Scope for astro photography

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Hi, I am relative newcomer to astronomy and I am looking for a telescope for deep sky astro photography. I am well aware I will be biting off more than I can chew to start with but it's the direction I want to head down.

I want to get the right piece of kit that will last me for a while and I have started by buying a mount, the NEQ 6 and an Orion 9x50 finder scope. I am currently using my old ETX90 OTA whilst I learn to polar align and find my way around the night sky. I'm not sure if the etx90 would be worth using as a guide scope in the future but thats for another post I guess.

I am now looking at my options for a new OTA whilst saving my pennies. I am looking to spend up to £1000 on the OTA, field flattener & diagonal. I was originally thinking about the William optics GT81F 5 element flatfield refractor but I have heard that there has been a few problems with them, I am now looking at the Altair Astro wave series 80mm F6 super ED triplet APO.

I need a scope that is fairly portable and reasonably robust. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Many Thanks

[VigdisVZ]

You seem set on a frac, but lots of people I know of recommend this one:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov-newtonian/skywatcher-explorer-190mn-ds-pro-mak-newt-astrograph.html

I myself am pretty new, but I went for the NEQ6 aswell, and I dont regret it. Looking forward to hearing what scope you decide on, and the reasoning.

[MartinB]

A short focal length refractor would be an ideal first scope for deep sky imaging, more tolerant of guiding errors and the wide field of view allows you to capture some great objects. There is a very confusing range of options out there. Personally I've always found the skywatcher scopes to have reliable quality control and be good value. There has been a move towards budget triplets in recent years. Unfortunately budget and triplet aren't necessarily words which sit together very well and I have heard of quality control issues. However I don't have any first hand experience of problems.

Something around 80mm F7 with a dedicated reducer / flattener. A decent doublet will do a good job for you. You'll have plenty left in the kitty for a cheap guide scope, side by side mounting arrangement and some filters.

The SW MN190 is a great scope but it isn't entirely straight forward to use, it is a heavy scope and the flimsiness mounting equipment make it prone to flexure issues. Most people using this scope end up going for off axis guiding which isn't a complication you want to be dealing with when first starting out.

[ollypenrice]

I agree with Martin though I've had good experiences with some semi budget triplets. A small refractor has to be the way to start, in my view, and it remains my favourite instrument all things considered.

Olly

[Catweazel]

I have a Megrez72 doublet APO frac + flattener and it's very good for AP, I got it 2nd hand as I don't think that they make them any more. In many ways, it is better to start off lighter and (if possible) cheaper, as it makes it easier to mount/handle and not such a bummer if you decide that you don't enjoy it after all.