Advice and Opinions

[kz1bob]

Hi All,

I am looking to upgrade to a new telescope and would value any advice and opinions. I have done a LOT of reading and my brain is ready to explode.

I am looking to get into astrophotography, starting with moon and planetary, then attempt some deep sky objects. Most of the astrophotographers I see online and in articles are primarily using refractors. The downside of refractors is the cost compared to a reflector.

For similar prices I can get an 80mm achromatic refractor or a 150mm reflector specifically set up for prime focus photography.

Any advice and opinions on preferences or experiences will be greatly appreciated and will help me with my decision. Thanks in advance for your help.

[Tzitzis]

Astrophotography is an expensive sport. As I understand from your post you are not adie hard wannabe astrophotographer. You don't want to image only. So in my humble opinion you should get a reflector 150pds or something like that on an EQ mount to be able to track. You could also use it for visual. More experienced imagers and observers will give you a more established opinion on the matter but I believe you could start imaging with a kit like that and keep it for visual too and if you are interested in doing more and better imaging you could upgrade later.

 

[xtreemchaos]

if you want to get into AP a good scope would be a ED80 DS PRO, there a lot of scope for the £349 "thats what i gave for mine a year ago from FLO" mount wise a driven EQ5 or Heq5  you can pick a 2hand eq5 for around £150 or the heq5 from £35O to £500 depending if you want a goto or not, ive seen the ed80 go for as little as £220 2hand but sadly thay dont come up for sale as often as the mounts. goodluck,  charl.

[ChrisLX200]

For DSO imaging it is not the scope (the Optical Tube Assembly or OTA) that does the hard work - it is the mount. You could put almost anything on a good mount and get acceptable results, or you could put the finest OTA available onto a poor mount and get absolute rubbish. So choose the mount first, and the guiding system, then choose an OTA within its carrying capabilities. Note that planetary and Lunar imaging has different priorities because exposures are very short indeed - perhaps milliseconds - but if you buy equipment suitable for that it likely will be of little use for DSO imaging where exposures run into several minutes (at least).

ChrisH

[Uranium235]

If youre going down the AP route, then you need to sort the mount out first. I reckon an HEQ5 is the entry level mount for stress-free imaging.

[Astrosurf]

Agreed about the mount. But you could go for a SW Star Adventurer with a small frac. It would need a sturdy tripod though.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-star-adventurer-astronomy-bundle.html

Alexxx

[freiform]

To offer some middle-ground between an HEQ5 and the Star Adventurer, I would like to throw in an EQ5 class mount. My Vixen GP with Synscan does a good job tracking my lenses and scopes and even guides properly if I'm so inclined.

But if you're considering longer focal lengths and heavier OTAs, even in the long run, then I would indeed look for something in the HEQ5 class.

 

Sven

[D4N]

A small frac is easier to get started on DSO imaging as the short focal length and low weight/windage make accurate tracking and guiding much easier.

This allows you to get away with a much cheaper mount.

 

A small frac isn't so useful for planetary imaging though, however you say you are upgrading, it is possible that your current scope may be suitable for that.

[Knighty2112]

Hope you have plenty of money in your bank account! You're going to need it!  

[happy-kat]

I think first consider the type of images you want to create, this will point you towards the kit you might need. It doesn't need to be expensive it depends on how far you want to go and your expectations.

Assuming you already have a dslr. You could build a barn door mount. Our you could use the dslr and a lens on an equatorial mount. You might only want to dabble and a tracking altaz mount with a nice visual telescope like the star discovery 150p (and a diy focuser tweak) might suit you to start imaging planets and dso, or you really want to get serious and need a very good eq mount. You might have other considerations, does setup need to be quick, do I mind lugging multiple things out side etc.

[kz1bob]

Quote

 

Thanks for all the input, very much appreciate it. My current mount is an EQ-3 Pro w/ Synscan. I am looking at the Skywatcher 150PDS OTA. I have an Olympus DSLR with t-ring and have taken some okay pictures of the sun (with my SW 130P - this one is moving to another family  ). As i get more proficient, i will move on to a CCD camera.

Yes, fully appreciate the money pit I am stepping into, but it looks like fun. You know what they say, you can't take it with you.

[freiform]

Although I never tried it, I don't think a 150PDS is much fun on an EQ3 photographically. Personally, if I wanted to stick with that mount, I would get a small refractor like already mentioned above. This is much better suited for the mount, will be easier to handle and will cause much less trouble.

[wimvb]

8 hours ago, kz1bob said:

Thanks for all the input, very much appreciate it. My current mount is an EQ-3 Pro w/ Synscan. I am looking at the Skywatcher 150PDS OTA. I have an Olympus DSLR with t-ring and have taken some okay pictures of the sun (with my SW 130P - this one is moving to another family  ). As i get more proficient, i will move on to a CCD camera.

Yes, fully appreciate the money pit I am stepping into, but it looks like fun. You know what they say, you can't take it with you.

I have this mount with a sw 150P and recently updated to an AZ-EQ6. Imo the eq3 is no good in combination with the 150P.  Too many exposures wasted convinced me to upgrade. With just the scope the mount is near its maximum payload and the tripod is not stable enough for astrophotography.

My advice: the EQ3 with a short focal length scope or a lens, or the 150PDS on a heavier mount (HEQ5).

[2STAR]

On 7/14/2016 at 12:48, kz1bob said:

Hi All,

I am looking to upgrade to a new telescope and would value any advice and opinions. I have done a LOT of reading and my brain is ready to explode.

I am looking to get into astrophotography, starting with moon and planetary, then attempt some deep sky objects. Most of the astrophotographers I see online and in articles are primarily using refractors. The downside of refractors is the cost compared to a reflector.

For similar prices I can get an 80mm achromatic refractor or a 150mm reflector specifically set up for prime focus photography.

Any advice and opinions on preferences or experiences will be greatly appreciated and will help me with my decision. Thanks in advance for your help.

Have you considered EAA ?

[ollypenrice]

For good DS results at telescopic focal lengths I would go for an HEQ5 (much more capable under guiding the the EQ5) and a 130 or 150 P. These Newts are not as easy as the small refractor option but they are generally faster and are certainly much cheaper. There are people posting world class images from them on this very forum.

One thing I will say, and from experience, is that buying twice is the most expensive way to buy anything...

Olly

[kz1bob]

Thank you all for your comments and advice. It has been hugely helpful. At least for the time being I will stick with my EQ-3 Pro mount with an eye to upgrade it as I get experience.

For the telescope, I have narrowed the choices to either the Skywatcher Startravel 102T/500 (f4.9) and the Bresser Messier AR-102S/600 (f5.9). They are roughly the same price. I am leaning towards the Bresser at the moment as the upgrade to a 1:10 focus gearset is about half the cost of the one for the Skywatcher.

Any thoughts on either 'scope (or other 'scopes to consider) greatly appreciated.

James

[D4N]

If you're handy you can build your own motor focus unit for not too much money and these can be attached directly to the focuser shaft negating the need for the 1/10 gearing.

[wimvb]

I believe that these scopes are mainly intended for observing and not photography. As such they suffer from chromatic abberation. For astrophotpgraphy you would need an apochromatic telescope such as the skywatcher ED80. These are more expensive, as Olly pointed out.