Newbie requires your brain cells

[Ben2975-1]

Hi everybody,

i feel like I'm starting of an AA meeting here.

as I said, I'm new to astronomy as i can no longer work.

my first question really has anybody dealt with F1 telescopes and how was your experience with them? I can't really see to many reviews for them.

second question is  kit one.

I want to get into astrophotography and as I have a lot of free time I want to come in at a mid level-ish

point. I'm looking at celestron nexstar 4 or 5se. There is quite a big price jump, is there enough of a component jump to warrant the cost?  Ps, I'm full of tramadol so please excuse typos.

 

[wookie1965]

For astrophotography everyone says mount mount mount I would buy a book called (Every photon counts) you can then decide better. 

[ronin]

You are rioght there is little mention of F1, not sure why.

4SE and Astrophotography: Lets keep it simple = Wrong scope and wrong mount.

It is a slow Mak - so wrong type of scope, it is on an Alt/Az mount - so wrong type of mount, it was never initially designed to hang a DSLR off the rear. When it was designed there were no DSLR's.

AP = Equitorial mount, preferably goto, small fast scope - 130PDS or small ED/APO refractor. To get started at the bottom I would suggest that you consider a start point of around £1200 these days and even then that is the lower end. Equipment at this is EQ5 goto, ZS 71, T-ring, nose piece, DSLR, Intervalometer, maybe coma corrector or flattener. Other small items.  It ainn't cheap.

Search out a club: http://www.astronomyclubs.co.uk/

Edited June 23, 2017 by ronin

[knobby]

I've used F1 a few times, nice people and pretty knowledgeable.

They quite often have a solar scope in the car park too if you fancy a peek.

As for imaging you'd be better off with an eq mount (allows scope/camera to follow earth's rotation to keep stars centred accurately)

Good luck with your choice

And welcome to the forum.

Edited June 23, 2017 by knobby

[Davey-T]

Got a couple of bits of F1 as they're local to me, the only problem I had, in common with a lot of suppliers, is when they say they have something in stock they mean their suppliers hopefully have it in stock and will ship it direct.

Dave

[Ben2975-1]

Wow! Wasn't expecting any replies so thanks all.

im pretty limited weight wise as my back is shot so for the time being ill only be out the front of the house. It's pretty much fields and will give me many hours of learning whist not being daft and going to far.

i was looking at the Celestron nexlmage 5 solar system imager for photos. Any good or steer well clear?

basically I need light-ish goto idiot proof scope with easy good quality camera that I can sink myself into as hobby. I don't really want to go past £1,500 though. The boss will kill me stone dead if she knows what I've spent. She said learn candle making!!

i. Pretty munch always on horrid pain meds that make up top foggy hense the idiot proof bit.

i do like the skywatcher 200p though

[Astro Imp]

You really, really do need to read "Making Every Photon Count" and then read it again, then come back for advice. 

[knobby]

Something like this

www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/skywatcher-skymax-127-synscan-az-goto.html

Would be pretty manageable and you could add a webcam to do some planetary imaging maybe.

But not ideal for DSO

[Ben2975-1]

Thanks for the info Astro imp, I'll get it for kindle and have a good read.

 

thanks again to everybody for all the great advice.

 

have a nice evening all.

[Geoff Lister]

16 hours ago, knobby said:

Something like this

www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/skywatcher-skymax-127-synscan-az-goto.html

Would be pretty manageable and you could add a webcam to do some planetary imaging maybe.

But not ideal for DSO

I have 2 of these, one at home and one at my bolt-hole in southern France, as shown below.

The main tube was carried in hand luggage, the rest in the hold. The optical tube assembly weighs about 4kg, the mount about the same, and tripod a bit lighter. They fit together in about 10 seconds each. The photo above shows the modified webcam (about £50) fitted in place of the eyepiece. I tend to take a 400-frame video of planetary objects and then use stacking software (Registax) to produce a still from the best 100-or-so frames. I have used this setup with a DSLR, and provided that exposure times are limited to about 30 seconds, the AZ/ALT mount is fine.

If you have a bad back, the counter-weights associated with an EQ mount, may be a disadvantage, and, I have found that the AZ/ALT mount is quicker to align, from scratch, than an EQ.

Observing in the UK does not normally include the consumption of the red liquid shown towards the right of the photo.

Geoff

[knobby]

That's my idea of heaven 

A bit of astro and a bit of Red on the table.

[newbie alert]

I use F1 for the majority of my astro purchases as when I first started I had no idea of what I wanted..the size of scopes etc,so I went and had a chat with Luigi..he asked what sort of thing I was interested in,told me the best scope is the one is the 1 you use the most,so no point buying a huge thing unable to lift and setup...Luigi is hugely approachable with a depth of knowledge to go with it.. go and have a chat..not sure if you know but he's in c8 unit now..

When you say "astrophography " do you mean planets or deepsky?

Edited June 24, 2017 by newbie alert
Added info

[impactcrater]

Taking into account your severe back disability I would suggest you consider a small Dobsonian as they are viewed from the top end whereas the Celestrons are viewed from the tail end and the angles of viewing can involve a lot of crouching down in very awkward positions. The Dob team may advise better on this as I have a scope like you are looking at. A 200 Dob is a massive thing...

[Louis D]

3 hours ago, impactcrater said:

Taking into account your severe back disability I would suggest you consider a small Dobsonian as they are viewed from the top end whereas the Celestrons are viewed from the tail end and the angles of viewing can involve a lot of crouching down in very awkward positions. The Dob team may advise better on this as I have a scope like you are looking at. A 200 Dob is a massive thing...

A bad back rules out most dobsonians.  They tend to be heavy and bulky.  They don't have to be if they use a spindly aluminum frame and truss design instead of wood, particle board, and steel.

On the other hand, once you get a capable mount and tripod for a lighter weight SCT, Mak, or refractor, you're almost back to the same total weight as a dob.

Search for posts by SGL user LukeSkywatcher who is a wheelchair user and has asked recently about lightweight scope setups.

[impactcrater]

You may need to know the weight of the scope of interest...it is harder to get that from the manufacture's site . I did some "research" and came up with 5.44 kg for celestron 90SLT and 8.2 kg for the celestron 127SLT and then the others you are looking at  in the SE class may be heavier still . The celeston 90 SLT is a quality scope and is pretty light. Astrophotography is not easy with non equatorial scopes and the 90SLT is not one of these.

[beka]

Hi Ben2975-1,

Sorry about your back. Most people advise an equatorial mount for serious astrophotography, but if you are completely new to the hobby you may not want to go full out. I have seen somewhere on this forum impressive deep sky images make with a Celestron NexStar 102 SLT which is an altazimuth mount and a DSLR. I myself have obtained results to my satisfaction taking 30 sec. exposures wtih my Altazumith mounted CPC1100 and DSLR. If you are more interested in planetary, the NexImage  should be okay to start with but you will need a long focus scope like a Mak or SCT - equatorial mount not really required as the image processing software will take care of the image rotation. Thus I would not rule out an altazimuth mounted scope in the 4 to 6 inch range as it would be quicker and easier to setup as compared to an equatorially mounted rig.

Best

[Louis D]

On 7/30/2017 at 07:55, beka said:

Hi Ben2975-1,

Sorry about your back. Most people advise an equatorial mount for serious astrophotography, but if you are completely new to the hobby you may not want to go full out. I have seen somewhere on this forum impressive deep sky images make with a Celestron NexStar 102 SLT which is an altazimuth mount and a DSLR. I myself have obtained results to my satisfaction taking 30 sec. exposures wtih my Altazumith mounted CPC1100 and DSLR. If you are more interested in planetary, the NexImage  should be okay to start with but you will need a long focus scope like a Mak or SCT - equatorial mount not really required as the image processing software will take care of the image rotation. Thus I would not rule out an altazimuth mounted scope in the 4 to 6 inch range as it would be quicker and easier to setup as compared to an equatorially mounted rig.

Best

Plus, you can always add an equatorial wedge to an alt-az fork mount.  Many have an equatorial mode in their computers to use during that mode of operation.   You just need to check ahead of purchase in case that sounds like something you'd like to try down the road.

[Waldemar]

And another little advice:  stock Tramadol, because besides your bad back, you will get a bad headache from getting into this.
but given the fact you have plenty of time as you say, chances are it will be replaced by bliss.

Sorry, couldn't resist...

[carastro]

There seem to be a lot of conflicting advice on here.  Dobsonian and a bad back ???!!!  Dobs are great but I wouldn't have thought suitable for a bad back or astrophotography.  

There are two issues:  back problems requiring something light, and the desire for astrophotography.  Also limited money available.

Astrophotography for Deep sky objects requires long exposure and a guidable equatorial mount and preferably a focal ratio of between F5 & roughly F9.  Lower F ratios like F1 (I've never heard of any-one using that), will simply make AP far too difficult for a beginner.   

The celestron nexstar range whilst excellent scopes are on an alt-azimuth mount and will not be suitable for really long exposures.  

I would recommend a lightweight EQ mount that you can assemble in bits, like an EQ5 (make sure it is guidable as some versions of the EQ5 I believe are not) or a 2nd hand CG5 GT if you can get hold of one.  The HEQ5 is the most ideal but I wonder whether it might just be too heavy for a bad back.  Put on this either a small refractor (makes sure it is an APO for Astrophotography), or a Skywatcher 130PDS.  This should fit your budget, but there will be some extras you'll need plus the imaging camera itself.  As you are new to this and on a budget, probably a modded Canon DSLR (say from Cheap Astrophotography) will fit the bill.  

Also do read Steve Richard's Book, as recommended above.

Carole 

Edited August 1, 2017 by carastro

[RayD]

I have used F1 many times, and Luigi and Mary are lovely people and nice to deal with.  Luigi is very knowledgeable and always happy to offer advice, so if you get change to pop over there, he will run through things with you, and has a display of scopes to look at.  The one downside as Dave rightly points out, is unlike FLO, he has no real-time stock indication, so you can oder stuff to get an email at a later point saying it's out of stock.  I ordered an Altair spacer probably 6 months ago, paid the £8, and am still waiting for it.  Unless you chase for an update, you won't get one.

That said, it is convenient to pop in for odds and sods, and if you give them a call first to see if they have the item in stock, then they are fine.  Personally, I now prefer to use FLO, not just because they are the site sponsors, but because the service is very professional, and the people there are extremely helpful and knowledgeable.

Some good advice above about scopes, so I won't offer advice and confuse matters, which is very easy.  Carole's advice appears very sound based on your specific requirements/needs.  Steve Richard's book is a must read really, if only so you understand what people are suggesting.