To buy or not to buy

[Space Cadet USA]

Hi everyone,

My first scope was a home built 6 inch Newtonian which served me well for many years. I then moved to a 120mm F8 Konus refractor on a nice German eq. which is my current scope. It is great on the moon and planets but I am a very keen photographer and have always had aspirations to take deep sky astrophotographs. I have tried a few shots with the Konus and have amazed myself with galaxies and globulars despite my relatively light polluted location.

Having come into a little cash and being in a position to splurge it on a new scope, I am seriously contemplating a new Celestron Edge HD 11 inch on the DX mount with a view to both visual and DSLR imaging. A dedicated CCD camera will come in the future I have little doubt.

I have read as much online info as I can find but would really welcome comment, especially from anyone who has actually used similar kit.

Thanks guys...

[luisevan]

I think you may be better served with a Refractor for Astrophotography. The celestro have a long focal lenght, and will be very dificult to guide it.

Something like a 100mm refractor with a good mount.

best regards

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

If you use the Edge HD with fastar, you have a VERY fast imaging scope, which should not be hard to guide. You could use a focal reducer, but that still leaves a long focal length. A DSLR is not the best solution for fastar, a dedicated CCD, especially the narrow starlight express are best for this.

The alternative is to get a fast APO (like the APM or TS 80mm F=480 I have (not yet been used for astrophotography, but a very good scope)).

[dmahon]

Do Celestron make a reducer for the Edge HD? I thought they had been promising for years but still hadn't come through.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I do not know about a separate one for the HD. The standard would probably introduce coma. I have heard the ones fo RCs can be used but cannot verify that. Maybe Meade does one for their ACF, which might work.

[Space Cadet USA]

I believe they have not yet released the dedicated focal reducer for the Edge scopes, that would definitely help and yes, hyperstar and CCD camera is ideal setup but DSLR at prime focus will have to do for now...

[Space Cadet USA]

I think you may be better served with a Refractor for Astrophotography. The celestro have a long focal lenght, and will be very dificult to guide it.

Something like a 100mm refractor with a good mount.

best regards

I appreciate what you say about long focal length but I would at the very least plan on buying a focal reducer in the short term and hyperstar and a CCD camera in the longer term. I feel I need the step up in aperture and 100mm doesn't really give me that...

[catburglar]

I'm no photographer, but from what I've read here particularly with a DSLR as your camera, you're better off with a small scope on a big mount rather than a big scope on a big mount.

You've got lots of pixels, and not much cooling and long focal length so you'll need relatively long exposures with very good guiding to reach a good S/N ratio.

This type of question often ends up with ..... Get two scopes, one for imaging and one for visual, whilst the imaging scope is doing it's stuff. So you could already be half way to your ideal astrophotography set up:D

[Space Cadet USA]

It is of course always a compromise, especially when I need portability but do want that aperture especially for when I do transport it out to a really dark site. As I said I would be definitely looking towards a dedicated CCD camera and hyperstar as good photo setup but that is for the future. For now I feel the combination of visual capability from a suburban backyard with the potential to be turned into a very fast imager later on still has me hooked..not to mention GOTO, the ability to interface directly with my laptop and SNP/MaximDL, portability and size.