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Skywatcher ED Pro 100 - Upgrade


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Hi - since getting into more serious Astrophotography last year, I'm already looking to upgrade my 100mm Skywatcher ED Pro to a 120mm.

Main reason is I live in a pretty light polluted area and I need all the help I can get with light collection (using a clip-in Astronomik CLS).  I prefer a refractor telescope - otherwise I may have considered a large reflector.

The current scope is in good condition, less than 12 months old - do they hold their values pretty well, and will I have any trouble selling it on to generate funds for the new one?  I noticed I cant post in the classifieds here till I've had 50 posts - I'm some way off that!  Does anyone use Ebay for selling this sort of stuff - or is a specific forum like this better?

Thanks, Andy

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50 posts doesn't take that long... :)   IMHO it would be worth waiting to sell on here - I've found buyers for the majority of my stuff before without problem.  Price at 70% of new seems to work and is generally accepted.  There is also a site called AstroBuySell UK - I've seen it mentioned many times and there's lots for sale there although I've never needed to put my stuff on there for sale.

I'm not sure though for AP how much increasing your aperture will actually help!  If it was for visual observation then sure.

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For the price of the 120 (which will enhance both signal AND light pollution whilst not doing much for the SNR), you could be either all of the way to or part of the way to one of the ZWO ASI cooled monochrome cameras and a set of filters and filter wheel. What you need for light pollution is good quality filters at specific wavelengths and a camera that can make best use of them. If money was no object, a dedicated good quality CCD might be the best option, but on a budget, the ASI cameras can do an excellent job.

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Thanks for the responses - very useful.

Maybe I'm getting my priorities wrong with the larger scope, because I do mostly use it for AP.  I figured it might help reduce the exposure time - or improve the images for the time I do actually get.  There's nothing like a bit of pure visual viewing too though - especially when the likes of Saturn and Jupiter are about.

70% of the original purchase price is a good guide - thanks.  I have all the original accessories (inc the matched reducer - all in excellent condition).  If I do go for the 120mm - what are peoples thoughts on the matched reducer / flattener?  Is this necessary?

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Skywatcher produced matching .85x flattener/reducers for the ED range of scopes. The 120ED f7.5 to f6.37 for the purpose of using them for AP.  The larger aperture will inevitably be an advantage for visual but, in terms of AP, this a much larger and heavier scope, which would benefit from being mounted atop one of the better EQ5/EQ6 systems to cope with it, which is why the majority seem to go for the lighter 80ED for an AP set up, being easily transportable to darker sites.

You may need to repost your question on the use of the 120ED + matching reducer in the imaging sections, to provide you with some answers from Astronomers who have used this combination, as it is beyond my pay grade :icon_biggrin: to venture any further observations on AP, as it is something I am not readily involved in :)

 

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