Forum advice on 2 different telescopes

East17 (Gaz) · #1 29-01-2011, 04:50 PM

Hello everyone,

I am considering purchasing one of the following telescopes and need experienced opinions on their quality and performance to help me decide.

I'm a beginner and presently own Celestron 25x70 bins only. My future interest is in astrophotography and viewing the moon, planets, star clusters and nebulae.http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/..../shrugging.gif.and occasional terrestrial observation. Scopes must have good image quality, be easy to store, transport and set-up.

The telescopes are:

Skywatcher SWAT804
York Skyrover R90 Short

Practical rather than speculative / suggestive advice would be welcome.http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/....es/happy19.gif

Many tks...East17 (Gaz)

dannat (Daniel) · #2 29-01-2011, 07:54 PM

Gaz i'm not sure that either of those scopes are suitable for photography..i have a meade etx90 which is similar to thr skywatcher & while it can give OK views (& is compact for terrestrial observation) a larger scope (bigger mirror diameter) will show much more on planets..a 6" or 8" dobsonian reflector would leave them for dead on planets and dso's
i would keep the 25x70 for terrestrial

the skywatcher scope has a long focal length & is not really suited to photography. the skyrover short 90 i can't find - but its either simlar to the skywatcher or a short f/l refractor {neither are great for photos or planet / dso views)

if you want to get started in photos i would start with a d-slr on a tripod with some wide field shots

East17 (Gaz) · #3 29-01-2011, 08:20 PM

Tks Daniel...yes I found very little info on the York Skyrover despite considerably Googling.

I appreciate the constructive feedback nonetheless...I may need to be patient. Cheers...Gaz.

dannat (Daniel) · #4 31-01-2011, 08:44 PM

Gaz i see a york short 90 on ebay -in the pics it is a short tube refractor but the description says 114mm reflector -the owner has little idea i guess -but you could spend 250 on a secondhand 8" dob -much better

East17 (Gaz) · #5 02-02-2011, 07:50 PM

Tks Daniel...I did buy the York...I will see how it performs and let you know. Maybe a Dob is the next one.

Tks for watching and your continued supprt.

All the best...Gaz.

East17 (Gaz) · #6 03-02-2011, 11:05 PM

G'day Daniel..I haven't picked up the York R90 yet, but the manual definitely says reflector. Could it be a Cassegrain design reflector looking at the pics? Gaz

BlackWidow (Mardy) · #7 04-02-2011, 09:41 PM

Hi Gaz..The book is wrong. This in a short tube refractor not a reflector. Will be good for looking at things like the moon and Jupiter. No good for Photography really as it would need a drive or guide motor, and a little small on the light gathering. You could connect a Webcam like the Philips SC900NC and use a program like K3CCDtools. You would be able to take video of planets like Jupiter and stack them into a single image. Craterlet is another good program, both free on the internet. People can get pretty good results using this process, and it's lots of fun.

You should have alot of fun with this scope and will get you started in the hobby

East17 (Gaz) · #8 05-02-2011, 08:35 AM

Tks Martin...appreciate your clarity on this. A little confusing for a beginner I must say. I pick up the scope later today (Saturday in Melbourne) and will give it a good going over. It does look in very good condition with quality eyepieces. Will just have to wait for clear skies as we are experiencing torrential rainfull from the fringe effects of Cat 5 cyclone Yasi. Tks for your advice on the software and webcam as well...very good. Cheers Martin and all the best...Gaz.

East17 (Gaz) · #9 06-02-2011, 10:53 AM

Hi Martin...you were absolutely right. It is definitely a short tube refractor and the seller description of the mount was also incorrect. He described the mount as Altazimuth and I'm pretty sure it's a German Equitorial Mount (GEM). I'm a beginner so correct me if I'm wrong. Must say that it's in mint condition and tried some terrestrial viewing (image upside down) today with the 25mm Plossl and the image was bright and crisp, not so bright though with the 10mm Plossl (less light of course). I looked at the webcam you suggested and all good reports...although there is some suggestion that production is discontinued. I have to do some research now on setup for the GEM...looks a little complicated. Cheers Martin...Gary.

BlackWidow (Mardy) · #10 06-02-2011, 02:56 PM

Glad it's in good condition. The Gem mount will work to your advantage once you get the setup sorted out. In time you will get a grip on it. As for your image being upside down that is easy to fix. You need and Errecting diagonal that will put your eypiece at right angle to your scope. This is better anyway when viewing things up high as you don't have to get on the floor to look into the eypeice. You can purchase them through Andrews Communications for around $30. Look them up on Google and give them a call. They post stuff out to you so it's very easy. They will also give good advice. The Cameras can be found here sometimes or on online Auction sites. you gan get standard Webcams or Modded ones that allow for Deep Space photography. Some people also have them in kit form with all the attachments and so on That you will need. You may even be able to find an errecting Prism (diagonal) here on the trade section...

Enjoy your scope and get a good look at the orion Nebula whilst its in our night sky. If you find the Saucepan... or Big dipper some people think it is. You will see the handle rinning down to the three stars that run allong the bottom.. look at the second star down and you are on it.. Should look good in your scope..

Cheers
Mardy

East17 (Gaz) · #11 08-02-2011, 11:10 PM

Tks Mardy...the scope has a 90degree plossl diagonal, but it's not an erect image type though. But still, makes for more comfortable viewing I definitely agree. I've just downloaded the SkyWalk astronomy navigation app on the iPhone and I will mount this via a bracket on the scope and also the bins so I can understand precisely what I'm looking. It also has a goto function with factual data on the object..quite brilliant. The GPS on the phone helps with the positioning of the GEM in relation to latitude (37degrees) and North heading for the Polar axis set-up. I'm slowing getting there. Really appreciate your advice and support. Cheers Mardy...Gaz.