Indecisive Person with decision to make

[AlexN]

Well... Its come to the very end of my month of hard out spending since astrofest... there is one thing left to buy, and a few options...

This scope will be for long F/L deep space photography and planetary imaging... Maybe visual from time to time, but not likely enough to consider it heavily.

Options and their pro's and con's.

Meade 10" LX200-ACF OTA
Pros:
long F/L
Weight
Mirror Lock

Cons:
Expensive
Lots of accessories needed (dew heater band/dew sheild/focal reducer/micro focuser?)

Vixen VC200L
Pros:
Great optics
Moderately long FL

Cons:
Small aperture for planetary imaging
RnP single speed focuser
Big obstruction - contrast issues

GSO 12" Dobsonian
Pros:
Aperture wins!
Cheap in comparison

Cons:
Its massive and heavy.
Rings are REALLY expensive
Doesn't hold collimation well (or so I've heard/read)
Flimsy focuser

If the scope was going to be ONLY for planetary imaging, the 12" would have a clear advantage.. however due to my wanting to use it for deep space imaging also, its cumbersome size and weight become an issue. The focuser wont do, although for the price of the scope, I could get a moonlite/JMI/Feathertouch and still have spare change..

Alternatively, if it were ONLY for deep space, the VC200L has a distinct advantage of having great optics, good F/L etc etc... but for planetary work the aperture is not quite enough (no upgrade over my current 8") and the 3mm thick spider vanes and rather large central obstruction kill contrast a bit..

Heres where the meade comes into play... 10" is a good upgrade in aperture/light gathering capabilities, has a great focal lenght for planetary imaging, availability of 3.3 / 6.3 F/R for widening the field for certain targets... although these accessories added with dew prevention gear etc.. push it to the very very upper limit of my budget...



Is there anything im overlooking in regards to any of these scopes, or any scope im not considering?

Advice from people who own the scopes in question would be great.

Cheers.
Alex.

[TrevorW]

8" GSO RC now on market for $2450 be the first to buy, try and write up a review

or of the three Vixen IMO

[madtuna (Steve)]

Al the vixen has a dew shield too lol

[mick pinner]

you cannot use a dobsonian for long exposure astrophotography.

[matt]

Any particular reason why you've not included a Celestron 9.25 or 11" in that list?

They are proven planetary scopes and very capable of producing fine deep sky images.

The Celestron OTAs in that aperture are also comparatively light, at around 10kgs.

I know the 9.25 doesn't seem like a big step up from an 8", but I noticed the difference when I went up from an 8" Skywatcher newtonian.

The 11" would certainly be a fair step up in aperture.

[netwolf]

C8 or C11 with Fastar. The C8 using Hyperstar with the Qhy8 camera has produced some amazing DSO shots. And the C8 is no slouch for Planet imaging either. The C11 of course would be better still. The C9.25 is an excellent choice also but does not have Fastar options, so you are limited to Long FL DSO work or at best at F6.3 using a reducer. But with this reducer you are limited to small CCD sensors only. A DSLR sized sensor would be affected by some Vignetting.

Note that long FL DSO work is not an easy thing to do, and is much more sensitive to the ability and quality of the Mount.

Get a used C8 with Fastar and also a GSO 8" F5 Newtonian for DSO work. You can then upgrade the C8 to a C9.25 or C11 when your budget allows.
A used C8 can be had for sub 1000. And a GSO 8" F5 should be about 300-400 new.
Have a look at this thread and the link I have provided for the TEC140 vs GSO comparison.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?p=327139

Regards
Fahim

[coldspace]

Go the Meade 10 inch,you won't be sorry. Top notch optics with no or very little if any coma, I don't notice any with my 12 R.
Got mirror lock that is handy.
Friend of mine uses a 14 inch R on the Gold Coast and gets away most of the time with just a dew shield, but I find I need to use a heater strap sometimes along with a flexi shield I got from Sirus optics.
The "R" scopes have an ultra high contrast coatings so I assume the ACF is the same. I don't know why people bag these scopes saying they have little contrast etc, as mine kicks you know what!!
Better getting better now and waiting a little longer for other things as you will kick your self a year later buy saying I should have got that.
Friend of mine does SN hunting with his 12 R and the galaxy scale is great.
If you buy one then save a little longer and get the optec 2 inch focal reducers. I use the optec .33 and .7 with my 12 and a Mallincam and these reducers are worth every penny but are expensive. I think Starzona has hyperstar F2 adapters now for the 10 inch Meades.

Regards,
Matt.

[AlexN]

Originally Posted by mick pinner

you cannot use a dobsonian for long exposure astrophotography.

I am aware of this... It would be mounted on my EQ6... as far as deep sky, the 12" would be out untill the mount is replaced by something more substantial, but for planetary imaging it would be ok...


So... now I have votes for all 3 and another scope added to the mix...

I had looked at the C9.25 but as Matt mentioned, it doesnt seem like a real upgrade in aperture from the 8".. I really need to have a look at all the options in person I suppose.. I've used 12" newts and know they are a highly capable unit... as for the others, I've never looked through an Cat/Cas of any type...

I've got a mate with a VC200L, so i'll be able to have a better look... I just dont know that it will have the aperture fix im looking for...

Note - The scope will be for planetary imaging primarily.. and used for some deep sky work when the Megrez 90 doesn't get me close enough....

[matt]

Originally Posted by AlexN

Note - The scope will be for planetary imaging primarily.. ....

In that case, I'd recommend a C9.25 or C11 even more strongly

The difference I've experienced between using an 8" newtonian (fl 1000mm) Vs C9.25 (fl 2350mm) for planetary imaging is quite considerable, particularly when you add a 3x barlow or 4x powermate. I know the extra 1.25" of aperture does seem like it would be much of a difference, but it was.

A C11 would deliver an even greater advantage.

[AlexN]

Oh, and Trevor, Nope... Not dropping $2450 on something that may or may not be any good... not until someone else buys and say "wow.. this is horrendously awesome! buy one now.. better yet, buy two".. then I'd think about it...

[Tandum (Robin)]

You know I have a VC but I have not had enough time using it before I damaged myself to give you advise. But mechanically, it's short and only 7Kgs including my right angle finder scope. What does a meade 10" weigh and do you really want to drop another $5K on a mount to hold it.

I've been looking at big dobs too. If you want one, wouldn't a 16" monster be better than a 12" job. It does not have to be on an eq mount.

[AlexN]

The meade 10" weighs in at 12kgs according to what I've read...

And im looking at dob's so I can pull the OTA off the dob base, wack rings on it and mount it up.... Weight for OTA alone isnt a problem, but the 12" + guiding and all other imaging accessories is a no go on the EQ6

[Tandum (Robin)]

That is what I mean. You don't need rings, bars and an eq mount to guide a dob.

How deep are those pockets

12kgs means 15Kgs with all the crap. Come over here on the weekend and take the VC for a run. Someone needs to use the stuff, I can't

You'll prolly need a custom connector for your qhy8 to the VC with the reducer. I believe Hong Kong Pete makes these, but you can just plug in my 40D if you want.

[gbeal]

Thats what I would do, go try Robin's. In my case I use mostly a 10" f5 newt, and as an all rounder it is difficult to beat, but has superb optics though.
The VC200L is a tough customer though, my only gripe is that I couldn't install one of my Feather Touch focusers, not without a heap of custom machining anyway.
Spoilt for choice is a great thing huh?
Gary