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Startravel 120 ota - what is not in the box


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Today I will buy skywatch startravel 120 ota. Tube only.

Pleaase help me, what DO i order in addition to the tube:

1) converter for my canon 60d

The shop has some cheap t2 adapaptor, are they. Ok ? Anything else i need?

2) which Barlow?

The shop has a ts barlow 2x in 1,25"

- it has a integrated t2 mount

3) which eyepiece?

The shop has a ts 7-21 zoom ep. Any good?

2 extra items. Anything else I would need?

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If you are buying an OTA the main thing that "is not in the box" is a mount. Do you already have one ?

The Startravel 120 refractors are great for wide field, low to medium power viewing of deep sky objects but not so good at high power viewing of the moon and planets due to the chromatic aberration they produce. You may not need a barlow lens, at least for observing. I'd opt for fixed focal length eyepieces rather than a zoom in a scope such as this. Try the ones that come with it perhaps, before jumping in to others before you have used the scope. Some 1st hand experience will help you make better choices in due course.

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Manfrotto 055. With a big ballhead. Weigth approx 30kg

As I said 250 dobbs is my next scope, this 120 is just for them sacred quick moments in garden and as a scope to bring along when travelling. I looked into skymax series, but found them too bulky for my suitcase/ backpack

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As John says, give yourself some observing time to understand what kind of thing the ST120 excels at and also its shortcomings. In a few weeks you'll appreciate just a little more some of the gear you may be missing and will then be able to make a more informed purchase. Astro gear is quite pricey, so don't rush into buying stuff that in the future won't be used that much.

The ST120 is quite a fast scope, so it should excel on low power widefield views. Open clusters like M 44, M 45, maybe M 42 et al should be a joy to contemplate, as will be the general star field on a dark night. With this in mind, perhaps a 32mm EP would be a good idea. The scope won't be a 'planet-killer' (doesn't really have sufficient focal length), so perhaps barlowing your EPs will be a bit of an over-kill, that is, chromatic abberation may become too much and the views turning into a hazy mush.

If portability is an issue, have you considered the Mak 127? General consensus is that it is a great performer on planets and the moon, decent enough aperture and very portable. Or again, having a look at the longer focal length Evostar 120, or Omni XLT 120 which should produce less false colour and will be less demanding on eyepieces.

Hope that helps a little.

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The ST120 is not really a physically small scope. I take my 127 Mak in preference to the ST120 when going on holiday. It's far more compact.

James

Me too. Amazing how heavy and physically large the 120 is.

Best eyepiece for my 120 is the combination of 2" diagonal and 2" 24mm ultra wide eyepiece. Gives a true field of 3.28deg and is mind blowing. As others have said though, just settle into owning the scope first and see where you want to go. Just remember its not a planetary scope, so barlows and high powered eyepieces would almost certainly be a waste. As John said, low-medium power is where the 120 does all its best work.

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Me too. Amazing how heavy and physically large the 120 is.

Best eyepiece for my 120 is the combination of 2" diagonal and 2" 24mm ultra wide eyepiece. Gives a true field of 3.28deg and is mind blowing. As others have said though, just settle into owning the scope first and see where you want to go. Just remember its not a planetary scope, so barlows and high powered eyepieces would almost certainly be a waste. As John said, low-medium power is where the 120 does all its best work.

I'm with Fred on this one.. To be honest I'd not recomend a ST120 as a first scope. This is a widefield scope, you could say a 'one trip pony!'. Dont get me wrong, for what it can do its great .. for a first scope I'd go for a Evostar 90mm (if you want a Refractor) or a Explorer 150P if going for a Newtonian..

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I have never ever met sooo many nice and helpfull people. Thank you thank you!

First you corrected my wrong paths in choosing the primary scope-

thus a skyline px 250 is on the budget for 2013

No offense people, the big 120 at 60 cm length was not my number one on the secondary/ travel scope

-- the Mak-Cassegrain was, should be a perfect match for a big 10" dobsonian ?

I was cornered by the expensive celestron c8 and c6, the last one could work, but way too expensive,

thus i picked a cheap refractor instead and settled on the 120.

I managed to delete my order. Your reactions made me think a lot, I was unable to find any solution on the net.

The Skymax 127 then,

no ep or barlow then, just the ota

On my manfrotto 055 tripod

Am I closing the kick off mark or am I still at side-line?

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Hmm not sure about the Skymax 127 on the Manfrotto. The 127 is a weighty little beast. It has the photo tripod thread underneath but i think they are just being optimistic. I use my Skymax 102 on a Slik photo tripod very occasionally (when i'm ultra desperate) and its a highly frustrating experience. Perhaps with the Manfrotto 410 geared head it would be a lot better.

The Skymax 127 on the AZ4 should be a good combo. My travel setup is the Skymax 102 on the AZ4 and its brilliant (except i really want a 127 or 150 Skymax).

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Two things:

1) Without an accurate driven equatorial mount there is no point in putting your Canon in the back of any telescope. You won't get anything. An accurate equatorial mount, which really means a German Equatorial, is essential.

2) Camera tripods are risky with larger scopes because they pivot under the scope, whereas proper telescope mounts pivot, effectively, through it. When you tip back to look up on a camera tripod the scope wants to fall back towards you. This is bearable on small refractors but could get nasty with larger scopes.

Olly

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A large aperture dob will beat a small aperture Mak in most situations, I think. But a small Mak does make quite a neat travel scope. They're never going to work if you're after wide field views, but if you accept their limitations I think they're a good choice. As has already been said, they are relatively heavy for their size, but a refractor will almost certainly be more awkward because of it's length (unless you go for something with quite a small aperture).

There are refractors with retractable dew shields which would make life somewhat easier (the dew shield on the ST120 is huge and without it the lens cap won't fit as far as I'm aware), but I'm not sure if any are comparable in price to the ST120.

James

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This manfrotto 055 is one the larger tripods, no problem in supporting my camera attached to a large 5 kilo zoom tele.

The extr cost of a tripod will make the 127 out of reach for me, economically. Thats why i am buying the ota, just to try and see if it works. Also the skymax is avaiable with eq german mount, but n0 Az

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This manfrotto 055 is one the larger tripods, no problem in supporting my camera attached to a large 5 kilo zoom tele.

The extr cost of a tripod will make the 127 out of reach for me, economically. Thats why i am buying the ota, just to try and see if it works. Also the skymax is avaiable with eq german mount, but n0 Az

What happens when you point the big camera rig towards the zenith? Is it stable?

Olly

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Which head do you have on the 055? With my Slik its not the weight carrying capacity that's the issue, its rated to 12kg, but more controlling the scope at high power on a 3 way head. Also tried a ball head and it was worse. With the ball head i had the problem Olly is eluding too. Which is when the scope tilts back 45deg or more it just wants to flip back. All the weight is on one side of the head. Which for the moon and Jupiter over the winter when both are so high in the sky will be frustrating.

The Manfrotto 410 geared head on the 055 i imagine would be very nice.

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