[AstroJason (Jason)]

Hey guys,

Hoping to get some advice on a few things here. Been out of the hobby for about 10 years now and looking to get back into it. I am looking for a scope that can be used for both visual and astrophotography as well as be highly portable. I am not in too much of a rush as I want to make the right decision here without the need to upgrade scope/mount/ccd later down the line, although I may have to concede to needing to upgrade if the astrophotography bug really bites me hard.

At the moment I am happy to continue to use my 60D on a fixed tripod with the various lenses I have to do wide angle astrophotography. I have also recently sent off my application to join the ASNSW so I can meet and check out gear that other people use and are happy with. I think most of my questions here would be answered once I check out equipment myself but I just wanted to get a start on this. I have already received some advice on products that are out there such as the Vixen Polarie which is handy for portable DSLR astroshots.

But I do want to start thinking about my next scope and what it should be. So below I have listed what my current thoughts are, please feel free to provide feedback here, especially if I am going right off track. I would love to keep the budget for all this under $3000 if possible.

Aperture. Having previously owned a 12” Dob I don’t want to go too far back in aperture. It was a Meade Starfinder (so was the big cardboard tube, not the collapsible Lightbridge Meade sell today). So I am fully aware of the sheer weight and awkwardness of large scopes. At the moment I’m living in a top floor unit (2nd floor). But I have pretty good views of North, South and East (although they are light polluted). So lugging it up and down stairs is a factor I have to consider. I am thinking either an 8”-10” scope. I’m leaning more to a 10” because I really don’t want to concede too much aperture. Also I will have access to the relatively dark skies of Heathcote on most weekends.

What is the weight difference between a 8” vs 10” scope?
Is there much of a difference visually through the eyepiece between a 8” vs 10” scope?
Will imaging through a 10” scope on deep sky objects make any difference to a 8” scope? Less imaging time?

Scope Type. This is one area which has been doing my head in and I keep swapping and changing my mind on. I guess the weight difference between an 8” v 10” scope will be answered in combination with this section. Firstly I can rule out another Dob. Also Refractors are ruled out as I would like to use the scope for deep sky visual use and a 10” refractor… need I say more…

So which to get out of a Newtonian, SCT or Astrograph? My head is saying Newtonian because they are cheaper than the other 2 options. Great for visual use and it could be a great base to start my astrophotography from. However they are long. I think the shortest 8” Newtonian is 800mm (which is about the max tube length I would like) while 10” is 1000mm? While nowhere near as long as my old 12” Dob, I would like something a little more compact. The SCT option is a little more pricey, but is compact and offers incredible visual use. However for astrophotography I hear they are not the greatest scope to use and I’m probably better off with a Newtonian? Which brings me to the Astrograph option. By far the most expensive OTA of the lot, however the photos I have seen taken with them are “out of this world”… However for visual use I hear they aren’t as great because of the large obstruction created by the secondary mirror.

What is the shortest 10” Newtonian on the market? Been eyeing off the Skywatcher Carbon Fibre f4 OTA from Andrews… although the Guan Sheng sounds like it could be a good value for money option? Just unsure of the quality?
Do Newtonians suffer the same issues SCTs do for imaging?
Am I correct in thinking SCTs aren’t the greatest for imaging?
Can an Astrograph by used for visual use when required and still present a great view?
Are the Guan Sheng Astrographs worth the price?

Mount. This I think I have nailed down to a NEQ6Pro. Reason for this is I think it should suit my weight requirements for some time into the future and it seems that any level up in terms of payload capacity means almost a doubling in price. Is there any alternative mount out there that is in between the load capacity of a NEQ6Pro and say the EQ8? Just here we’re talking a jump from 20kgs – 50kgs. Is there anything in between that does not break the bank?

Apart from all this I think my “easy way out” alternative would be to just bite the bullet and get a 10” Meade LX200ACF on a wedge. But I honestly only think this because for some reason I feel more familiar with Meade products. Plus it exceeds what I would like to spend!

CCD. I have no idea here apart from Canon DSLR knowledge and I think it would be a while off before I get into purchasing a dedicated CCD for astrophotography.

Anyway wow that is a long post with heaps of questions! Apologies about that! But if anyone out there can assist in narrowing down some of the questions I have that would be great.

Thanks all,

Jason