thanks guys, its the 8" LX200 ACF that i was referring to just to avoid confusion.
ok so now im leaning towards the meade but a new ota AND heavier duty mount is out of the question for now, that leaves me wondering how accurate the mention of the 15kg payload of a HEQ5 is because if i add everything up im still under it by a few kg but i can also appreciate that this is pushing it for long exposures.
im guessing that because the SCT is a short tube ota it should be able to handle it ok aslong as i balance everything correctly, i mean its not like im putting something that is over its rated limit so surely its not going to scream and fall to bits or just not play along?
this leaves the question of locking the mirror on the 8", can it be done?
ive heard of people adding a crayford focuser and leaving the mirror racked all the way back to reduce shift while focusing but this doesnt sound effective for 'locking it down' during an imaging run.
how bad is the shift? im guessing if i was imaging at F10 it would be pretty severe.
after a quick google frenzy i found this on the meade site regarding the LX200 ACF range...
Quote:
Zero Image-Shift Microfocuser allows you to obtain precise image focus with no image movement.
Primary Mirror Lock locks the mirror in place during long-exposure astrophotography.
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is this true for the ota only or is this for the package with the mount?
thanks again