i need a new telescope, any hints?

[alphamone]

I am planning to get a new telescope. I plan to use it for astrophotography as well a general viewing. I have had experiance with telescopes so i think i am ready for an equatorial mount. I plan to get a celestron omnixlt150, but i am curious to know if there is a simmilar scope i could get for cheaper (or even get an omnixlt150 for a price cheaper than the $1000AU that the australian geographic store sells them for).

Also, please note that i realy dont want to get a catadioptric telescope, or a tracker scope as both of them would be a pain to deal with (I plan to use the image stacking method when i do astrophotography anyway, because my skills in star identification are not good enough to calibrate a tracker well enough to get good quality long exposure pics.). I plan to use something like a meade deep sky imager for astrophotography if i can find one for a decent price, even if second hand, because from what i have read, it seems to be one of the better options for an ameture astronomer that doesent have huge amounts of money to spend on their hobby.

However, if anyone knows of any good products that are just as good as the omnixlt150 and meade deep sky imager that are cheaper, and preferably, easily available withing australia (I live in the ACT, so within that area would be good) I would be greatful.

If anyone is interested in what my current scope is, it is a tasco (lol ; "lumina 200x" (name on the box, magnification with the 8mm eyepiece and barlow lens inserted) and it is still reasonably good for basic viewing (i saw jupiter and its for main moons with it, i even think i could see slight differences in jupiter's albedo caused by the cloud bands).

anyway, I do hope that i get along well with this community.

[Dujon]

Hello, alphamone, welcome to the madhouse.

I can't help you with your inquiry as I have no idea what your current choice of 'scope is (sure I could go a'googling) but even if I did know the specifications I have no idea as to how it performs in the real world.

Nevertheless there is a huge amount of knowledge and experience spread around in the grey matter of members of this site when it comes to equipment so I don't doubt that you will receive some pertinent comments. Just thought I'd bung this in so you don't feel lonely whilst the rest of the mob are earning their daily bread.

As far as the community goes I reckon you'll find most of us 'liveable'. I'm a relative newcomer myself but the site - thanks to Mike (admin) and the moderators - works pretty well. If you step out of line you'll be told.

Good luck.

[alphamone]

ok, my current scope, according to the box, it has a 60mm objective, 800mm focal length, it came with a 25mm and an 8mm eyepiece and a 2x barlow. It has a wooden tripod, and its focus tube moves when it is even slightly out (i think it even moves when it is fully in. :sigh but the dampening time is no more than 10 seconds at the most.

also, is there any place that i can host images, as i managed to take a nice picture of the southern cross and the surrounding area a few days ago with a digital camera using a one minute exposure.

[DJVege]

Hi Alphamone,

I'm a n00b at this, but thought I'd say g'day anyway.

From what I've read, if you want to get into astrophotography, spend lots on your mount! I believe the minimum (within reason) suggestion is an EQ6 mount.

The learning curve is MASSIVE when it comes to astrophotography as you need to polar align/drift align, get your bearings (NSEW), learn how to collimate, etc... so take your time and read up on your options (and more importantly, the cost associated with those options) before purchasing. The burning desire to get a scope ASAP could cause you to buy something you don't really want, won't really use, or don't really need. For example, my 15x70 binoculars. Can't hold to heavy buggers! And I want a wider FOV. Dunno what I'm going to use them for now that I've ordered a pair of 10x50s!

Anyway, the "more knowledgeable" will suggest some options for you soon, so i'll stop here!

[acropolite (Phil)]

alohamone, welcome to IIS, I'm sure you'll enjoy it here, there's a huge amount of collective experience and willingness to share. If you want to upload some images, resize them to a suitable resolution and simply attach them to a post. You can do this by hitting the Go Advanced button when posting then select Manage Attachments to upload your files. Uploaded attachments are limited to 200kb for image files, most files can be uploaded at 1024x768 or 800x600 and well under 100kb without sacrificing too much quality.

[Karls48 (Karl)]

Hi Alphamone
I could not find any English description of the scope you are referring to. But here are few pages in Russian. From what I can gather from this, it is Newtonian with 150mm mirror 750mm focal length F5, no RA motor.. For $499 you can have Guan Sheng scope from Andrews Communications with same specification. Add another $129 for RA drive and you will have basic scope that is capable to do short exposure imagining. I got one myself and for the price I pay for it I’m happy with it

[rumples riot]

Hmmm,

ok for Deep Sky Objects to be imaged you will need tracking in both RA and declination. Without it, you will not be able to stack any images as they will all have star trails. Even short exposures at 10sec and at prime focus will show trailing.

You could however use the stacking method for planetary imaging. You might like to consider reading how to do planetary imaging without tracking.

My suggestion is to buy a good mount that tracks (polar aligning is easy really) and then look more into buying a scope. You could buy a small refractor like the ED 100 which would serve your purposes.

[Garyh]

Hi Alphamone,
With your limited budget you are going to find it rather hard to find a scope and a mount that would meet your requirements for short exposure imaging with a DSI. Even with short exposures, drive and gear errors will ruin many shots especially with longer focal lenghts and bigger scopes on a not so sturdy mount.
I think you would be far better to pick up a second hand DSLR like a old canon 300D or Nikon D70 or similar as they are much cheaper these day and you should be able to get one under $600 on ebay.
For a scope and a mount, I would think a ED80 pro on a EQ5 mount or even the HEQ5 if your budget can stretch that far and a great starters imaging system..
You can go without the GOTO to save you money if you are pinched.
heres a link to Steves site for the ED80
http://www.myastroshop.com.au/products/ota.asp
I am sure other members can recommend this setup!
My 2c worth!
cheers Gary