Black diamond ED100 or WO Megrez 90?

[BruceG (Bruce)]

Hi all. 1st post here after reading and learning for a few weeks. Been interested in astronomy since my youth, and now on the slippery side of 50 believe the time is right to purchase that long awaited telescope.
The scope will be part visual part imaging. I live in the Blue Mountains at around 850 metres so seeing should be reasonable.
The scope will sit on SW HEQ5 pro (already purchased).
Ok, now the question. I am trying to decide between a William Optics Megrez 90 or SW Black Diamond 100 ED.
Both around the same price 2nd hand. Any thoughts or experiences appreciated.
Cheers,
Bruce.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Hi Bruce , and welcome , if it was me that had the HEQ5 mount I would grab the 100ED , 10mm is a lot at this size and the Black Diamonds get rave reviews every where on their quality of optics and build .
Nothing wrong with the WO 90mm , but as I said 102mm in a refractor hits the sweet spot , nice scopes .
Only a small step down in views on the TAK's , TV's , TMB's etc... out there in quality of optics .
These 2 together would be a long time partnership . . Nice .
My 5c .
Brian.

[BruceG (Bruce)]

Thanks for your advice Brian, you certainly have some nice gear!
I guess my enthusiasm got the best of me today, I pulled the trigger on a WO 90 with Feather Touch, before I got any replies here. No real harm done, it will make a fine guidescope down the track.
Now the next obvious step is an eyepiece or 3. I would like to try to get best bang for buck by sticking to the used market as I have done so far. I would like to try and get the widest AFOV eyepieces I can afford. I know TV's Naglers are pretty damn good from the reading I have done. Ethos are out of the question.But I need alternatives as well.
Also looking for guidance as far as eyepiece focal length,
The scope is f6.2 with a focal length of 558 mm. What should I get for:
1: planetary (realising that this scope will not be entirely ideal for this purpose).
2: Wide view star fields and expansive deep sky views.
3: DSO's - galaxies, nebula's, clusters etc.
I guess I can take some time to collect them but I would like to at least have one for when the WO arrives

[MattT]

Hi Bruce,
As your on the slippery side of 50 I'd suggest you go straight to the top on the eyepiece front and get Pentax XW's. Not cheap but not expensive either...just right I reckon.
Matt

[Profiler (Profiler)]

Ditto to Matts comments

Pentax XWs are an excellent option especially in terms of ER.

Televue Naglers such as T6 range are very good in providing larger field of view but at the expense of eye-relief

Vixen LVWs are also an extremely good option and are roughly the same design as the Pentax (with the inclusion of a 17mm focal length EP)

The bad news is all of them are quite hard to get your hands on in the 2nd hand market as they are all excellent and thus all sought after.

[BruceG (Bruce)]

So I guess the best option is to hook up with an astronomer who is rapidly loosing their eyesight Only kidding.
Thanks for the recommendations - I will keep a good eye out for Pentax's and the others that were recommended.
It will be a couple of weeks before I get my scope, so I need to find at least one EP before then or I will be totally frustrated.
Thanks for al the advice - it's a great site.
Bruce.

[MrB (Simon)]

Keep in mind the different focal lengths.
For visual I think the f9 ED100 is better suited.
For beginner imaging I'd suggest the Megrez 90(f6.9/f6.2) is better suited, but one without the DDG focuser.
The problem with the Meg90's is all the different versions they have made. But the early versions are very good which is why they don't often come up for sale. I wish I never sold mine.

[JQ (John)]

I have on loan the above eyepiece from a friend with a view to purchasing. We thought it might not be suited to my 100 ED but this has not proved to be the case. It is crisp and clear. In an LX 90 8" the wide field is fantastic if you like this sought of thing.

If you are considering Televue (I have a 9mm Nagler), I would suggest you consider the Explore Scientific range. They are generally cheaper than Televue and the reviews have them right up there.

John