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Old 19-06-2014, 09:01 AM
glend (Glen)
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Best Value Imaging Reflector?

The title says it all, in the current market what is the best value in an imaging reflector? Cheapest isn't necessarily the best value, but looking at it from the point of view of good performance (aperture?) for the investment, and reasonable weight for one man carry and mounting. Yes I know that can be subjective. If you were buying today what would you consider on your shortlist and why?

Background: My old back is not up to lugging the 16" dob (with take down, re-assembly, ramps, etc) out to dark sites anymore (I love it but it will stay at home from now on) but I want to keep the deep sky reach of a good reflector. I already have a NEQ6Pro mount for the refrector so it makes sense to look at what sort of reasonable sized reflector I can run on that mount.

Last edited by glend; 19-06-2014 at 09:48 AM.
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Old 19-06-2014, 09:43 AM
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alistairsam
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For me, a Carbon Fibre 10inch F4 From GSO/Skywatcher at Andrews.
I believe its $999.

the 12inchF4 Steel at $899 sounds really good and comes with a 3inch focuser, but the flexure in the OTA, total weight and need to reinforce the focuser area make it a questionable buy.

The CF on the other hand has obvious benefits, 10inch is ample aperture for imaging, speed of the F4 has to be seen to be believed, and the overall weight of the OTA is very reasonable.

The GSO mirrors hold up well and whilst not Royce quality, more than adequate for some really good images.
Just look up astrobin and filter down by this OTA.


Cheers
Alistair
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Old 22-06-2014, 02:11 PM
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Of course....it depends....

What do you want to image (planets/moon/dso/galaxies?) What camera are you thinking of using (DSLR or CCD)...matching the image scale is what counts here.

Personally not keen on the Newt design for imaging - due to the size and weight of the OTA, limited backfocus, camera weight being off the centreline, need for coma correctors that can be quite expensive...still they are fast which should make guiding easier all else being equal when compared with the alternate Cassegrain design.

If you go for a cassegrain type then take a look at the GSO RCs they are good value (I am happy with my 10" CF) and they have been around long enough to be popping up on here 2nd hand for about $600 or so for the 8" model, that is a bargain if you are after decent fl, even new these are good value. Often recommended is the Vixen VC200L, I had one and it was OK but has several irritations that finally made me sell it. The focuser was R&P - and thus it was very hard to make the small adjustments you need for AP work, the spider is industrial in its strength (good for holding collimation - bad as the diffraction pattern makes bright stars blocky), the optics are complex and limit you (eg you cannot use an OAG and FR with this scope - and you will need to use the FR if you intend to use a DSLR)...not many 3rd party options.

Just my 2c of course....have fun choosing!
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Old 22-06-2014, 03:29 PM
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Shiraz (Ray)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alistairsam View Post
For me, a Carbon Fibre 10inch F4 From GSO/Skywatcher at Andrews.
I believe its $999.

the 12inchF4 Steel at $899 sounds really good and comes with a 3inch focuser, but the flexure in the OTA, total weight and need to reinforce the focuser area make it a questionable buy.

The CF on the other hand has obvious benefits, 10inch is ample aperture for imaging, speed of the F4 has to be seen to be believed, and the overall weight of the OTA is very reasonable.

The GSO mirrors hold up well and whilst not Royce quality, more than adequate for some really good images.
Just look up astrobin and filter down by this OTA.


Cheers
Alistair
+1 for the CF 250f4 - the Skywatcher tube is a good design with an effective mirror mounting system, internal baffles and plenty of back focus. The optics are nothing short of excellent (always seeing-limited) and even the focuser is OK for a bit over 1kg camera (eg a DSLR - for which the design has sufficient back focus). Would need a better focuser for a heavy camera, but apart from replacing the secondary alignment screws, there is nothing else that could be improved much. Oh, and the cost must include a decent coma corrector - I have an RCC1 which works very well, but others use the Paracorr, which also seems to work well.

I changed from a steel tube scope to the CF and it was like a breath of fresh air. The CF scope is easy to align, holds collimation and stays in focus through significant temperature fluctuations - it works very well regardless of price and is exceptional value at present. I can lift it without much trouble and my EQ6 handles it OK - unless it is windy.

The other scope that you might consider and that appears to offer exceptional capability for the money is the Skywatcher Mak Newt. It is a fully corrected astrograph - just add camera and away you go. I have not tried one, but reviews and sample images are positive - the only downside might be that it weighs quite a bit more than other similar sized scopes and might be pushing the EQ6 a bit.

edit: just reread - no, I have no ties to Skywatcher

Last edited by Shiraz; 22-06-2014 at 07:08 PM.
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Old 22-06-2014, 05:38 PM
raymo
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If for whatever reason you are budget conscious, my SW 8" f/5 Newt
would be hard to beat at around $450 new. Works well at prime focus
with a DSLR, and with a $90 electric focuser attached, you can make adjustments as fine as you like. Very little slop in my focuser, either.
raymo
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Old 24-06-2014, 07:54 PM
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I had to modify my EQ6 to run an 8" f6 Newt.

see link:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/247194...in/photostream
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