Hi everyone!
So, I was tossing up whether or not to upgrade a long time ago, and now that I've got a 4x4 and can access some nice remote dark campsites, I think it's finally time.
Like most newbs looking to upgrade, I've done a tonne of research and read enough reviews and opinions to the point that my brain begs for mercy, but before I spend any money, I wanted to seek some opinions from some folks with more experience than me. At the moment, I'm using 50mm binoculars and an alt-azimuth el cheapo refractor.
So my budget firstly, under $5000.
Mount wise, I'm thinking the SkyWatcher AZ-EQ6 GT Mount for it's sturdiness, fairy reasonable price, and the fact that it can be used as an EQ mount or AZ (which will be beneficial for visual work and eyepiece positioning).
Scope wise, I think I've decided on the catadioptric type of scope, and hopefully someone here can offer me some advice/opinions on the choices. They are:
- SkyWatcher - 190mm MAK NEWTONIAN OTA
OR
- SkyWatcher Black Diamond 180mm MAK OTA
A Maksutov, from what I've read, offers a very flat field, eliminating the need for a coma corrector, with good contrast, pin point stars without diffraction spikes, and close to refractor performance suitable for astrophotography work and visual work. There are some concerns I have with these two scopes however.
Firstly the Mak-Newt, I've seem astrophotography from these types of telescopes, and often stars seem to have 2 diffraction spikes, the cause of which I believe is inward travel of the focuser to the point where it protrudes inside the tube. Does anyone know if the SkyWatcher Mak-Newt suffers from this? I would also like to use binoviewers at some stage, and from what I've read there are some issues with Mak-Newts focuser travel and binoviewers. I think they may be used but you also need some sort of 2x magnifying parfocal lense?
With the Mak-Cass, the major concern is the focal length. F/15 seems very slow, which might be good for planetary and smaller objects, but can wider field objects like the orion nebula or andromeda galaxy fit in the fov of this scope?
If anyone can offer and advice or opinions, it would be much appreciated. If you think I should find a different scope, let me know.
Thanks!
