Next step/scope?

[luka]

I am stuck trying to decide what to do. Recently I saw a 2nd hand 127mm Mak advertised for about $250 (no accessories) which got me thinking about getting a new scope.

I currently have ED80 on soon-to-be-improved EQ5 (I am replacing the dual motor hand controller drive with a custom built belt-driven drive controlled by OnStep). Also I am building a guiding system. My main interest is deep sky astrophotograpy but recently I have started playing with planetary imaging (with ED80). I have also started doing some visual observing. Clearly that is an excuse enough to get another scope :-) My budget is quite limited due to other expenses, say few hundred $.

Considering the budget I was thinking of an 8" or preferably 10" dob/Newtonian or the 127mm Orion Mak. I also know that whatever I buy will likely end up on the EQ5 until I can upgrade the mount (yes I know it would suffer under the 8" or 10" tube and yes, I hate myself for not getting a bigger mount in the first place).

Anyway, how would a 127mm Mak perform compared to 8" or to 10" reflector for planetary imaging? I know that I can forget about deep sky stuff with the Mak but it's smaller size is attractive. How would either of them compare to ED80 for planetary or deep sky, visual and photography? Would it even be much of a step up? What would be a reasonable step up from ED80 for planetary and/or visual? All observing is done from my light-polluted backyard. Should I rather buy a light-pollution filter for my ED80?

Is $250 for 2nd hand 127mm Orion Mak OTA only a good price? Should I get it now and ask questions later ;-)

I have been thinking about this for days and I am completely lost what to do next. Does it mean I don't need another scope until I figure which direction I want to go?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/recommendations.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Hi , ok a few things first. , the ED80 on EQ5 is quite a capable set up and there are thousands of awesome AP,s out there taken with this set up.

Planetary AP can be done if you get a good 5x Barlow , TV springs to mind , you just need patience as I take it your set up in not in an observatory? ,permanently set up .

I don't think the 127mm Mak will be better than a Barlow,d ED80 , so save your money and put it into say an HEQ5 and keep the 80mm , great scopes these are.

Also with an HEQ5 you could mount a nice 150mmf5 newt for great deep sky shooting .

Not that the 127mm Mak is a bad scope. , far from it , it's kinda a step side ways from what you now have and dead money , you have to be really careful here as AP is really the. ' Slippery slope to empty pockets ' .

My 5c .

Brian.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

The 8" or 10" Newt will both exceed the carrying capacity on the EQ5. The 8" might be alright for visual if well balanced but for imaging, forget it.
The 127mm ( 5") Mak will sit on the EQ5 quite happily but from what I've heard the ED80 will do a better job. With a Barlow you'll get a bigger image but you will be definitely stepping into the guiding world to acheive good imaging. Planetary imaging will work ok without guiding of course but DSO's is another matter altogether.

I'll be interested to see how your guiding project will work.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Forget the 5" Mak for imaging, but for a grab-and-go / portable it's a nice little scope. And if it's in good nick, $250 is a bargain. It's not lightweight though so you'll need a sturdy AZ mount (for grab-n-go). 8" Newtonian or larger will show you a LOT more detail though. A 10" is probably the smallest you want to consider for planetary imaging, just to get some decent resolution. 8" for visual is great and often the atmosphere (the seeing) won't let you see much more with a 10". But when you're imaging, techniques like image stacking are used to suppress the noise due to unsteady atmosphere and tease out more detail.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Stick with the ED80 for deep sky and focus on your guiding. You'll have a lot of fun with it. If you want to do planetary you're best to get a small video cam (ZWO or other) and something with a little more aperture and especially focal length like a small Cassegrain like a C8 or C9.

[luka]

Thanks to everybody for replies. I will stick with my ED80 and see how things go with guiding. The new stepper motors should be arriving tomorrow and then only the sky will be the limit :-)
(I will post an update in the DIY section once things are working).

Brian, it is a temporary setup. I have to carry everything outside, although sometimes I leave the mount outside for several days to avoid redoing polar alignment. Hopefully guiding will shorten the time I used to spend on alignment.

I have tried imaging Jupiter with ED80 and 3x Televue barlow with the good old Philips SPC900NC but the image was too small to get much detail. Then I tried stacking 2x and 3x barlows but could not get the webcam to focus. I will post a question in a separate thread about stacking barlows.

Few years ago on IceInSpace I have received great advice to get ED80 and EQ5 as a beginner's imaging scope/mount.
Today I have again received very valuable advice.
Thank you.