GiovanniAprea

Hello everybody from Italy, so far it seems summer got to an end, people complaining about "too hot" finally got their prize and two days of on and off rain and sudden temperature drop, we are never happy no matter what...

... and I am no exception 😄 

Yes I know the gold 80ED being a very good scope for the price, I never used it much and got a good offer to sell it that's why I am thinking about an upgrade, I like refractors and I know that to climb the ladder it takes a lot of money, I might remain with an 80mm diameter but bigger focuser to be able to eventually photograph with a DX or FF D-SLR and a better focuser which is what everybody complains about the 80ED which, by the way, can be fixed but once you add a 1:1 and 1:10 focuser and a field flattener is it worth the pain any longer and not better to switch to a new tube?

What would you do, remaining with a refractor, doublet or triplet, for planetary and some deep sky, with a budget within 1.000 euros?

I rather stay with a refractor, doublet like the 80ED or stretch the budget for a triplet, to continue my very rare observations I won't add any guided mount in the near future, I plan on using my Giro3 like AltAz head (will also need a new sturdy but portable tripod), it's more of a whim than a need, you know, upgrade syndrome 😉

Long story short, I got a SW 80ED a while ago, the (ugly) gold painted tube, I am trying to sell it and thinking at what might I upgrade considering I have no much sky available from home and need a portable setup on an AZ mount, I like to do visual observation of planets and won't mind some day being able to do some astrophotography.

Looking for a big focusing tube as to eventually use a full frame camera (either dslr or mirrorless) and a dual speed focuser to begin with, budget within 1.000-1.200 euros.

Suggestions?

I used to have an Astromeccanica huge and heavy wood tripod but legs crashed after years and now I have no way to use my small 80ED to check Jupiter, I am looking to buy a new tripod which can mount the Gyro3 like head whose base is about 70mm in diameter.

Any suggestion?

Grazie

I got a gold tube (ouch!) SW ED80 a few years ago, a Giro like Alt-Az mount and a huge wooden tripod (almost gone, have to change the legs or get a metal one, more practical), back then I used to organise with my son's schoolmates to go and observe Moon and Jupiter, with time passing kids grew and interest slowly vanished but it was lot of fun to hear their marvel when looking through the eyepiece.

Time has gone by, I don't have a big slice of sky to observe from my place but once in a while I like to mount the scope and wonder myself (first time I saw Saturn end of last summer, it was a tiny tiny thing but, wow!!!) through the eyepieces (I own 25 - 12.5 and 7.5 Celestron XL and a Planetary 3.5 which is a pain to use), I wish I could do some D-SLR photography but realised without an EQ mount better forget it but, visual wise, is there something to upgrade on the ED80 (focuser, flattener...) with modest investment or better wait and get a wider one?

Grazie

The 80ED uses a 2" focuser if I recall it correct and then adapters for the 1.25" oculars out of the diagonal so I would need a 2" extension tube to then thread to the T-adapter I already have for both my FullFrame Nikon and APS-C Fuji 

Long story short,

got a SW80ED a while ago and never made much use of it, I'd like to start and do some photography with my Alt/Az mount (short exposures) and with a DSLR camera in the prime focus not through the diagonal so I am wondering which length tube should I get to achieve correct focus, any suggestion about length, model, maker, shop...?

Grazie

Giovanni