Someone please tell me about the Saxon 6" Achromatic

[overlord (Charles)]

nooooooooooooooooooo, the bintel 16" is an F/4.5 NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I can't take it anymore! i want at least f/5. help me

[overlord (Charles)]

can i see planets sharp on this? It has a fine focus but no paracorr

Anyone who has been to a star party and looked through a well made 16" telescope will appreciate how amazing the views are through a telescope this large.
Objects you can only glimpse in an 8" telescope you will go back to again and again and still see more detail not observed before.
Get together with your friends and see how many galaxies you can see in one field of view!
A 16" Meade Lightbridge will change your life.
Specifications:
Aperture: HUGE! 406mm
Focal length (f/#): 1800mm (f/4.5)
Limiting magnitude: 15.5
Resolving power:0.29 arc sec.
Finder: Deluxe zero power, reflex site with 4 reticle shapes and variable brightness.
Eyepiece: Meade Series 4000 QX 26mm (2" 70°wide field)
Accessories: 2" Crayford Focuser with 10:1 fine focus, Mirror cooling fan and power pack, detailed instructions.

why is this happening to meeeee

[PlanetMan]

Hi

You have been given some great advice here and I am an unashamed refractor-oholic. However, always remember the best telescope is the one you use the most. Big dobs are certainly nice but unless you have some sort of observatory (aka ready to go garden shed etc) you will be hard pressed to beat the convenience of even an average quality APO refractor (100-127mm) on a strong Alt/Az mount. If you want to have a fantastic view of the planets etc on a 'big' telescope, dodge the expense and let someone else take care of the set-up - treat yourself to a trip to an Australian observatory. If you want something that 'you' are most likely to use often and thus through your overall time in usage get the most value out of your money - IMHO - maybe think a little more about a biggesh APO refractor - you don't have buy Tak, AP or Televue for great views these days and although a big Achro might sound better initially than a medium APO the old saying is quality over quantity. I am sure you will have fun with whatever you pick.

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by overlord

Dammit I just read that achromats are not much good for photography..... but 5"APO isn't enough for me! (even though it is really really good). I want something huge.

Yes Ken, back to MAK 4 me. ahaha

You want something huge....how much money are you prepared to spend??

Have a look at these....

http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=1-600-1195-9826

http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=1-600-1195-9829

http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=1-600-1195-9831

[casstony]

Chucky, have you considered going to a public observing night and looking at Saturn through a bunch of different scopes?

There's a lot of good choices but only 1 or 2 of them will suit your particular preferences and your typical observing conditions. For example a large, high quality instrument would be wasted if you rarely get stable skies, or you might prefer the convenience of a refractor and the aesthetics of its images, or you might prefer to tweak a large newt and wait for fleeting glimpses at high power, etc.

[toc (Tim)]

Originally Posted by overlord

can i see planets sharp on this? It has a fine focus but no paracorr



why is this happening to meeeee

Assuming the scope is well collimated, then you will in theory be able to get very very good views of the planets - Keep in mind that at high magnification, you will need some sort of tracking system, otherwise the object will fly out of the edge of the eyepiece.

I would definitely recommend going to a star party to check out the variety of scopes available, and how they work in practice. Each design has its strengths and weaknesses, and one persons strength is another's weakness

[robz (Robert)]

Originally Posted by toc

Assuming the scope is well collimated, then you will in theory be able to get very very good views of the planets - Keep in mind that at high magnification, you will need some sort of tracking system, otherwise the object will fly out of the edge of the eyepiece.

I would definitely recommend going to a star party to check out the variety of scopes available, and how they work in practice. Each design has its strengths and weaknesses, and one persons strength is another's weakness

Agree with Tim here and all.
You need to look through and use some of these scopes to get a feel of what is ''mother's milk'' and what is ''poison'' to you.........and I mean TO you!

Tim and I settled on a 12 inch SCT and from what I have experienced so far, I would not have anything else.