Northernlight

Hi All, I've been holding off a new scope upgrade for imaging and I'm a little uncertain about the future of Astro Photography with the recently announcements about star-link and other similar projects putting tens of thousands of satellites into orbit. For me personally, I know how many subs I see impacted by just 2000 satellites, let alone SpaceX adding another 12,000 as well as other players like Boeing adding their satellites. Would love to hear peoples thoughts on the topic. Is Astro imaging still going to be a viable hobby 5 years from now ? Or do people think that this is not really an issue as it can sorted during processing ?? Cheers, Rich.

Hi Firas, I've put all scope purchases on hold until I understand the future implications of projects like star-link and other similar projects. I've seen how many satellites I have appearing in my images from just 2,000 satellites let alone an additional 12,000 from SpaceX alone. I believe Boeing and other companies are looking to do similar projects. So not sure how viable astro imaging will be in the near future If I didn't have any concerns and was still looking to buy, then without a shadow of doubt I would go with the ONTC as the lacerta appers to essentially be an upgraded SW Quattro and uses the same low quality mirror cell and secondary holder. The tube on the lacerta I believe is around 2mm thick in comparison to 7mm thick tube on the Ontc, so the Ontc will be a lot more rigid. In my eyes, the Ontc is in a whole different league to the lacerta, with the ontc being a big step up, for not much more money Rich.

Anyway back to the topic at hand, if you had the choice, would you buy the Lacerta or the ONTC. The ONTC seems a bit more robust with a much thicker tube and papers to have a better quality mirror cell. The Lacerta has a good focuser and sounds like they put a lot of effort into tweaking and testing the scope, but the stock gso / skywatcher mirror cells worry me. Rich.

John. Apologies if i have upset you. I dont want to upset anyone on the forum, and i genuinely do appreciate everyones input. From time to time people can have differing opnions and that's ok as it's what an open discusion forum is for. So thankyou for your input thus far, i meant no offence. Richard.

John, I appreciate he's you're friend and you're sticking up for him, but i'm entitled to express my views as i see them from my side of the fence as it were. I wasn't personally attacking peter as i'm sure he's a great guy, I'm just saying that from my point of view, if you're going to repond to someone then i'd rahter them just to say that they are busy and they'll get back to the person for a porper discussion at a later date, or just not repond at all until they are ready. At the end of the Day i was simply asking for information on his Current N-Series of scopes, He didn't answer my questions - so i simply rule out his scopes as a possible option. There is no ill feeling towards peter or his company or the scopes he makes as i dont know enough about them.

Peter sent me a bit of a vague short response, saying that he can only offer Pyrex mirrors and standard 2" focusers but did not state the type and then suggested that I needed a more premium scope than he can offer. I appreciate he is busy, but have to say I was a bit disappointed by his lackluster response. Going to mull it over tonight and just go for the ONTC or Lacerta and place and order tomorrow

Ouch.......that's a lot of extra cash To spend to put a 2k scope right. I think that's why I like the idea of TS UNC and ONTC scope as their tube walls are 5mm & 7mm respectively, so super thick rigid tubes, which should be good for imaging. The Lacerta tubes are only 1.5 - 3.0mm, so way too thin in my book. Waiting to see what 656imaging can offer, but no response as yet. Rich.

I know Lacerta flock the scopes, and blacken the edges of the primary and secondary. They also mask off a tiny bit of the primary mirror to reduce halo / diffraction effects from the main mirror clips.

Hi Mark, I see you have a CT10. I looked at those but read a few reports about the focuser not being great and that the tube was not thick enough and flexed around the focuser so ruled it out. Nearly bought one secondhand but the seller was a bit funny to deal with a refused to accept PayPal as the payment method, and started acting a bit odd when I said I wasn't willing to do a direct bank transfer. I like like the looks of the Lacerta newts, but they are asking premium price, yet the primary mirror cell is the same stock low quality SW/GSO one used on the SW Quattro and I believe it's also the same secondary too, and seeing a scope is only as good as it's weakest part. I do however like the Quartz mirror option. The ONTC model has a superb 7mm thick tube, a really good primary & secondary mirror cells and they install whatever focuser you want, however I noticed they are using Pyrex mirrors on the F4.7 model, and seem to only do quartz mirrors in their F4 configurations. Both workout pretty much the same price, so I am torn.

Don't think I would ever pay over £2500 (€2900) for a Newtonian.

Yeah just found them, and they want between 4500-6500 euros, for a 10" newt. think I'll pass on those then lol

Thanks Astrobug, but it looks like that French site only does entry level steel tube newts. I've messaged peter at 656imaging to see what he can offer, as there is no real detail on his website, I.e what focuser he uses, how thick the carbon tube is etc. Also noted that he uses Pyrex mirrors which is a bit disappointing given the £2000 price point. For that price range I would expect quartz mirror substrates, but I'll wait and see what he comes back with.

Thanks for the explanation. It does sound like he knows what he's doing, but if he's setting up a new business, it could take a very long time to get a scope made. I'm also not keen on being a beta tester unless their was some financial incentive, e.g. Reduced price for early adopters.

Sorry missed your comment about home not having any photos. I understand that the scopes are custom, but surely he must have photos of previously built N series scopes, or is it a case that he has never yet built a N series scope ? That said, I've not heard of this guy before , so not going to risk 2k of my money on an scope builder I've never heard of before. Rich.

Just had a look at those scopes and they look exactly like a CT10, the mirror configuration is the same and I'm pretty sure that the price is identical to the CT10. As my grandfather used to say : if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's a duck.

I looked at the cheaper UNC model but read that the primary mirror cell wasn't very good. Do you use the scope for visual or imaging ?? Don't want to buy cheaper quality and regret it.

Hi All, I'm looking to buy a new quality 10" Newtonian, and I'm considering the TS ONTC and Lacerta Photo Newtonian models, but there isn't much information on either. Anyone have any views on the 2 brands / models Cheers, Rich.

Hi all, New to the site and new to imaging. This is my first DSO Image, IC405 in LRGB 10 x 600s LRGB with 102mm doublet @ F5.6 and approx 571mm Focal Length. Cheers, NL