Folks, I'm thinking I might like to get an 80mm APO to piggyback on my scope and having never had one or used one before for astrophotography, would like some suggestions. I've only just started to research so some of these questions are pretty basic. We are playing with around a grand as a budget.
I quite like look and sound of the 80mm f/6 APO Meade http://www.meade.com/APO/index.html but there are quite a few others to consider. ie the Williams, but there's is a semi apo in this price range. Is that a massive issue ?
Are there any pure suggestions or can anyone point out any pitfalls ?
Would I be better waiting and getting a larger budget before taking the plunge ? Bearing in mind I'm going to have to spend on weights to rebalance, rings and a dovetail or similar to mount, the upside is that it is 2" so my diagonals and adapters for the camera will fit.
An interesting thread, it is open to a lot of interpretation. First and foremost if, as you say, you are just starting down this road I would head on over to the Cloudy Nights site and open up their Telescope Reviews on 80-90mm refractors, also have a look at Ed Ting's site as well.
I use the following 80mm scopes, William Optics ZS-80 semi APO at f/6.0 and a SW ED80 Pro Series APO at f/7.5. The ZS-80 is my grab and go scope has nice stars to the edge but has a faint blue ring around bright stars/objects, hardly noticable but there all the same, I have used this to photograph with but disgarded the photos as the stars had distinct blue rings around them, CA, using a VR-1 filter did not help all that much, visually, yes photographicly, no. I now also have a Sky-Watcher ED80 Pro Series APO at f/7.5 and it is used as my guidescope for my Takahashi, from the limited time I have had it I have found the stars, visually are colour free and quite bright, I have not tested it photographicaly yet, but others on this site have and can comment, a range of photos are on the MyAstroShop site. Other photo's have been offered in AS&T using this scope. My aim with this scope is to use it for wide field shots, it has a slightly wider FOV than the Tak with the focal reducer but operates at f/7.5 compared to the Tak at f/5.9.
I don't know what to make of the Meade offering in this size range, I have not found any reference to it as being tested, I would also want to see an independant test and photos, not the Meade sponsered one's and I take with a grain of salt their comments on the site you provided. One would hope that it would be better than the last lot of so called APO's that were offered.
I can only comment on the 2, 80mm scopes I have, the ZS-80, while fast as far as the F/L is concerned,is not up to it in the photos department, introduces a bit of CA, the ED80 at f/7.5 is slower, appears to be able to take excellent astrophoto's.
FYI, William Optics do offer a full 80mm APO.
Have fun, it took me quite a while to get my needs sorted out.
You cant go past the Orion ED80 or Saxon or Skywatcher...their all the same and are the best scope for value for money when Imaging is it's purpose.
A large percentage of imagers on this forum use that exact scope...some to image and some to guide with or both.
I too would wait regarding Meade apo's like John said....I hope their good but the ones I have mentioned have proven themselves to be more then acceptable for this price range.
Thanks for the pointers, I'm leaning toward saving for a little longer and seeing what I can get to before taking the plunge this time .. it's against my character to wait, so I must be getting older and wiser. ( as if )
I like the Megrez 80 pics and writeups, so that has me interested at the moment. Great advise on waiting on the Meade, I can't find a review of the new ones anywhere ! bit sus, but I guess everyone is shying away after their semi apo.
Synta ED80s (saxon, orion, skywatcher etc) are amazingly good. Don't let the low price put you off - from < $550 . They are unreal value and free from false colour even at very high powers. But maybe not as fast as you'd like f/7.5. But Bert can show you how to fix that.
I think you are making a wise decission, do your homework, there are a lot of really excellent scopes within the 80 -105mm range, you may have to pay a bit more than your budget but it will be worth it. With your setup you will also probably have to consider weight, keep that in mind.
As has already been said, don't be bias against the ED80, it might just be what you are looking for, focal length can be reduced easily and you can't beat the price.
Ditto what Tony and the others have said about the ED80. You may buy the Megrez, but IMO the only extra you'll be getting is a fancy focusser. The additional money that you save with the ED80 will buy a decent diagonal (bintel have 2 inch quartz dielectric diagonals for $149) some EP's and mounting rings. If you're unsure, search the forum for images taken with the ED80, you won't be disappointed.
Thanks folks.
Your all correct, higher price isn't always better quality, but gee it is a big difference .. The Skywatcher ED80 from myastroshop is 690.00 and includes, finder, dovetail mounting plate and tube rings! I've had a looksee at some of the pics, and they are excellent .. so I'm beginning to be swayed that way. I can't find a Stellarvue dealer in Oz .. any suggestions ? They certainly look the business, the photo's on the site and the links are very nice, and at f/6 is pretty fast .. the hunt continues ..
You could call or e-mail Stellarvue to see if they would ship oversee's. I'm thinking they do. While the SV80S isn't cheap it's provided some of the best images I've seen from an 80mm scope.
Good luck with your search, lot's of great scopes out there.
One thing to note about the Synta made ED80s is that the tube is 100mm in dameter, so they are not quite as compact as most other 80mm short refractors with 80-90mm tubes.
Something to keep in mind, if you import from O/S and the item is over $1000 AU you will have to deal with Customs, Import Taxes, GST etc unless you use one of the high priced options that deal in that area. All adds to the cost.
Thanks Chris, I figured they would, but, import is something I do here at work, and it can be very painful for an individual. ( good point JohnG ). SteveH, thanks for the heads up, the Skywatcher comes with the rings and a dovetail mount plate which should make it relatively painless .. The more I investigate, the more I'm settling on the Skywatcher ED80 .. how do you collimate them ?
One thing to note about the Synta made ED80s is that the tube is 100mm in dameter, so they are not quite as compact as most other 80mm short refractors with 80-90mm tubes.
Al,
All the Orion, Synta, Skywatcher, Saxon ED80's are the identical scope just re-laballed. They are all in a 100mm tube. And they are magnificent.
The Celestron ED80 is the only one I know of that is actually in an 80mm tube, but the Celestron does not have great reviews (bits falling off etc).
I use a Saxon ED80 piggy-backed on a GS 12" for guiding and astro-pics and can't fault it.
Fortunately because it has the 100mm tube, mine has the ED100 crayford focuser giving longer focus travel (which is sometimes needed for pics).
I am not saying 'definately get an ED80'. I am only explaining what I use and how happy I am with it. There may be better ways to go but I can't comment as I have never used other 80mm scopes.
You might want to have a look at how Tony (Striker) has his Orion ED80 setup, see http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=11015
I myself use a Losmandy DUP plate with 125mm Losmandy guidescope rings in a side by side setup, using the standard rings and dovetail that come with the scope don't allow you any freedom of movement, you need that to get a guidestar or, if imaging, allowing the main scope to guide and offset the smaller scope to the target.
Cheers
JohnG
EDIT: The attached picture shows my side by side setup with the William Optics ZS-80 and Losmandy Guide Rings.
All the Orion, Synta, Skywatcher, Saxon ED80's are the identical scope just re-laballed.
Yes, that's what I meant by Synta ED80s - there are at least half a dozen paintjobs + brand names sold under. Bauer ED80 from Astro Optical is another...
I hadn't thought of the adjustment JohnG, I might be better getting a bare OTA without the rings etc, and putting that toward the mount. Good one.
Thanks Ken, I'll have a peek at the Saxon's too.
SteveH, I'm sold after Stuarts piccy !
So now I just need to hunt up the best price I can for one and work out what to and how to mount it all.
You don't. They should be well collimated when you get them and stay that way. Star test at high power to make sure. Just in case you get one with the collimation a bit off, buy from a dealer that has a clue about optics and collimation. AOE is a good one. From all reports MyAstroshop sounds great too.
. They are unreal value and free from false colour even at very high powers. But maybe not as fast as you'd like f/7.5. But Bert can show you how to fix that. 
