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Hi John I realised I never answered your last question. Indeed, I am fully intending to get a 200pds mounted on an AZEQ6 (which can also be used for dso AP with my 80ed). The final question in my mind, is whether it would be worth getting a 5" frac, to complement the newt. This was the reason behind my post. You probably remember I've mentioned a used sw120ed, which is most likely the direction I'd take, to keep cost down, rather than a new one or a new StellaMira 125.

Thanks Bob This is really useful! Just the sort of comparative information that I was looking for, to add to previous information supplied by others. It does seem as if both scopes are viewed differently, for some Newts beat the frac, for others fracs may show nicer planetary details. It may well come down to beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

@ollypenrice There's a very thin "string of rubies" coming in from the right edge in your image. It's different in your two versions. Is this real signal, or maybe an artefact?

Thanks Nicolàs, much appreciated too.

That's OK. I'm sure others will make their own minds up. I know I was genuinely asking the question as posted. That's what matters, as I know it to be true. 👍

Thanks Jeremy, much appreciated.

Thank you Clarkey, perhaps I should have said blue rather than green but that is by the way. The question that remains is:- how do you get the image panel moved up the physical screen? Chris

I think it best that we agree to disagree and move on. All the best in whatever choice you make 👍

Hi Dweller, Fair point, you have given lots of good advice on my posts. But your post just now, is still repeating, in my opinion, the same attack, but in a different form. Are you saying I wasn't being genuine in my post? Because I can tell you I was. So, when I said the title says it all, it did. So, you can either choose to believe me or not.

This should be reversed, as much as I love my refractor I’m pretty sure that in terms of resolution it cannot reveal more than a larger scope, i don’t care what design. Having said that, my refractor reveals things differently, but that is a whole other thread.

I tried looking at a tree, the sky and a building all blurry, if I took the eyepiece out and look through it should it also still be blurry because it is. Probably dumb questions but I have 0 clue so I really appreciate all the help

Wells is lovely, not so familiar with Shepton Mallet as haven’t been there for years but sure it is nice.

No problem. I have a Bresser 127L (not APO, but a good scope) and a Skywatcher 200p (probably a comparable "level" in the market) , and they're really quite different beasts. To directly answer the question- yes planetary detail. On the very best nights the frac wipes the floor with the newt on Jupiter and Saturn for reasons described here in other posts. On an average night the difference between them is less. Strangely this reverses on lunar views- I'm not sure why, but whilst the frac yields really good lunar views, the newt, with a 4mm ep on a good night is utterly breathtaking. I'm not sure "prettiness" is a thing you can see, but if it were, then the frac wins there too- stars are a little "hairy" in the newt due to the obstruction, even when you don't see the spikes, whereas in the frac they are beautiful orbs. Unfortunately I also see a little chromatic aberration in the frac (it's an achromat), which is absent from the newt, although this is fixed well enough by a semi-apo filter. As others have stated, the greater light grasp of the 8" is balanced by the contrast improvement in the frac: I once ran them side by side on the Pleiades and both gave pretty good views at low magnification on the reflection nebula around that cluster. Marginally, I preferred the aesthetics in the frac that night. However, if the purpose of this is to help with a buying decision, then I need to point out that I use the frac much less than the newt, for 2 simple reasons: - The newt can be set up in a fraction of the time as it sits assembled in my garage and is simply lifted out and plonked on the lawn- it's then ready to go. - The newt is much more comfortable to use- most of the sky can be seen simply by sitting on an adjustable chair next it. With the frac, for objects near the zenith, I'm almost on the floor to get to the eyepiece. HTH

@Flame Nebula I have constructively contributed to many of your posts but this one felt like the title was just click bait when you said the wording was “deliberate” You have subsequently explained what you were trying to do. Perhaps it would have been better to have had a more genuine approach at the start ?

Actually the opposite is true. As aperture increases, airy disk size decreases so stars appear smaller and finer detail can be resolved. This does however assume excellent seeing. You can see this effect in reverse when observing double stars through a small apo refractor. The small aperture gives large airy disk sizes which are easily seen even in average seeing and at more modest powers, so the effect is a very beautiful ‘bullseyes on velvet’ which is very aesthetically pleasing. With a large scope, the airy disks are much smaller and require higher power/better seeing to reveal themselves; often they are masked by poorer seeing so you end up just seeing scruffy stars which aren’t as nice to view, unless the seeing is excellent.

Thanks John, And I have always been interested in your comments. There is a fine line between supplementary question and telling someone what they're thinking or know and that is why I reacted. I do accept there may be some repetition, fair comment. I'm happy with fair comments. 👍

Hi guys and girls Im thinking of maybe getting a high end mount rather than upgrading in a few years time . I've been reading up on the Paramount MYT and the 10 Micron GM1000 both very good mounts one with absolute encoders but £2000 more the other with motor based encoders, not sure I would need the encoders as the mount would be in a permanent location . The only think I'm worried about is building the tpoint and the 10 micron version, also I would like to use with Nina. So I'm interested what you guys think would be the better and easier to use I would be only using it for astrophotography . I would want to get a bigger scope eventually and have seen there is 7 kg load difference between the two so this might be a consideration thanks Dave

A very interesting response Magnus, Since I'm definitely planning to get a 200pds, it is interesting to gather all your experiences with comparison between these scopes. I know they'll be differences of experience, but I'm getting a good idea by gathering them. Thanks

Best to first try it outside in the daytime. Focus on a building or something similar a little distance from you. Not trying to sound funny, but under no circumstance look at the sun! With out a proper solar filter eye damage would be irreparable.

And, we no longer have potholes, they’re now sink holes! chaz

Us zummerzet folk find that foreigners do Arf tork proper queer lyke. chaz

Nope, but this may help.

Thanks Bob, You've understood absolutely 100% my intention. Definitely not to start any fight, it was exactly as the title intended, hence why I felt the way I did. Your comment is greatly appreciated!

Fair enough - your point is taken. I "liked" that post but I've also contributed to this and your other threads so I hope that demonstrates a willingness to help as well. You have had contributions to this and your other threads from some of the most experienced folks on the forum. I think sometimes, a supplementary question back to the original poster is justified to sound out the purpose of a question or topic - that then helps "fine tune" responses I feel. Some of the topics you have started seem to be going over the same or similar ground so perhaps a sense of "deja vu" sets in ? Hope you are getting somewhere with your decision making anyway 🙂