150P or 150PDS

[jonnie]

Hi SGL,

I was wondering if you could help me with the following. I am looking for a telescope (first time) and wondered if you could help me.

Thanks

John

[jonnie]

Was thinking of 150pds or 150p if people could list advantages and disadvantages that would be good.

[Lonestar70]

Hi Jonnie,

It rather depends n what you intend doing with the scope.

If you are thinking of doing Astrophotography at some point in the future then the 150PDS is the one to go for.

It has been specially designed with astrophotography in mind... the 150P could cause problems with SOME cameras reaching focus.

The 150P has a simple single speed focuser which is not a good as the dual speed unit fitted to the 150PDS.

From a purely visual point of view then there is not much difference between the 2 other than the 150PDS has a much better focuser.

What mount are you considering using with it?

Again for astrophotography you will need a sturdy EQ mount... at the very least an EQ5 with syntrek which will allow you to track and guide the scope for long exposures.

An Alt/Az mount would not be suitable for astrophotography, since it will introduce field rotation... but would be fine for visual use... either motorised or manual.

The only other difference is the slightly higher price tag for the 150PDS.

Hope this helps.

Best regards.

Sandy.

[jonnie]

I read somewhere that the 150PDS is a faster scope (might be wrong) they were stating I will need high priced eye pieces is this right?

[Skooby]

I just ordered my 250pds on an neq6 pro mount. I'm going in to astrophotography but I would have chosen the pds version anyway seems a slightly better scope and with the better Focuser

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lonestar70]

No... they are both F5 scopes... apart from the different focuser on the 150PDS (10:1 dual speed) the main difference is that the primary mirror has been moved a little closer to the secondary mirror... which project the image focal point a little further out of the focuser... this is to allow some DSLR cameras to achieve focus with some spare inward movement remaining on the focuser... the 150P can run into difficulties in this respect as the camera needs to be closer to the secondary mirror to achieve focus and with SOME DSLR cameras the inward travel of the focuser is not enough for this to happen.

As far as eyepieces are concerned I have not had any trouble with any standard types on my 150PDS... other people may have different ideas though... we are not all the same.

Best regards.

Sandy.

[Butchless1]

Recently purchased the 150pds based on an expected 70/30 split of visual to AP use...

Very happy with my purchase as I was aiming for something portable, and find the dual focuser a bonus for the visual use as well...

I mounted on an EQ5 with dual axis motors, so if I decide that AP is not for me I have a great portable setup for solely visual...

Cant comment on the eyepiece issue, I have only ever used Xcels or Hyperion on mine.... 

Great scope- love it on an Eq5 it feels solid....

Good luck which ever way you go..

[Astro Imp]

If you don't intend going into AP I would get the 150P and the Skywatcher electric focuser. Trying to focus manually I found very frustrating, as soon as I touched the focus wheel the view in the eyepiece started to wobble, especially at high power. I now use the electric focuser and have completely got rid of the problem.

[void]

I have recently ordered a 150PDS it seems to be a better bit of kit for a little extra.

I have purchased the EQ5 mount to go along with this as it is more than capable of holding the weight of the scope plus my camera.

What mount are you thinking of going for jonnie?

[jonnie]

Have heard the heq5 mount is the minimum mount someone should use if they are doing astrophotography. Is this correct? Price is rather high though.

[brantuk]

"I read somewhere that the 150PDS is a faster scope"

You may be mixing it up with the 150PL which is a longer scope and higher f-ratio (f-8 at 1200mm fl). The PL can also be fitted with a dual speed focuser so it can all become a bit confusing for a newbie. The longer scope is a tad better for planetary work, and a dual speed focuser is always better on most any scope.

Hth

[Sandancer10]

Have heard the heq5 mount is the minimum mount someone should use if they are doing astrophotography. Is this correct? Price is rather high though.

Hi Jonnie and welcome to SGL.

I was told the same thing, but for me the weight and portability was very important so I went for the kit in my signature. When I started to balance the scope with both weights on it, it was top heavy even with the DSLR on it so I only use 1 weight for AP and I find this sturdy enough to get steady, clear shots. I think the HEQ5 is a bit of over-kill for a 150 scope.

Hope this helps

[jonnie]

Hi Brenda, Thanks.

I was thinking the HEQ5 looked overkill but people seemed to be talking about it like it was a must have. I have seen photos taken with the 150PDS and they look just as good as with other large optics.

Guess its what you do with it that counts.

Do you have any example of photos you have taken with your setup? (links?)

Also, do you have the setup is stable enough. Do you get much vibration?

[ChrisSJ]

Hi,

From my experience the 150p setup is let down by one major factor, its mount. The scope is good, but the eq3-2 mount is unsteady even for visual seeing. People have tried different approaches; sand in the legs, lead and hanging weights from mount head, but this just makes it difficult to carry. For a 150 fast scope I would go for an eq5, as Sandancer has said, an HEQ5 is an overkill.

Whatever you chose, let it bring you years of enjoyment.

Chris

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[void]

Agreed the 150PDS needs something more than the eq3-2 mount.

[TractionMan]

The 150PDS is great for Visual and the dual speed focuser is well worth the extra cost IMHO.

[Sandancer10]

Hi Brenda, Thanks.

I was thinking the HEQ5 looked overkill but people seemed to be talking about it like it was a must have. I have seen photos taken with the 150PDS and they look just as good as with other large optics.

Guess its what you do with it that counts.

Do you have any example of photos you have taken with your setup? (links?)

Also, do you have the setup is stable enough. Do you get much vibration?

I took this image with my CCD and I think any signs of vibration would show up, but it seems clear.

Normally the SW 150PDS is sold with the EQ3 so I went for the next mount as I was concerned about the weight with my DSLR. the EQ5 can take 6 kg for AP and 9KG for visual.

[GuillermoBarrancos]

It depends what his budget is. If he has the budget to go for the HEQ5, then by all means it's a better mount and more future proof when he wants to buy a larger scope later on.

[Wetsparks]

I've got the 150p with the EQ5 goto mount and hope to hang me 70d Canon off it eventually.

The scope. The single speed focuser is real sensitive, I have real trouble with it. In foucus, breath in, out of focus. I've seen a replacement spindle for the focuser that converts it to two speed, I will be getting that. Other than that the scope is great, so far.

The mount. The EQ5 is quite a solid mount,my issuse with it are physicaly getting to the polar scope with the elevation at 55 degrees, modifications are in the pipe line. The othe issue is the RA clock dial, I think they employed Micky Mouse to design this bit, its dreadfull to the point of useless. Whats the locking screw for, use it and it not only locks the scale but also tries to lock the RA its self or drags around with RA movment. Agian I'm looking at a modification to this bit.

Other than those two niggles the EQ5 is a great mount. Last night I managed to get it hooked up to my laptop and controlled it with Stellarium, great fun

[jonathan]

I use my 150P on a Celestron Omni CG-4 mount and tripod, it's a bit beefier in the legs than the standard EQ3-2 and I think it must make a big difference when it comes to vibrations because I don't seem to suffer with them much at all, same applies to my 102mm refractor on this mount.  The 150P is a nice short reflector and seems to match the CG-4 perfectly for visual use.  Can't comment on imaging but I reckon it should be possible with this set up.  I have dual motor drive.

I use a 5mm Celestron X-Cel eyepiece with the 150P as my highest magnification and it works well, a higher quality eyepiece may improve the image further still but probably not by a great amount given the typical sky conditions and light pollution in my back garden, I tend to be too lazy to take it anywhere else.

[Pint Of Stellar]

Is there a reference list anywhere that has been compiled as regards which cameras are OK with the 'P' version and which require the 'PDS" version?

[dmahon]

The HEQ5 is certainly not overkill. For DSO astrophotography, it's very much entry level and the least you need to get reliably good images (you can manage with cheaper mounts, but with a lot of skill, effort and probably frustration).

[JKB]

The HEQ5 is certainly not overkill. For DSO astrophotography, it's very much entry level and the least you need to get reliably good images (you can manage with cheaper mounts, but with a lot of skill, effort and probably frustration).

Agreed. HEQ5 Pro is my mount of choice with the 150P. Never had a problem with focussing using a Canon 30D and MPCC. As for focuser yes the PDS has 10:1 but again never had a problem. Always use a Bhatinov mask anyway. My set up is the 150P, with ST80 on top and 50mm Finder. This has the 30D and MPCC with webcam in the ST80. Heavy kit but the HEQ5 does the job.

Cheers

Jamie

[Pete Presland]

i have owned the eq3-2, i now have a eq5 and heq5. the heq5 is a great mount, i can not imagine myself ever changing it, it handles my 200pds easily with the usual attachments,finder/guider,telrad,dslr a very reliable mount. the eq5 is no slouch either, it makes the eq3-2  look a little like a toy, its a pretty substantial mount!

[LouisJB]

having gone from a single speed focuser on the 130P to a GSO dual crayford on the GSO200 F5 I can say if you're using it to image that little extra cost is well worth it. Tweaking for perfect focuser on the 10:1 wheel is so much more accurate and since it requires virually no turning force it doesn't disturb the rig and live view doesn't blur, so you get a better chance to see what is going on. Having said that you can certainly get by without, just a recommendation from me that the extra $$ is money well spent as it's quite a fundamental part of the OTA.

As for HEQ5 - highly recommended by me, I love it. Especially as this opens the doors to guiding. I'd say the synscan pro goto is excellent, but you can save $$ by getting the syntrek and using EQMOD, this would be entry level for a decent guiding ability in the future.