Quality ED80 Refractor

[Jon Sales]

I'm currently saving up for an Astrophotography setup.I've already got a mount in mind but not the refractor to go onto it.

I'll be using it for DSO'S as I have a Mak for Moon and planetary work.

I want a good quality ED80, quite fast but which won't break the bank.

Looking at spending around £600-£700 tops. Been looking at Skywatcher, TS Optics, Starwave, William Optics etc.

Any good ones which fit the bill? 

Incidentally I'll be using a Nikon D5100 DSLR with it.

I've posted this elsewhere on the forum so apologies for those who have already seen it.

[Earl]

Overall the bargain is the swed80 and matched reducer, but its not the fastest, the wo sz71 is ok but does not have as good colour correction as the swed80.

The sw also sells well when you wish to upgrade.

There are plenty of options out there but until you are willing to spend a few k on a scope there is not a huge amout in it to be honest, the sw will serve you well, dont forget you need to guide it also, so an st80 ontop with a cheap guide cam needs to be budgeted for.

also which mount do you have as it the most important starting point.

[Leveye]

StellarVue SV80ED-1 560mm f7 $499.99 without a FF. Here's a sample...

[Jon Sales]

Mount wise I'm looking at an HEQ5 or similar. Quite like the Ioptron mounts and the Celestron AVX.

Excellent photo Leveye.

Was that taken on the ZEQ25GT?

[lensman57]

Mount wise I'm looking at an HEQ5 or similar. Quite like the Ioptron mounts and the Celestron AVX.

Excellent photo Leveye.

Was that taken on the ZEQ25GT?

WO GT 81 Apo Triplet £ 750.00, SW 80mm ED Equinox @ £520.00, Ascension 80mm Apo triplet £ 740.00.  The last one comes with a good quality diagonal   and a couple of eyepieces. None come with a finder. SW ED 80 is poular but slow @ F7.5, F6.4 with the optional FF/FR. The rest are F5.9~F6.25 for the Equinox. 

A.G

A.G

[wxsatuser]

See my sig........you cannot go wrong with a SW 80ED Pro+ reducer and an HEQ5 Pro + the Rowan belt mod.

I can do 15minutes guided with an Orion mini guider package.

I have'nt pushed it any harder because of sky brightness.

See your in Lancing, I am in Steyning......your LP I would think is worse than mine so that will

limit your sub lengths......you most likely won't be able to do more than 10minutes anyway.

I would suggest you also budget for a Hutech LP filter as well, you won't regret it, I'm using the 2inch P2 version.

[Fishpaste]

dont forget you need to guide it also, so an st80 ontop with a cheap guide cam needs to be budgeted for.

...probably a dumb question - is it not possible to use the finder scope which comes with the SW ED80 as a Guide scope?

(I'm planning on buying the HEQ5 pro & SW ED80 pretty soon - and am slowly talking myself into some sort of guiding system, but I'm still pretty ignorant about these... I know what they are and how they work but I don't want to have to spend hundreds of £s if I can help it..!

[Earl]

...probably a dumb question - is it not possible to use the finder scope which comes with the SW ED80 as a Guide scope?

(I'm planning on buying the HEQ5 pro & SW ED80 pretty soon - and am slowly talking myself into some sort of guiding system, but I'm still pretty ignorant about these... I know what they are and how they work but I don't want to have to spend hundreds of £s if I can help it..!

In Theory yes and others have had plenty of success doing so, its just has not worked for me.

[Fishpaste]

what has the problem been using the finderscope - is it not tracking accurately enough or struggling to find a guide star or something else

[cepheus42]

I have got a Skywatcher ST80 coming tomorrow which will be a dedicated guide scope. I asked Steve from FLO a lot of questions at Astrofest and this is clearly the best way to go. His advice was echoed by a couple of hugely respected astrophotographers I spoke to at Astrofest. My advice, speak to FLO about what you need and they will put you on the right track. But make sure you have a clear idea about what you want to achieve as some equipment can be quite niche and whilst working well  for some jobs, may not for others.

Enjoy

[Jon Sales]

See my sig........you cannot go wrong with a SW 80ED Pro+ reducer and an HEQ5 Pro + the Rowan belt mod.

I can do 15minutes guided with an Orion mini guider package.

I have'nt pushed it any harder because of sky brightness.

See your in Lancing, I am in Steyning......your LP I would think is worse than mine so that will

limit your sub lengths......you most likely won't be able to do more than 10minutes anyway.

I would suggest you also budget for a Hutech LP filter as well, you won't regret it, I'm using the 2inch P2 version.

I'm right on the seafront at Eastern Sands. Looking South from my window.

I have an LP filter for the Mak which does a good job at the moment.

Still stuck on which mount to buy as I need it fairly portable too.

[Earl]

what has the problem been using the finderscope - is it not tracking accurately enough or struggling to find a guide star or something else

I was unable to get it built and focusing to a reliable standard, others have though without issue.

I went OAG in the end but that does need a dedicated CCD

[Earl]

The HEQ5 is a good starting point and a fair bit more portable than a NEQ6 as it is quite bulky

I'm right on the seafront at Eastern Sands. Looking South from my window.
I have an LP filter for the Mak which does a good job at the moment.

Still stuck on which mount to buy as I need it fairly portable too.

[wxsatuser]

I'm right on the seafront at Eastern Sands. Looking South from my window.

I have an LP filter for the Mak which does a good job at the moment.

Still stuck on which mount to buy as I need it fairly portable too.

If an LP filter works ok thats fine as any long exposures will need it.

I could move my HEQ5 around quite easily, if your ok for lifting things then I see

no problem with one of then. Mine is on a permant pier, so not a problem for me.

[wxsatuser]

...probably a dumb question - is it not possible to use the finder scope which comes with the SW ED80 as a Guide scope?

(I'm planning on buying the HEQ5 pro & SW ED80 pretty soon - and am slowly talking myself into some sort of guiding system, but I'm still pretty ignorant about these... I know what they are and how they work but I don't want to have to spend hundreds of £s if I can help it..!

I deliberately went for the Orion miniguider package, as it's relatively cheap, light and dead easy to setup.

Have done 900sec subs and with my skies 600secs is a doodle.