150mm Mak Vs Tal 100RS for Planetary work

[samtheeagle]

Last night in my hurry to get some video of Venus while it was still at a decent altitude, I decided to use my C80ED refractor instead of my 150mm Maksutov (F/12) which would have taken an age to cool down. Coupled with a 2x barlow, the C80 was working at F/15, and I've got to say I was more than happy with the results I got. So I got to thinking, would a longer refractor perhaps suit me better for my planetary?

I see that FLO have the new Tal 100RS in atm, and it does look rather nice... So if I were to make this switch, I'd lose a bit of focal length, and some aperture which means less potential resolution right? But I'd get a scope that is much quicker to get up and running, and which I predict would still give me some pretty good views and images.

Thoughts?

[kniclander]

not sure if venus is the best target for a comparison? it's so bright that the smaller aperture isn't going to make a lot of difference and AFAIK it's pretty difficult to see any surface detail with any scope (although I don't know about video).

[Damo636]

Having owned the Tal 100RS i would say its excellent for planetary observation and would probably outperform your C80 ED but it would be no match for your 150 Mak when properly cooled.

[nightfisher]

tricky one sam, the tal is very good, but the mak is basically a long focal length apo, go with the mak, but get a tal just for the hell of it

[samtheeagle]

Heh heh That would be nice... But if I'm bringing a new scope home I'm totally going to have to part with one to balance out. The wife is very understanding, but let's not push it