Another newbie

[anthonywr (Anthony)]

Hi all,
Yet another newbie here. Im currently in Melbourne, but moving back to Canberra in the next month or two - already dreading the cold!

In February my wife wanted to do a night sky photography course with Phil Hart (Hi Phil!) and convinced me to go along - It didnt take much convincing
I must have contracted something that weekend. The mosquitoes were out in force and now I get crazy excited whenever I think about astro-stuff. It's like whatever I caught has infected my brain with excitement and awe, much like it was when I was a kid gazing at the moon through the $50 supermarket telescope I got for a birthday, and before schooling and corporate reality dulled it.

In any case, Im now looking to get some toys! and my wife only has herself to blame!

For a mount Im debating between the HEQ5, EQ6 or NEQ6 with GOTO.
I'm not really sure which to get, but thinking the 6's incase I want to put a reflector on it in future. It'll also carry a DSLR or two, and a guide scope at some point.
The specs for the EQ6 and NEQ6 look the same. Are there any differences besides the price?

I like the diffraction pattern you get with newtonian reflectors when photographing wide field nebula and such. However Im thinking of getting a Skywatcher ED80 Refractor OTA because of its simplicity for a newbie.
Whats the difference between the standard model and the Black Diamond versions, besides the ~$400?

TIA for any input.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Hi Anthony and welcome to the empty wallet society

With the EQ6 and NEQ6 mounts the only difference between the two is one has a wider dovetail head to take Vixen sized dovetail rails.

Now, about the ED80.
It is a fantastic imaging scope. Many of us started our DSO imaging with one, and many of us still use them. They are great for DSLR's on DSO's.

The difference is in the Paint finish.
There is a standard ED80 which is painted black from Saxon, black or white from Orion, and some other colours from other companies. Then there is the Skywatcher Pro Range painted Gold and White, then now there is the Black Diamond range which has sparkly paint.
They are ALL the same scope out of the same factory (Synta) just painted in different paint colours.