SW 130pds or 150pds

[JonC]

Hi all,

currently contemplating getting one of the skywatcher pds scopes, combined with a EQ5. Initially to use visual, but I would like to try some AP later (have dslr and toucam). Just wondering why people go seem to grab the 130pds over the 150pds. Is it because of the size of mount required and price? On the EQ5 front, I would probably add the motor drive, I already have portable power. I really need protability as well, hence preferring EQ5 over anything bigger, my garden is surrounded by highish trees, but I have some reasonable sites nearby. PS currently using an etx-105 for visual.

Cheers

Jon

[ecuador]

I can't think of a reason to go with the 130 if you can afford the 150. Some people get the 200 with the eq5 and in that case I would tell you it is marginal for visual use bad for photo, plus the 200 is starting to get heavy and long for easy handling, but not the 150.

[astromerlin]

I chose the 130pds as an imaging scope with a dslr mainly for the wider fov.

[nightfisher]

The 130 is better for imaging, the 150 is better for visual

[glowjet]

The 150 will have more light gathering power than the 130, something to consider

[Tinker1947]

The 150 has a Adapter to take a Moonlight focuser, the 130 does not......

[Uranium235]

The 150 will be too heavy for an eq5 (when combined with imaging train and guidescope), and the focal length too long for a beginner (tougher guiding). The 130 also cools quicker and is about as "grab & go" as a newtonian can be.

Also, the cost difference between the two can go towards a coma corrector.

[Thalestris24]

Hi

+1 for the 130pds - at least for imaging. It's noticeably lighter and more portable than the 150pds. Add a gso coma corrector and the fl increases to 715mm at f5.5 so then close to the 150pds. Consequently the cc also brings the focus point out which stops focus tube intrusion. I just put a SW 'autofocuser' on mine which gets better focus than I can usually manage to achieve manually. The autofocuser also holds focus very well. The 130pds does need an added weight at the primary end in order to balance it with a camera attached.

Louise

[ecuador]

Wow, interesting, so many people prefer the 130. I have the 200PDS which is just a bit too heavy for my favorite mount (ZEQ25) and it makes me to have to (reluctantly) take the HEQ5 out, so I was thinking of getting a 150PDS which is relatively small to my eyes, after living with the 200. But others think even that is too big!

[Uranium235]

There is a good reason why the dinky 130pds caused a few ripples amongst imagers, if you havent seen this thread : 

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/210593-imaging-with-the-130pds/page-1

It's kinda become the showcase thread for this little pocket rocket of a telescope. Iv'e half a mind to point Mr Skywatcher in its direction, see if we can get some kind of commission on sales....lol... yea right! 

[JonC]

There is a good reason why the dinky 130pds caused a few ripples amongst imagers, if you havent seen this thread : 

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/210593-imaging-with-the-130pds/page-1

It's kinda become the showcase thread for this little pocket rocket of a telescope. Iv'e half a mind to point Mr Skywatcher in its direction, see if we can get some kind of commission on sales....lol... yea right! 

I was originally thinking about the 150pds, but that thread made me consider the 130pds instead. Are there any big negatives on the pds for visual?

[LukeSkywatcher]

I would have said go for the larger aperture, but in this case i seem to be wrong. The 130 has smaller aperture (whats an inch between friends), but seems to have wider possibilities regarding imaging and visual. 

[ecuador]

I was originally thinking about the 150pds, but that thread made me consider the 130pds instead. Are there any big negatives on the pds for visual?

Theoretically the slightly larger secondary might reduce contrast by a bit over the "P" version, however people comparing them head to head don't see a difference. But the P has a worse focuser and if you ever need to connect a DSLR you might have issues.

If you are more for visual than astrophoto, I would still go for the 150 despite the raves for the 130 in photography. If you go to a dark sky, the 33% extra light-gathering of a 6" over a 5" will give you a fair advantage for deep space observing. And if you do get more serious with astrophotography, you will get the matched Skywatcher 0.9x comma corrector, which will make the 150PDS a 675mm telescope, which is quite a manageable focal length for guiding and provides a good field of view.

Note that it is possible I am too optimistic about EQ5. I haven't owned one so I am extrapolating based on its stats from my HEQ5. However, if you can afford a much superior mount, especially for astrophotography, you should look at the ultimate in portability: the iOptron ZEQ25GT. Its mount head is just 4.8kg, yet it handles loads up to 27lbs, and its best part is that it is small enough that I never have to disassemble anything, I throw it with its tripod and open legs (but not extended of course) in the car and go! You take it out, lift it with one hand, extend the legs with the other, and set it down for polar alignment!

[DaveS]

The 150 has a Adapter to take a Moonlight focuser, the 130 does not......

Looking at the focuser mounting I think it would take a Starlight Feathertouch.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/starlight-instruments-feather-touch-2inch-crayford-focusers/feathertouch-crayford-focuser-for-newtonian-telescopes.html

The blurb says suitable for the Explorer series among others. But as it's more expensive than a 130 PDS and Baader MPCC it could be considered a touch extravagant.

[KAYVEE62]

Hello folks , I'm pretty much in the same boat as JonC , I've not posted any questions for ages but always read the different topics that are posted , I'm totally new to stargazing ,researched a hell of a lot , and I have read " making every photon count " , my goal is to try my hand at AP eventually , and I've whittled down my choice to an EQ5 deluxe mount, with either the SW 130 or 150 pds , so baring in mind that all fields of astronomy are going to be a steep learning curve to me , and I will be mainly observing to begin with do I go for the 130 or 150 pds , lastly I've read on here about people having there dlsr's modded , what does this mean ? Sorry to get in on Jon Cs post but the topic is the same , and didn't want to start a new thread , thanks

[Tinker1947]

Hello folks , I'm pretty much in the same boat as JonC , I've not posted any questions for ages but always read the different topics that are posted , I'm totally new to stargazing ,researched a hell of a lot , and I have read " making every photon count " , my goal is to try my hand at AP eventually , and I've whittled down my choice to an EQ5 deluxe mount, with either the SW 130 or 150 pds , so baring in mind that all fields of astronomy are going to be a steep learning curve to me , and I will be mainly observing to begin with do I go for the 130 or 150 pds , lastly I've read on here about people having there dlsr's modded , what does this mean ? Sorry to get in on Jon Cs post but the topic is the same , and didn't want to start a new thread , thanks

Have a look on this site, it will explain how and why.....

http://cheapastrophotography.vpweb.co.uk/default.html

[JonC]

Will check out that site myself . Have now ordered a 130pds from astroboot, need to figure out what mount to go for.

[Tinker1947]

Will check out that site myself . Have now ordered a 130pds from astroboot, need to figure out what mount to go for.

The mount makes all the difference the bigger the better a NEQ6 would be good, a AZ-EQ6-GT would be better if there's more money ask for more assistance........

[ecuador]

Yeah, OK, since I am the minority preferring the 150PDS, I went ahead and ordered a 130PDS from Astroboot just to have a first hand experience.  Let's see how it does compared to an 80ED...

It should be a great match with the ZEQ25 which is always my preferred mount, but can't handle too large OTAs. The new iOptron iEQ30 Pro should also be a great choice if you have the budget and prefer a more traditional german equatorial mount. Things like NEQ6 and larger are definitely not portable (unless you have a very relaxed definition for the word). I even find HEQ5 a chore to move after I got a small iOptron - hence if you want portability and astrophotography capability you should really take a look at the small iOptrons.

[laser_jock99]

Alternatively.......have the best of both worlds and get the GSO 150mm F4

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p4762_GSO-6--Imaging-Newton---150mm-Oeffnung-f-4---2--MONORAIL.html

A purpose built imaging Newtonian with the aperture of the 150PDS the short tube length and wide FOV of the 130PDS and optically faster than either!

More expensive- yes but it does have a slightly better focuser.

GSO 6" F4- not much bigger than an EQ6 head

[ecuador]

Alternatively.......have the best of both worlds and get the GSO 150mm F4

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p4762_GSO-6--Imaging-Newton---150mm-Oeffnung-f-4---2--MONORAIL.html

A purpose built imaging Newtonian with the aperture of the 150PDS the short tube length and wide FOV of the 130PDS and optically faster than either!

More expensive- yes but it does have a slightly better focuser.

Ah, yes, that looks nice. But it is quite a bit more expensive (e.g. right now the 130PDS is £110 on astroboot - £160 in other places including a nice 2" eyepiece, while the GSO also needs a dovetail) and I've heard f4s are a bit picky in collimation. I've only owned down to f5. But at just 5.4kg it should be very easy on small mounts.

[laser_jock99]

Undoubtably the collimation needs to be spot on at F4 (and so it should be at F5 for imaging for that matter). But the current price of the GSO is rather puzzling. When they originally appeared on the market they were 289 Euros and roughly comparable with the 150PDS (if you factored in the better monorail focuser). Then, inexplicably last year the price jumped up 100 Euros when no other GSO scopes did.

This could mean that either they were more expensive to produce than GSO originally allowed for (I guess an F4 mirror is harder to mass produce than an F5) or GSO realised the had a niche product with no competition (there is no 150mm Skywatcher F4 Quattro for instance) and felt they could charge a premium for it?

Luckily I got mine at the old price!

EDIT- and I won't be selling it any time soon either. Coupled with the ASA Keller 0.7x reducer/coma corrector it becomes a very nice F2.9 widefield photon hoover.

[ecuador]

EDIT- and I won't be selling it any time soon either. Coupled with the ASA Keller 0.7x reducer/coma corrector it becomes a very nice F2.9 widefield photon hoover.

Holy mother, that's 864 Euro for that reducer! Unless it was 164 euro previously and you got it at that price!   Do you have a sample image with a big (say APS-C) sensor and the TS f4+reducer?

[Edward Dewolf]

I was dead set on a 150dps, now after seeing this post and other posts in here, I start doubting again.  I want to do visual but also AP.  Anyone else cares to weigh in since 2015? ANy new perspectives.

[alexbb]

25 minutes ago, Edward Dewolf said:

I was dead set on a 150dps, now after seeing this post and other posts in here, I start doubting again.  I want to do visual but also AP.  Anyone else cares to weigh in since 2015? ANy new perspectives.

No, not much since 2015. Only one addition from me. I scratched a little my primary 130mm mirror and I don't find replacement mirrors this small. 150mm mirrors I can find instead.