Looking for opinions on mirror artefact

[marki]

Originally Posted by YunDog

Hi Mekon,

Can I ask for a little more opinion about why you recommend a refractor. I agree that I think I need to go for the most visual bang for my buck I can get, and worry about the growth of the hobby (into astrophoto etc) later. So atm I comparing the 12" dob (1k, Pro: good visual, easy to use) vs the 8" black diamond Newt that Chris has (pro: good for photography, con: EQ mount may be difficult for a beginner). So far no one has mentioned the Mak Cass but I heard they are one of the best (con:expensive).

cheers

Mark

Maks are lovely to look through but do take some time to cool down if they have a thick corrector. They are generally of a high focal ratio (F12+) so do not show a very wide FOV and really need to be mounted on a goto mount to get the most from them. That said I have had some of the best views in memory through Maks, they really do a great job on contrast and detail and the background is so very black. I think for for the money you have to spend the biggest dob you can get would be the best course of action though. I dont think a small refractor would be a good choice for you right now. They are great for AP or a second scope as long as you have something larger to look through with your eyeball. EQ mounts are not difficult to operate, just takes a bit of practice so don't let that put you off. It is even easier if you have the goto variety as they pretty much do everything for you.

Mark

[The Mekon (John Briggs)]

Originally Posted by YunDog

Hi Mekon,

Can I ask for a little more opinion about why you recommend a refractor. I agree that I think I need to go for the most visual bang for my buck I can get, and worry about the growth of the hobby (into astrophoto etc) later. So atm I comparing the 12" dob (1k, Pro: good visual, easy to use) vs the 8" black diamond Newt that Chris has (pro: good for photography, con: EQ mount may be difficult for a beginner). So far no one has mentioned the Mak Cass but I heard they are one of the best (con:expensive).

cheers

Mark

You have answered this question in your first post -

"Yes I have racheted back my expectations having looked at Saturn through the C 114.

Really looking for a solid beginners scope with no frills
want the best view of the planets I can get of coarse
not interested in looking for minute pin priks of light
wanted to attach some sort of digital camera device to the eye piece and hopefull blow up the shots on a PC.."

For the above a refractor is the instrument of choice. I can remember quite a few school star nights where there were plenty of Dobs in attendance. My 5" refractor always had the longest queues. Views of Saturn are a knockout. Sure you wont get an Astro-Physics or Takahashi for $1200. But a refractor is easy to use, and can start you on Astro photography. I reckon 90% of the good amateur photos are taken with refractors these days - the rest with fancy astrographs.

A Vixen FL102S just went for $750 on this sites classified! sure it had no mount but you could pick up a decent mount for $300 - (I may be selling my SPDX soon for not much more.)

[YunDog]

Originally Posted by marki

I think for for the money you have to spend the biggest dob you can get would be the best course of action though.
Mark

Yes Im inclined to agree

Originally Posted by The Mekon

For the above a refractor is the instrument of choice. I can remember quite a few school star nights where there were plenty of Dobs in attendance. My 5" refractor always had the longest queues. Views of Saturn are a knockout. Sure you wont get an Astro-Physics or Takahashi for $1200. But a refractor is easy to use, and can start you on Astro photography. I reckon 90% of the good amateur photos are taken with refractors these days - the rest with fancy astrographs.

A Vixen FL102S just went for $750 on this sites classified! sure it had no mount but you could pick up a decent mount for $300 - (I may be selling my SPDX soon for not much more.)

Interesting - I will certainly check them out - Thx

[stephenb (Stephen)]

Originally Posted by wasyoungonce

All I'll say is thanks for the heads up..I know which scopes and where from not to buy.

It's a crock. That mirror is unusable and they deduct 10% saying nothing was wrong or this is normal.
It looks as if the new distributor for Celestron is working out to to be a treat!.

Anyway at this moment cut your losses. I won't suggest any scope ATM as the price range is really at the low end of the market. Here is a suggestion..I know it's another Celestron (but a decent scope and ok mount) and its more pricey but the selling price is very attractive for this package.

Sorry to hear Celestron & their re-sellers treating people like this.

edit;

An welcome to IIS..I hope thing are looking up for you from this onwards.

Just caught the tail end of this thread, Bloody heck, that mirror is shocking! And to ask for a 10% restocking fee/penalty (whatever they want to call it) is a slap in the face for their loyal customers. And I'm talking about both the online retailer you metioned (Ozscopes) and the Celestron so-called experts. What it also clearly displays is the level of technical knowledge and overall experience which a reseller like this really posesses. Well that's one Telescopes brand and one Australian telescope reseller whom I am never dealing with again.

Good luck with your next purchase. Go for a dob and just enjoy the visual feast - forget the imaging money pit.

Good luck with

[Liz]

OHMY ... the mirror looks terrible, what a waste of time and effort for you.
Good luck with your new purchase - great experienced advice already given.
I have just bought a Skywatcher 127 Mak/Cass Goto, for an easy grab and go scope (also have a 10" Dob). Hope I dont get horror stories.

[JethroB76 (Jeff)]

What did the mirror look like without condensation on it?

[YunDog]

The mirror looked clear without condensation, maybe clear is not the word, it looked like a mirror surface. Having said that unless its reflecting a uniform surface mirrors can hide alot.?

[Visionoz (Bill)]

Yes it apparently seems that the cleaning fluid residue was not cleaned off thoroughly - I'm sure its not a mirror defect as such and wouldn't blame the Celestron brand (though the blame for lack of quality control lies with Celestron itself!) but rather that the Oz distributor's so-called tech staff and the online shop did not do the right thing by you -surely they must be too cocky/arrogant to treat a customer this way; and I agree that the least they could have done was to offer to clean it off at their expense

By the way it's amazing how you could have breathed on the open end of the scope to get to mist up the mirror at the other end and discover this terrible condition - must have been a very cold night!!!

Hope you make the right choice now to get back on track and enjoy the hobby in your neck of the woods as I have been down to as far as Kojonup and the skies are indeed very dark; only con is the travel time of about 3hrs

HTH
Cheers
Bill