8"EDGE HD PLUS VX MOUNT?

[nutandbolt]

Hello everyone would the above scope be ok for visual use as a first scope? Then may be later i will use it for astro imaging .

[gnomus]

I have an 8" Edge HD.  I have it on a CGEM mount.  There are many here who have AVX mounts and seem to like them.  It would be an excellent scope for visual and will give superb views of many objects.  

It would be good for planetary and lunar imaging.  If you want to get into the photography of Deep Sky Objects, however, it would not be a good choice.

[mickjackson]

Hi.

Can u explain why it wouldnt b any good for dso ?

Ive been looking at this deal too...

[Chris]

Hi, I have this setup. I think it's very good for visual, especially good on planets. It would do a fantastic job on imaging the planets also, but not the easiest way to image deep sky objects due to the long focal length and slow optics. I image a bit with mine using the dedicated reducer which takes it down to f/7 and 1422mm focal length, but this is still harder than using a small fast newtonian or ED/apo refractor.

[gnomus]

As Chris said, there are few issues with DSOs. Many are quite large. The focal length of the Edge 8 is around 2032mm. I can just about fit the Orion Nebula into the field of view of my 600mm ED80 (with the reducer in place). And the ED80 is only 600mm focal length. M31 doesn't quite fit in the FOV of the ED80. Even for visual, you will not get all objects in the FOV of the Edge - the Pleiades and the Double Cluster spring to mind.

Those who know more than me may suggest that guiding the longer focal length scope will be trickier, since any error is magnified.

Lasttly, the focal ratio is larger in the Edge - f/10. This means that you will need a longer exposure time to capture the same amount of light.

There are some DSO targets that the Edge might be good for (M82 might be one). But, if you want to get some success with DSO imaging, it might be best to start with less challenging targets?

Don't let me put you off the Edge though - it's a terrific scope. Astrophotography covers so many different types of imaging that, in my view, you need different sets of tools.

[Blazar]

+1 for the scope...though as Gnomes and Chris rightly state above, not the best for DSO (unless you throw a hyper star on it I guess ;-))

If you want to get into Astro imaging rather than visual observing then might I suggest reading the book "making every photon count'. It WILL save you money in the long run....though to be fair, a lot of people have more than one scope (like me), and they have different uses. So the Edge is planetary and Lunar, and the WOstar 71 refractor is for DSO. 

The AVX is a nice mount though. very sturdy for a first time goto mount....there is a thread in the mounts section I think. you must also think about powering it as well... If you still went for the edge there are other things you WILL need. A dew shield (the corrector plate will dew up) is the most important of these!

[gnomus]

And if you want to see what your Edge is capable of, take a look at some of Blazar's lunar work!

[ollypenrice]

I agree with all of the above. There is a place for deep sky imaging at long focal lengths but I would strongly recommend anyone to go that place after a few years working at shorter focal lengths! Don't imagine that you need lots of aperture for DS imaging. You simply don't.

Note that, at long focal lengths, it can be an advantage to use your camera in Bin2 mode, using four pixels as one. This is only possible on mono cameras. The increasingly tiny pixels of  DSLRs make long focal lengths less and less appropriate because they impose a resolution which neither the seeing nor the mount will readily allow. If you aim to use a DSLR for your deep sky imaging choose something with a short FL and reasonably fast optics.

Olly

http://ollypenrice.smugmug.com/Other/Best-of-Les-Granges/22435624_WLMPTM#!i=2266922474&k=Sc3kgzc