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Mattyboy1658

By Mattyboy1658,
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Mattyboy1658

Mattyboy1658 6

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Hi All,

Seems like a really good site here with users from the UK which is nice.

I've been interested in the stars and the night sky for some time however have never really taken the plunge to get a scope ect.

I started to build my own scope a few months back on the cheap but I've decided to purchase a decent refractor for deep sky imaging instead because I'm rather eager to get out, I already have a gem goto mount.

Can anyone give recommendations on a good quality refractor?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Matt

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mark81

mark81 1,002

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16 minutes ago, Maxrayne said:

Welcome Matt

I would say that depends on your budget and what your mount can take :)

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/esprit-professional-refractors/skywatcher-esprit-ed-80-pro-triplet.html Would love to get thi?s scope myself after seeing the review for it on AstroBackYard. Sadly I'm still at the ST102 stage. One day....

Nothing wrong with the st102.? I'm still on the st80...which I really do enjoy for it's super fast setup and widefield views.  I saw the esprit on Astrobackyard too.. but after months of thought, I don't think AP is for me. Having and ed scope is the goal I suppose, but as long as astronomy can be done, it's all good. ?

Also, welcome Matt

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Mattyboy1658

Mattyboy1658 6

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Thanks guys for the nice welcome,

 

I'd be looking to spend around 300-500 ish on the second hand market, I'd prefer an ed or an apochomat but as long as the scope can produce nice sharp images.

I was looking at a used Williams optics zenithstar 71 and also a ts optics ed80 but don't really know what their capabilities are in terms of astrophotography, I could tell you plenty about photography lenses  but not quite up to par with telescopes.

I have found you can get scopes way cheaper on the American used market but unfortunately the shipping costs are rather high.

I did have a Meade etx70 which bought broken and repaired and sold on to fund a better scope.

The mount I have is the Meade lxd55 gem with 497 autostar controller .

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Maxrayne

Maxrayne 203

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31 minutes ago, mark81 said:

Nothing wrong with the st102.? I'm still on the st80...which I really do enjoy for it's super fast setup and widefield views.  I saw the esprit on Astrobackyard too.. but after months of thought, I don't think AP is for me. Having and ed scope is the goal I suppose, but as long as astronomy can be done, it's all good. ?

Also, welcome Matt

True enough on the ST80. I have it mounted on the SynScan Alt-AZ GoTo mount at my home. Was previously using it on an SW SA and captured my first Horsehead with it ❤️ Now have the ST102 on the SA at the kids house, but have yet to get out with it (Dirty Diana playing havoc with the weather!)

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ukuleledaveey

ukuleledaveey 73

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Hello and welcome, yep fabulous people here, so friendly and extremely helpful and encouraging.

Im a total noobie so i can offer no imput,but a very warm hello and pray for these clouds to dissapear from here in herts.

Beat wishes

Dave

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barkis

barkis 5,570

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Welcome to SGL Matt. Good luck with putting your first Imaging system together.          Whilst a decent quality scope is essential, you need to focus on a good quality mount.
The mount should ideally be  robust enough to cope with future telescope upgrades that follow your initial rig.
You then insure against having to spend more money. Best to plan ahead. Imaging is a desirable activity  but it can also be expensive, so budget your spending in line with your ambition.
Any help you might need, is available from the many experts on the forums here.  They will welcome any questions you have.   

 Best Wishes 
 Ron.

 

 

                                                  

 

Edited by barkis
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Mattyboy1658

Mattyboy1658 6

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20 minutes ago, ukuleledaveey said:

Hello and welcome, yep fabulous people here, so friendly and extremely helpful and encouraging.

Im a total noobie so i can offer no imput,but a very warm hello and pray for these clouds to dissapear from here in herts.

Beat wishes

Dave

Thanks Dave,

Tell me about it the weather has been absolutely terrible recently I'm hoping it clears soon ?

Hoping to get down to Galloway forest park at some point soon to have a little play around with the scope when I get it.

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ukuleledaveey

ukuleledaveey 73

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28 minutes ago, Mattyboy1658 said:

Thanks Dave,

Tell me about it the weather has been absolutely terrible recently I'm hoping it clears soon ?

Hoping to get down to Galloway forest park at some point soon to have a little play around with the scope when I get it.

Im off to suffolk on monday for 4 nights staying in a kog cabin taking my dob with me,i bought my first eyepice last week havent had a chance to use it yet lol.

Good luck wuth your purchase ajd look forward to seeing you aroumd on the forum.

Best wishes from me  ?

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  • 3 weeks later...
Mattyboy1658

Mattyboy1658 6

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On 26/12/2018 at 17:01, Pete Presland said:

Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire ?

Hi Pete,

Thanks for you're warm welcome, everyone has been nice here and very good for advice.

Looking forward to getting a clear night, so far been cloudy up here.

 

Matt.

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