Upgrade Time - Has Anyone Used These?

[Blake (B)]

Originally Posted by Camelopardalis

If I were you, I'd get something small and short for getting started with imaging... ED80 or similar, you'll also need the flattener/reducer too. Then stick that on a good mount, HEQ5 or EQ6 should do well with a small scope, but you get what you pay for with mounts....

Then separately get a 8" or 10" Dob for visual... means you can be using the a scope visually while you're imaging something else

What's your intent with the Mak?

Well according to what I read about the different telescope designs, maks are supposed to give apo-like performance with a flat field and good size aperture, but without the massive cost for an equal size aperture refractor? I played around with a telescope simulator viewing mars with each scope, it's hard to tell what it will look like in real life, but with a 3x or 4x barlow I might be able to get similar views? It's a bit hard to pick and chose from all the reviews and differing opinions lol

Basically I was looking at a mak for planetary imaging.

[clive milne]

GSO Newtonian planetary (imaging) performance:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=107500

[Blake (B)]

Originally Posted by clive milne

GSO Newtonian planetary (imaging) performance:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=107500

Yet again I'm left awed. I've seen images that are as good, sometimes even worse than this from more expensive scopes. Looks like even the modest and very affordable scopes can perform just about as well as the more expensive gear with the right conditions, mounting, and technique. I might slap together a kit now I've got a bunch of input from you all, and I'll see what you think

[Lee]

Originally Posted by Blake

Looks like even the modest and very affordable scopes can perform just about as well as the more expensive gear with the right conditions, mounting, and technique.

There it is.... All else being equal, a bad scope on a good mount will almost certainly give better results than the good scope on a bad mount..... Dig deep for the best mount you can afford early on....

[Jeffkop (Jeff)]

Hi Blake

I can remember being in this EXACT position and I went the Skywatcher 180 MAK with an HEQ5PRO way ... absolute disaster !!!! ... Well I will qualify that .. imaging wise nothing could have been more disheartening.
I sold that gear and bought a G11 and a TSA102 ... did nothing different setup wise ... got instant results.

Basically .. forget totally .. long focal length equipment at this stage .. it will just make your job 100x more difficult.

My advise .. (if you dont want to go the Dob way) .. there have been plenty of items similar to this advertised here .. especially G11 with Gemini Goto .. $5000 will get you some pretty neat stuff 2nd hand at the moment .. take advantage of that.

A decent mount and a refractor will = more success and much more enjoyment .. Good Luck

[Blake (B)]

Originally Posted by Jeffkop

Hi Blake

I can remember being in this EXACT position and I went the Skywatcher 180 MAK with an HEQ5PRO way ... absolute disaster !!!! ... Well I will qualify that .. imaging wise nothing could have been more disheartening.
I sold that gear and bought a G11 and a TSA102 ... did nothing different setup wise ... got instant results.

Basically .. forget totally .. long focal length equipment at this stage .. it will just make your job 100x more difficult.

My advise .. (if you dont want to go the Dob way) .. there have been plenty of items similar to this advertised here .. especially G11 with Gemini Goto .. $5000 will get you some pretty neat stuff 2nd hand at the moment .. take advantage of that.

A decent mount and a refractor will = more success and much more enjoyment .. Good Luck

Thanks for the advice! I'm tossing up between the Orion ED80 CF apo refractor, and the SkyWatcher 250mm CF f/4 imaging newt. Pretty certain I'll pick either one of them, possibly a cheaper newt if I decide to save a bit of coin. I'm leaning toward the newt cause of the large aperture and fast focal ratio, but the ED80 has got a good reputation and will be easier to balance and mount.

Deciding between a SkyWatcher EQ8 or the AZ-EQ6 GT for the mount, it's a pretty expensive jump in price and weight between the mounts, but there's also the bonus capacity and precision of the EQ8 with expandability in the future. I feel like the AZ-EQ6 GT might be pushed a bit with the newt mounted on it.

I roughly priced up a set up with an EQ8 and the SkyWatcher f/4 newt and a ccd camera, autoguider, collimator, etc. and came out in the 5 figure price range haha I may have to make some compromises.

What's the general consensus on ccd vs dslr imaging? There's a tonne of different opinions. I looked in to dslr because of the ability to use it as a normal camera as well as for night-scape shots, high megapixel imaging, and to live view (with the Canon Eos 6D in particular), but then there's filter mods that might have to be made, and a bunch of filters to buy.

It's such a massive topic with so many options out there and things that work better with particular set ups than others. Why don't I just buy an 8 inch go-to dob, some nagler eyepieces, and a dslr? haha

[Blake (B)]

Alrighty, well I think I've decided what to do. I just need someone to give me that shove. How does this sound?

- Skywatcher AZ EQ6 mount
- Skywatcher 10" carbon fiber f4 imaging newt
- Vixen NLV4 Lanthanum Eyepiece 1.25 inch (for planets)
- Vixen LVW22 Lanthanum Eyepiece (for dso's)
- Vixen LVW13 Lanthanum Eyepiece (for dso's)
- Possibly a 2x and 4x televue powermate unless anyone else recommends anything else?
- Astroshop quick collimation tool
- Hotech 1.25 inch crosshair laser collimator (might even pay a bit more for a Glatter 2" collimator)
- Webcam for planets for starters
- Buy a good ccd later on when the bank account tops up again

Any bad experiences from MyAstroShop?

Thanks!

[John W (John Wilkinson)]

Hi, interesting discussion - could go on forever. I'd discuss your needs with Steve at AstroShop - and follow his advice. I've had no problems with his shop. Don't be too ambitious at first - build up gradually and master the techniques bit by bit. Good luck.

[Blake (B)]

Originally Posted by John W

Hi, interesting discussion - could go on forever. I'd discuss your needs with Steve at AstroShop - and follow his advice. I've had no problems with his shop. Don't be too ambitious at first - build up gradually and master the techniques bit by bit. Good luck.

Hi John,

There's such a huge selection of equipment to choose from, and so many different opinions and combinations, that it you pretty well could talk about it forever! I suppose you can't spend too much time deciding when there's stargazing to be done!

I did send Steve an email and this list is what he recommended so I'm inclined to go with his advice. The only things I added to the list was the Televue powermates and webcam. A good ccd seems to be in the range of $1500 to $5000 which sort of blows my budget at the moment so I think I'll just put off dso imaging for a little while

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Originally Posted by Blake

Alrighty, well I think I've decided what to do. I just need someone to give me that shove. How does this sound?

- Skywatcher AZ EQ6 mount
- Skywatcher 10" carbon fiber f4 imaging newt
- Vixen NLV4 Lanthanum Eyepiece 1.25 inch (for planets)
- Vixen LVW22 Lanthanum Eyepiece (for dso's)
- Vixen LVW13 Lanthanum Eyepiece (for dso's)
- Possibly a 2x and 4x televue powermate unless anyone else recommends anything else?
- Astroshop quick collimation tool
- Hotech 1.25 inch crosshair laser collimator (might even pay a bit more for a Glatter 2" collimator)
- Webcam for planets for starters
- Buy a good ccd later on when the bank account tops up again

Any bad experiences from MyAstroShop?

Thanks!

Steve Massey's a legend. No issues there. Add and an adaptor for a DSLR (go buy a cheap one if you need to) for some instant widefield gratification!