First Scope

[Goldigger]

Hi all,

Looking to hear people's opinions on the following scopes

Celestron Nexstar 127SLT

Celestron Nexstar 6SE

Celestron Nexstar Evo 6

OK the reason I've added the 6 Evo is because if add the WiFi adapter, power supply, Celestron Xcel eyepiece to the 6SE it's pretty much the same price.

Settled on a MAK as space is an issue, has to be goto as it will easier for my son to use the app on the iPad.

Edit.. I forgot to add that these scopes don't fowl the mount and are better suited to small people, which is important for my son.

[cloudsweeper]

The 127 SLT is a great 'scope - very portable, GoTo, good aperture and mag range, not bad fields of view.  Shouldn't be a problem with hitting the mount, and you can keep the tripod legs short as well.  It will need a power supply, and if you want to use WiFi, it will need the module.  (Don't recall whether the 127 can take a module - check this out!  I had one on my 8SE, but preferred just using GoTo via the hand controller.)

The others are much dearer, with slightly bigger aperture, and I don't think you'd notice a huge improvement in performance - others might like to comment here!  Since all three have the same focal length, you'd be getting the same mags, EP for EP, and ditto fields of view.   So if you went for the 127 SLT, you'd have cash over for the power pack and good EPs. 

Doug.

[Goldigger]

Thanks for your reply Doug. 

I spent a good deal of time in Tringastro yesterday looking at all the scopes, one of the points with the MAK was the mount not being that sturdy. Not sure if people can comment on that? I'm just thinking it's going to be knocked by my son numerous times and having to realign the scope.

Regarding the WiFi adapter it appears to be compatible with the MAK..

COMPATIBILITY INFORMATION
SkyQ Link 2 is compatible with the following Celestron mounts:

Advanced VX
CG-5 (requires compatible cable)
CGE Pro
CGEM
CGEM DX
CPC
LCM
NexStar Evolution
NexStar SLT
NexStar SE
SkyProdigy (no automatic alignment)

[happy-kat]

Perhaps your son after a couple sessions will learn not to knock the telescope once he learns what it is all about.

You don't have to fully extend the legs and sitting on a chair/stool is helpful to observing and the mount would be more stable.

[cloudsweeper]

44 minutes ago, Goldigger said:

Thanks for your reply Doug. 

I spent a good deal of time in Tringastro yesterday looking at all the scopes, one of the points with the MAK was the mount not being that sturdy. Not sure if people can comment on that? I'm just thinking it's going to be knocked by my son numerous times and having to realign the scope.

Regarding the WiFi adapter it appears to be compatible with the MAK..

COMPATIBILITY INFORMATION
SkyQ Link 2 is compatible with the following Celestron mounts:

Advanced VX
CG-5 (requires compatible cable)
CGE Pro
CGEM
CGEM DX
CPC
LCM
NexStar Evolution
NexStar SLT
NexStar SE
SkyProdigy (no automatic alignment)

Thought so - then you could get the WiFi module for the 127 Mak.

The mount is not super-sturdy - I used to put some ballast on the tray!  Just make sure the young 'un knows to avoid knocking it.  But anyway, even a sturdy tripod can easily be disturbed: my AZ4-2 is like three telegraph poles, but the slightest kick will shift it somewhat!

Doug.

[Goldigger]

Im swinging towards the 6 evo.

Down the line I'd like to try and take some pictures, I understand that I would need to use a focal reducer for the best results? How much difference will this £100 outlay make?

It would be nice to get some DSO images, but I understand the long focal length isn't ideal for long exposures. Hence why I'm looking at the focal reducer.

Would I get better results from a planetary camera/webcam shooting video then extracting the best frames for registax? Rather than attaching a DSLR? Or can I just use the DSLR to capture the video?

Sorry trying to run before I can walk, but spending £1039 on the evo 6 I want to make sure it's capable of some decent images before I commit.

I've read the slt 127 has a poor mount that isn't much good for astrophotography. Beside the supplied eyepieces aren't much good either.

My Son's going to want pictures for his bedroom and to take to school.

Thanks for your help and comments.

[happy-kat]

Both mounts work by tiny left right up down movements, this keeps the object in the field of view but does not account for rotation, which is fine if observing but if imaging this is where the long expsoure limit comes in.

However neither mount presents a no go, just you have to know what the limitations are and in either case I would take the Mac off and use the DSLR with either a camera lense or buy a refractor. The No EQ challenge thread shows what the limits are for this type of mount the guys imaging at the end of the thread are pushing this right up to what is possible. But imaging unless it is the Moon is a process (planerty can still be a process but less involved then DSO), which may be beyond what a young person is prepared to spend time doing. The members pushing the limits on that thread are using those mounts because that is what they have or suits what they can use, not for everyone a heavy EQ mount. There is no perfect solution for observing and imaging from one setup.

link

Planerty/Moon works well with a webcam rather than a DSLR due to image scale, get a bigger size with a webcam over a DSLR.

[Goldigger]

Thanks for the link, the pics in that thread were just the examples I was looking for.

[happy-kat]

If you start the thread from the beginning you'll get an idea of the journey. If you really into it and have space, time, your solution may be different and involve an eq mount. Observing loves large aperatures, imaging can often be a small refractor or camera and lens.  If you can get to an astro shop it might help you understand the size, weight of different equipment.

[Ben the Ignorant]

Don't know about the mounts but the 150mm is less likely to give you regrets than the 127mm scope, power-wise. I had settled on 150mm as the minimum for my first real scope, but the only solid and complete tabletop scope at that time was a 127mm Schmidt-Cass. So that's what I got, and it gave me plenty of super-convenient observing for years, but today I would get the 150, no doubt about that.

[spillage]

I have a 127 slt and although I do not use it that much its a great pop up scope. Although the mount is light you can take planetary images with a cam but it is also easy to move around and handle.

My eq mount is more stable but I find that with it once you pick you spot thats it as you have to polar align. With the slt you can just pick it up and move it and run 2 or 3 star alignment then your good to go.

I did use the scope on the eq5 for some dso shots with my dslr and they were not that bad.

I think for a first telescope they are okay and you can always sell it on when and if you decide to upgrade.

If imaging is going to be your thing then you should look at a heq5 or neq6 and maybe a 130pds.

 

 

[Linda]

My husband did some atempts to take pictures through my Mak127mm on an EQ3, using a mirror reflex camera. This did not succeed, because the flop of the camera mirror would cause too much tremble.

I have understood that refractors are easier for learning to photograph.

[Goldigger]

Picked up the 6 evo yesterday, set it up and left it outside while the sky was nice and clear..

Apologies it's my fault that it clouded over and I for one didn't get to look at anything, nor did my excited son.

Not impressed with the red dot finder scope, it's at the end of it adjustment to get it aligned. Even still being slightly off.

Tempted to take an old air gun scope and fit that.

Any recommendations on q better finder scope?

[Linda]

Good red dot finders are Rigel Quikfinder and Telrad. A gun finder would also do, but is not serve the purpose as a red dot finder, as it magnifies.

[happy-kat]

Gosh you work fast.

RDF gets you into the area/fov for a low powered eyepiece then you can fine tune. Can't say on my different setup it has ever been more accurate than that.

[Goldigger]

Got the goto to work, although it wasn't always spot on no matter how many alignments I gave it.

My Son was happy when he could see the stones on the moon..lol.. I told him they were craters. He also saw M27, even though it just looked like a cloud.

Got a fairy decent view of the Hercules cluster, ring nebula was just that.. a little ring.

No other planets to see tonight.

Guess I need a 2 x Barlow now.

[happy-kat]

You will see more the more times you look, it is an observing game, the more you see something the more you will see in that object.

Averted vision is also something to learn. Couple that with a google afterwards to see what it was you saw and how far away and how large, can really bring it to life.

Make sure the mount is level. When aliging I gather it is best to not pick Polaris for a star and also chose stars at oposing sides of the sky if you can.

Have fun

 

ooh you might like 'The Lunar 100' things to find to tick off with your son.