Quote:
Originally Posted by Phiber
Bart,
I think David said it all. It would be a very good idea for you to join a local club or go to a few star parties before pulling the trigger on this purchase. Nothing beats experiencing for yourself, seeing what imaging with this or that equipment involves, what results can be obtained etc.
All very much depends on what you want to do with your scope!
As David said, the 1400 is no beginner scope for AP! It really is a better idea to start with a ~600mmish focal length scope. You will see that it already is a MISSION. And just have a look at all the nice images produced by the small 80mm eds! In AP, small scopes can produce wonderful wonderful images not accessible to bigger scopes.
The risk if you just go with this scope thinking that you will do some AP, is that you might get frustrated and lose motivation pretty quickly. Again, mastering a 3500mm focal length requires LOTS of experience and an excellent mount and guiding equipment. This FL will also prevent you from imaging large DSO. In fact at this FL, you will be unable to image many DSO, unless you do some crazy compositions - a whole new level.
So it's not that the 1400 is not suited for deep sky viewing or imaging, it's that it is a very specialised scope. I have seen some wonderful deep sky images with C14s, but of very specific objects - typically small in apparent diameter and faint.
If you are interested in general AP, then I do not recommend getting this big of a scope. For AP, the mount is generally more important than the scope - as long as its a decent scope. And also you would need something better than your current dslr if your goal is to do some serious AP.
All this to say: the 1400 is good for certain very specific objects, and requires extensive experience and equipment to master. From our discussion here, it seems to me that your are a beginner in AP. If this is the case, I strongly suggest to join a club and rethink what equipment to buy.
I cannot stress David's recommendation enough: join a club, go to star parties, go see for yourself!!! Really, this might save you a lot of dollars, a lot of frustration, and might avoid you spending a lot of money on some equipment that will not be suited for your needs.
Best of luck!
Sylvain
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Sylvain,
Thanks for your concern. However when I get this scope my priority will be just plain viewing through the eyepieces with friends and family. As soon as I'm familiar with this scope, I will start to use it for some AP. I basically just want the best scope to have and work with, since I've had a Meade ETX 70 (it's not very good) for eight or nine years now and I know a lot about how it functions. The C14 can't be too different
!
Thanks again
Bart