rambling on about a $2000 refractor a while ago and I'm still not to sure which way to go. Now, I already have a 10" Dob and that is cumbersome enough, so I was wondering what to get next. I'm after a lightish scope with a GOTO mount. Those Skywatcher PRO series (I like the 100ED) look good value for money, but then again the Celestron C8-SGT is significantly wider. I'm looking to get into photography down the line, so I'm leaning towards an EQ mount.

My main question is, What's your choice of light(ish) GOTO, EQ mounted, scope between $2000-$4000? I really don't want to go above $4000 and around $3000 would be even better. I also don't mind buying an OTA and mount seperately, but would prefer to buy new.

Thanks in advance

Gareth

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Something like the following from Andrews (www.andrewscom.com.au) would be a strong contender if you wanted maximum aperture, quality and a GOTO EG mount. You couldn't go wrong. I have the 8 inch (C8) version of this and it's a fantastic scope. Plenty here have the 9.25 and both are considered "legendary" scopes by some. My C8 I can lift on to the tripod with one hand.

Others will argue to go with a Newtonian - which you can do but if size matters then a SCT is possibly a better bet for you.

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C9.25-SGT 9.25" Go-To XLT
235mm x 2350mm

$3699.00 AUD 9.25" aperture Schmidt-Cassegrain OTA with Starbright XLT coatings, 6 x 30 finderscope, 25mm E-Lux eyepiece (94x mag.), 1.25" star diagonal, 1.25" visual back (C11 SCT has 2" visual back), "The Sky - Level 1" CD ROM, Heavy duty CG-5, German equatorial mount with dual-axis slew motors and a computerised hand controller which has a 40,000+ object database, car battery adaptor, rugged adjustable height 50mm dia. steel leg tripod with centre brace and accessory tray, plus two 5kg. counterweights.

The 8 inch version (C8) is $2,699 - which is right in the ballpark. You could then get a DSLR and a Focal Reducer to top it off to four grand and have a very nice platform.

Go to the main Andrews site, click on "telescopes" from the left-hand menu, then "Celestron".

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OR

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Get the equivalent Meade LX90GPS 8" SCT from Bintel (https://www.bintelshop.com.au) for $2,950, but then you'll have to employ a wedge ($289) to make it an equatorial mount. It's a slightly more difficult option. Failing that you could get an 8" tube assembly for around $2,000 and then get a separate Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro V3 GO-TO for an additional $1,799.00

[GazzMeister]

Yeah, I was thinking about that exact scope. But I was thinking that if i get a good refractor and mount combo then I can but my 10" on the mount when I need guided aperture. Would the Schmidt 9.25" be better than the 10" newt? I've read that the apo refractors can punch above their weight, how do the catadioptrics go against a reflector?

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Many people use cat's for photography - particularly in an observatory setting. At f/10 they need to be well aligned and guided because they are reasonably slow (photographically) compared to an f/6 or f/5 Newtonian. Add a decent quality focal reducer (f/6.3) and they are good scopes for astrophotography - and wthout all the extra bulk.

Given the LOT of extra money to go for a good size (102mm and up) apochromatic refractor I'd entertain that too - but good quality costs - HEAPS.

[citivolus (Ric)]

I suspect the key factors to consider in the comparison between an SCT and a Newtonian of similar size assuming price is not a factor would be weight and manageability, coma, the spider, and the f/ratio. Also, the newt will have the advantage of no primary mirror shift and being quicker to cool/less likely to dew.

[GazzMeister]

I've seen alot of good results from the good old ED80s going round and I've also seen some good prices on small williams optics refractors from Andrews communications. How does this look? (Skywatcher, not WO...)

PROED100 ED Apochromatic refractor 100mm x 900mm (inclusions as per OTA below) on HEQ5PRO SynScan Go-To white coloured equatorial mount/tripod with V3.0 flashprogrammable hand controller$2899.00


Or are they not really that good? I've obviously seen refractors of the same size going for loads more moolah. I guess I just like the idea of a cheap apo. I also guess that i'm still VERY confused. I'm trying to avoid bulk but I suppose that the weight of a cat and a refractor would be similar?

[Lee]

The ED100 is apparently very good - it is pretty slow though at f/9, a focal reducer would be a wise addition. Good old ED80 is possibly the best bang for buck around, especially if you are starting out in imaging.....

[citivolus (Ric)]

In refractor land, if you are willing to buy a mount separately, WO has some refractors up on eBay that are either overstock or show room models. There are an FLT110, Megrez 90 and Megrez 110 up there right now. They ship from Taiwan, so the shipping is not too bad.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

I would personally suggest an ED80 and either an EQ6 or a HEQ5 with GoTo.

Without sounding like an Andrews salesman, he has a deal on the Pro series at the moment:

PROED80 ED Apochromatic refractor 80mm x 600mm on HEQ5PRO SynScan Go-To white coloured equatorial mount/tripod with V3.0 flash programmable hand controller $2199.00

That set up, or any ED80 on a HEQ5 will give you a reasonably lightweight, and proven, imaging set-up at a good price.

And as Chris mentioned above, you'll have plenty left over to get a DSLR and other goodies you'll need. Especially a nice cheap little guidescope

[Alchemy (Clive)]

if you want to do astrophotography, then the mount is THE most important bit. I harp on about this but its a fundamental issue that often gets overlooked in the dash for a good scope.

[Zuts]

Originally Posted by Alchemy

if you want to do astrophotography, then the mount is THE most important bit. I harp on about this but its a fundamental issue that often gets overlooked in the dash for a good scope.

Hi,

I think you said you wanted to put your 10 inch dob on a mount. If you go the HEQ5 route then while it may work for visual I dont think it will work for photos. The EQ6 Pro may be the better bet here i think.

I may be wrong but, for visual your 10 inch DOB will blow away the ED80, 100 in terms of light gathering and image brightness. The ED100 will give far prettier visuals in terms of crispness of image, jewel like stars and so on but at the end of the day it is only 4 inches and so cant compare with the 10 inch as the 10 inch gets 625% more light.

So why get the ed100 rather than the ed80, the mount is important but also you have to decide what image scale you want. The ED80 has a shortish F length so widefield will be great (with a field flattener) but small objects will be tiny if you go the DSLR route.

Anyway i think

(1) go an EQ6 for stability
(2) get a second hand DSLR 350D for imaging
(3) without guiding and a coma corrector you will soon be unhappy
with your photos as you will see lots of trailing and seagulls so buy a coma corrector a small 80mm 80 buck refractor (100 bucks) of ebay for guiding with PHD, a second hand DSI for guiding camera.
(4) use all the above with your 10 inch DOB and once you have decided what image scale you wish to image at then buy a refractor or mak or whatever that fits in with that. At this stage you may decide that you are happy imaging through a 10 inch dob and opt to spend the money on a proper cooled SBIG camera.

Anyway just my thoughts

[GazzMeister]

Great responses Everyone. More food for thought.
Ken, that was the deal that I've been looking at, I also don't want to sound like a salesman, but when I saw how cheap the ED80 package was I had to ring up and ask if it was true! that's the cheapest I've found by at least a few hundred dollars.
Alchemy, I'm mainly thinking of a nice, light scope that I can leave setup and have setup out the back in a minute or two. I might only put the dob on the mount once in a while.
On another note, I've been looking at second hand cannon 300d, 350d, and 400ds for a while now. Obviously the "body only" cameras are cheaper than the complete kit. Do I need a lens set, I'm thinking you just get your adapter and use the scope itself as the lens, right?
And finally, does anyone know of any scope/mount packages that come with the EQ6? Would a shop be likely to give you a discount for buying a scope and mount seperately? I would prefer the EQ6 to the HEQ5 as it would make more sense long-term. Ahh choices, choices.