Stu1smartcookie

I have the skywatcher version on a steel tripod and AZ5 ... out last night in a strong breeze but it was really steady . Brilliant views of the moon & Plaides. ( scope is surprisingly light too )

Hi , My question today is about scopes with Spherical Mirrors . There still seems to be scopes out there that have these . Can anyone explain why they are not suitable for scopes ?The point is , they must have been ok at some point otherwise they would not have been produced . The answer will hopefully be of use to others just entering into the hobby . Stu

I am totally impressed by this . To me , its more impressive than seeing , admittedly fantastic , images of Andromeda and the like .

i think that looks mighty impressive

Hi Steve I can’t believe my bad luck .. I have just bought a 3/8” one from widescreen centre !!! Ok I would have had to get an adapter with yours but I could have changed my EQ5 adapter for that .. I’m gutted ! That’s £50 extra I have just paid ... makes it worse that you are so close to me too ... aaarrrgh ! Reckon you should re-post it for sale though Stevie ... im sure you would get a sale

Ok so i apologise in advance if you think the following words are harsh ... they are not meant as a criticism to any one person . I know words can sometimes appear harsh when written as well as spoken This thing about CA is , imho , blown out of proportion . To others its almost a crime ! .. I wonder how on earth Galileo got on ? yes i know , tech has moved on , Anyway , I can see a planet in our solar system !! i can see a beautiful pattern of stars and the smudge of a galaxy ... to me , that is fantastic ... if i want to see something perfect then i will look in a book or maybe watch in awe as Trevor Jones(AstroBackyard) produces a magnificent image of a far flung galaxy that i can't even see in my scope . Sure i have owned APO refractors before , but now i own two achromats ! I do not do justice to an expensive set up , just for viewing and taking the occasional photo . I am , compared to most , not as good at the finer details of imaging . Lets go back to the initial post by the op on this thread ... he asks about the comparison between two scopes and he has a limited budget ... he is new to the hobby ... Maybe after a year his first scope will be sitting in a cupboard gathering dust , maybe after 2 months he will be desperate to upgrade to the latest and greatest . We ALL know ( some more than others ...Ahem ) that this CAN be the most expensive , frustrating hard ....and more importantly , easy hobby imaginable . Nothing i have read on here has been wrong ... but , i think the post has gone so far from the initial question ( btw i am as guilty of this as anyone ) that the op probably feels so bombarded with the science and recommendations that he is as confused as anyone would be . He has expressed gratitude to everyone for their input as any polite person would . I just think we are taking everything a bit further than we need to . I really hope nobody takes these comments the wrong way , after all EVERYONE is doing their bit to help the OP .

FLO had an AZ5 mount head still in stock when i last looked .

It was this that i saw on FLO ... it just seemed exactly the same as i have already .. but as you say the thread size is different

Well that is pretty decisive . Many thanks .

Thanks for the speedy response , John . i really didn't think there would be a difference ... i've just looked on the FLO website and put the criteria in and it came up with the same adapter , so i'm a bit confused

Hi , i need to buy a steel tripod , unfortunately most places are out of stock , but i have located an EQ6 tripod which i'm keen to buy . The reason i want the tripod is to mount an AZ5 and or my AZ-Gti ... so , now into the question ... i have an Astro Essentials 3/8" Photo Adapter for HEQ5 / AZ5 Tripod but ... will it fit an EQ6 tripod? Stu

Yes , Prices have taken quite a hike ..which in turn brings to the fore the secondhand market . But , even those prices are inflated now as savvy sellers( or maybe unscrupulous) in some cases are over pricing their unwanted gear . I saw an ST102 with EQ3 mount secondhand , for sale on FB for sale at £450 !!!! thats a ridiculous price . The message here is to know the value of the product before you commit ! Especially as you do not get the guarantees that you get when buying new . Fortunately , with a dedicated site like SGL you can trust the quality you are buying .

As , Ricochet mentioned ... the longer the focal length the less CA you will see ... FLO sell an 80mm refractor by Scoptech that is F15 !!! apparently suffers from barely any CA. Long refractors were very traditional , but ED Glass has become "the thing " and shorter refractors awith ED glass are more common , especially for astro photography Very expensive though . But , there is no better sight in my opinion than a long refractor sitting on an AZ or a EQ mount. The thing is , you may be winding yourself up here ... and i do understand it , honestly ( cos its happened to me ) . You are , quite rightly doing your homework and searching for the best beginner scope , but you could still be searching this time next year ! If you want to look at planets and the moon , a Mak or SCT are great ( but do take longer to cool down , whereas a refractor will be a "mount and Go option ... short tube refractors are great but will suffer more from CA ... whether thats an issue for you is something only you can answer, a Dob isnt very portable ( for walking with ) , so thats out of the equation . So that leaves a small (ish ) reflector or a refractor on a portable mount . The choice is yours of course . I think portability is key for you . Its often said that aperture is king ... thats a fair point but not if it comes at the expense of not being able to lug the scope to a site to observe . A four inch refractor is a great start ... and for some people thats all they need . Sorry for the sermon ... once i get going etc etc .

I recently bought an ST80 .. it came with an EQ1 mount ( which i will NEVER use ) ... so , looking at the mount you have i would say yes , why not ... the ST80 is a short tube scope and doesn't weigh too much . It also comes with tube rings so you can attach a longer dovetail bar . I have to say , out of the many scopes i've tried , thus far , the ST80 is one of my favourites . Its good for terrestrial and wide field astronomy and at low power doesn't display much CA ( Higher power obviously does ) ... its not considered a planetary scope as planets generally benefit from higher magnification , but viewing the moon is awesome . A good choice in my humble opinion .

Welcome to the forum . Stu

I agree ... some of the scopes that are sold without rings are a problem when you wish to attach a finder . So glad the Evostar has rings

Or get an AZ5 which can hold up to 5kgs on a skywatcher aluminium tripod ( 9kgs on a steel tripod ) .. its half the price of the Skytee 2 . The skytee is an exeptional AZ mount that can hold masses of weight but , for portability the AZ5 is perfect

lol what are you saying? 😂 (probably accurate though)

I agree .. there is something quite magical about returning to a scope and finding the target still in the frame . Where manual mounts thrive is the quick set up time . Sometimes this hobby is made so complicated but in reality it can be the easiest and most relaxing past time . Stick your scope on a mount and look through it . Hey , I could start a trend there lol 😂

I get jealous when i read about " the conjunction" as i'm still suffering cloud fatigue from those fateful few days zzzz

So i have a 102 Evostar and an eq3 mount ... the mount is very lightweight compared even to an eq5 ... but i also have an AZ5 and the 102 sits on that really comfortably . I tend to use the EQ3 tripod with the AZ5 mount head . Both mounts can hold 5kgs ( the evostar 102 is around 3.5 ) .

I had a 200p on an EQ5.. it was at its limit . I’m sorry but a 250 would be too much for an EQ5 .I know it’s not something you want to read , but , you did ask . Stu

Nice images ... gives me hope for my AZ-Gti set up .

I use an EQ3 tripod sometimes .. being one of the more bulky "pods" it works ok .. of course the steel one is much better ... trouble is , finding one for sale at present

Reviving an older thread ... I have a skywatcher powertank that i power my AZ-GTi with , it sits nicely on the accessory tray and gives a bit of extra weight to the set up