New telescope for $500-$600

[dannat (Daniel)]

seeing as how the price keeps going up why not get an intes mak - for $900 you cold get the 5", and stick it on a good camera tripod (manfrotto)- beats the others for portabiity & apparently(not seen one) the optics are excellent.

[Peter Kalan]

The ITE M500 5" F/10 looks pretty good. And its on sale for $800us which tripod would i require for this scope?

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Hi Peter,

Thanks to Geoff for some realism, as for better views of the planets, the Skywatcher Promak 150 would probably win this race as it is a 6" scope with 1800mm FL .... but isnt as portable as an Pro ED80 and as Geoff said, takes longer to cool down.

Regarding the EQ mount Geoff and AlexN are absolutely right, I was forgetting the "portability" side of the equation and getting carried away by the optics/value side. AND all the chioces.

Having said that, and with the new Budget ceiling of $1000 in mind , ( it IS Federal Budget night after all) as well as portability and suitability of optics for astrophotography, the best solution I think, apart from the Vixen one that Geoff has tested and from all accounts is very impressed with, is this;

Ioptron Cube Alt-Az Goto mount with #8403 controller (5000 objects and 256 user defined ones) $365 inc GST. This is only $65 more than the GSO ALT AZ and is fully computerised and trackable!

Skywatcher PRO ED80 OTA only for $599 from Andrews (Sirius' price is $1260 just for the OTA!) (only 2.47kg OTA weight)

Total: $964 inc GST

This gives you a great quality ED astrophotography scope on a GOTO mount which is definitely grab and go, not as fiddly as the newtonian (collimation!) and is also terrestrial capable. You could theoretically piggyback the ED onto the DOB when you are at home too.

If you ring Andrews and they are able to sell you the Ioptron Cube as well as they said "its coming soon" in their ad in the latest AS&T, you can get it all from the one place.

Sorry to keep widening the playing field.

PS. Sirius sell a Ioptron Mak90 on the Cube #8504 for $660!

The top of the line Mak100 is $1089 with the 80,000 object database and GPS built in.

SmartStar ™-A Series
Mount with #8402 Controller with 80,000 objects internal 32 Ch.
GPS and Tripod.
Price: $915.00
Code: #8604
Size: 90mm
Price: $1089.00
Code: #8605
Size: 100mm

Yet again, sorry for the new choices, one day I will learn to shut up. I just wish I had a grand to burn myself, I would get a $599 12" Skywatcher DOB faster than you can say "aperture fever"

Cheers

Chris

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Originally Posted by Screwdriverone

This gives you a great quality ED astrophotography scope on a GOTO mount which is definitely grab and go, not as fiddly as the newtonian (collimation!) and is also terrestrial capable. You could theoretically piggyback the ED onto the DOB when you are at home too.

Sorry to have to poo poo your suggestions again Chris, but an alt-az goto isn't really suitable for anything but the most rudimentary of short exposure astrophotography. Think field rotation. Besides Peter hasn't mentioned any desire to do astrophotography or given it as a criteria in selecting a scope.

I have asked the question and been told that the ioptron cube doesnt allow one to manually push the scope around without losing the goto alignment, so you are stuck waiting for it to slew to targets at what can seem like a snails pace.

On the other hand, a small goto with laser pointer attached could be a useful companion for finding targets set up next to the 10" dob

[Peter Kalan]

lol lucky i didn't have more money to spend. The decision would be a nightmare. Although, I'm sure my parents would give a few $100 for my bday thats coming up. hmm

I'm not looking at photography just yet, but to throw a spanner in the works, if i had the option it would be good. But I guess that avenue would limit the type of scope i can get.

That cube at $365 seams like a bargain. Just had a look at their web site but i couldn't find it. Could i put the promak 150 on cube mount?

Attaching the ED80 to my dob as using it as a guide scope is also attractive. Thanks for all these ideas. Wish had more $$$, id just implement them all.

What about the M500 5" F/10. Any thoughts on that scope?
great now I'm asking more questions. As long as people don't mind answering I'm open to everyone's ideas

[dannat (Daniel)]

the m500 will fit on any camera tripod - but you will need a manfrotto to hold it (or one of the clones) - can check bintel/andrews/good camera stores

Houghy has one of the scopes, you could PM him to ask for advice - i think the quality would be a step above scopes like ioptron & skywatcher mak

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Originally Posted by Peter Kalan

I'm not looking at photography just yet, but to throw a spanner in the works, if i had the option it would be good. But I guess that avenue would limit the type of scope i can get.

That cube at $365 seams like a bargain. Just had a look at their web site but i couldn't find it. Could i put the promak 150 on cube mount?

Attaching the ED80 to my dob as using it as a guide scope is also attractive. Thanks for all these ideas. Wish had more $$$, id just implement them all.

Originally Posted by Starkler

Sorry to have to poo poo your suggestions again Chris, but an alt-az goto isn't really suitable for anything but the most rudimentary of short exposure astrophotography. Think field rotation. Besides Peter hasn't mentioned any desire to do astrophotography or given it as a criteria in selecting a scope.

Thats Ok Geoff, I forget myself sometimes, but I have mentioned the field rotation previously in the thread. Good to know about the cube though, that you cant freewheel it on manual mode. Bugger.

Hi Peter,

Sorry, I overlapped an idea from another thread asking about astrophotography so I got carried away with the idea here. Geoff is good at reigning me in when I get carried away, thankfully.

Resetting the mind, I think for only $599, the Skywatcher Promak 150 and the Pro ED80 are both great value and both come with an aluminium case (Andrews).

If you like the idea of the piggyback ED80 then go this way, but the Promak 150 will probably give brighter images and better magnification. Both seem to give great photos of DSO's and planets from the examples I have seen on My Astro Shop's Website click here for the ED80 photos and here for photos taken with a Promak180 (cant find any for the Promak150 and its only 1 inch difference)

You CANT put the Promak150 on a cube, it exceeds the 5kg payload limit. Sirius Optics sell it here, I agree, a goto mount for only $365 is good value, whack the ED80 on it and portability, quality optics and functionality is great for a combo just a bit more than a Celestron Nexstar 130 SLT with goto ($899)

Buy either a ALT AZ GSO mount for $249 or go with Dannat's idea of a camera tripod for the Mak.

If you do use either for Astrophotography later, you will need a motorised EQ mount for the long exposures and this isnt exactly portable as explained before in the thread.

I keep banging on about the Skywatcher Pro series because their quality optics set them aside from most scopes in this bracket and you mentioned you are used to a 10" dob, so I think a 5 inch reflector is a waste of time for the money.

Chris

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Peter,

The April issue of Sky at Night (BBC - UK) magazine apparently has a test of 4 compund 5 -5.5 inch Maks and the Skywatcher ProMak 150 is one of them. See if that helps in any way re the suitability of Maksutovs.

I say apparently because it is an ad for next months mag in the March 2008 issue and I havent been able to find it in the newsagents here yet.

Chris

[Peter Kalan]

thanks to all for their valuable suggestions. Haven't been on in a while due to exams/assignments

I've decided to go for the promak 150 on a alt GSO mount. Planning to order it in 2 weeks after my final exam, can't have any distractions till then. I

In regards to that magazine, screwdriveone, is there anywhere i can read it the review online?

[Chippy (Nick)]

Nice choice I think. Been looking at that option myself... as well as a few others :-))

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Hi Peter,

No, I have been trying to find it online myself, the site only has listings that point u back to the back issue catalogue.

However I have found a PDF review from the Sky at Night of the Promak 150 on an Eq6pro here from 2005

Cheers

Chris

[Peter Kalan]

That review looks good. Thanks skrewdriverone. Cant wait till exams are over so i can order the damn thing. One other thing, that ALT mount, could i stick on a camera and use it as a tripod (without the scope) as well?

[thomasz]

Your opinion very good. I will thinks about that.