Best Telescope for Sky-Watcher AllView

[docsimple]

I got a few recommendations from Sky Watcher that seemed reasonable:

http://skywatcherusa.com/ed-apo-refractors/proed-doublet-apo-refractors/proed-80mm-doublet-apo-refractor.html

http://skywatcherusa.com/maksutov/sky-watcher-maksutov-cassegrain-102mm.html

http://skywatcherusa.com/maksutov/sky-watcher-maksutov-cassegrain-127mm.html

The 80mm looked fairly tasty but I don't really know if a refractor is the right choice for the AllView. I really wanted to step up to the 100mm refractor but it is to long for the mount. Sky Watcher indicated there may be a competitors 100mm that might be short enough but... isn't the 100mm designation the width of the tube or the length of the internals? Could i find a better choice than the ones listed or should I just pony up for the 80? For that matter I dont even know if the 127mm Mak-Cass would be the better choice. I want to be able to see as far as possible. I want Saturn's rings, the great spot of jupiter, and potentially some galaxy, nebula or whatever is reasonable for that telescope. Some fov would be nice but I am beginning to gather that that is a trade off.

I made a questionable purchase of the AllView, pleasse help me maximize it's usefulness.

thanks

Jonathan

[happy-kat]

Can you join a local group and get to look at other peoples telescopes.

The maks are much less suited to your imaging foray using your mount.

(Whilst they are great for planets Moon neither of which need a tracking mount as you capture those with video (though tracking makes it easier) like using a webcam but are narrow fov for dso and place huge demand on a mount for imaging dso)

[happy-kat]

A refractor with a shorter focal length and faster aperture like f5 unless an apo like the ED80 will come with increasing chromatic aberration which appears on bright objects like Venus for example.

[iPeace]

The measurements you mention, 80mm, 100mm, 102mm and 127mm, refer to the diameter of the primary lens or mirror (depending on scope design). This is referred to as aperture. The larger the aperture, the more light the scope can gather and the more detail the scope can resolve (show). Another important measurement is the focal length, which is basically the distance that light travels inside the scope until it reaches the focal point. The longer the focal length, the narrower the field of view will be (generally speaking). The focal length also determines the magnification you get with the eyepiece you are using (scope focal length / eyepiece focal length = magnification). So a longer focal length gives more magnification with the same eyepiece.

A mak uses internal mirrors to increase the focal length. So (very) basically, you are choosing between a wide field of view with less max. magnification (80mm frac) and a narrow field of view with more max. magnification (mak).

Only you can decide. You'll get more planetary detail with the mak; you'll enjoy wider fields of view for star fields etc. with the frac. One other thing to consider is that the mak requires time to cool down before it performs best, so you can be observing faster with the frac.

It's all about compromises. Good luck and keep us informed.

[docsimple]

I'm torn between the recommended models: 

ProED 80mm Doublet APO Refracator

maksutov-cassegrain-127mm

leaning towards the higher magnification but will do the calculations to see if its close. Then the frac is the clear winner. Of course, if someone makes a rational case for a non-skywatcher I'll certainly check on that. I suspect I will be looking to used and will see what resources I have locally.

 

thanks all for the feedback

[docsimple]

15 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

A refractor with a shorter focal length and faster aperture like f5 unless an apo like the ED80 will come with increasing chromatic aberration which appears on bright objects like Venus for example.

I just realized, Im not sure what you mean. Are you suggesting the ed80 is to long?

[johninderby]

Something like this the advantage over the ProED of being shorter and lighter and shouldn't be to hard to find used

https://explorescientificusa.com/products/80mm-apochromatic-refractor

Same scope under another brand name. This is a UK shop but some usefull info.

http://www.opticstar.com/Run/Astronomy/Astro-Telescopes-Ascension.asp?p=0_10_1_6_9

 

I like the 127 Mak as it has excellent optics and is quite compact and makes a fine little planetary scope.

             John

[happy-kat]

Where you place more decisions/difficulties on your choices is your interest in astrophotography where from your choices the ED80 is the best fit. There is no one size only you can decide on where your compromises will be on the choice you make.

Not being familiar with that mount it might have some limitation on how close to zenith you can view depending on what telescope fitted.

[docsimple]

Would the refractor be useful for extra solar objects? For that matter would the 80mm frac? I really want to see out there.

[happy-kat]

What extra solar objects do you mean?

If you already own camera lens say ranging from wide field up to 200mm then that could be your foray into Astrophotography then leaving the telescope which best fits your observing needs.

[docsimple]

Happy Kat, any thoughts on the ed80 vs the explore scientific 80? For me it now would come down to optics. If they are equivalent then the explore would be my choice as it is both shorter and lighter

[happy-kat]

Do have a read of the What can I expect to see thread it's sticky and we'll with reading it will hopefully answer some of your question

link here

[happy-kat]

Having looked through neither I am in no place to answer that. Take your time read reviews.

[Cosmic Geoff]

You don't explain what you wanted the Allview and telescope for. Several of the respondents have assumed you wanted it for photography, but you state in your original post that you are interested in visual observation of planets and other things.

The Allview is not necessarily a bad choice - it depends on what you want to do with it. If you just wanted a basic alt-az GoTo mount, it might be overkill.

The fact is, that any small compact scope under 4Kg will fit on this mount via the dovetail, and there is no need to restrict yourself to Sky-watcher. The reviews suggest that longer scopes can also be mounted. Also, any small scope, including those you list, will give the views you specify to a degree determined by its aperture and other factors.

In summary, you need to find out more about what the various telescope models do, firm up what you  want to achieve, and then make a decision.

[johninderby]

Re: the Skywatcher doublet vs Explore Scientific.

Not going to be much difference if any. The ProED has slightly better glass than the Explore Scientific but is a doublet and the ES is a triplet which theoreticly has better colour correction when used for AP. However the ProED though just a doublet s a very good one.

             John

[The Admiral]

57 minutes ago, docsimple said:

I'm torn between the recommended models: 

ProED 80mm Doublet APO Refracator

maksutov-cassegrain-127mm

leaning towards the higher magnification but will do the calculations to see if its close. Then the frac is the clear winner. Of course, if someone makes a rational case for a non-skywatcher I'll certainly check on that. I suspect I will be looking to used and will see what resources I have locally.

 

thanks all for the feedback

Whoaa, docsimple!! Further to our 'discussion' on another thread, you need to slow down! Both of these are above the 4kg mount payload capacity. The Allview is a lightweight mount primarily for cameras or lightweight 'scopes.

Ian

[Cosmic Geoff]

 Both of these are above the 4kg mount payload capacity. 

Ian. how did you arrive at this conclusion? I checked the weights of these OTA's and they are both under 4Kg according to the figures I saw. Also, I have the Celestron equivalent of the 127mm Mak, and I know how much that weighs.

More to the point, the discussion in this thread is lacking primary data. What does the original poster want this gear for? It makes no sense to buy an expensive scope like the 80mm APO, eminently suitable for serious astrophotography, and mount it on the lightweight Allview rather than a HEQ6 or similar.

[The Admiral]

Sorry, double post!

Ian

[The Admiral]

3 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

 Both of these are above the 4kg mount payload capacity. 

Ian. how did you arrive at this conclusion? I checked the weights of these OTA's and they are both under 4Kg according to the figures I saw. Also, I have the Celestron equivalent of the 127mm Mak, and I know how much that weighs.

More to the point, the discussion in this thread is lacking primary data. What does the original poster want this gear for? It makes no sense to buy an expensive scope like the 80mm APO, eminently suitable for serious astrophotography, and mount it on the lightweight Allview rather than a HEQ6 or similar.

Well Geoff, using the US Skywatcher link for the ProED, and looking on the "Additonal" tab, I see the OTA weight is 5.72kg. The above link to the 127MC on the US Skywatcher site doesn't give the weight, but the Sktwatcher Global site does, and it's given as 5kg as far as I can see. The 102MC to which docsimple linked in his first post I didn't check, but I see on the Global site it is 1.93kg, so from the point of weight alone  that would be OK. Unless I'm reading something wrong here.

I have had the advantage of this prior discussion https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/161917-new-skywatcher-allview-multi-function-computerised-mount/?page=4 (hmm, not sure how to link to a particular post any more; it's about half way down).

Ian

[johninderby]

Just went and weighed it and the Skywatcher 127 mak OTA is 3.5kg including diagonal and red dot finder but no eyepiece. Also with these light duty mounts the length of the OTA is an important factor so the shorter the OTA the better.

              John

[The Admiral]

5 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Just went and weighed it and the Skywatcher 127 mak OTA is 3.5kg including diagonal and red dot finder but no eyepiece. Also with these light duty mounts the length of the OTA is an important factor somthe shorter the OTA the better.

              John

Hmm, how odd. Oh well! Agreed, long FL 'scopes won't do too well I imagine, certainly not for what I understand docsimple is looking to do. (Ah, I think you were referring to the physical length).

Ian

[johninderby]

Think they'e given the weight including packaging and yes it was the physical length of the OTA I was referring to.

          John

[docsimple]

wow, thanks for all the great info. Keep in mind I am on the west coast of the US so my responses may have some lag time. I originally bought this thinking I would use it for AP. Then I learned the difference between alt az and german eq.

At that point I was deciding whether to keep it or not. When I decided to keep it I realized I could use it for some photography and some viewing. I have a dslr which will do most of the photography without the use of a telescope, but I would like to be able to mount my camera to a scope and do some playing around - keeping in mind I am limited to shorter time frames. I also want to do viewing. A big part of this purchase is for me and my daughter to be able to do some viewing without my near complete lack of knowledge of the sky being a major impediment. I have purchased a few books on the astronomy and the astro-photography. I also have some android apps to help me identify and use certain stars to align the AllView. I certainly want some planetary viewing, but I was hoping to see some of the brighter celestial objects as well.

ALL of the scopes I originally opened the discussion with were specifically recommended for the AllView by their technical support guy as being within the limitations. He said the reason I could not step up to the 100 as the length was to long. He stated that ~20 inches is the length limit before you start hitting the tripod legs.

Again thanks for the input, everything helps me learn and decide. I would love to get a scope that is at the limits of the allview so that it can outlive the allview in my collection.

[johninderby]

Most important thing to remenber is that you will never choose the perfect scope. Partly because no one scope can do everything and also what you want to spend more time observing will change as you get more experience. So I guess it's don't overspend on this scope because you'll most likely want to change it and also get another mount later on anyway.. 

One thing is after you've got your scope it's OK to buy decent accessories that can be used with any scope you might add to your collection later on. And that brings up another thing you will own more than one scope in the future if you stay in the hobby.

Are you familiar with the term "Paralysis by analysis"  

             John

 

 

[happy-kat]

Please do not believe everything a sales technical person may say that ED80 pro is too heavy for your mount. Telescope 5.79 kilo reading your link and the mount has 4 kilo payload unless your edition is different check your manual.

A quality small telescope I feels always has a home as a very portable telescope.