What scope?

[RParker762]

I have been out of the astronomy game for a while and when my wife bought me a Meade 114mm reflector, the tripod left me with a sour taste in my mouth and pushed everything aside to focus on other things. Well with my recent purchase of a Canon EOS 1000D I have renewed my interest and am looking to get another scope. My last scope before this was an 8" Meade Dob. Loved that scope. I have been reading up on here and had thought I was going to get a Celestron Nexstar 4SE or the 6 SE but see that might not be the way to go so I thought I'd ask here.

 

 

What I want to do:

Goto and tracking

General observing of planets, the moon and , some DSOs

Some wide field photography ( thinking piggy backed )

and some through the scope long exposures

Something somewhat easy to set up and as portable as can be for what I want.

 

I would like to keep it as cheap as possible but really looking to spend between $500 and $700 dollars. I know my price range limits what I can do and I don't have caviar dreams. I just want something that will keep me interested while viewing and provide decent views.

 

Also I am in the US.

 

Some of what I had been considering:

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Refractor-Telescopes/Refractor-Telescopes-for-Astrophotography/Orion-StarBlast-80mm-AutoTracker-amp-Beginner-Barlow-Kit/pc/1/c/10/sc/337/p/106870.uts

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Cassegrain-Telescopes/Celestron-NexStar-4SE-GoTo-Maksutov-Cassegrain-Telescope/pc/-1/c/1/sc/14/p/9912.uts?sortByColumnName=SortByPriceAscending

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/GoTo-Computerized-Telescopes/Orion-StarSeeker-IV-80mm-GoTo-Refractor-Telescope-Kit/pc/-1/c/1/sc/15/p/114845.uts

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/GoTo-Computerized-Telescopes/Orion-StarBlast-6i-IntelliScope-Reflector-Telescope/pc/-1/c/1/sc/15/p/102026.uts?sortByColumnName=SortByPriceAscending

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/GoTo-Computerized-Telescopes/Celestron-NexStar-5SE-GoTo-Schmidt-Cassegrain-Telescope/pc/-1/c/1/sc/15/p/9944.uts?sortByColumnName=SortByPriceAscending

[ecuador]

First of all, your list about what you want to do contains everything Instead of saying you want to see planets, moon, DSOs, perhaps prioritize, which objects do you enjoy observing more based on your previous experience? If it is mainly planets and you don't mind a narrow field of view that won't fit some large DSOs like open clusters etc, then the Maks might be a good idea.

Then, you say you are thinking about piggy-back photography and also prime focus long exposure photography, but you have not listed even one equatorial mount, which would be the most appropriate by far. Most of the ones you list are marginal for the scope they are lifting, so they wouldn't be good for lifting a camera with a decent lens and even if they did you will limit your exposures due to the fact they are alt-az. The NexStars are the only exceptions since they include a wedge with their tripod and they would allow you for some (relatively short compared to a proper equatorial mount) exposures, but the slow Maks are really great for planets and not so much for deep space photography (especially the 4SE at an extremely slow f/13).

So what I am saying, the only one that is sort of covering most of your points is the 5SE, which is great, especially for observing (and photographing) planets, but I'd urge you to look into an equatorial package if you think you might be interested in astrophotography (perhaps with a Newtonian not slower than f/6 if you want good performance with DSOs and low price). In Europe, the "entry level" astrophotography package would be a Skywatcher 130PDS on an EQ3 Synscan mount, but I am not sure what's available in the US.

[kendg]

Unfortunatly, when it comes to astrophotography things get expensive fast. 

That being said, I was happy with my 6SE until I started bumping into its limits.

 

[Alan64]

It's actually $559 when you place it in the virtual shopping-cart for purchase... http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart_accessories&A=details&Q=&sku=1124463&is=REG&bundleId=1124463REG

And since you've had a couple of Newtonians in the past...

http://www.highpointscientific.com/celestron-omni-xlt-150-newtonian-reflector-optical-tube-assembly-ota-31057ota?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=CEL-31057-OTA&gclid=CI_Vv57J28sCFYo2gQodZJoLHQ

They now ship with 2" focussers, and with both items near the stated budget.

Unfortunately, a go-to EQ3-class equatorial is not available in the States.

[laudropb]

I am afraid your budget will not let you do all the things in your wish list. It is a matter of finding a compromise that will achieve the majority, but long exposures are really out of your reach.

[RParker762]

I had more time to read other posts and came to the realization that the photography is going to have to wait, well , most of it anyways. Since I have only owned reflectors, I don't want to get something that will dissapoint. I am shifting the main focus to ease of use and setup and something that will give me good views. A goto or tracking mount would be nice if I decided to do some piggy back photos.

While it doesn't provide the goto or tracking I would like, I keep coming back to this refractor as well and they make a add-on drive system for it:

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Refractor-Telescopes/Refractor-Telescopes-with-Equatorial-Mounts/Celestron-Omni-XLT-102-Refractor-Telescope/pc/1/c/10/sc/335/p/9142.uts

 

Also, I am looking at fixing the Meade 114mm mount to make it more stable but not sure how I will replace the legs yet. Might just try and see if another EQ mount will work with it.

 

[Louis D]

How about spending the money on a nice tracking platform?  You could stick your dob on it for visual use, or even planetary photography with a barlow to reach focus.  You could put any photography tripod on it and take wide field or even moderately telephoto shots.  Think of it as a long term investment like a good mount.

[Alan64]

11 hours ago, RParker762 said:

I had more time to read other posts and came to the realization that the photography is going to have to wait, well , most of it anyways. Since I have only owned reflectors, I don't want to get something that will dissapoint. I am shifting the main focus to ease of use and setup and something that will give me good views. A goto or tracking mount would be nice if I decided to do some piggy back photos.

While it doesn't provide the goto or tracking I would like, I keep coming back to this refractor as well and they make a add-on drive system for it:

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Refractor-Telescopes/Refractor-Telescopes-with-Equatorial-Mounts/Celestron-Omni-XLT-102-Refractor-Telescope/pc/1/c/10/sc/335/p/9142.uts

 

Also, I am looking at fixing the Meade 114mm mount to make it more stable but not sure how I will replace the legs yet. Might just try and see if another EQ mount will work with it.

 

That refractor kit is quite popular.  I've read only good things about it.  I have the same mount, the CG-4, and it's quite good.  I modified my own...

...and detailed here... http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/529736-the-celestron-cg-4-unveiled/

In addition to halving the pier-extension, I also shortened the main legs by 7.25".  The entire process was not at all difficult, except for finding a way to cut the pier, which I did.

With the length of that particular refractor, however, the pier-extension might be desired, but not needing a full halving as I required for my own...

http://www.telescope.com/Orion-SkyView-Pro-Telescope-Mount-Extension/p/7393.uts

Many owners have opted for the pier-extension for their CG-4 mount, and to keep their longer refractors from colliding with the tripod's legs.  Still, if you choose to add one, it could be shortened some, perhaps from its dedicated 16" down to 10" or thereabouts.

[Alan64]

Incidentally, if you decide to go with it, I wouldn't order it from Orion...

http://shop.opticsplanet.com/celestron-omni-xlt-102-telescope-refractor-21088.html?_iv_code=CI-TS-21088&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=plusbox-beta&gclid=COqpoLiA3csCFUM8gQodIR8BXg