whilst buying a t adapter for my new canon camera recently (cough cough) extracted from my fiance EOS 600D i was offered a deal on a refractor.
I currently use my Skywatcher ed80 attached to my nikon camera and was going to change to the canon so i can make use of all the better softwares out there. My nikon isnt supported much anywhere very budget d3200. Anywhooo
they have for sale a SKywatcher Ed150 refractor for lowly price of $550 which peaked my interest. this thing is a beast over the little ed80.
Just wondering what peoples thoughts are. Im normally taking shots of near on anything in the sky. Galaxies, nebulas etc. I have a 10 inch dob for planetary and visual so this would purely be photography.
Would it be worth it to buy the ed150 and put the ed80 on top as a guide scope or not bother at all. Cant find much reviews online about just how good, or bad they are.
The biggest problem you will run into with a large ED refractor is halos around brighter stars. The F/5 will be considerably worse than the F/8 but even the F/8 will be really bad.
The larger the aperture the more difficult it is to control the CA. If you don't mind having the halos then by all means the 150ED will make you happy
i havent had to much drama with CA and photoshop. i can get it to a point of being almost unnoticeable even to my own eye.. and ill admit im getting more and more harsh on my own photos daily as they get better.
the subs im using are in the 10 minute mark on average if that helps at all. just not sure if theres going to be a marked difference in image or even image scale.
Ben
I think Colin means achro refractors, not ED ones.
Ben , if you have only used an ED 80, any CA you've come across will have been minimal. The 150 f/8 achro has severe CA, [ as Colin said, the f/5 is even worse]. It can be reduced by using various filters, but at a cost of
lost light grasp, and, depending upon the type of filter, a colour cast.
You can reduce the CA significantly by using a barlow, but you end up with
a 2400mm f/16 scope, very very slow for imaging, and a very large image scale, requiring very accurate tracking. Even without a barlow the field of view would be about half that of your ED80, so your image would be about twice the size, and would still need better tracking than your ED80 requires.
raymo
The 150 throws up a VERY noticeable CA - you would NOT be able to process it out. It is purely a visual instrument only.
I had one - damned dinosaur of a scope too. You'll need a decent mount to push it too - an EQ5 won't cut it. Maybe an HEQ5 but I'd go NEQ6 if you insist on buying the brontosaurus.
Haha i did see the esprit for 6k. Sorry its a f8 doublet. Since i really want to ramp up my pics now ill stick with the ed80. Thanks for the advice all.
If you read the reviews on Excelsiss , you will see these are a great scope , don't believe all you hear , here on IIS , these a awesome for the cash strapped that cant afford a Tak or AP and for $550 it is a good buy .
What colour is the tube ? this will help identifying the brand or even better can you post a photo ? Eg. does it have the adjustable cell like mine pictured here ? , DIAGONAL ? FINDER ? ETC ....
One more thing your EQ6 will hold this easily for visual and if you are interested here is my Saxon 150mm f8 , its fitted with a 'Chromocor' that makes this scope almost an APO , probably as good a ED150 doublet .
It is the blackdiamond series. Heres a screen grab
The idea was totally imaging. Id be so tempted if the upgrade would be significant. The mount is the neq6pro which consistany gives me good 10-15 minute subs.
Thanks Ben , I see its the earlier version , still a nice impressive 6inch refractor and the BD series were amongst the best , consistent good quality .
As said if AP is your gig and your ED80 will keep you going for years and as you have a 10 inch Dob for visual already I think you would be better putting $550 into your AP pursuits , wont go far tho ( been there and done that , strictly visual these days ) but hey its your money .
Can you talk to the owner and see if he/she is willing to post an ad. here on IIS ( thru you perhaps ? ) as I think it will sell fast at that price .
Does it come with any accessories ?
I recon these big 'cheapo' refractors would make superb solar imaging instruments if coupled with a Lunt CaK or Ha Daystar Quark filter. Any chromatic aberration issues are irrelevant for narrowband work. You would certainly need an ND filter to reduce the light a tad, but think of the resolution
Not a bad price either , $550 OTA + $1500 Daystar Ha = $2850 ( with postage , filters , customs and GST ) for a 150mm f8 Ha scope , kinda makes Lunt's prices wilt some what you think ? . $13499aud ??? for the 152mm Lunt Ha OTA and $9999aud for Coranado's 100mm OTA , obscene prices .
Sorry for getting slightly off track here Ben , but this might be the way to go using this OTA .
ps. My good mate Peter has both Quarks , Ha and CaK and they perform ( once warmed up ) easily as good as my sadly sold Coranado solarmax Ha , these Daystar filters are hard to get because of demand but well worth the asking price .
Brian.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AstroJunk
I recon these big 'cheapo' refractors would make superb solar imaging instruments if coupled with a Lunt CaK or Ha Daystar Quark filter. Any chromatic aberration issues are irrelevant for narrowband work. You would certainly need an ND filter to reduce the light a tad, but think of the resolution
Last edited by brian nordstrom; 02-05-2016 at 10:40 PM.
Last weekend I visited an Astro buddy in N. Qld who is the proud owner of Qlds largest collection of Lunt solar scopes.
From left to right (er, down to up!):
The worlds first double stacked 152. Andy Lunt came over with his engineer to field test this beast a couple of years back - I was there and can confirm that they are top blokes!
100mm CaK
100mm Ha Double stacked (A fabulous scope)
100mm White light (Herschel wedge)
Oh and their owner, Rob Black!
I was most surprised by the CaK though - absolutely stunning photographically and very cheap overall. Don't expect to see anything visually though, the human eye doesn't play well at those wavelengths.
The white light image was superb too, but the apo was not quite good enough to avoid colour fringing even at massively reduced light levels.
The technology in the Ha scopes is outstanding and is where the cost all lies. They may seem expensive, but the manufacturing costs are incredible. Daystar are taking a different approach and it certainly seems to be working for them although their pro grade stuff gets pretty costly too.
It's great to have so many opportunities for re-purposing old and ignored equipment like those big Skywatcher refractors and take them to a whole new level!!!
Wise man .
Solar Ha viewing is a drug , a highly addictive form of astronomy .
what is the sun doing now ? , stuck at work , don't know , weekend with family ...... still don't know , but seriously the sun is a living / moving / breathing entity ( 11 year cycle ) , always changing and awesome to follow .
Brian.
Last edited by brian nordstrom; 02-05-2016 at 11:03 PM.
geeepers what a rig..... unfortunately my budget doesnt allow for a ccd in the near or far future so putting up with the dslr is all i can do for now. Im certainly not complaining considering what i think ive been able to achieve with the most budget dslr on the market. will see soon as the clouds go what difference the eos 600d makes.
unfortunately i work most days so solar is out for the time being. if budget wasnt an issue id be all over that too though.
Ben
I have a 650d and love it - I modded it myself and am stunned by the performance. My advice is always to be the best you can possibly be with what you have before moving on. After all, that's what makes the hobby fun
Quote:
Originally Posted by chuckywiz
geeepers what a rig..... unfortunately my budget doesnt allow for a ccd in the near or far future so putting up with the dslr is all i can do for now. Im certainly not complaining considering what i think ive been able to achieve with the most budget dslr on the market. will see soon as the clouds go what difference the eos 600d makes.
unfortunately i work most days so solar is out for the time being. if budget wasnt an issue id be all over that too though.
Ben
If you read the reviews on Excelsiss , you will see these are a great scope , don't believe all you hear , here on IIS , these a awesome for the cash strapped that cant afford a Tak or AP and for $550 it is a good buy .
Thanks Ben , I see its the earlier version , still a nice impressive 6inch refractor and the BD series were amongst the best , consistent good quality .
tho ( been there and done that , strictly visual these days 
you think ? . $13499aud ??? for the 152mm Lunt Ha OTA and $9999aud for Coranado's 100mm OTA , obscene prices .
Wise man .
AP'rs , speak a different language .
