Your thoughts...

[Mansnake]

Following my recent visit to my local society i now have a better understanding of what i want to be able to achieve with my first scope.

I want to be able to do some nice wide field views of DSO's like Nebula's, Globular clusters, double stars and galaxies etc.. and maybe try my hand at some webcam imaging.

I've set myself a budget of between £400-£500.

I'm currently looking at the SW startravel 102 synscan. Now i know this is not an APO and i may suffer from some CA in images etc..

Has anyone got a kind of before and after pic of CA so i can see how it effects images ?

Now i know in the UK there's no point pushing the magnification higher than about 200X maybe a bit higher so will plantes be achievable with the 102?

If not it gives me an excuse to save for a Skymax 127 Mak OTA

any thoughts ?

[Russe]

I've got a 127 mak. It's nice for planets! With DSO's it's a bit of a struggle because you need long exposure times. That necessitates a better mount. To tell you the truth - save for a good mount! I now have a HEQ5 PRO GOTO. It's difficult at first but amazingly stable. Had an Alt/AZ first which is too unstable in our windy climate!! Ok for planets though!

[ollypenrice]

I think those short tube achromats can be beaten by reflectors of a similar price and greater aperture. The CA in images is pretty extreme with the STs.

Olly

[Mansnake]

I've got a 127 mak. It's nice for planets! With DSO's it's a bit of a struggle because you need long exposure times. That necessitates a better mount. To tell you the truth - save for a good mount! I now have a HEQ5 PRO GOTO. It's difficult at first but amazingly stable. Had an Alt/AZ first which is too unstable in our windy climate!! Ok for planets though!

Yea i imagine the 127 mak is good for planets with its high focal length. I want to start with some wide field views of things. If the CA is bad with the ST's then can anyone suggest a similar OTA ?

I would love to have an HEQ5 PRO GOTO mount but im struggling (getting moaned at) to save between £400-£500 as it is !

[NLO]

Have you considered an astrotrak with a DSLR?

[Mansnake]

Have you considered an astrotrak with a DSLR?

Can you elaborate on this ?

[the rev]

I use a DSLR for wide field photography. Sometimes I use my macro lens to get nice wide views go constellations, other times I use my zoom lens to get a wide filed on more specific targets

[Mansnake]

I know what your on about now. the only problems being to use a DSLR i would have to buy one (thats my budget gone) then i would need either the astrotrac or an EQ mount to compensate of field rotation.

Plus i do just want to start observing first and then move onto imaging later.

Is the CA through the ST 102 bad enough to deter people from just using it for observing ?

Or am i just better going for the 130P Newt and having a better all rounder ?

[Moonshane]

As with most people you face the tricky negotiation of imaging or visual. if visual it's a lot more straight forward as it's broadly a choice of aperture as focal ratio matters little to a large extent.

throw imaging into the mix and you have to consider so many other things - the mount is key. then do you want to image planets or DSOs - the type of scope is very different for each in some ways (although you can use barlows to increase focal length /ratio).

for your budget you could buy good used equipment to get you started I think but others will advise on that.

[Daniel-K]

i agree with olly and moonshane, you could get a 130p on a alt az synscan £290 . i know alt az arnt the bees knees when it comes to tracking but it will track long enough to allow you to get 60 80 secs subs maybe and then you have money left over for a modded canon 300d or a 350d or a modded webcam with change thats what i would do

[Mansnake]

thanks for all your replies.

I dont think an Alt az mount would take the weight of the OTA and DSLR attached.

I just want to observe first then move onto imaging, but when i say imaging i just mean using a webcam and seeing what results i can achieve. im not entering any competitions or anything.

When i win the lottery ill build an obsy and have all the proper guider scopes etc.. but untill then...

would i be better of with the 130P then ? as its only 1 inch bigger aperture and 120mm more focal length, is it going to be a huge difference ?

[SteveA]

Or...just to make the decision even harder for you....

You could blow the whole budget on a nice big dob!

Perfect for visual work...and you could also use it for some lunar imaging!

Just a thought!

[Blackheart]

Hi Mansnake

We have both a ST 102 and a 127 Mak in our club. The 102 is a good scope for beginners because the field of view makes finding things very easy. It gives nice views of Pleiades and Andromeda but quickly shows it's limitations. The 127 Mak is better on the moon but I have never been particularly impressed with it on planets. If I were you I would go for an 8" Newt (if you want and equatorial mount) or an 8" dob if you like things simple. If you can manage the weight you could get a 10" dob for £440. The views through this will be far more impressive and the extra light grasp will allow you to take some quite impressive pics with just a point and shoot camera held to the eyepiece.

I've attached a couple of shots taken through my 12" dob to show what can be achieved with a very basic camera and no tracking

To my mind you would be spending an awful lot of money on the mount if you were to go for the 102 synscan.

Best of luck in making your decision

BH

[Mansnake]

Thanks Blackheart.

I know aperture is king but i want something with tracking ideally as i want to try some webcam imaging. Plus im looking at the SW synscan models as i need something thats fairly grab and go as i will be taking it different places etc...

Once iv'e got my grab and go scope i can then convince my dad to buy a dob to put in his shed as i haven't got the room.

Nice pics by the way!

[Monty]

I have an ST102 on a GOTO mount. Perfect for camping!

Coma isn't too bad and as previously stated quite a good learner scope for DSO's. It's fairly rugged for transporting, very light and easy to use. Not the best scope for astrophotography but if you convert a cheap webcam it does okay.

Still have my trusty 130p Newt and it's still my favourite and a C800 CPC. Each scope is better with different subjects. best thing to do is pop down to your local club and ask to take a look. If you were a bit closer to me I'd be more than happy to show you.

[Darth Takahashi]

CA will only be an issue on the brighter objects and can be very distracting both visually and in images. I would try to buy a secondhand refractor, a doublet WO Megrez 72FD or similar, you can't go wrong with one of these scopes.

[Darth Takahashi]

Saving up and buying a good mount is always the best and wises advise since a telescope is useless without a stable platform to operate it from!!!

[pwalsh61]

An EQ5 Pro (SynScan) will probably blow most, if not all of your budget but will be good for smaller scopes like the ST80 or a megrez 72.

If you have a compact camera capable of exposures of, say, 30s or more, you can try imaging constellations and the milky way.

Sent from my GT-I9100P using Tapatalk 2

[Russe]

If you blow your budget on a rubbish mount, you will take ages to save up for a better one. As soon as u put a webcam to the eyepiece you will go down the dark road of AP. maybe an EQ3 might be a compromise? I wouldn't worry overly much about the scope. You will have more than one at some point, but the mount will be your main issue...

[Mansnake]

Ok say i went for an EQ3 PRO which is £390 what would be the biggest OTA it could handle with a DSLR attached ? something like a 130P ? or could i get away with more ?

[Daniel-K]

150 at a push

[Mansnake]

Cheers Daniel

[Daniel-K]

good luck on what ever you get any way, just remember patience is every thing

[Mansnake]

yea ive made y decision on what i think is best for me. gonna go for the SW ST102 to start with. then ill start saving for another OTA or HEQ6 PRO lol

[sologuitarist61]

It all depends on what you want from an image I suppose. If you want to showcase them then get a reflector of an APO but if you just want some nice images for your own album then the 102 Skywatcher will do the trick nicely. Like most things you have to balance the amount of money you have to spend with the best scope you can get - unfortunately they rarely meet up.