skywatcher EVOSTAR-150 (EQ5)

[Essex Stargazer]

Hi uplookers

The skywatcher EVOSTAR-150 (EQ5)

Does anyone own one ?

Any good or bad points ?

Can I get software to drive / guide the EQ5 from a computer

Would this type of scope be suitable for a first scope ?

Many thanks

Have the opportunity to buy this setup for £310 , 2 years old with little use

[newman]

I own an EvoStar 120/1000, and couldn't be happier. Haven't tried the 150 however I did hear / read a lot about it. In a nutshell, it has two problems - chromatic aberration and portability.

- chromatic aberration is apparently relatively high with this scope. Achromatic lenses tend to be more problematic in this regard the larger they get, and a 150mm one is quite large for a refractor.

- Don't be fooled by the pics; have you seen it in person? That scope is huge and cumbersome. In Terence Dickinson's "Nightwatch" he warns against this scope specifically as a bad beginner's choice because of this; the length of the tube means some rather unpleasant positions you'll have to assume when you're looking at targets near the zenith and the eyepiece is close to the ground. It's big, heavy, requires a large mount, has a relatively pronounced CA problem, and because of all these reasons it was said it wasn't too user friendly and not recommended for beginners in the book I mentioned.

I guess it depends on two things - how much do you mind chromatic aberration (there are lots of people perfectly happy to tolerate it) and how important portability is for you. If you don't mind CA too much and intend to use it on one location only (home observatory) then it may not be a bad choice. However, if you intend to take it with you everywhere you go, the cumbersome instrument can become a problem. You can forget about putting that OTA in the trunk or even the back seat of a small city car. My 120/1000 manages to just fit on my fiesta's back seat. (remember, a refractor will be longer than it's focal length by quite a bit. The unit you want will have a dew cap on one end that's at least 30cm long, give or take.. and a focuser on the other side).

If you're set on getting a refractor, I'd either recommend scaling down to a more manageable 120/1000 or saving up for an apo. Alternatives depend on what exactly do you want to do with it. Someone else might have more to say on the subject. I have first hand experience with issues regarding portability but I never actually looked through an evostar 150 so I don't have first hand experience with it's CA - can only repeat what I heard / read.

In any event, good luck and clear skies!

[Damo636]

For that kind of money i would take a chance on it. Yes the 150 is a big beastie and yes it will have CA (all achro's have) but mainly on brighter objects. If you don't like it you should have no problem selling it on and i reckon even make a few quid. I'd have it in a heartbeat at that price.

[newman]

You know, you're right - that is a pretty good price.

[spaceboy]

I saw this scope you are referring to on eBay. It's not a bad price but be aware you will most likely be disappointed with it due to the mount not being up to the task of holding such a long and heavy scope. Every tiny touch of the focuser wheel will have the views shaking all over the place making getting a good focus near impossible. Then there is CA which is a great deal more in the 150mm over say the 100mm. CA on DSO's are not so bad but if you want to take a look at planets forget about it! For the money you could get a S/H 6" reflector on a EQ5 with plenty of cash to spare and no worries of CA or the scope toppling over. The mount would require an upgrade to synscan to be driven from a computer at the cost of £260.

SPACEBOY

[Essex Stargazer]

OK Thanks for the advice

Think I will give it a miss as the last thing I want to do is buy problems with the mounts and focusing

Cheers

[ollypenrice]

I'm going to disagree. I found it workable with care on a fairly battle scarred EQ3/4. I still have this big scope actually, and previously had the 120, both the longer FL versions. I can't say I found any difference in CA between the 120 and the 150. The 150 has since been displaced by posh kit as I have expanded but I really liked it. The CA is not that bad and a fringe killer nails it. You get a lot of telescope for your money and very nice views of deep sky objects. We also have a 10 inch SCT and, honestly, I remember doing a back to back on M51 and not finding much in it.

These big achros are very unfashionable and hence are almost ludicrously cheap. That's why I have never sold ours. Plus I'm quite attached to it!

Olly

[newman]

I saw this scope you are referring to on eBay. It's not a bad price but be aware you will most likely be disappointed with it due to the mount not being up to the task of holding such a long and heavy scope. Every tiny touch of the focuser wheel will have the views shaking all over the place making getting a good focus near impossible.

SPACEBOY

Tube weight of that scope is 5.09 kg, EQ5 van handle that more than fine. I think you posted that assuming the OTA is heavier than it is. Of course a sturdier mount is always better but saying that it'll be as shaky as you did on an eq5 just doesn't sound right to me.

[spaceboy]

There are so many other scopes in this price range that would be more suited to a beginner. I think you would be making the best decision to give it a miss on this occasion but it's not to say it wouldn't be a good setup if it came with a more suitable mount. There are other members on the lounge that use this scope on an EQ5 but they have upgraded the tripods or focuser to help lessen the effects of vibration. This is all very well if you are an amature but for a beginner to start paying out on mods from the off seems pointless to me as there is no saying the hobby will work for you anyway. There is a C100ED in the for sale section that would work well with an AZ4 or CG4 mount (£80-£100). Mounts come up all the time on the lounge and on eBay so this might be another option to you and should you decide to get into imaging at any point the ED would be the better option.

SPACEBOY

[newman]

At first I missed the price of the used scope he's contemplating on buying so I said much the same thing - give it a miss. However after seeing the price listed, it's really not a bad deal. In my opinion, anyway. The scope has it's problems, but there's no such thing as the perfect scope. The price isn't high at all, it'll keep resale value so he's risking very little should he decide he wants a different scope later on - he can easily resell.

The only deal breaker here would be if he intends to move it around a lot. Lugging that huge thing around all the time would get old, fast.

[spaceboy]

Tube weight of that scope is 5.09 kg, EQ5 van handle that more than fine. I think you posted that assuming the OTA is heavier than it is. Of course a sturdier mount is always better but saying that it'll be as shaky as you did on an eq5 just doesn't sound right to me.

This is a very big misconception that should not be over looked. The EQ5 is rated at 35lbs but if you check this is not the rating of which the mount is capable of holding but what the dovetail will hold. For example: What are the payload weights of Celestron mounts? which is another Synta product

With a refractor measuring 1200mm long with a hefty piece of glass hanging off one end the laws of gravity mean that there will be a certain amount of leverage placed on the mount depending on its orientation. It is this leverage on the worm gears that means the mount will become unstable not the actual weight of the OTA alone.

[Damo636]

I have just last week mounted my 8'' Dob ota on the EQ5 (Pier mounted) as an experiment. As advised on here it is fine for visual but i have encountered a much bigger problem than the ota weight. I can't reach the eyepiece

[spaceboy]

I found a pair of steps to be an essential piece of my kit. This might help Damo Rotating Rings for Reflector Telescopes

[Doc]

I have the Bresser R152, which is very similar to your scope. Being an achro and F5 it does suffer CA but with a filter it does remove alot of it.

Where this scope excells is on DSO's where CA isn't evident, basically a good scope.

[Damo636]

I found a pair of steps to be an essential piece of my kit. This might help Damo Rotating Rings for Reflector Telescopes

Great find

[bucklamp]

Hi uplookers

The skywatcher EVOSTAR-150 (EQ5)

Does anyone own one ?

Yes

Any good or bad points ?

Mount fine for visual and webcam.

Tube almost 5ft long

Finder awkward since it is mounted on the focusser.

Nice views - it does have some CA but it depends how much that offends you.

Rack and pinion focusser ok, i am saving up for the crayford upgrade.

Can I get software to drive / guide the EQ5 from a computer

I have the RA and Dec drives and just let that cancel out Earth's movement. I use the clutch to move tube large distances. Does mean that you need to learn the sky.

You would need the synscan upgrade to computer control.

Would this type of scope be suitable for a first scope ?

Probably not - I would probably suggest a 4 inch frac or 6 inch newt, learn the sky and then decide which "specialism" interests you.

Many thanks

Have the opportunity to buy this setup for £310 , 2 years old with little use

Very good price tho'