Obi Wan Ken00bi

Yeah the fiddling around with focus and collimating put me off the fast optics for now. I’d rather spend an extra night or 2 on a target and at least enjoy getting good subs most of the time, without caring for the equipment too much. I enjoy being out there and having equipment that works for you, not against you. Your experience is very much valued here Olly, thanks again.

Hahahaha, nice ? Tomorrow is both Saturday night AND clear skies ?

The new love of my life!!

Thanks for the advice. As I feel not very pro yet, and the issues you mention are there, I’ve decided on the easier esprit 100 ED with mono cam. It’s less of a beast, for good and bad. In the future I’ll get myself an 8 inch rasa (the 11 inch is too heavy for my eq6R pro)

Another vote for the Esprit, I’ve done quite a bit of research as I was in doubt between the WO and Esprit. In the end there is little between them, but I went for the Esprit 100 because it seems to rival the Taks for a fraction of the price. Let me know if you go for the Esprit 80 as I have a brand new, unused field flattener for it laying around.

Thanks for sharing your journey, and a warm welcome from Denmark ?

Wow, a CGX mount, that's some serious hardware. Would you recommend the RASA if used mainly for mono imaging?

Hi SGL, I've been imaging with a Newton 8" on a EQ6-R Pro for quite a while now, using a OSC, the 6 megapixel QHY8L. Here are some results, just for you to see where my level is at (and we always like to share our work anyway eh?!) I'm taking the next steps in this wonderful (and sometimes frustrating) hobby. The budget is around 4000 dollar/pound. The need: I have developed a special interest in nebula and wider field targets (like Horsehead, Heart/Soul, Rosetta, M42, M45, larger clusters, etc) I want to up my game, by getting more and finer detail in my images and don't like the collimation process too much to be honest I would like more control over the colors and being able to, for example, pull out more detail on Ha, OIII and SII spectra. Also I'd like to play with the Hubble palette Easier guiding by reducing focal length Therefore, I've decided to get an APO refractor for the first time, in the range of 400-600 mm (to complement my 1000mm Newt). To keep a good pixel size and do narrowband imaging, I also need a new camera, and I'm kinda set on a mono CMOS, the QHY163M with 36mm filterwheel with LRGB, Ha, OIII and SII filters. That's 2000 dollar/pound spend. As for the scope, I thought, why not get the best of the bunch within the 2000 dollar/pound price range: the F5.5 Esprit 100ED? I've been pretty much set on this beauty and have already placed a pre-order. BUT, then I saw this review by Astrobackyard on an interesting new scope, the RASA 8", which is 400mm at F2!!!! His review was very positive (like most of his reviews to be honest) and I was blown away by the speed. I live in Denmark and getting long subs in is sometimes a problem with clouds and fog/dew, but then again, I'm not in a rush with this hobby to be honest. The price is similar, but the light gathering of the RASA is so much better on paper. I know there is some tricky focusing because of the speed, and you can't attach a filter wheel, but using 60sec subs instead of 10 minutes ones more than compensates for this and you can do mono with a filter drawer right? The thing is however, I can't find really amazing images from this scope (or it's bigger brother the 11") on astrobin, while the Esprit 100ED comes up with a lot of pretty, fine detail images; the stuff I'm after. Ease of use also is a big deal for me, I love fiddling around during the day and home, not in the field. It's a first world problem, but what would you do in my situation? (btw, I'm not interested in using the new scope for visual btw)

Hi! Very interesting thread. Just curious, are you still happy with your RASA?

Hi! Thanks for all your tips! That website link is exactly what I was looking for. Great stuff. It’s difficult for me to dig these things up being English speaker (but once I’ve found the correct page I can google translate it off course). I’ll let you know once I have more concrete plans. Looking forward to the dark skies, good weather and sangria.

Hi and welcome! Don't do it!! It's a money pit. And also the best thing ever at the same time

Welkom Erik! Hopelijk kan je veel leren en tegelijk plezier beleven aan deze geweldige hobby! Hopefully you'll learn a lot and enjoy this great hobby at the same time

Welcome! Tenerife, omg your skies must be amazing. That astro apartment sounds awesome! I might hire that one day

Hi Carballade, your setup is impressive and your images are stunning!! ? Well done I'm actually thinking of doing an astrophotography holiday this summer in Spain for 2 or 3 weeks. I'm living in Denmark and I have all this nice equipment, but quite bad weather and skies. I want to combine it with seeing some culture and relaxing at the costa off course, so the region of Barcelona has my interest. Do you have any tips on where to go (I'm thinking to have a holiday house where I can set up my equipment or just do nightly adventures) or do you know anybody / local astronomers group (maybe yourself even?) who may want to join for some imaging nights? Adios! Jonathan

Just out of curiosity, do you guide with this setup?