The vmc110 would be a great alternative to the ed80 I think. It's comparable in price too.
Thanks for posting these images, I think I may have seen them before? The defraction spikes are minimal aren't they. The vanes of the spider are curved aren't they?
Hi Chris, a reasonable image again. No to be critical. If you look at the fainter areas of the nebula you will notice it is quite grainy. This is the result of insuficient exposure or not enough subs overall. By increasing the total exposure this is not quite as noticable or at least easier to fix.
On a not so critical side. The VC looks like it is quite well collimated as the stars are still quite round.
This is probably one of the hardest targets in the sky and requires quite a high skill level in PShop and also needs exposures of various lengths to enable the core image to be blended in without the burn out.
Nice try at this hard one. Lots more nebulosity when you have longer exposures also.