Advice for a new Scope..

[Ohmsie]

Im looking to upgrade my current setup (which is poor at best) with a Skywatcher Explorer  200p + Eq5 mount kit, seen it for about £400. Would this be a good setup to buy ? im new to Astronomy so not really sure which is the best things to buy yet for my £400 - 450 budget, Any help or advice would be appreciated, .Thankyou

Bazz. 

[Naemeth]

What is your current set-up and what do you intend on doing in astronomy?

By that I mean, do you plan on Astro-photography or is it just visual astronomy?

[umadog]

Can you give us a little more info on what your constraints and goals are? Also, are there any specific reasons you want the equatorial mount?

[Charic]

Ohmsie......Hi, If photography is not your immediate intention, I would opt for the SKYLINER, ease of use, cheaper, greater focal length.

[Ohmsie]

Thanks for the Reply....  Firstly i want to use it for visual astronomy, moving onto astro photography, im already a keen photographer and have some camera gear , my current setup is a Bresser Skylux 700mm with  a wobbly mount, hence the need to upgrade, after getting limited use with this equipment i know i have enjoyed what ive seen but now want better optics and steady mount.. 

Bazz

[Ohmsie]

Can you give us a little more info on what your constraints and goals are? Also, are there any specific reasons you want the equatorial mount?

Basically, the mount comes with the Telescope that i have seen which falls within my budget, but really im open to suggestion as im still really a learner in this field ?  

Bazz

[Naemeth]

Thanks for the Reply....  Firstly i want to use it for visual astronomy, moving onto astro photography, im already a keen photographer and have some camera gear , my current setup is a Bresser Skylux 700mm with  a wobbly mount, hence the need to upgrade, after getting limited use with this equipment i know i have enjoyed what ive seen but now want better optics and steady mount.. 

Bazz

I'm assuming that you already have a decent array of lenses? It's important that you get a really steady mount, so how about getting a HEQ-5 Pro Synscan / Syntrek 2nd hand, about £500 and just putting your camera on that until you've saved up for a fairly fast refractor doublet (ED80). They are a lot easier to mount and a lot easier to work with.

Before doing anything though I'd get this book:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

However, this set-up isn't going to be very satisfying for visual, but will do astro-photography very well. In the mean-time, save yourself quite a lot and just get the 200P on a dob mount, available here:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

[Ohmsie]

Thats fantastic advice... Thankyou for the time to help  

Bazz

[umadog]

Basically, the mount comes with the Telescope that i have seen which falls within my budget, but really im open to suggestion as im still really a learner in this field ?  

Bazz

Most of the imagers I know, and particularly those who are beginning, tend start with either a short focus refractor or they simply use their current SLR lenses and take wide field shots. If you do some Googling you'll see why that's the case (e.g. http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/SCOPES.HTM). Basically it's the easiest and cheapest route to getting good results, even though you're restricted to lower powers. The longer the focal length the higher the power and so the better the tracking needs to be and the more stable the mount needs to be.

So one option is to buy an 8" Dob, which is well within your budget, and use your existing camera gear to take unguided shots. You can still take nice images this way, and it's an opportunity to learn how to process the images and read more about AP. But there are lots of ways into the hobby, so spend some time reading and decide what's right for you. Definitely buy a book and read before you purchase AP gear. There's plenty to digest and it's very different from regular photography. Knowledge is the best way to avoid buying the wrong thing.

A visual Newtonian isn't generally the best choice for astrophotography, although of course results can be obtained with it.

[Ohmsie]

Most of the imagers I know, and particularly those who are beginning, tend start with either a short focus refractor or they simply use their current SLR lenses and take wide field shots. If you do some Googling you'll see why that's the case (e.g. http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/SCOPES.HTM). Basically it's the easiest and cheapest route to getting good results, even though you're restricted to lower powers. The longer the focal length the higher the power and so the better the tracking needs to be and the more stable the mount needs to be.

So one option is to buy an 8" Dob, which is well within your budget, and use your existing camera gear to take unguided shots. 

yes, i do agree with you and its definatly one of the options i am considering.....  having alredy tried a few photos of Jupiter and the Orion Nebula, using my 300mm im restricted to about 3-4 second exposure before i get star trails,  goin the other way for wide angle im up to 10 + seconds exposure but lacking details... also another factor which is also in consideration is the visual side of things that i enjoy with the scope and the fact that my father also has an interest and would like to see the stars.. But thankyou for the response .

Bazz

[swag72]

AP and visual are not natural bed fellows as far as astronomy goes, and oddly enough neither is photography and AP!! Forget everything you know about photography and start again

A good mount and your camera lens' will stand you in good stead for the time being. Many DSO's are rather on the large side and so a 300mm lens does well. In fact my telescope is only 329mm, albeit my camera chip is considerably smaller than an DSLR.

An HEQ5 is a good starting point. If you want to get longer exposures which are a real benefit in AP then you'd also benefit from a guiding setup. Many imagers use exposures of 30 minutes for each sub.

[stargazerslivingroom]

AP and visual are not natural bed fellows as far as astronomy goes, and oddly enough neither is photography and AP!! Forget everything you know about photography and start again

A good mount and your camera lens' will stand you in good stead for the time being. Many DSO's are rather on the large side and so a 300mm lens does well. In fact my telescope is only 329mm, albeit my camera chip is considerably smaller than an DSLR.

An HEQ5 is a good starting point. If you want to get longer exposures which are a real benefit in AP then you'd also benefit from a guiding setup. Many imagers use exposures of 30 minutes for each sub.

Hello Sara...Is this calculated using some sort of reducer?

Thanks

Steve

[swag72]

Yes I use a 0.73x reducer on my scope. It has a native focal length of 450mm

[LeeWilky]

Hi mate i bought the 200p on EQ5 and find its both fantastic for observing and AP.

As it comes out of the box aslong as you already have a DSLR all you need is a T Ring for the DSLR (£15 on Amazon) and your good to go.

Heres just a few noob pictures ive taken using the stock 200p out of the box and my DSLR.

For another £100 you can motorise the scope and then start taking fantastic images as found here http://astrocasto.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=46

If you want any further info on the 200p feel free to PM me and ill happily answer any questions you have

[Ohmsie]

Thanks for the help, ive now purchased a "skywatch skyliner 200p"  all i need now is a clear sky

Just out of curiousity, withouit trawling through the many topics on here, is it worth buying a new eyepiece kit for it or are the two that are supplied good enough ?  any advice will be greatly appreciated, Thankyou  

[TractionMan]

Thanks for the help, ive now purchased a "skywatch skyliner 200p"  all i need now is a clear sky

Just out of curiousity, withouit trawling through the many topics on here, is it worth buying a new eyepiece kit for it or are the two that are supplied good enough ?  any advice will be greatly appreciated, Thankyou

Hello! Great choice you've made. That scope will show you lots of stuff. No need to hurry up with EP purchases. Just try the stock ones for a while. Take your time and do some research (lots of great knowledge and opinions here on SGL). When the time comes to upgrade, it's usually better to buy two or three better quality EP's than getting a kit. Although alot of people are perfectly happy with the various kits. One thing you should get as soon a possible however, is a collimation tool such as a cheshire.

Good luck and enjoy your scope!

/Stellan

[Paulo83]

Thanks for the help, ive now purchased a "skywatch skyliner 200p"  all i need now is a clear sky

Just out of curiousity, withouit trawling through the many topics on here, is it worth buying a new eyepiece kit for it or are the two that are supplied good enough ?  any advice will be greatly appreciated, Thankyou

Nice choice of scope. The visuals are very good and a bit of photography of the moon and Jupiter isn't too bad either (as LeeWilky illustrates above). As for the eyepieces supplied with the scope, the 25mm is very decent and worth keeping hold of. The 10mm isn't too good though so I would recommend changing your high power for something like a BST Starguider 8mm from skies_unlimited (Sky's The Limit) on eBay. Will set you back £49, but the upgrade is well worth it.

Enjoy and clear skies!