Skywatcher Evostar 100ED DS-Pro Outfit - Help???

[WhiteRhino]

Can anyone help? Im new to the world of Astronomy and am deciding on which scope to go for. I didnt realise that my equiptment selection was going to be so difficult!!!...but i feel its important i get it right now so that i dont have any regrets later on, down the line!! As i also have a keen interest in imaging i believe that the Skywatcher Evostar 100ED DS-Pro Outfit would certainly be capable of producing some good images.

The reason i say this, from what i understand and please correct me if im wrong... for observation purposes a large aperture is key for better viewing. But for imaging aperture size is less important due to the fact when shooting images and the extended length of each exposure (whatever that maybe) more light is captured thus producing a quality image. Furthermore the scope mentioned above is less likely to suffer from halos and coma distortions due to its achromatic and ED lenses.

However my question is....given it only has a 100mm aperture, what could i expect to see in terms of observation with the mk1 eyeball and to what detail and clarity? For instance will i be able to focus to a reasonable level of detail on the planets and some deep space objects??? or am i going to end up having to purchase 2 scopes?

[MjrTom]

Hello

The 100ED would not make a great imaging scope as it f/ratio is only f/9

Typically people tend to go for the smaller 80mm or larger 120mm in that range as they are f/7.5

The faster (smaller number) f/ratios allow you to capture more photons.

f/8 means you need double the exposure length than a scope at f/5.6

The 100ED is more of a visual scope.

[johninderby]

While the 100ED is an excellent scope it's really only suitable for lunar / planetary imaging. As stated above you'd be better off with a shorter focal length if you're interested in imaging DSOs.

John

[WhiteRhino]

firstly thanks for the advice.

Yes i see what you mean about the f numbers. As much as i'd like to go for the 120 dont think my budget will allow me, so i guess it will have to be the 80. So would the 80 be cabable of taking deep space images as well as planetry?

[MjrTom]

If your plan is DSO imaging then you will also need a suitable mount, camera and autoguider which means you are not going to see any change from £1000

I don't want to put you off but worth knowing upfront what you are letting yourself into

For visual use aperture is king.

A 100mm refractor makes an excellent solar system target scope but deep sky is best served by a reflector telescope.

I use my 100mm refractor for visual use for lunar, solar, planetary and double star splitting with DSO being mainly the brighter targets like open clusters and some nebula.

If galaxies and nebula are your thing then the largest dobsonian you can afford would be a better option.

[ollypenrice]

While the 100ED is an excellent scope it's really only suitable for lunar / planetary imaging. As stated above you'd be better off with a shorter focal length if you're interested in imaging DSOs.

John

John, do you mean shorter focal length of faster focal ratio?

Just on the imaging side I'd say this;

Anything slower than about F8 is certainly too slow for deep sky imaging. Faster is better, espcially if using a DSLR rather than a dedicated CCD (because the DSLR is uncooled and, therefore, limited to relatively short exposures).

Anythng with a focal length longer than a metre is going to present significantly greater challenges in terms of getting the autoguiding up to the standard required. Shorter is easier and much more tolerant.

For a beginner short and fast are the DS imaging keywords in my book.

A 100mm apo can give very good planetary and lunar views, really quite close to what can be acheived in anything. On the deep sky it is limited. So what are your options if you want the holy grail of a 'one scope fits all?' The ED80 would be my top choice for a budget imaging apo but it will be very limited in visual. A larger apo would be much better for visual but would be slightly more challenging to autoguide, though still within the comfort range of budget mounts like the EQ6.

I tested the Altair Astro 115 for Astronomy Now and can honestly say that it is exceptionally good for imaging with compromise aperture/focal length/focal ratio.

You could opt for a Newt instead but there you run into the complications of accurate collimation and while Newt buffs tell you it's easy they do spend a lot of time on here talking about how to improve it!!! For imaging I'd always say 'apo' till you get onto the very big stuff.

Olly

[Gina]

Consensus of opinion is that for DSO imaging the best starter scope is the ed80 eg. SW Evostar 80 ED DS Pro. I can confirm that it's a beautiful piece of kit.

[johninderby]

John, do you mean shorter focal length of faster focal ratio?

Olly

I should have just put a reasonably fast scope, f/6 or better.

John

[ianaiken]

Here's my thoughts:

Go for the SW Evostar 80 ED DS Pro if you want to do imaging as its faster. If your starting with nothing and you really do want to image this is the best choice. Now you understand about needing a fast scope, anything you get will leave you feeling you need faster for sure, I have that feeling even though I have fast camera lenses.

However, if you want to do multiple things with it then compromises may need to be made unless you have a tree that grows money. So the key is deciding what you want to do, and see if you need to compromise based upon your budget.

I use my 100ED for imaging and have good results as far as I am concerned, but I also wanted a scope for visual use mainly for planets (100 ED feasible max mag is 150x which is just shy of the most mag you can get in the UK with our skies I understand).

I was using a 40D for imaging until I broke it now I'm going to get a cooled CCD.

My decision making was:

• I did not get the 80 as I had lenses that gave equivalent focal length and faster than the 80.
  
• I didn't get the 120 as I couldn't justify the price increase.
  
• I didn't get a reflector as I didn't want to collimate just yet. The best scope is the one you will actually use and collimation, while easy once you know, put me off initially.
  
• I've seen some cracking images produced on the 100ED. Yes it's not the fastest but I can live with that for what I want to do.
  

Very importantly, I also plan having more than one scope. Reflector for imaging and something more suitable for planets, I will unlikely ever sell this refractor.

[Markinaboat]

Here's my thoughts:

Go for the SW Evostar 80 ED DS Pro if you want to do imaging as its faster. If your starting with nothing and you really do want to image this is the best choice. Now you understand about needing a fast scope, anything you get will leave you feeling you need faster for sure, I have that feeling even though I have fast camera lenses.

However, if you want to do multiple things with it then compromises may need to be made unless you have a tree that grows money. So the key is deciding what you want to do, and see if you need to compromise based upon your budget.

I use my 100ED for imaging and have good results as far as I am concerned, but I also wanted a scope for visual use mainly for planets (100 ED feasible max mag is 150x which is just shy of the most mag you can get in the UK with our skies I understand).

I was using a 40D for imaging until I broke it now I'm going to get a cooled CCD.

My decision making was:

• I did not get the 80 as I had lenses that gave equivalent focal length and faster than the 80.
• I didn't get the 120 as I couldn't justify the price increase.
• I didn't get a reflector as I didn't want to collimate just yet. The best scope is the one you will actually use and collimation, while easy once you know, put me off initially.
• I've seen some cracking images produced on the 100ED. Yes it's not the fastest but I can live with that for what I want to do.

Very importantly, I also plan having more than one scope. Reflector for imaging and something more suitable for planets, I will unlikely ever sell this refractor.

Hi,

Would youconsider the Porta II mount suitable for the 100ED or should I go to the Skytee II? I'm assuming an EQ5 pro synscan would be ok, even with the supplied 5kg weights?

Thanks so much

[nightfisher]

For the 100ED i would suggest the skywatcher AZ 4 alt az mount, i use this with my TAL100 and most other scopes and for visual its superb

[ianaiken]

For imaging I use the neq6 but I have a 100 ed and 80 ed side by side both imaging scopes. Previously I had heq5 and it was fine. Az4 as suggested would work for visual.

Can't comment on the choices you gave hopefully someone else can.

[Markinaboat]

Thanks for your helpful and quick replies. I didn't think the AZ4 would be man enough for a long scope such as an F9 so it's encouraging to know it can cope.

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