Skywatcher Evostar 100ed

[Alcyoneus (Prashaant)]

I’ve seen a lot of people using the skywatcher evostar 80ed for astrophotography but I was wondering if the 100ed and the 120ed were also good for astrophotography, I want to be able to take photos of nebulas and galaxies but also planets. If anyone could tell me which or the three (80mm, 100mm, 120mm) would be best for looking at and taking photos of both, it would be greatly appreciated.

[AdamJL]

I have an EVOSTAR 80ED that was my first scope. For a doublet, it's fairly well corrected and has minimal blue fringing. These scopes aren't fast, but they are sharp. Focuser can be a bit iffy when you start putting more gear on, but if it's just an OSC, you should be good.

I've heard the 150 is awesome as well. I think these scopes are great starter scopes in general.

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

Perhaps one thing to consider is the mount that you're intending to use / using currently if you're going for astrophotography. A 120ED might be borderline for some mounts. Something to bear in mind whilst you're acquiring gear anyway.

If you're going to use a guide scope as well, that'll add extra weight, and extra cost (remember that if you're guiding, you'll also need a guide camera for the guide scope). Lots to consider, and a really fun journey ahead for you. There are heaps of really knowledgeable people here who are sure to help you along the way as you flesh out the direction you're heading in.

[raymo]

My suggestion is the 100ED, great scope, suitable for most mounts.
raymo

[Hoges (John)]

I have the 100ED - really great value scope for visual but at f9 I would consider it a bit slow for AP in general. I have the 72 and 80ed's as well - the 80mm would be the pick for my money although going on the performance of my Zenithstar 61, I would suspect the Zenithstar 81 would be better than the skywatcher/saxon/orion 80ed. I'd be interested to read reports of the new Evolux 82ed - might be worth considering. I use the Zenithstar 61 as the guidescope, but it does take wonderful wider field images of nebulas where as for galaxies I'd prefer a longer focal length. Budget for a flattener too - unless you've got a fairly small chip in the camera.

[Saturnine (Jeff)]

The ED80 is a fine scope, am very happy with mine but it has its lmitations. 80.mm of aperture is not enough light gathering for some objects unless you want to image the same one for several nights. I would recommend the 100 ED, which along with a dedicated reducer / flattener taking down to f7.6 is fast enough for imaging and at f9 ,900mm is ok for planets and the moon as well.
The 120mm would be even better but the extra weight means a beefier mount, an HEQ5 at a minimum.

[Wilsil (Wilco)]

I am using the ED80 and love it.
My next scope would be one with more aperture and long FL, but i will keep the ED80.
If you go to a longer FL, you have to create mosaics from the nebula to get it all in one frame.