Astrophotography scope upgrade for around £400-500

[ubertank]

I will be getting an eq6 pro in the coming weeks and at the moment only have a 200P dob. I will be mounting this for the first little while, but by April I will upgrade the scope to something more suitable.

I had considered getting a 10" 250px, but would really appreciate any advice more qualified people can dole out on other options and why around this budget.

Thanks again.

Anthony.

[ubertank]

It is the 200P-DS OTA I was considering. Found here:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-250p-ds-ota.html

[Naemeth]

You already have some decent aperture, how about a SW ED80 with a Focal Reducer?

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/pro-series/skywatcher-evostar-80ed-ds-pro-ota.html

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reducersflatteners/skywatcher-focal-reducers.html

Roughly on budget, and will be a lot easier to guide than a 10".

[nephilim]

Is this going to be a scope for imaging or purely visual? If your goal is imaging, in my very limited experience I'd agree with Naemeth, the ED80 is a great AP scope & many on here use them to achieve some fantastic images.

Steve

[nephilim]

Is this going to be a scope for imaging or purely visual? If your goal is imaging, in my very limited experience I'd agree with Naemeth, the ED80 is a great AP scope & many on here use them to achieve some fantastic images.

Steve

Whoops!!! Just read the title 'properly' haha (It 'is' late ) I'll stick with my choice for the ED80 though, the 200p even on an EQ6 will still be susceptible to a bit of wind (noticable with imaging), plus u dont need to colimate a refractor & at f/4.7 the 200p will need very precise colimation.

Steve

[ubertank]

You already have some decent aperture, how about a SW ED80 with a Focal Reducer?

http://www.firstligh...ds-pro-ota.html

http://www.firstligh...l-reducers.html

Roughly on budget, and will be a lot easier to guide than a 10".

To be able to afford the new scope I will have to sell the 200p dob realistically, so whatever I get would have to double as an observing scope really. Would an ED80 suffice for observing DSO's?

[Naemeth]

To be able to afford the new scope I will have to sell the 200p dob realistically, so whatever I get would have to double as an observing scope really. Would an ED80 suffice for observing DSO's?

Yes it could observe details, but with nowhere near as much detail as an 8". It would be better as an imaging only scope.

[ubertank]

So realistically, how much of an improvement for imaging would the ED80 be over the newtonian? As sturdy as an EQ6 is, would there still be issues that make it significantly tougher to image with?

[Naemeth]

So realistically, how much of an improvement for imaging would the ED80 be over the newtonian? As sturdy as an EQ6 is, would there still be issues that make it significantly tougher to image with?

It should be fine in that regard, many people use a similar set-up and produce fine images .

[ubertank]

Sorry I think I worded my question incorrectly. I meant to ask that with a sturdy mount such as an EQ6, would a 10" newtonian still have issues with wind etc.. to such an extent that it would be significantly worse results-wise vs the ED80?

Sorry for the confusion.

[Naemeth]

Is it an NEQ-6 or an EQ6?

[ubertank]

An EQ6 pro.

[Naemeth]

An EQ6 pro.

This one?

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-eq6-syntrek.html

Found a few threads for you to read:

HTH

[ubertank]

Amazing.

Thanks a lot.

[Naemeth]

Amazing.

Thanks a lot.

No real consensus from what I read, some say it's fine, some say an 8" will be more stable. Personally I'd rather keep the 200P and get the mount and some rings, see how you get on with it and whether or not it's okay. Then you can add an ED80 later when you don't need to sell your 200P.

[ubertank]

No real consensus from what I read, some say it's fine, some say an 8" will be more stable. Personally I'd rather keep the 200P and get the mount and some rings, see how you get on with it and whether or not it's okay. Then you can add an ED80 later when you don't need to sell your 200P.

Seems pretty sound advice. Gonna have to dig even deeper

Thanks again.

[Naemeth]

Seems pretty sound advice. Gonna have to dig even deeper

Thanks again.

I was thinking - do you have a DSLR already? You could easily be imaging on the EQ-6 whilst you wait for money for tube rings etc and the ED80, and you could even get an ST80 first (which can then be used as a guide scope). I just feel leaving your options open for observing by keeping the 200P is better for now.

[nephilim]

If you have a look here http://astrocasto.blogspot.co.uk/ it gives the results of imaging using a Skywatcher 200p on a modded EQ5 and later with an ED80 on the same mount. Amazing images on budget kit IMO.

Steve