SW 80DS Pro or Celestron C6-N for newbie wide field DSO imager?

[Adrian23]

I'm currently looking to upgrade my Nexstar 6SE on the factory-supplied alt-az mount to a set up that would allow me to start the long and steep climb that is wide field deep sky object imaging with my Canon EOS 500d.

After much debate and research I THOUGHT I'd decided to buy a Celestron VX mount together with a Skywatcher 80DS Pro (f/7.5) refractor but now I've noticed that retailers are offering the VX mount together with the celestron C6-N (f/5) Newtonian for about £30 LESS than buying the mount on its own!

This seems like a no-brainier to me - get the Newtonian "for free" and forget about the refractor, but then I'm still very new to imaging.

Does anyone know if the DSO results from the Newtonian would be as good as those from the refractor (all other things being equal) and are they of similar ease to use?

Any help would be much appreciated before I max out my credit card.

Adrian

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[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I would go for the 80ED. No collimation issues to contend with.

[Uranium235]

Just had a look at the mount, and apart from a new set of motors and improved electronics - it doesnt seem to have moved on much from the old cg5-gt (which I used to have). If you want an easier time, you might be better off with the HEQ5 - which is tried and trusted as an AP platform.

Asking whether a short FL newt is as good as an 80ED?.... Well, with the newt - its faster but dont expect perfect results as they need to be worked on (optically and mechanically) if you want round stars all the way to the corners. The 80ED will deliver that without breaking a sweat, meaning you get more time imaging and less time faffing - although it is slower than the reflector.... so you cant have it all for cheap!

Edit:

Tonight, im hoping to fire both the 80ED and 130pds up (if its clear). Just to see whether its possible to combine data from the two designs without the diffraction spikes wrecking things too much.

[Adrian23]

Thanks for clarifying that for me guys. SW it is then. The reason I favour the VX mount is that

- I don't have a clear view of Polaris from my garden which is where I do the vast majority of my astronomy

- I have some periodic back problems that would prevent me getting down low to use a polar scope.

I think both these issues are circumvented by the VXs All Star Polar Alignment routine which (if I understand the process correctly) allows accurate polar alignment without the need for a view of Polaris or a polar scope?

Has anyone any experience of this ASPA routine? How accurate is it for DSO photography? I'd love to know , as it's this use that it will be put to if I go down this route...

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[Uranium235]

The SW mount now supports exactly the same PA routine as Celestron mounts. If its not in the handset when you get it, then it can be installed by flashing the handset with an update (something I did to mine within an hour of owning it). However, in both cases the level of accuracy using the routine is hit and miss, and isnt what I would consider a permanent replacement for using your eyes. Perhaps a workaround would be to have a polarcam (just a modified webcam) so the dirty knees are avoided.

But to start off with, you have no autoguiding - so your exposure times are very limited. One way around this is to just use the camera + lens mounted, if its a fast enough lens (f4-ish) and a short enough focal length (50-100mm) then you should get a decent amount of light on the chip before star trails set in. Once you have autoguiding (or very good PA), then you can switch to using a telescope.

Is there anywhere in your garden where you can see Polaris? Its pretty much essential (though not impossible to work without). In fact, if I were ever to move, the first question would be: can I see Polaris from the garden?

[rowan46]

I'm currently looking to upgrade my Nexstar 6SE on the factory-supplied alt-az mount to a set up that would allow me to start the long and steep climb that is wide field deep sky object imaging with my Canon EOS 500d.

After much debate and research I THOUGHT I'd decided to buy a Celestron VX mount together with a Skywatcher 80DS Pro (f/7.5) refractor but now I've noticed that retailers are offering the VX mount together with the celestron C6-N (f/5) Newtonian for about £30 LESS than buying the mount on its own!

This seems like a no-brainier to me - get the Newtonian "for free" and forget about the refractor, but then I'm still very new to imaging.

Does anyone know if the DSO results from the Newtonian would be as good as those from the refractor (all other things being equal) and are they of similar ease to use?

Any help would be much appreciated before I max out my credit card.

Adrian

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It seems a no brainer to me get the mount with the free scope and either flog the scope or use it for visual as it will be better for visual than an ed80. But the refractor will be easier to image with

[Adrian23]

That's just the conclusion I've come to Rowan :-)

Uranium - Polaris is visible in my garden if one of my neighbours doesn't have his security light on otherwise I have to move to avoid it shining straight at me :-(

I'd not realised that the SW HEQ5 could be aligned using an all star polar alignment routine rather than using a polar scope. That's useful to know ;-) So with an HEQ5 I could have the option of using an ASPA routine OR a polar scope depending on how my back and my neighbour is, am I correct in thinking that Uranium???

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[Uranium235]

Adrian23, on 02 Feb 2014 - 6:35 PM, said:

I'd not realised that the SW HEQ5 could be aligned using an all star polar alignment routine rather than using a polar scope. That's useful to know ;-)

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Its a feature not widely advertised.

But, for future reference the firmware updates and loader utility for synscan handsets are here:

http://www.skywatcher.com/downloads.php?cat=20

You will need a computer with an RS232 socket to do the update, so its probably going to have to be a PC - or you can get a USB-Serial adapter for about 20 or 30 quid. I also use my serial cable to control the mount using stellarium (works a treat!). Additionally, SW mounts have the option of EQMOD - something that the Celestron mounts will never have.

Edit: Is there any way you can have a quiet word with the neighbour about the light? If theyre open minded they could redirect the light or turn it off completely (bribery usually works!). If that fails, there are other ways to deal with passive IR sensors - unless its switched, in which case there is litte you can do (apart from erecting a screen).

[Adrian23]

Thanks for the link. You've certainly given me more than enough to mull over. Hope the sky stays clear for you tonight :-)

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[Uranium235]

Funnily enough... it has cleared up here

Had to ditch the twin shooter plan for tonight, and just went with the 130pds so I can get the M82 SN quickly. I havent even given it time to cool.... naughty me...

[Adrian23]

Best of luck - you'll have to show us the results of your efforts. Enjoy :-)

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[Uranium235]

There ya go!

One supernova, hot off the press:

30 min worth of 5min subs, no calibration, quick n dirty processing.

[Adrian23]

Nice one!

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