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Which refractor ?


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I think from reading everyone's input and with the budget you have, you are in a good position to take your time and read as many reviews as you can.  Most of the Apos out there are pretty good and some makes will be cheaper giving you the option for a larger aperture.

But I see you have a Dob, do you already have a mount that will take a frac?  Worth remembering that this may take up some of your budget.

Mount Mount Mount  is to astronomy what location, location, location is to house buying- this has been said many times before and I totally agree.

It's more important to get a top notch mount than it is to get top quality optics - balancing a jelly on a rubber band is not recommended.

Reasonable optics on a brill mount will render better images than brill optics on a dodgy mount.

The OP already said he has a mount but it will not be enough to support the size of scope he's looking at and has a seperate budget for the mount and any accesories that are needed. Though did say what that budget was.

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Hi,

Lots of good advice!

For me I have a WO 132mm triplet. Very good but the view is just too tight for imaging all of the most easily viewable objects. This for me is the Seven Sisters, Andromeda and Orion. Would need a 0.7 reducer. I am contemplating a 85/100mm now. So it comes down to what you want to view. A wider field can always be tightened with a 2x or 4x convertor. Cannot do better than 0.6 ish really with a reducer. I know there are 0.33 available but not sure if they will work with all scopes. Imaging brings in new problems! I really don't think there is a one size fits all available. You just have to narrow down what you want to do with the scope. Whatever you choose you will require the best mount available for the cost.

Better mount first, possibly! Then scope to match!

A poor mount means unsatisfied astronomer.

Regards and best of luck.

 Derek

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I bought my first scope last year, the Altair Astro 115EDT. After reading Ollys review and a few others i bought it with the intention of having it for quite a while and i am not dissapointed, i have nothing to compare it to but its a quality scope. I just got a CCD so looking forward to taking my imaging with it to another level. Check out the link in my signature to see the images i've grabbed so far with a DSLR.

Callum

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Hi Jabe001, Plenty of ideas and advice so far on this thread.May I suggest that it might also be worth having a read through Neil English's very informative 'Choosing and using a Refracting Telescope'?  I've just recently received a copy via Amazon,and whilst it was published in 2011,it covers a lot of ground re Achro/Apo scopes and their uses,focal lengths,CA etc,etc and a whole gaggle of Refractors from various suppliers that are available.Well worth a read before 'splashing the cash' imho!

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