Thoughts on a 100mm refractor

[No-i-dear]

My brother is thinking about getting a 100mm size refractor that is both good for observing and photography. Is there such a beast? He reckons his budget is around £500 and he already has an HEQ6 mount. Can you suggest any suitable telescopes?

Any suggestions would be most gratefully received.

[John]

The Skywatcher ED100 might fit his needs. At F/9 it's a bit slow for deep sky imaging but you can get a focal reducer for it. It's a great visual 4" scope and would be very stable on the HEQ5 mount.

[Earl]

its worth looking out for a second hand revelation f6 100 its a cracking scope. and at f6 with a flattener is good all rounder.

[ronin]

If he adds in effect £100 try the Altair Astro Starwave 102 ED, f/7.

If he is considering AP then he will need the ED aspect.

102SW

TS used to have some Astro Professional scopes but the selection is now small.

They were about the right price from memory, not sure if you could track a supplier down.

[Steve Ward]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Skywatcher-Pro-ED100-/261433235695?pt=UK_Photography_Telescopes&hash=item3cdea298ef

[No-i-dear]

Thanks guys, will pass all this info on. Much appreciated!

[No-i-dear]

Steve, thanks for the heads-up on the ebay scope. I see that you are a Tal 100RS man. What are your thoughts on this scope?

[Steve Ward]

It's a superb scope for the money , especially for Solar and Lunar work.

It's too slow at f10 to be considered for deep-sky imaging although I've never tested it out , the ED100 with the FF/FR would probably be a better bet.

[Davey-T]

its worth looking out for a second hand revelation f6 100 its a cracking scope. and at f6 with a flattener is good all rounder.

As above, I have a Revelation f/6 100mm and it's great for visual and astro photography, worth looking out for one.

£630.00 new from Telescope House

Dave

[Luke]

I have the SW ED100, very nice indeed as a visual scope. It is also light and though quite long, it feels like a grab and go to me, no real bother to move around. If I was getting a scope mostly for visual but also for a bit of DSO imaging, I would consider it, the speed for imaging is okay for me when used with the 0.85x reducer, making it about F7.65.

If on the other hand the imaging was at least as important as the visual, I'd probably look at something a bit faster. I have not tried the Revelation 100, but I have a Revelation 66mm, it's a well made scope. I don't know if they still use the same decent focuser (I got mine about four or five years ago) but the focuser on the little 66mm is really sweet, I have not felt the need to replace it to hold my DSLR firmly like I have with a few other refractors.

[No-i-dear]

Not one to hang about he's gone and got himself a SW Evostar 100ED Pro.

Thanks to all of you who have chipped in, most appreciated.