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Old 03-12-2004, 06:32 AM
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iceman (Mike)
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Gosford, NSW, Australia
Posts: 36,799
Hi Loopy.
Quote:
Oh, I hope you don't mind either Mike
No, of course I don't mind, that's what these forums are here for!

I reckon we need a bit more info first before making a proper recommendation..

1. What's your budget?
2. Is your main passion to do astrophotography, or a mix or visual and photography?
3. How portable do you need it to be? Will you mostly use it from your backyard, or do you plan to go out to dark sites much?

I got the 10" GSO Dob from bintel, it's exactly the same scope as from Andrews (as are the 6" and 8"'s too). I was able to get a good deal from Bintel, so they ended up the same price, if not cheaper, than what I would've been able to pick it up at Andrews. You just need to do your shopping around and ask the right questions, and ask if they can do it cheaper. Bintel have a better reputation without-a-doubt, and if you need service and advice, Bintel are the best for sure.. but if you want a piece of gear and you know exactly what you want and what you're getting, then andrews is generally cheaper.

I got a 10" dob because I wanted max aperture for my dollar. My budget was limited and at the time I didn't think i'd get into astrophotography much.

Now, I wish I had gotten an EQ mount for tracking, not just for astrophotography, but just because having teh object drift out of the FOV so fast all the time is most annoying, especially when you're trying to share the view with family and friends, and you have to back to the EP between each person to re-align the object back into the FOV.

But I know if I had gotten an EQ mount, I would've ended up with less aperture or would've had to wait a lot longer. I don't regret owning a dob, they're great for beginners. But now I do want tracking so i'll have to save up for a good tracking mount.

If you plan on attaching your D70 at prime focus, you'll need a fairly robust scope and mount. I just don't have any experience with those smaller 4.5" reflectors on EQ2's or 3's. I don't know how sturdy there are. I imagine there'd be a fair amount of dampening time and it just may not be accurate enough for long exposure deepspace stuff.

Give us some more info about your plans and i'm sure some other guys will be able to give some better (more experienced) advice than me!
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