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skywatcher mak and mounts

MartinB

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MartinB

MartinB

Posted
Posted

likely that I'll be getting a celestron SCT, possibly second hand but have seen an interesting skywatcher 6" mak - part of the "pro" range. Does anyone know anything about this scope - optical and build quality, reviews etc.

Also wondering about the best mount for imaging. Am thinking about a celestron cpc gps which has an alt azimuth mount but apparently tracks very well (have seen some fantastic images taken with it) or an eq5 skyskan (which I would probably have to buy new but could be used for any future scopes). The more I think about it the more confused I get :clouds2:

Martin

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The Warthog

The Warthog

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The sct will be more of an all round scope than the Mak. The Gps will be more accurate. The EQ5 will accompany any future scope very well.

Rog use celestron GPS for his imagining. Enough said. :clouds2:

OK, t4u, why is the SCT more of an all-round scope than the Mak, and does the Mak have any particular arena wherein it shines?

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CELESCOPE

CELESCOPE

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Jumping in , its a hard decision to make i know and of course i am 100% for the GPS as it would serve every path you needed to take for imaging from planets moon deep sky it can do all to a very high standard as its been said it is easy to pack up and take with you , also the tracking is fantastic, it also has the benifits of fast star though not used a lot now its great for anyone starting off for DSOs enabling them to achieve very satisfying images from the start it has a foal ratio from F1.95 up to F30 or beyound , also it will take like i have an ED80 skywatcher comfortably piggy backed for any wider field images with no probs , i work in Alt AZ but a mere wedge like prof greg parker has turns it into the EQ . just take alook at his images , which goes to prove to me that the scope is an all round winner . i sold a top of the range celestron advanced series latest german mount 9 and quarter OTA as it was Rubbish compared to the 8 inch gps ,so that goes for something,

hheeh  thats my piece said ,

Rog

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GazOC

GazOC

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The reason I ask is that I had just read some very complimentary comparisons of Maks to Fracs for lunar work, and presumably planetary stuff, too. :?

Maks tend to get bought for the above and double star work, they are cheaper than Apos and don't have the false colour that archros suffer from. They also take less mounting than a big refractor.

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russ

russ

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It's hard to agrue against the Celestron CPC. It won the Sky at Night scope showdown. And the C8 is the classic all round scope. It's dead easy to setup and use. And the results speak for themselves.

I think that's where your destiny lies Martin.

Russ

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CELESCOPE

CELESCOPE

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dont want to knock the latest one from celestron , but i know soemone that has tested the cpc and the drive is very noisy compared to the celestron gps , its easy to set up but there again it only takes me 4 mins max to be up and imaging , so heck can we get any faster than that .

as for the imaging and any thing else it would be the same as the GPS .

HAS xlt coating , but to be honest i could ,nt find any difference when i had my one , with xlt coating .

Rog

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russ

russ

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Rog, I compared my Starbright C8 against an XLT version...couldn't see a difference. But then I couldn't see the difference between my LX200 Classic and a UHTC version.

Also in that Sky at Night review they couldn't praise the GPS enough and it was an impossible act to follow. I think that's what impressed so much with the CPC, that fact it could hold it's head high compared to its predecessor which was near perfect. So a secondhand GPS would be a great bet.

Russ

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FLO

FLO

Posted
Posted

The sct will be more of an all round scope than the Mak. The Gps will be more accurate. The EQ5 will accompany any future scope very well.

Rog use celestron GPS for his imagining. Enough said. :clouds2:

OK, t4u, why is the SCT more of an all-round scope than the Mak, and does the Mak have any particular arena wherein it shines?

Good question WH ... and one that hasn't yet been addressed.

Heres a summary (cut and pasted from an earlier post):

Advantages of a Maksutov Cassegrain are:

Incredibly sharp images that rival some of the best Refractors.

Convenient eyepiece position (thanks to the diagonal).

The slow focal ratio produces high magnification and allows the use of longer focal length eyepieces (better eye-relief). 

The front correcting lens, small central obstruction and lack of spider vanes produce high contrast. 

No need to re-collimate. 

Sealed tube so mirror stays clean and bright.

Disadvantages:

Expensive (though considerably cheaper than an equivalent refractor)

Slow f-ratios mean longer exposures and narrow field of coverage

They tend to have longer cool-down times.

_______________________________________________________

Compared specifically to an SCT, the Mak has a smaller central obstruction and so greater contrast (assuming everything else is equal). 

Now, for the unspoken truth:

The Schmidt Cassegrain corrector lens is a better design than the Maksutov.  But, and its a big but, the Maksutov is much easier to manufacture, particularly at smaller apertures (look at them in cross-section and it will be clear why).  Consequently, at apertures up to about 6" the Maksutov can be made to a higher quality (cost for cost).  At over 6" the Schmidt's superiority, as a corrector lens, becomes apparent and affordable. 

In summary:

Up to 6" - the Mak' will win. 

Over 6" - buy a Schmidt, but expect less contrast. 

Hope that helps,

Steve 8)

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The Warthog

The Warthog

Posted
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Jumping in , its a hard decision to make i know and of course i am 100% for the GPS as it would serve every path you needed to take for imaging from planets moon deep sky it can do all to a very high standard as its been said it is easy to pack up and take with you , also the tracking is fantastic, it also has the benifits of fast star though not used a lot now its great for anyone starting off for DSOs enabling them to achieve very satisfying images from the start it has a foal ratio from F1.95 up to F30 or beyound , also it will take like i have an ED80 skywatcher comfortably piggy backed for any wider field images with no probs , i work in Alt AZ but a mere wedge like prof greg parker has turns it into the EQ . just take alook at his images , which goes to prove to me that the scope is an all round winner . i sold a top of the range celestron advanced series latest german mount 9 and quarter OTA as it was Rubbish compared to the 8 inch gps ,so that goes for something,

hheeh thats my piece said ,

Rog

Rog, I thought I'd better lend you a few full stops from my inventory, as you left me blind and gasping for breath with that post, so here you go: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Use them at will! :clouds2:

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FLO

FLO

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Posted

Good question WH ... and one that hasn't yet been addressed.

Don't you read my posts Steve? :clouds2:

Granted it's not as detailed as your responce, but I nailed the main points pretty concisely,,,,, :clouds2:

Sorry mate ...  :oops:

(We are in the middle of Jan sales at work so to keep up, I have been speed reading)

Steve

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tom.yates

tom.yates

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Don't know guys my mak is the stf f10 mak and most of the meade celestron stc are f 10 so which one wins ? the mak is the deluxe 1/8 wave outstanding on the planets but very good deep sky also and if you use a focal reducer wide field so it would be interesting to compare.

Tom.

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