the usual...which telescope?

[RoloFanatic]

I am in the process of purchasing a new telescope and would like to try my hand at some astro photography but need a scope that is also good for observing aswell because i enjoy simple observing aswell.

So far i have found a couple of scopes wich could be possibles:

Skywatcher Explorer 300P DS f4.9

Skywatcher Quattro Imaging Newtonian (10" steel) f4

:confused:

I am leaning toward the Explorer 300P because it has a longer focal length so i thought that it will be more versitile. However i am undecided, is a f4.9 telescope fast enough for AP? and would the extra length on the explorer make the scope a lot less stable on my mount (the mount im getting is the EQ6)?

Thanks for any replies

[Aenima]

Hi there,

Nice choices of scope, you'll likely be happy with either.

As I am no expert, and dont have either of the mentioned scopes I can only tell you what little I know.

Firstly either of those scopes will be excellent for AP - especially on an EQ6 as long as the weight max. is not exceeded - 25k officially - so you should be good with those scopes, in my estimation.

For me, the faster scope would be a little unforgiving of my limited collimation skillz, and as the F4.9 isn't much different in F/ratio it would get my vote.

Best thing would be continue to research your questions, ask as many as you can think of before making a decision.

Best of luck

Clearskies,

Regards, Aenima

[Capricorn]

For AP you are going to need one hell of a mount for either of those.

You should really be looking at a mount that will handle something in the region of double the scope weight.

[Aenima]

would the extra length on the explorer make the scope a lot less stable on my mount (the mount im getting is the EQ6)?

EDIT: The weight issue is much debated, I'm afraid. As always, a more expensive mount would suit photographic needs better. And pushing the limit of mounts is viewed unfavourably by many stargazers though many do it regardless. The 'H' EQ5 seems a little more popular for heavy scopes, and the pro synscan series is the choice mount for photography, but quite a few people manage to get results using 'over the limit' set-ups so I'd recommend speaking to current users of the mounts in question, see what the overall opinion is.

Apologies for the edit,

Regards

Aenima

[Steve Swancott]

Is this your first telescope?

[Aenima]

EDIT#2.

The NEQ6 for the 10" seems to be the what everyone uses for their AP, autoguiding is pretty essential for long exp. too.

sorry for the messabout edits.

Aenima

[RoloFanatic]

Thanks to everyone who replied so quickly you have given me a lot of helpful answers and a lot to think about :smiley:

[x6gas]

As said, those are big 'ole scopes and you will need a very good mount to carry them and your imaging gear... So what sort of imaging are you looking to do? Quite a few DSOs are actually pretty big so you don't need a very long focal length...

You'd probably need to factor in a coma corrector for the 300P - I'd certainly check this point with whatever camera you intend to use. Not sure about the quattro since it's marketed as an astrograph...

I have a 10" f/4.5 newt than I intended to use for imaging, but I mostly use my little 90mm triplet for DSOs... not really any good for visual on the faint fuzzies though...

[ollypenrice]

Starting out in AP with a large telescope is a tall order. You don't need either a large scope or a long focal length to get good images. For example, this was taken with an 85mm refractor and a focal length of just 328mm.

http://ollypenrice.smugmug.com/Photography/Widefield-images-including/i-Vpp6WdT/0/X3/HH-NEB-328-7-HRS-ADOBE-srgb-X3.jpg

Fast optics are, in principle, what you want for AP but fast optics are hard to make so cheap fast optics are not plug and play. They need experienced attention. If you can't provide that you'd be better with slower, simpler optics - or so I think.

Olly

[RoloFanatic]

Starting out in AP with a large telescope is a tall order. You don't need either a large scope or a long focal length to get good images. For example, this was taken with an 85mm refractor and a focal length of just 328mm.

http://ollypenrice.s...OBE-srgb-X3.jpg

Fast optics are, in principle, what you want for AP but fast optics are hard to make so cheap fast optics are not plug and play. They need experienced attention. If you can't provide that you'd be better with slower, simpler optics - or so I think.

Olly

I appreciate what you are saying, but overall i think will probably be using my scope mostly for observing, i just want to keep my options open so that i can try some AP with (hopefully) some reasonable results.

Put it this way; if i had to choose between observing and AP, i would pick observing.

thanks for your feedback

[ollypenrice]

Yes, fair enough. A suggestion (and not a daft one) that often comes up is to consider a big(ish) Dob for visual and a small refractor on a GEM for AP. You can even start the AP with just a GEM, camera and camera lens. The 'one scope for all' has eluded me in 25 years of astronomy!

Olly

[JamesF]

If you're not pretty committed to imaging, that's an awful lot more money to spend compared with just a dob for visual use, especially when it may well be that for visual use the dob would be much easier than a large NEQ6-mounted reflector (and much quicker to get set up).

I'd be tempted to get a large dob (either the 250 or 300) for visual use and consider the options for imaging afterwards.

James