Help on choosing a scope

[Maori]

Hi Guys

could someone point me in the right direction i have read and re-read a few articles on choosing scopes and such but am still a bit confussed

below is a list of some scopes i have found that are in my price range my intrests are observing plants and DSO ie nebula's and i would like to do astrophotography aswell so the scope i think needs to be a good all rounder and not to hard for travelling as i live in London i would like to get out of town every now and then. I have tried searching for comparisons but havent been able to find any so if any one has one of these scopes and has some astro pics taken with them it would be helpfull..

Celestron Astromaster 130EQ

Celestron Astromaster 114EQ

SkyWatcher Explorer-130/900 EQ2

Celestron LCM 60

Skywatcher Explorer 130P

TS-Optics Megastar1550 Reflector Telescope, 150/1400mm

Thanks

[Cornelius Varley]

Out of list the first two I would discount are the Celestron LCM60 and the TS 150/1400 (search for Seben telescopes on this site for a reason) and the LCM60 is probably too small to give satisfactory views of feinter objects. The best of the rest is the Skywater 130/650, but like a lot of smaller reflectors, there is a problem trying to reach focus with a DSLR attached. The Astromaster 130 shares the same optics as the Explorer 130/650 but is not as well made (plastic components).

Peter

[Maori]

Hi Peter

Thanks for the info there seems some more searching for me then any reconmedations for around the £200 mark i know its not much but RL wont let me any more

saw one of the reason's about the Celestron "they make good wastepaper bins / plantpots / doorstops." :0

Cheers

Simon

[farunj]

The 150p is also a very good scope and you can do AP with it too. One of our mods (think his name is rikm) used to do AP with the 150p.

[Maori]

Thanks Farunj

Could you point me to the AP ??? link as search for that would give me a headache

Cheers

[JamesM]

Hi Maori, firstly choosing a scope that can satisfy both the demands of astrophotography whilst at the same time fulfill the need of visual is a tricky one, especially on a tight budget. Before purchasing any kit you will always need to do the research first if you want to avoid being disappointed and you are doing the right thing in asking first before you buy. Ti assist further with your research I would strongly recommend that you get hold of a copy of Steve Richards' "Making Every Photon Counts" (FLO £19.95) which is a comprehensive guide in what kit you will need and importantly, why you need it to get good consistent images which is the difference between imaging being more about fun than frustration. It is a modestly priced book and might well save you money by pointing you in the right direction and by providing you with the necessary overview from which you can formulate an appropriate budget from the beginning. You will often find that discussions of this sort will understandably focus on the data collection side of image making but of course that is only half the story, the other being data processing which can make a significant difference to the appearance of the final image. Thankfully there is a lot of software out there that you can download for free, but like so many other things there are inevitably going to be one or two pieces of software that will have to be paid for and knowing this before hand again can help you formulate the correct budget.

Regarding your choices above, I agree that the 130p is the best one although the 150P would be better. The real sticking point is not the scope but the mount it sits on and for that reason none of the above choices in my view are able to satisfy the accuracy in tracking that is demanded in imaging deep sky objects (DSO's) such as galaxies and nebulae. For those targets you are really looking at an HEQ5 as a minimum because of its tracking accuracy and its payload carrying capacity but that takes you way above your above budget. What this leaves you with is imaging solar system objects such as planets and the moon (NOT the sun ). Here a simple webcam is the preferred weapon of choice as it can take a huge number of exposures in such a short time from which the poor 'frames' are subtract leaving the better 'in focus' frames to be stacked on top of each other using a free program called 'Registax' in order to construct a composite final image with some noticeable detail. Solar system objects being so bright do not require longer exposures (and tracking) that is required when imaging very faint galaxies. There is a lot of fun to be had with this level of imaging which can be evidenced over on the imaging sections and will certainly introduce you very nicely into the world of imaging or as we sometimes call it, the 'dark art' which does have a steep learning curve at the beginning but should get easier as you progress (in theory! )

So I would suggest getting the above book, use a webcam rather than a camera (much lighter to use too and avoids balancing issues) and try to go for the 150P if you can. Hope that helps.

Clear skies

James

[Maori]

Hi James

Thanks so much for that full and consice post it has certainly giving me something to get on with i will def be getting that book

as for mounts the 130p i beleive comes with a EQ-2 tripod mount.

Or i have just seen this Skywatcher SKYLINER-150P 153MM (6") F/1200 PARABOLIC DOBSONIAN TELESCOPE over at amazon at £219.99

so i could just squeeze that.

Once again thanks for your post really appreciate it