|
My 2c for what it's worth (approx 2c).
I like refractors. Perhaps it's just my own particular eyesight, but I've just never been 'wowed' by the images in fast newtonians. Sure, they give the biggest bang for the buck and for an imaging scope, the 8" f4 and coma corrector give a lot of imaging scope for the least amount of dollars. If imaging is your priority, I'd probably go that way on a HEQ5 pro or NEQ5 pro mount (whatever mount, make sure it has an autoguiding port for later down the track).
If you'd rather something with really nice pinpoint stars for visual, I'd go the 120ed refractor (on the either of the two mounts) and maybe the .8x reducer for photography. I have the 100mm ed and 80mm ed versions of the scope and the images are always very satisfying for me.
A T-ring adapter should be all you need for the camera and maybe an extension tube may be needed to reach focus without a diagonal....not sure on that one.
About the same price as the 120ed, there's a Maksutov-Newtonian 190mm (f6ish) that could be a very nice compromise between the two but I have no first hand experience with that sort of scope.
For a combination of visual and photography, the 120ed would win it for me.
edit: as far as moving it around on the EQ mount, with the refractor, you only have to rotate the diagonal (as the scope can end up in awkward spots) but with the Newt on an eq mount, you'll occasionally have to rotate the whole scope in it's rings to put the eyepiece in a comfy spot. I had an 8" f5 newt on the HEQ5 and found it a bit of a pain in the bum sometimes.
|