Need Recomendation

[chrismart]

 

I am about ready to buy another telescope and need recommendations. I have had several telescopes in the past. The first was a 3” Edmund Scientific refractor in 1966 and the last, about 20 yrs ago, a Coluter Optical 12.5” unguided mount refractor that needed a pick up to carry it around and basically worthless when trying to find something not naked eye visible.

 

What I am looking for now is maybe an 8” Cassegrainian with good electronic guidance that is useful for finding and observing deep sky objects. It would be nice if it would interface with my lap top and a chart program, if that is possible. The telescope would need to be 12v powered from my pick up. I have a fairly extensive technical and scientific back ground. In a civil design class, I was once required to calculate a land location based on start sights. So, I am not worried about keeping things simple.

 

I am looking at Meade and Celestron. My budget, before additional accessories, is about 3K.

 

I also want to work into astrophotography, starting by using my Cannon 7D mark II and later working into a dedicated CCD camera.

[chrismart]

Thanks guys, for all your help.

[Cosmic Geoff]

What exactly do you need to know? If you check the specs of the Meade and Celestron SCTs you will see that any of them will fill your requirements as they all come with a GoTo mount and computer connectivity. 

[Geordie mc]

The Celestron Edge HD scopes are very nice. If you intend to go into astrophotography they are great for lunar/planetary work. Mounts from Celestron and Skywatcher interface well with software like Stellarium or Cartes de Ciel. I use EQMod with an AZ-EQ6 GT mount and find it very reliable. I’ve run the mount quite happily on a 12v battery when not at home. Be aware that it’s not a lightweight setup and can be a pain at times to cart around.  You Ishtar want to budget for a focal reducer if you go down the photography road. Without one, focal lengths are very long giving small field of view and making guiding much more tricky, especially with a DSLR where you can’t use an off axis guider. Hope this helps.

[Waldemar]

On 05/04/2019 at 20:05, chrismart said:

Thanks guys, for all your help.

you're welcome....

[Andy R]

Hi I’m a new to astronomy so I don’t really know the market ins and outs as well as some people, but try dropping FLO an email (site sponsors) with your requirements. I think they’ll be best suited and only happy to answer any questions you may have  

Regards 

[Guest]

On 05/04/2019 at 19:05, chrismart said:

Thanks guys, for all your help.

Wow, two days and already impatient!

[Waldemar]

22 hours ago, Sland said:

Wow, two days and already impatient!

And with an attitude, I would say...