SCT/ refractor decision to be made

[Hairycamel]

I have an 8" Celestron SCT on a Nextar mount for visual/planetary, and a WO Megrez 110 that I aquired with the intention of starting to image more on the deep sky side of things. Quandary now is that I may have a chance of a CPC 925 (which I have always lusted after) but would have to sell all to aquire it.

I intend to get the HD Pro wedge for the CPC for imaging and maybe go down the hyperstar route for deep sky.

Question is do I keep the dual scope setup, or go for the superior single 9.25? Anyone done/considered the same? I would be placing the wedge on a pier and keeping the fork mount for travelling to other sites.

[John]

I'm not an imager but, from what I've read, I'd be inclined to keep the 2 scopes you have with the flexibility they offer as they complement each other rather well.

I'll be interested to see what that imagers here suggest.

[Hairycamel]

The only other fly in the ointment is the need to purchase a better mount for ds work. My EQ5 pro is a great mount but I dont think it will cut the mustard when I start adding guidescopes etc..

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The dual scope setup is better than the single C9.25 (great scope, BTW), I would say. For planetary imaging a fork mount, with or without wedge is fine, and the C9.25 is a killer planetary scope. For DSO imaging, a German EQ mount is much better. The C9.25 is also not the best scope for DSO AP, though if you get hyperstar to work things are different. I have hear focusing can be very difficult. An EQ5 mount is similar to my GP mount, and I am also considering an upgrade to get into DSO imaging (with my APM 80mm F/6, not the C8).

[NGC 1502]

I don't do imaging, but I'd like to say that your 2 current scopes complement each other. If you sell them both and get the 9.25, you will lose wide field, so I'd think long and hard to decide if that's what you are happy doing.

Regards, Ed.

[ollypenrice]

The Hyperstar is a great system when tickled up, but it is a tricky and technical one. For example, at F2 your focal depth is measured in microns so how do you focus? Electronic will be the only sane way. Quite honestly, as someone who does more than a lot of DS imaging, one thing I do NOT do is change stuff around casually. If you change the colour of your dewsheild your tracking will stop working. No kidding, that's what it's like!

So once you'd got the Hyperstar to do what it said on the tin I very, very much doubt that you'd want to pull it off and put a scondary and an EP in there instead.

So I'm of the 'two scopes' persuasion, loud and clear. I particularly dislike wedges as well so that would nail it.

Olly

[Hairycamel]

Olly, I can see by your many posts on this subject that you consider 1000mm as the max for good guiding/tracking and I know that the sensible option would be to keep my 8SE for planetary imaging and the Megrez for DSO work and just upgrade to a HEQ5,....but... have you never had an itch that you just had to scratch?

[ollypenrice]

Sure. I image at 2.4 metres but I do so on an a mount that can do it, so it's a pleasure. I don't throw away any subs. Literally none.

Also, it is true that I often estimate the 'comfort zone' of the NEQ6 as ending at a little over a metre but I'm at pains to point out, when I say this, that folks do get great results beyond this. Ditto folks get the American forks and wedges to work for them, or some do. And that's the point. Will you be one of the successes or one of the failures? How can I know? I can't, so I just flag up a warning.

A far more important point that I make about imaging in this thread is that it ought to be rational but it isn't. It ought to be possible 'just to put my guider onto your mount' (for example) but it just doesn't work like that. I do let people over-rule me (though this may change!!) but when they do, things have a nasty tendency not to work any more. Why? Not a clue! My key point to you is that, to image well, you need a stable system that you don't mess about with. That's it, really.

Olly

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

gremlins, Olly, gremlins love messing up scopes. The more electronics and computers get involved, the more they love them

[LukeSkywatcher]

I also lust after the CPC 925, but its not a scope i will ever own due to its size and weight.

The 8SE is a brilliant scope. I cant say i have used a WO Megrez110, but i know a couple of dedicated imagers here in Dublin who use them as part of their imaging setup.

As brilliant and lovely as the 925 is, i'd keep the two scopes you have.