Getting a little more serious.

[Fury]

Hy guys, I've done my homework and i want to step up from my little refractor to a better instrument and I'm down to 3 choices, all in the same price-range but with pro's and con's. I also want to get myself into astrophotograpy with a dslr and adapter.

SkyWatcher 150/750 GoTo Star Discovery

SkyWatcher 150/750 Explorer NEQ-3

SkyWatcher 254/1200 Dobson

 

Now the GoTo one is the "lazy" choice, point and shoot, no hassle. But it's ABS made, has only 1.25" eyepiece and the primary can't be collimated. I don't know how much of an issue this is going to be e.g. cleaning the primary, losing alignment etc.

The NEQ-3 one is a sturdier construction, non of the disadvantages of the above one but no GoTo.

The 254 i've preety much ruled out because of the size. A telescope is useless if you can't easily transport it to the viewing site but I want to know what you guys think.

 

Thanks in advance for any input/suggestions i can get.

[alanjgreen]

If you are wanting to do astrophotography then the EQ mount is best bet. It can do long exposures past the meridian. They take more setup and more trips to the house/car to gather all the bits. Don't rule out a nice 80-100mm frac for photography options too.. the Mount is critical so you may want something that can take higher payload than the mentioned EQ3?

 

if you are visual only and don't want the hassle of finding stuff (rather be viewing stuff) then go for the star discovery. I am not sure why you think the star discovery cannot be collimated? I think you are wrong on that  it is a nice scope!

 

the Dobson is all manual and you have to find the objects yourself, the bigger aperture will let you view more dimmer objects , only downside is size, you need to consider where you will store a large scope when not using it? Sounds like you already know this. Dobson also not the best for photography. A 150mm dobsonian is a lot smaller so maybe you could look into this?

 

Alan

[faulksy]

as alan says realy. if your right about the first scope then bin that idea, your second choice has a rubbish mount especially for a scope that size. the last one you mention will give you the all important image scale

[Geoff_L]

FWIW, I have a Skywatcher Explorer 150P-DS on an EQ5 Pro GoTo mount and suspect that OTA will be undermounted for astrophotography (AP) on anything less than an EQ5. Also, I got the "DS" version because that has a slightly shorter tube length to permit prime-focus AP, which I understand can be an issue with the 150P.

Some form of equatorial tracking mount is pretty much essential for long-exposure AP. Alt-Az mounts don't rotate in RA with the target, and so aren't optimal. An experienced astrophotographer at the astronomy club I attend told me that the right mount is the most important choice. Once you have that sorted, you can put whatever tube you want on top of it (provided you don't exceed the recommended payload). Faced with the same issue you, I got my EQ5 Pro mount first and initially used it with my ST80 both for visual and AP and a few months later got the 150P-DS with the intention of using it as my imaging 'scope with the ST80 as a guidescope.

Looking at your list of three, I suspect that none of them will be suitable for AP. I suspect that none will have the focuser travel to permit prime focus DSLR AP. Additionally, the Star Discovery, being on an Alt-Az mount, will suffer from image rotation and so won't be up to long exposures; and it'll be difficult to impossible to track a target adequately with the Dob.

HTH & clear skies, Geoff

[ronin]

Of the given options the only one suited to astrophotography is the EQ3-2 asn it is an equitorial.

If it has no goto then does it have as a minimum the dual RA+Dec motors to drive it. It will have the be a driven mount to track the earths rotation and so maintian the object central. The simple realoty is that most people will use a goto equitorial mount. You need the motors and the goto tends to have better motors, Also why waste 5 minutes getting something in view when the goto will do it in 30 seconds ?

A 159P scope is likely to be a bit big for the EQ3-2 mount, but you may get by with it, just expect a fair percentage of the exposures to be thrown. Additionally the 150 will need some minior modifications in order to get the focal p[lane and the DSLR sensor at the same position. The mirror will need moving then recollimated. You will then need a short extension tube for visual so that eyepieces operate.

Part of the problem is that you are looking at a scope+mount package, and the packages tend to be aimed at visual not at AP. And the 150+EQ3-2 is a visual set up not an AP setup. For AP a "better" option would be a bigger mount and a smaller scope. So if one "step" either way that is EQ5 and 130PDS.

But the mount needs to be EQ, and the mount must have motors or goto. One possible option at a bit more cost is the EQ3-2+150 and then got buy a small imaging scope. Costs more but then covers you for both in a way.

[MattJenko]

A 10" dobsonian is car portable and will split into 2 for lugging about, add a Telrad and who needs goto! It is hopeless at astrophotography though. In your shoes, my completely personal opinion would be to buy the Dob and also a small tracking mount like the StarAdventurer and get a nice fixed FL lens for your DSLR for some serious widefield imaging. There is a lifetime of activity right there. A halfway house would simply run out of fun fast for me.

 

[SteveA]

You sound like you are itching to get a bigger and better set up and I guess we have all been in this position in the past, I certainly have. I have to say though, that if it's really the AP route you want to follow, you would be best waiting a bit, bank the money and save for a bit longer and get some higher rated equipment. I almost guarantee that if you start attempting AP with the lower end kit you will quickly wish you had waited. That's not to say that its impossible but if you are serious you are going to end up buying a better setup than the ones listed at some point. As a couple of the guys pointed out, the mount is key in AP, clearly you need a scope as well, but a poor mount will drag any scope down, so you should aim high with the mount.

Not wishing to blow my own trumpet, but when I started buying equipment a few years ago I went for the most expensive mount I could afford at the time which I knew would give me opportunity to use various scopes with (EQ6-Pro) I initially  stuck a small 80mm refactor on it, actually it was an ED80, so it wasn't exactly cheap, but certainly not top end. It was a great intro to AP. I still have the ED80, but tend to use my Newtonian reflector now for most of my imaging. So there you go...maybe not exactly what you wanted to hear, but given your situation I would take the same route again.

Also...waiting is not such an issue at this time of the year, its going to be a couple of months before the new season starts...

Steve

[Louis D]

I'd hold off on astrophotography and get either the Revelation Dobson telescope N 203/1200 DOB M-CRF Premium or the Bresser Dobson telescope N 200/1200 Messier Hexafoc DOB.  I've found 8" to be about the limit of ease of transport with traditional tube Dobs.  The 10" ones just get too heavy and bulky.  The Revelation has a nicer focuser and has nicer accessories and allows for some tube rebalancing.  The Bresser has premium altitude bearings and tube rings which allows for easy positioning of the eyepiece angle and rebalancing of the tube.  The large diameter bearings will also resist undesired altitude motion during load imbalance better than other designs.