2nd Scope choice.

[Swartz (Nick)]

Hi all;

Just a few questions/ a bit of advice regarding my next scope choice.

My current mount is a EQ6-R Pro. My current OTA is a Saxon 150 Mak @ F12. So good for the planets/moon. But no so good for deep sky. Main eyepiece that I use is a BHZ 8-24. I am under bortle 4 sky's with fairly clear views of the sky.

My main use is visual. I am more inclined to go in the refractor direction rather the reflector mostly as fracs are much smaller which makes setting up easier as well as taking up less room in storage. Am wanting a faster scope for DSO's.

Am after a quality OTA, am very tempted by an Esprit 100 (@F5.5), as more aperture = more light, when compared to a 80. But is rather expensive, but does include a flatter/reducer, finder scope and diagonal. Other OTA's you need to add these increasing to the base cost.

Is a 100 that much better then an 80?

What other OTA's should I be looking at?

How risky is it to buy from an overseas seller? For something that isn't available in OZ.

Thanks;

Nick

[raymo]

This is just my personal opinion.
I have owned/ borrowed/ used, scopes of most types and sizes in my well
over 70 yrs in astro, and can honestly say that the only scope I would be less
likely to buy as my visual scope than the Esprit 100, would be any scope smaller than that. In my opinion, for visual, aperture is king. An 8" f/5 Newt
only weighs about 2kg more than the 100 frac, and can stand on its end in a
corner for storage. Unless you have a specific interest such as double stars, or
planetary nebulae, I imagine you will soon get aperture fever. The 8" has 4x the light gathering power, and is a little faster than the Esprit.
raymo

[croweater (Richard)]

Hi Nick. I was just about to post a similar post to Raymo when I saw his post. Esprit great for astrophotography but for visual 8" f5 or f6 great fit for your mount. 4" not really enough for faint objects visual.
Cheers Richard.

[xelasnave]

Listen to Raymo and Richard...the eight inch is brilliant ..look at Startrecks photos ...your mount will handle it ..go F5 ...you can only love it...compare the prices and ask what it is you think the enormous price difference could posibly deliver ...with mine I added two additional brackets for perceived better support and would like to add a better focuser..for visual you may or may not want a coma corrector but even with these additions you will have change ... Nothing wrong with a decent refractor but I have a 115 mm triplet which originally came from os ..probably $2500 new an absolute gem...but twice the price of the eight inch and less app....do the sums to identify light gathering of each.
The Newtonian does not have good resale so I would seek a bargain within your area..look at it and buy it...
Alex

[gregbradley]

Yes having looked through and owned many scopes over time I think 100mm is getting a bit small. You can still get nice wide views and decent planetary views with barlows but the amount of light throughput makes it a bit dull.

130mm is a good start but of course more expensive. Best visual views I have had were a Tak FS152, an AP130 and 140 and a TEC180 fluorite. All very expensive unfortunately.

Mirrored scopes are good in that regard. You can get large aperture for much cheaper.

For widefield astrophotography though the Esprit would be excellent.

You would be able to get a 12 inch go to Skywatcher Dobsonian for the same money and I am sure it would leave the refractor for dead.

I would also add ideal compound scopes for astrophotography would not be ideal for visual. For visual you want a small secondary mirror but for imaging you want a largish one.

Greg.

[Swartz (Nick)]

Thanks for all the reply's; I can get stuck on an idea and keep my focus on that. That kind has happened with getting a frac. Getting steered away from that now, thanks.... Another bonus with a reflector is as Alex pointed out money saved can be put into upgrades. Wide FoV eyepieces would be nice.
To ask a dumb question, have seen reflectors described as 'imaging', can these still be used for visual? Or like a RASA are AP use only.

[Startrek (Martin)]

Nick,
I’ve had my Skywatcher 12” Goto dob for 3 years and admittedly I observe from Bortle 3 skies but the views are simply “out of this world” on a moonless clear stable night
I do use Televue premium eyepieces and Powermates
I’ve owned and used 6”, 8” , 10” and 12” newts for both visual and imaging and can’t see myself changing types of scopes for the immediate future
If you want to get into imaging at some stage in the future , the EQ6-R pro is a very capable mount for imaging ( I have two of them and one carry’s an 8” f5 newt , imaging payload 15kg )
Even a Skywatcher 8” Goto dob would be an awesome visual scope if your concerned about budget
For “all round” visual ( beginner to intermediate) you can’t go past an 8” , 10” or 12” dob ( newtonian reflector)
For advanced visual observers 16” to 24” or bigger Dobs are the order of the day ( usually permanent locations or observatory’s
Cheers
Martin

[Swartz (Nick)]

Thanks Martin,

Cost isn't a huge concern. But can't really justify having a GoTo mount as well as the EQ6-R Pro.

Think I have narrowed down my list to several scopes. An 8" SW Black Diamond @ F5 or a SW 8" Quattro @ F4. A Bintel scope 8" @ F4 or F5. The two F4's are advertised as being imaging scopes. Can this still be used for visual?

10" scopes will start to push the limits of my mount if I start up imaging

Thoughts these choices.

Thanks again

Nick

[mura_gadi (Steve)]

Hello,

Just looking at a rough price on the esprit at $3.5k, that would get you a nice hubble UL 16. You'd need to add $1+k for shipping and a few extra like "Wireless Digital Setting Circle", shrouds etc but you mention price is not the first consideration.

You get a 16"(F5) newt on a dob base great for DSO's and under 30kilo's all up for weight.



Steve

[Spleenus (Darren)]

Originally Posted by Swartz

Thanks Martin,

Cost isn't a huge concern. But can't really justify having a GoTo mount as well as the EQ6-R Pro.

Think I have narrowed down my list to several scopes. An 8" SW Black Diamond @ F5 or a SW 8" Quattro @ F4. A Bintel scope 8" @ F4 or F5. The two F4's are advertised as being imaging scopes. Can this still be used for visual?

10" scopes will start to push the limits of my mount if I start up imaging

Thoughts these choices.

Thanks again

Nick

You're in almost the same dilemma as me, I have an NEQ6 with the 150Mak and was trying to work out what I should buy for imaging.

Independently I've come to the conclusion of getting the 8" Quattro. My other options that I considered included:
- 190mm Maksutov Newtonian
- Edgehd 8
- 80Ed refractor

But I would be interested to know if the 8" Quattro is good for visual also. I've seen some pretty good pictures being produced by them. DOes anyone happen to know whether the secondary is prone to dew? I know my Mak collects all the dew in the local area!!