Thinking of a new scope.

[Astrith]

I am very happy with the Skywatcher 150P  Star Discovery reflector , however I would like to start imaging wider F.O.Vs for  DSOs ..., ( Primarily using the Lodestar XC 2 ) . I am thinking along the lines of the Skywatcher Evostar ED 80 Pro. Are there any other suggestions . Would prefer to stay under £ 800.00 . I am just trying to maximise my choices , with the learned folk on here.  Many thanks for reading.  Alan

[shirva]

If you do decide to go with the ed80 pro ,I would recommend the skywatcher ed80 0.85 focal reducer/flatner,I have both and the ed80 is a great scope and bats well above its price tag.

[Glimpse111]

I have bought SW 120ED DS PRO but never taken out of the box as it looks too heavy for me so I believe 80ED is a good way to start.....

[Astrith]

8 minutes ago, shirva said:

If you do decide to go with the ed80 pro ,I would recommend the skywatcher ed80 0.85 focal reducer/flatner,I have both and the ed80 is a great scope and bats well above its price tag.

Hi Shirva.

 

Actually just been reading your post on the ED 80 .  Could I get by without the reducer and flattener ...would it make a great difference . Not had experience of a refractor before . Cheers. Alan

[Glimpse111]

6 minutes ago, Astrith said:

Hi Shirva.

 

Actually just been reading your post on the ED 80 .  Could I get by without the reducer and flattener ...would it make a great difference . Not had experience of a refractor before . Cheers. Alan

Astrith,

 

Reducer/Flattener is kind of necessary for DSO as 80ED comes with focal length of 600mm (F7.5) which is bit slow for DSO so 0.85 field flattener / focal reducer basically reduces the focal length and provides much improved field-edge correction.

[Astrith]

Just now, Glimpse111 said:

Astrith,

 

Reducer/Flattener is kind of necessary for DSO as 80ED comes with focal length of 600mm (F7.5) which is bit slow for DSO so 0.85 field flattener / focal reducer basically reduces the focal length and provides much improved field-edge correction.

Many thanks for reply Glimpse111 .  Shall buy one. Just been looking at ED80 images on a thread here . Spectacular . ...Alan.

[Glimpse111]

I won't suggest to buy the flattener straight away...rather play with the scope for sometime and in the meanwhile keep looking for a used one on ebay or astrobuysell it does come up sometimes at good price.

[xtreemchaos]

hi mate, i had the ed80 for over a year now, cracking little scope with great optics, i dont use a ff\ reducer, but it must be a advantage to have a nice flatfield. im happy how it performs without. goodluck and clear skys  charl. 

[Astrith]

Cheers Chaos . All the best. !!  Alan

[DoctorD]

Hi

I have an INED70 and am happy with its performance with my Lodestar-C when used with a 1.25" x0.5 reducer. 

Also makes a great wise field visual scope. 

HTH

Paul

[Astrith]

1 hour ago, DoctorD said:

Hi

I have an INED70 and am happy with its performance with my Lodestar-C when used with a 1.25" x0.5 reducer. 

Also makes a great wise field visual scope. 

HTH

Paul

Cheers Paul. Thats the re-assurance I was looking for . I have a far better idea now . Big thanks.  Alan.

[aparker]

This may be harder to get on your side of the pond, but fwiw I love my AstroTech ED72.  Only 420mm FL, really nice mechanically, very well corrected for an inexpensive doublet.  They are around $400 new, even cheaper if you can find a used one.  You should not need a flattener with any reasonable refracor when using a small sensor like the Lodestar.  Might be a different story with a DSLR or other large chip.

[Ain Soph Aur]

I have the a C80ED and AT72ED and like them both. For VA/EAA I prefer the faster AT72ED at f/6. I've only used it with the Astrotech x0.8 reducer/flattener for EA so far and even at f/4.8 its a nice 0.8º x 1º f.o.v. with the Lodestar. I've not tried it yet with the SX-825 but that would be 1.12º x 1.57º.

[RobertI]

A variant of the AT72 is avilable in the UK as the Altair Astro Lightwave 72:

http://www.altairastro.com/lightwave-72mm-f6-ed-refractor-with-dual-speed-r-p-focuser-alu-case.html

This is also identical to the well respected William Optics Megrez 72 but with a different (and better) R&P focusser. At F6 is a bit faster than the ED80 and I have used a Celestron 0.63 reducer successfully with my Megrez 72 and Lodestar to bring it down to less than F4 which is pretty fast. 

[Ain Soph Aur]

Nice. I am going to order one of the 2" to SCT thread adapters to use the .63 and .33 SCT with my refractors. I finally found a Meade .33 Japan FR! I wasn't aware those could be used with refractors until last evening.... Your verifying the .63 works well with your ED72 give me a bit of hope the .33 may work. The AT72 would be at f/2, lol.

[Astrith]

5 hours ago, aparker said:

This may be harder to get on your side of the pond, but fwiw I love my AstroTech ED72.  Only 420mm FL, really nice mechanically, very well corrected for an inexpensive doublet.  They are around $400 new, even cheaper if you can find a used one.  You should not need a flattener with any reasonable refracor when using a small sensor like the Lodestar.  Might be a different story with a DSLR or other large chip.

Thanks for reply. Will look it up . Alan.

[Astrith]

1 hour ago, RobertI said:

A variant of the AT72 is avilable in the UK as the Altair Astro Lightwave 72:

http://www.altairastro.com/lightwave-72mm-f6-ed-refractor-with-dual-speed-r-p-focuser-alu-case.html

This is also identical to the well respected William Optics Megrez 72 but with a different (and better) R&P focusser. At F6 is a bit faster than the ED80 and I have used a Celestron 0.63 reducer successfully with my Megrez 72 and Lodestar to bring it down to less than F4 which is pretty fast. 

Cheers Rob . Looking on link now.

[Astrith]

4 minutes ago, Astrith said:

Cheers Rob . Looking on link now.

Thats a nice telescope . What are your Lodestar Images on this scope like Rob . Have you a link.

[aparker]

On May 13, 2016 at 17:19, RobertI said:

A variant of the AT72 is avilable in the UK as the Altair Astro Lightwave 72:

http://www.altairastro.com/lightwave-72mm-f6-ed-refractor-with-dual-speed-r-p-focuser-alu-case.html

This is also identical to the well respected William Optics Megrez 72 but with a different (and better) R&P focusser. At F6 is a bit faster than the ED80 and I have used a Celestron 0.63 reducer successfully with my Megrez 72 and Lodestar to bring it down to less than F4 which is pretty fast. 

That does indeed look like exactly the same telescope as the AT72.

[RobertI]

On 13 May 2016 at 23:50, Astrith said:

Thats a nice telescope . What are your Lodestar Images on this scope like Rob . Have you a link.

I am trying to track down some images....will post when I have done so!

[Astrith]

11 minutes ago, RobertI said:

I am trying to track down some images....will post when I have done so!

Hello Rob .

 

I have ordered the 72 ED . Apart from the recommendations , I love the aesthetic appeal of it also . Looks nice shiny and slick.  Just trying to track down some tube rings for it.  Best regards  Alan.

[RobertI]

4 hours ago, Astrith said:

Hello Rob .

 

I have ordered the 72 ED . Apart from the recommendations , I love the aesthetic appeal of it also . Looks nice shiny and slick.  Just trying to track down some tube rings for it.  Best regards  Alan.

Congratulations! I think you will be impressed by how solid and well put together the scope is.

[DoctorD]

Hi Alan

It looks like the 72ED comes with a dovetail mounting foot like the INED70 - this should be more than sufficient if you are only hanging a Lodestar off the back. 

You may need a finder - I use a red dot with my INED70 which does the job given the relatively short focal length. 

HTH

Paul

[Astrith]

Cheers Paul . I have a red dot finder tucked away somewhere will dig it out. .Alan.

[shirva]

Great thread, I can only agree the ed80 is prefect for video astronomy,I bought the skywatcher reducer as I wanted to get a full moon in my shot and get a flatter image,im starting off in a different direction by using my dslr and backyard eos.got a bit of a first light on Saturday night and am delighted..one problem it is very greedy on memory,,I used 32gb in one session