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celestron cpc 9.25 inch versus c9.25-sgt xlt versus lx90 gps

iantobach

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iantobach

iantobach

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narrowing down choices- and following a couple of threads here- is it worth the extra money for the cpc compared to the c9.25-s gt- i`m looking at getting into astroimaging now and still pondering as costs keep spiralling the wrong direction- I`d like goto as some dso`s can be hard to find in our wheather, but i`d also like aperture portability- I initially was going for the lx90 8 inch as cheaper- or heq mount and celestron8 inch sct, but have read the 9.25 is good for photography , but gather the fork mounted scopes are smoother- but gps not really needed and i`d need a wedge.which of the three would be the most practical re portability, and produce the best images or a good compromise- that will last a few years guys??- thanks iantobach

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MartinB

MartinB

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Just seen your post Ian and there is so much that I could write in answer to it!

OTA - 9.25 great for planets but an 8" SCT would be more manageable for deep sky - aperture often isn't king when imaging. My recommendation would definitely be an 8" scope for starting out imaging DSOs.

For bright planets go for the CPC used in Alt Az - very, very easy to use and set up.

CPC very portable and soooo easy for visual. Eqs are clumsy horrible things in comparison.

For deep sky it gets much more complicated. For a scope like this you should be looking at HEQ5 or upwards. A decent EQ mount will track better than the CPC but the difference isn't that great. I have been very surprised at how well my NS8 tracks on a wedge. These are quality scopes.

You can use an Eq mount with other scopes. The CPC you could piggy back an 80mm refractor.

OK - here's my path so far, guided by Roger Warner (Celescope) 8" nexstar GPS (forerunner of the CPC) in alt az mode using powerful focal reducers - 3.3 and fastar with a modded web cam (Atik 2HS/SC3). These reducers cause too much vignetting with DSLRS but work really well with the small chips in web cams. 45 secs is the limit in alt az before field rotation is a problem but at this F ratio it is plenty. You then just grab a lot of these short exposures and stack them together. This is a great way to start producing reasonable images from the word go. Later moved onto longer exposures using a wedge. Subsequently added an Eq mount for use with refractors but still hanging onto my nexstar and will be using it loads over the next few months. Have just added some fancy adaptive optics kit for precision guiding at long focal lengths.

Not sure whether I've answered your questions Ian! CPC - a great entry route for imaging. HEQ5 with SCT OTA more flexible, slightly better tracking but not as convenient to use and doesn't have the simplicity of alt az for starting.

My advice would be to go for the 8" if you are wanting to go for deep sky imaging.

Sorry I've probably added to the confusion!

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iantobach

iantobach

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No as you can see I`m confused as hell !!! and what you say really helps- there is so much info out there and i worry i`m going to overstretch my back and bank for more aperture and no differnce in results!

I think I`ll probably go for a 8 inch sct on a fork for portability but would value advice on whether to go for the cpc or the lx90 gps? the old meade versus celestron argument!

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CELESCOPE

CELESCOPE

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just to add my penny worth , excellent advice from Martin there , yup for easy first pics an 8 inch on a fork mount is great , BUT!! its how you want to spend your money , and will ASTRO IMAGING TAKE OFF WITH YOU WILL U LIKE IT BLAA BLAA ,

Just sit back and have a hard think on this one , if i knew now, what i knew now a few years ago, i would go for an EQ5 or 6 , which of course gives you an open market on what scope you would like , this gives you time to view the sky and enjoy , whilst saving up for some imaging gear, the 8 inch OTA will give you great views of the sky,but would need very accurate guiding to produce good images , other than that a refractor say like and ED80 would be far easier with the use of reducers and no guiding to start with ,but a good polar alignment, would enable you to capure some very good DSO images, this is all costly of course , thats why i say , just think on , what you really want to do.

Rog

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