ED or Not ED

[Maximus]

Hi Everyone,

I'm still trying to decide what to go for in the way of a telescope and refractors seem to be catching my eye at themoment.

For my budget I could get either something like...

Celestron 102 SLT

Skywatcher 120 on a EQ3-2 mount

Skywatcher 120 on a EQ5 mount

Celestron XLT 120 on a CG4 mount

Celestron C80-R on a CG5 mount

At the moment I really like the C80 however is this unrealistic for what is basically going to be a scope for a beginner? The C80 is really pushing my budget to the limit (don't tell the wife ) which will mean there will be nothing left to get any extra eyepieces or to motorise the mount. I'am really wanting to be able to do astrophotography with the Nikon D40x that I have, I know I'll have to wait to get the adaptors but if it means i'll get a scope that will last me then i'll wait for a while until I can afford them.

The next question i need to ask though is realistically would the C80 with its ED glass be that much better if any than the 102 or 120's listed above? I've seen some nice photo's of Nebula taken with a Onyx 80 on the Celestron website, do i have any hope of getting something similar with the C80 or any of the others listed above?

The other consideration is the camera I have, will the scopes be able to handle the weight of the Nikon?

Thanks

Ivan

[Aaron]

Hi Ivan, welcome to the forum, personally I would gor for the C80 ED-R on the CG5, just looked at the price on FLO, ubelievable value for money, I'd grab one soon before they're gone http://www.firstlightoptics.com/products.php?cat=39, this scope is basically the same as the Skywatcher ED Pro, optically its superior to the other scopes, being as the obejective lens is made from FPL-53 ED Glass, this will give good contrasty images virtually free of false colour and with the CG5 mount they will make a good combination for a start into Astro-photography with your Nikon, if you go for this setup with the intention of Astro-photography you will need to make sure that your mount is upgraded with motorised drives, hth.

[Maximus]

I'll probably get the camera adaptors next and then the motors.

[Maximus]

Has anyone got any images taken using the C80? It would be great to see what I could expect from a scope like this.

What sort of difference could you expect, image wise between the C102, 102 XLT, 120 XLT and the C80?

Thanks

Ivan

[ngc2403]

hello,

i have not used that scope but i think that it is the best of the bunch. and that set-up will last you a while as you seek to find your imaging feet. the eq5 is a better mount though i feel but not by much if any.

ally

[dogfish]

Hi Ivan

Just put ED80 into the search box and you'll find tons of images taken with this scope. It's extremely popular as an imaging tool, although most will probably have been taken with the Skywatcher version, which is pretty much the same scope.

HTH, Martin

[Ant]

Personally I think that the ED would be worth the extra money.

This is a link to an image taken with the Canon dSLR and Revelation APO,which is very similar although not identical to the C80 (if the C80 uses FPL53 glass then it is better than my scope which uses the FPL51).

http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php/topic,28543.0.html

Ant

[Maximus]

Thanks for alll the help guys.

Ivan