A little extra advice please

[Zephod (Luke Williams)]

Evening all,

Prior to my original thread on astrophotography which way I should go I jad a great night out with my local astronomical society and the information and advice I was given was a godsend. With my current equipment the Celestron 127mm newtonian reflector Im planning on changing over the mount for starters but am wondering which focuser should I change to? Or would it be far easier if I save a months wages and just go out to Andrews Optics and purchase a ED80 already on a goto mount?

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

I may be biased, but the ED80 is one of the best Astrophotography scopes made for beginner, Intermediate, and experienced users.

I still use mine a fair bit, and I know many others still do.

It is a remarkable scope for its small size.

The GoTo mount will make object finding easy, as long as you are prepared to learn polar aligning.

If you want to see the results of the ED80, just check some of these out. All captured through an ED80:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=71830

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=71574

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=68963

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=70697

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=68652

and a collection of my very first DSLR shots thru an ED80
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthrea...l/fpart/1/vc/1

and even one from me using the humble Toucam Webcam in an ED80
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=27444

So, as yiu can see, no matter what camera is used, ED80's are great

[ReaPerMan (Paul)]

I have only just got my ED80 and I a just blown away with the quality of this scope. Having just gone through the process of trying to select one i know the confusing amount of choice when it comes to brands, doublet, triplet etc. In the end I bought an Explore scientific from here in the for sale section. At the time I had never even heard of this brand but after some research I came to realise that it was a good choice with a very high standard. Different models come with many different choices in accessories etc. The Synta brands.. Skywatcher, orion etc are all very simular but all still good. There are also some arguments about quality of focusers etc. One word of advice. In all cases if your choice is to take photos invest in a decent field flattener or your pics will look like your warping out on the enterprise. I hope this helps.

good hunting

Paul

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Hey Paul,
one of the links I gave Luke above is one of your images

[Zephod (Luke Williams)]

They are truly beautiful shots thanks again Ken with the information and Paul as well. I've already grabbed a DSLR Canon EOS 40D body (was advised its all thats really needed) now just putting the funds aside to grab the ED80 end of the month.

[Zephod (Luke Williams)]

Just an after thought has anyone had good results with Celestron's 102 SLT?

[ReaPerMan (Paul)]

Originally Posted by ballaratdragons

Hey Paul,
one of the links I gave Luke above is one of your images

Yes I saw that! That was my first ever DSLR pic. The ED80. Was very forgiving and with the focal reducer attached made for a fantastic field of view.

ATB

Paul

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by Zephod

Evening all,

Prior to my original thread on astrophotography which way I should go I jad a great night out with my local astronomical society and the information and advice I was given was a godsend. With my current equipment the Celestron 127mm newtonian reflector Im planning on changing over the mount for starters but am wondering which focuser should I change to? Or would it be far easier if I save a months wages and just go out to Andrews Optics and purchase a ED80 already on a goto mount?

I started with a Celestron Newt 130mm and I'm still imaging with it to date. Get a good coma corrector (like a baader MPCC) and a 10:1 focuser (GSO or other) and you'll be well on your way.

[mill (Martin)]

Go the ED80
If there is one scope i will keep the rest of my life, it will be the ED80.