Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

Please help me with my first scope


Recommended Posts

Hello I'm a teen in Korea and would like to buy a telescope. I currently have about $500~900 to spend.

What I want to see through the telescope are deep sky objects, but since my dad wants to do astrophotography with my telescope, I can't buy dobs (it's alt az)... And refractors are too expensive so I decided to go with Cassegrain, maybe nexstar 4se, 5se or 6se. But i think 6inch is too small for deep sky objects. And also, the f ratio is too big. So I'm thinking of focal reducers, but I'm not sure if they really work...  so I'm having hard time deciding between cassegrain and dobs. 

So I made two options

1. buy 6se and buy focal reducers

2. buy 4se (for astrophotography) and if i like it, buy 8or 10inch dob for deep sky objects

OR is there any advice or options that you can give?? and does focal reducers really work? if so, what focal reducer should I buy?

  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 29
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Why not a reflector?... like skywatcher 150pds... good for astrophotography and visual.... or 200pds if budget will stretch.

because I heard that you have to modify the position of the main mirror in order to do astrophotography and also, I want my telescope to be light and portable. (it has to be light cause more pound means more money to ship overseas :) )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

because I heard that you have to modify the position of the main mirror in order to do astrophotography and also, I want my telescope to be light and portable. (it has to be light cause more pound means more money to ship overseas :) )

ohh... the telescope that you said is available for photos. But the thing is, I don't want to do much collimation and stuff. also, it's too big for me to carry 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The shipping cost is the tricky area as the mount you might want to cover your Dad's needs of atrophotography is an equatorial mount and they are very heavy for shipping.

If you were to only photo the planets and Moon then you can get away with a AltZ style mount as you need only short exposures.

Do you need to look at an equatorial mount because you want to image deep space objects/much longer exposures?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just reread the SE mount has a wedge so it can do a bit as the wedge allows for the Earth's axis for a location I think that is how it goes.

I guess a good idea would be to look at astroimages people have produced from the SE mounts. Planets are going to be possible but look for deep space object examples too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Forget about doing any serious astrophotography with the SE and a wedge. You need a solid EQ mount for that. I think Dad needs to buy his own scope...

As far as scopes go though, you can still do amazing planetary and lunar webcam imaging with the 4 / 5 / 6 SE.

A focal reducer will reduce the f ratio of the scope but will not do wonders for the field of view. Any one of Antares / Meade / Celestron f6.3 reducers will do.

Say you go got the 6SE and you use a 32mm Plossl.

Without FR: FL = 1500, Mag = 46.87, TFOV = 1.03 degrees

With FR: FL 945, Mag = 29,53, TFOV  = 1.64 degrees

So, no wide field views and 99% of DSO fit easily in a 1 degree view.

To sum it up:

  1. Since dad wants to toy around and you need to compromise, get him to compromise on AP and concentrate initially on planetary imaging. If he wants to do AP later, he can splurge on new equipment.
  2. Get the 6SE which is the biggest one on your budget for cassegrains, or buy pre-owned and get the 8SE.
  3. Go somewhere dark to use and the 6SE will perform admirably and keep you busy for ages.
  4. If you can't go somewhere dark, enjoy the scope from your back yard on the moon, planets and double stars where light pollution is irrelevant for such objects.

OR:

  • Convince Dad to get the 4SE for himself for webcam imaging and
  • Convince Dad to get you a 8" - 10" Dob
  • Cheat and use both scopes for yourself
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You seem to have hit at an early stage that no single scope is good at everything. Large aperture for DSOs and portability do not always go together and AP is a whole different and big ball game. I'd start with a simple reflector for yourself (collimation is no big deal) - a 150 will show a remarkable amount of stuff, even a 114/130 is not so bad - and as Nicoscy has pointed out - if your dad is going to get into serious AP  then I'd tactfully ask him to spend his own money on a scope!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even if you put the 4SE on a wedge then you have to look at the cost of a wedge and these tend to be expensive.

The 4SE and the 6Se are not good for astrophotography, the focal length is too long and again a focal reducer means buying one and reducers are another item that costs.

What shipping?

Surely you can buy telescopes in South Korea without having one shipped in.

Is the shipping cost for Seoul to Daegu or from the US to South Korea?

You say you do not want to do much collimation but all reflectors will require this so that includes Dobsonians which are named after the mount not the scope.

A lot will depend on the light pollution that you have, I am guessing that this may be bad and so the portability aspect. Another aspect is that any mount with motors or goto will require power and that also has to be transported.

Something will have to effectively be dropped, at least to some extent.

For astrophotography you need an equitorial mount with motors/goto to track an object, the scope can be small however.

For DSO's you need reasonable apeture which means weight so either a newtonian on a dobsonian mount or a big equitorial mount.

If I recall retailers in the US sell the iOptron Smart EQ with the William Optics ZS71 for around $800-900, that would give the astrophotography aspect but not aperture for DSO's unless your sky was really dark. Putting a bigger scope on it may be too heavy as you need to add in the camera, A larger scope is possible but I do not mean greatly bigger. Not sure of the weight of the Skywatcher 130PDS or the 150PDS.

The problem of the 4/6SE is that the mount is wrong and the scope is wrong for photography, OK for visual however the aperture is not large on the 4SE and you will need to keep magnification down for DSO observing. There seems little point buying a 4/6SE then a wedge and then a reducer. Sure a 100mm ED refractor and an EQ mount would come to less cost.

Any scope retailers in Seoul that have a web page ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Forget about doing any serious astrophotography with the SE and a wedge. You need a solid EQ mount for that. I think Dad needs to buy his own scope...

As far as scopes go though, you can still do amazing planetary and lunar webcam imaging with the 4 / 5 / 6 SE.

A focal reducer will reduce the f ratio of the scope but will not do wonders for the field of view. Any one of Antares / Meade / Celestron f6.3 reducers will do.

Say you go got the 6SE and you use a 32mm Plossl.

Without FR: FL = 1500, Mag = 46.87, TFOV = 1.03 degrees

With FR: FL 945, Mag = 29,53, TFOV  = 1.64 degrees

So, no wide field views and 99% of DSO fit easily in a 1 degree view.

To sum it up:

  1. Since dad wants to toy around and you need to compromise, get him to compromise on AP and concentrate initially on planetary imaging. If he wants to do AP later, he can splurge on new equipment.
  2. Get the 6SE which is the biggest one on your budget for cassegrains, or buy pre-owned and get the 8SE.
  3. Go somewhere dark to use and the 6SE will perform admirably and keep you busy for ages.
  4. If you can't go somewhere dark, enjoy the scope from your back yard on the moon, planets and double stars where light pollution is irrelevant for such objects.

OR:

  • Convince Dad to get the 4SE for himself for webcam imaging and
  • Convince Dad to get you a 8" - 10" Dob
  • Cheat and use both scopes for yourself

Would it be possible for me to go with equatorial mount and  buy an ota and equatorial mount separately, paying the international shipping fees? if so, what mount should i buy? i think reflectors like  skywatcher 150pd could be good if i buy a motorized equatorial mount to equip with... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

will 'advanced vx 6inch reflector' ($900) work for deep sky objects and stuff? I think the mount for that telescope is pretty adequate. Although it's just on the edge of my budget, my dad says he can give me a couple hundred dollars more if needed. Also, my dad's going to do astrophotography with his canon dslr not webcam (if that changes any replies :) ) ... 

oh and thanks for all the ppl that answered to my question. You really helped me a lot :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Light and portable does not match equatorial mount.

I would review what it is you want to be able to do. What it needs to be portable wise and then what your father wants to do and subjects wants to image.

Is there a link to the website you are using to price that 6 inch reflector?

Webcam = suggests very short exposure planets

Dslr = suggests long exposure DSO

Different mount needs. Webcam is not fussy but long exposure is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

will 'advanced vx 6inch reflector' ($900) work for deep sky objects and stuff? I think the mount for that telescope is pretty adequate. Although it's just on the edge of my budget, my dad says he can give me a couple hundred dollars more if needed. Also, my dad's going to do astrophotography with his canon dslr not webcam (if that changes any replies :) ) ... 

oh and thanks for all the ppl that answered to my question. You really helped me a lot :)

Yes it will, to the limits of a 6" of course. Aperture is aperture but it will keep you busy for quite a while. 

But you need to budget for all the extras:

  • Power supply
  • Eyepieces
  • Collimation tools
  • Red light torch
  • A Pocket Sky Atlas or something similar
  • Whatever else corms up

Also tell dad that he will need a simple adapter for his camera to mount to the focuser and also it would be good to splurge on Backyard EOS.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Light and portable does not match equatorial mount.

I would review what it is you want to be able to do. What it needs to be portable wise and then what your father wants to do and subjects wants to image.

Is there a link to the website you are using to price that 6 inch reflector?

Webcam = suggests very short exposure planets

Dslr = suggests long exposure DSO

Different mount needs. Webcam is not fussy but long exposure is.

I wanted it to be light so that the shipping fees can be reduced (I'll just forget about portability) , but maybe my dad's friend can remove the counter weights which reduces the weight of the thing from 40pounds to 28pounds.

Below is the website 

http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Advanced-Inch-Newtonian-Telescope/dp/B00AZCHF6U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414074962&sr=8-2&keywords=advanced+vx 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wanted it to be light so that the shipping fees can be reduced (I'll just forget about portability) , but maybe my dad's friend can remove the counter weights which reduces the weight of the thing from 40pounds to 28pounds.

Below is the website 

http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Advanced-Inch-Newtonian-Telescope/dp/B00AZCHF6U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414074962&sr=8-2&keywords=advanced+vx

I forgot to add; remove the counter weight from America, then buy a counter weight in korea

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes it will, to the limits of a 6" of course. Aperture is aperture but it will keep you busy for quite a while. 

But you need to budget for all the extras:

  • Power supply
  • Eyepieces
  • Collimation tools
  • Red light torch
  • A Pocket Sky Atlas or something similar
  • Whatever else corms up

Also tell dad that he will need a simple adapter for his camera to mount to the focuser and also it would be good to splurge on Backyard EOS.

I know I have to spend considerable amount of money on those things. But I think it's ok. 

Do I need to have autoguiders and filters? Or is it just optional? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found that the mount itself costs $500 for pre-owned ones. Although they're sold in America, my dad's friend in America can check the conditions of the mount and stuff if he has to. I think this'll give me some breathing space with my budget.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know I have to spend considerable amount of money on those things. But I think it's ok. 

Do I need to have autoguiders and filters? Or is it just optional? 

The mount if perfectly aligned may allow for 60 - 80 seconds of decent tracking. To do AP "properly", you need a guide scope and an extra camera to autoguide, or an off-axis guide and a camera, in order to track for up to hours at an end.

Your dad will use a DSLR so no need for filters at the moment, although there are mods to cameras to make them more sensitive to red, there are filters to reduce light pollution e.t.c.

Just decide on the scope, visual accessories, DSLR adapter or t-ring, definitely backyard EOS and you will slowly immerse yourself (and dad of course) in all aspects of the hobby  :grin:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The mount if perfectly aligned may allow for 60 - 80 seconds of decent tracking. To do AP "properly", you need a guide scope and an extra camera to autoguide, or an off-axis guide and a camera, in order to track for up to hours at an end.

Your dad will use a DSLR so no need for filters at the moment, although there are mods to cameras to make them more sensitive to red, there are filters to reduce light pollution e.t.c.

Just decide on the scope, visual accessories, DSLR adapter or t-ring, definitely backyard EOS and you will slowly immerse yourself (and dad of course) in all aspects of the hobby  :grin:

Yes it will, to the limits of a 6" of course. Aperture is aperture but it will keep you busy for quite a while. 

But you need to budget for all the extras:

  • Power supply
  • Eyepieces
  • Collimation tools
  • Red light torch
  • A Pocket Sky Atlas or something similar
  • Whatever else corms up

Also tell dad that he will need a simple adapter for his camera to mount to the focuser and also it would be good to splurge onhBackyard EOS.

thanks for your advice :). Can auto-guiding only be done by autoguiders? Or, since my dad has two Canon DSLRs, could a DSLR be used as an auto guider?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The thing with portability is if it is too much of a pain to move it won't get used how ever capable it is. So I would think about what does portability mean how far does it have to be moved and is it all on foot to the observing location.

I dont's think I have to move it that far, because since 70%of korea's land is a mountain, I can just ride a car and go up the mountain. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And I have a q; are Cassegrains, since it has a long f/ ratio, useless for deep sky objects? Or is it just a little bit bad? 

Also, in case I buy a reflector, how often do I have to collimate and clean the main mirror?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.