[Emuhead (Andrew)]

Hi all,

I'm interested in going deeper into space. I have been imaging at 800mm f/4 with my newt and very happy with the results so far, but long story short I'm looking to take the next step closer and try for something in the 1400 - 2400mm focal length range. Have an EQ6R Pro mount, 20kg payload and like to keep it under 13kg. Also whilst I'd love a CDK, or Dream Astrograph (or even an EQ8R mount with a 1200mm f4 newt) I'm not quite ready for that financial leap. So have been looking at GSO RC8 & Edge HD 8 & 9.25.

What's imaging at f7, f8, f10 like in practical terms. I know that f7 is twice as fast as f10 for example but how does that translate into the subs. Does an f7 sub appear twice as bright as an f10 sub?

My other question is which scope of those, and please suggest anything else I might have missed, would give the best image quality? I have been spending some time on Astrobin and looking at a selection of images from these scopes and they somehow seem less detailed & more blurry than id be happy with. To clarify it's almost like using digital zoom on a photo rather than optical zoom, it's like the target has increased in size but not increased in the same relative amount of detail as you might expect.

Is detail at that aperture and weight possible at long focal lengths or am I looking for something that is beyond what is technically achievable? As an amateur astrophotographer without limitless funds (*should have bought that Bitcoin), should I be realistic and just be content with detail at 1200mm or less?

Would appreciate people's thoughts on this.