nfotis

I was seriously interested at the Daystar Quark, but the QC problems mentioned in many places cooled me. The Lunt seems to be the safe (if expensive) option, it seems that they are replacing their range with modular refractors which offer more flexibility. Depending on your budget, I would suggest a Lunt 60 with a medium to large blocking filter in case you want to also shoot images/video. No idea about the Coronado QC, these seem to be middle of the road (I read no complaints about these)? N.F.

Ouch! I felt a physical pain reading the OP 😞 The rest seem OK (the diagonal should be only a cosmetic damage), but the OTA will need a replacement of the front glass. It can operate even now, as long as you mask somewhat the diffraction elements (I remember reading somewhere about using nail polish to cover the diffraction, this should reduce internal reflections?) N.F.

There's a pencil test, this image may help: If you see a different result on each side, I guess that you want the single shadow towards the sensor, like the LRGB filters? N.F.

It's my understanding that ZWO is preparing a new filter wheel which will screw directly to the camera body (no tilt adapter), and I think that there's a package deal including it in the ZWO site. https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/product/asi2600mm-pro-mono N.F.

Note that you may need both an IR UV cut filter and a IR pass filter (1.25" size is more than enough). Because this sensor is quite sensitive in near infrared, using a IR pass filter would mean that you could shoot in infrared (even during daylight, if the sun isn't near your target (eg the Moon). And shooting in infrared is less sensitive to atmospheric conditions. Shooting with an IR UV cut filter should offer a better colour image of the stars and other IR emitting targets. N.F.

If I understand correctly, Rising Tech is the OEM for Touptek, Altair, etc. They seem to sell their cooled cameras via AliExpress only, while the rest of their cameras are also available via eBay. They seem to be microscopy oriented, and just recently branching into astrophotography. N.F.

An imx462 sensor might be what you want? N.F.

Nice effort. I am still waiting for the dust to settle between the colour and monochrome sensor options between 4/3rds and APS size (basically, imx294/492 and imx571 sensors). The purple colour isn't offensive at all to me. I am intrigued by the 571 version by Risingcam, but I am a little leery of spending such an amount without knowing their software quality and reliability. Cheers, N.F.

If I am not mistaken, all traditional Celestron SCT are being built by Synta, only the EdgeHD seem to be still keeping production in California. Regarding shipment of SCTs, my used C9.25 was shipped from UK to Greece between me and another forum member without any hitch (only some newbie unpacking snafu which moved the focuser a bit, it seems due to haste). The CC and RC have their own pluses and minuses. The open tube construction exposes the innards to the elements, dew and dust, and I dislike the spider vanes spikes on stars (OK, the last one is subjective). The SCT are a compromise of large aperture and short length, but they are quite a decent instrument which works very well with a small amount of effort (basically, you check collimation regularly). For astrophotography, it takes some extra effort but these can deliver (just saw a presentation by a very good planetary imager, who does impressive work with a C14): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puoh1ikzonA In general, all scopes are precision tools which can offer lots of joy. The SCT are the boring Ford of astronomy which do the job without much fuss and pain, if you want long focal distance and okay focal distance (I own a Skymax 127 and a C9.25 XLT - I consider the latter the limit of portability for a middle age man who has to carry everything alone two floors above the apartment) For visual and planetary/lunar observation, a Skymax 150 may be an excellent solution (and it has a 2" visual back, so you can screw a full frame dSLR without much vignetting). For planetary and lunar imaging, a C8 or C9.25 offer much more aperture. N.F.

Note that we are discussing mass production scopes, which have some variation in quality. A good SCT may be better than a mediocre Maksutov in the same class. Or the reverse may happen. That said, a Skymax 127 or 150 is a fine scope, if you prefer planetary and lunar targets. A Skymax 180 is called "planet killer" due to the very long focal distance, but you have to take care of the temperature equilibrium due to thick glass, or insulate the OTA in order to avoid air currents inside the closed tube. N.F.

In general, Maksutov scopes are tougher, but not bulletproof. These can need collimation if shaken too much. On the other hand, these tend to offer more contrasty views to visual observers. SCT tend to be less contrasty for visual observation, but for imaging "aperture is king". These are also more flexible, because you can run these with a Hyperstar or a reducer-corrector, getting three scopes for the price of 1.5. Getting a 8-plus inches Maksutov is almost impossible these days. N.F.

Adding my own thoughts as well (going to experiment with planetary and lunar imaging in the near future for now): - I live in Athens, at quite bad light pollution (Bortle 8 or worse), so monochrome seems to be the best route - Prices for NB filters and filter wheel are higher than the camera (oops...), putting a damper on my enthusiasm - OSC sensors like the imx571 offer impressive quality, combined with a two band or three band filter work also well with an SCT and Hyperstar (or a RASA). A filter wheel is not required there Both approaches will need quite some time on post processing on order to attain a visually nice image, though. Cheers, N.F.

Yeah, the filter prices are hard to stomach... Maybe at the end of the year things will be more reasonable. N.F.

Ops, I was thinking of the typical mounts, which offer USB connection. There's a special cable, though, which offers a USB translation (haven't used it myself) https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-mount-accessories/lynx-astro-ftdi-eqdir-usb-adapter-for-sky-watcher-az-gti-mounts.html N.F.

Why not control the mount via a USB cable? And I would suggest using a gigabit Ethernet cable for controlling the Raspberry pi from your room (the standard specifies up to 25 meters for gigabit speeds). Then, shut down the WiFi and reduce power consumption and spectrum congestion. N.F.

Nice video, I watched it on mute due to the late night (did you say anything? I didn't see any subtitles available) N.F.

Of course, the 'early birds' will be the beta testers, judging by the various bugs unearthed in both QHY and ZWO 294mm offerings being tested by the users at the moment. N.F.

I think that the flexibility offered by the 294mm (read: IMX492 ) sensor is a big benefit, you can match your pixel size and resolution to your scope as it fits you instead of spending money for multiple cameras. And the smaller size compared to APS sensors means smaller (and cheaper) filters and filter wheels etc. From what I am reading, this is a solid upgrade compared to the 1600mm Panasonic sensor. There are still some small bugs on the device drivers of both QHY and ZWO regarding the multiple gain/pixel size modes, etc, but these are slowly squashed out. The IMX571 sensor looks quite promising (I would guess first deliveries in February for the monochrome version), but I would expect a much higher price compared to the 294mm (and attendant stuff like larger filters etc) N.F.

For places like Athens, with Bortle 8+ light pollution, it's claimed that only NB filters and monochrome sensors can be effective, though. N.F.

I am reading complaints about halos and reflections on the budget NB filters. At least ZWO had serious problems with the unmounted 36mm filters, from what I remember, and they had to produce a different batch. N.F.

These prices for NB filters are almost obscene. An amateur astrophotographer must be quite rich and be ready to pay the price of a whole dedicated camera for a single filter(!). Compare the price of a cooled IMX492 camera with these filters, it's crazy. As you can imagine, I am not keen on entering this particular hobby at such exorbitant prices, so ZWO/QHY lose at least one DSO camera sale from me. N.F.

Nice, it's a C14 or a C11? Hard to guess for me. Enjoy your new scope! N.F.

That 94 triplet looks quite nice, I have to admit... (and the SCA260, but that's too much for my HEQ5 mount, so I have to stay inside a ten kg or so weight budget, not saying about the money budget). I wonder, though, isn't there an overlap with the Askar range of refractors? (especially the 400mm and the coming 600mm). Why should someone select the one, or the other brand? N.F.

At last, the incoming IMX492 and IMX571 monochrome sensors should cover most dedicated imagers (and the monster IMX455 monochrome sensor). What more do we need? (Okay, the high quality NB filters are almost obscene in pricing, but that's another story) N.F.

I feel that going above APS size sensors is cost prohibitive for most people: larger scopes (with larger corrected image circle), large (pricey) filters and filter wheels etc. For me, the maximum would be a sensor like the IMX571 (or a 4/3rds sensor like the IMX492). Above that level, the equipment becomes too specialized, and you have to mess with tilt adapters etc. But what do I know...? N.F.