150pds or Evostar 80ed?

[Sky-searcher]

What do you think? I’m am looking to shortly purchase another scope to complement my Mak127. I have a Giaz mount & want a scope to mount next to the Mak to give me different variations on view. Like to view planets, lunar. But also like nebula & DSO’s, etc. What would you complement a Mak with, reflector (150pds) or refractor (evostar 80ed)? Thanks Andy 

[Rob]

They are close to what you have. The only direct difference adding widefield ability TBH

The 150PDS is a nice scope (I have owned one) wide views, quite nice on DSO's & widefield (which is it strong point). Of course you can view planets with the scope, but a barlow is required to get good image scale.. so your 127Mak wins there!

The ED80 is a nice performer in all aspects, but you will be dropping down on aperture. However as you will see around the forum here, the 70/80/100 ED's have proved well for Planets current as low in the sky.

To really gain here. You need to think about more aperture!. As a nice match what about an 8" SCT or Newt

Rob

[Cosmic Geoff]

I had to look up what a GIAZ mount was. This is clearly a visual mount, but the 150PDS and Evostar 80 ED appear to be imaging scopes which would require a totally different mount for imaging.  Can you explain?

If you want a complement to the Mak, a f5 Newtonian would offer widefield views of starclusters and nebulae, but will not be a plus for planets unless it's a lot bigger than the 127mm Mak.  I don't think that a smaller refractor would be an interesting visual alternative to the 127mm Mak.

[Sky-searcher]

Should of said will be visual setup. Even though the 150pds is marketed as photo, it’s as good visually & with the dual speed focuser. The 80 Ed is also great visually from what I have read. Don’t want anything bulky, as the weight & size of a 8” will be a problem with the Mak on the mount. Not had any experience with refractors, but I guess that the small aperture will be a problem for DSOs visually. 

[Rob]

4 minutes ago, Sky-searcher said:

Should of said will be visual setup. Even though the 150pds is marketed as photo, it’s as good visually & with the dual speed focuser. The 80 Ed is also great visually from what I have read. Don’t want anything bulky, as the weight & size of a 8” will be a problem with the Mak on the mount. Not had any experience with refractors, but I guess that the small aperture will be a problem for DSOs visually. 

I agree they both scopes for both visual & imaging. resolving wise you will only gain widefield, but that's about it. But i can see and understand your bulk/weight issues

[Rob]

I'm sure some others may provide further recommendations. I just don't want you to be underwhelmed

Best Rob

[Captain Scarlet]

Seeing that you're on the Isle of Man, with quite close access to enviably dark skies, and given that you have high magnification (for planets etc) covered with the Mak, I reckon you need as much aperture as you can.

Cheers, Magnus

[Sky-searcher]

5 minutes ago, Rob said:

I agree they both scopes for both visual & imaging. resolving wise you will only gain widefield, but that's about it. But i can see and understand your bulk/weight issues

I was thinking that the Mak would be good for more planet & lunar with its larger focal length & the the likes of the 150pds for DSOs etc, even though the 150pds would be good for lunar, etc. The wider/ brighter view is also a plus to me. I would love a big dob or newt, but don’t like having to lug them round & storing them when not in use. Understand there is going to be overlap in the two scopes.

[Sky-searcher]

15 minutes ago, Captain Magenta said:

Seeing that you're on the Isle of Man, with quite close access to enviably dark skies, and given that you have high magnification (for planets etc) covered with the Mak, I reckon you need as much aperture as you can.

Cheers, Magnus

I’m in a Bortle 4 & better after 1am as the street light turn off, but also lots of nearby dark sky sites, so I am spoiled 😂. Do agree, big aperture would be king, but bigger than 150mm would cause me a problem as I want to mount both scopes side by side. 

[Stu]

Personally I would probably go with the 80ED. You have high power covered with the Mak, and under your skies, the 80ED would give a very different perspective on widefield objects such as the larger nebulae and open clusters.

There is an argument that slightly larger on both would be worth it eg 150mm Mak and 100mm Frac, but that's a bigger budget and less portable kit.

This is a rig I had fun with a few times at darker sites, 100mm frac and C925 SCT

[Sky-searcher]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Personally I would probably go with the 80ED. You have high power covered with the Mak, and under your skies, the 80ED would give a very different perspective on widefield objects such as the larger nebulae and open clusters.

There is an argument that slightly larger on both would be worth it eg 150mm Mak and 100mm Frac, but that's a bigger budget and less portable kit.

This is a rig I had fun with a few times at darker sites, 100mm frac and C925 SCT

Nice setup Stu, that is what I have in my head. But not sure the 80ed will give me what I want. I can imagine the views are spectacular, but maybe not a good scope for faint objects due to aperture. I have a heritage 130 & I get faint views of galaxies, etc. Love the scope, brilliant though a starter scope. I was thinking of the 150pds as a better quality with Crawford focuser & solid tube & slightly bigger aperture. I threw in the 80ed as a option & complicated the matter. 🤔

[Stu]

5 minutes ago, Sky-searcher said:

Nice setup Stu, that is what I have in my head. But not sure the 80ed will give me what I want. I can imagine the views are spectacular, but maybe not a good scope for faint objects due to aperture. I have a heritage 130 & I get faint views of galaxies, etc. Love the scope, brilliant though a starter scope. I was thinking of the 150pds as a better quality with Crawford focuser & solid tube & slightly bigger aperture. I threw in the 80ed as a option & complicated the matter. 🤔

Fair enough, there is no right or wrong answer ultimately, you have to go with what feels right. At 750mm focal length you would certainly get wider fields than the Mak, could get over 3 degrees with the right eyepiece which would be nice for those large nebulae.

[JG777]

I have an 80 Equinox which is F6.25 and a 150 OO UK F5 reflector and for wide field the reflector wins out by quite a margin in terms of overall view, which is what I bought it for! Also for DSO it wins the race here as well against the 80mm and under your skies I think this could be even more of an advantage.  I think the reflector choice and variation it gives complements the Mak more than the 80mm for those reasons. Your already sorted for planets with the Mak which are not well positioned for a few years so another reason to delve into widefield clusters. As you mentioned a 150 fast newt is easy to transport and does not tax a mount too much. 

I keep the 80mm for UK travel by car when space is at a premium, its a lovely scope and suits this role perfectly. It is in danger though of being swapped out for a 102 F7 APO! If I do planetary its the C9.25

Edited June 27, 2019 by JG777

[Sky-searcher]

11 hours ago, Stu said:

Fair enough, there is no right or wrong answer ultimately, you have to go with what feels right. At 750mm focal length you would certainly get wider fields than the Mak, could get over 3 degrees with the right eyepiece which would be nice for those large nebulae.

 

1 hour ago, JG777 said:

I have an 80 Equinox which is F6.25 and a 150 OO UK F5 reflector and for wide field the reflector wins out by quite a margin in terms of overall view, which is what I bought it for! Also for DSO it wins the race here as well against the 80mm and under your skies I think this could be even more of an advantage.  I think the reflector choice and variation it gives complements the Mak more than the 80mm for those reasons. Your already sorted for planets with the Mak which are not well positioned for a few years so another reason to delve into widefield clusters. As you mentioned a 150 fast newt is easy to transport and does not tax a mount too much. 

I keep the 80mm for UK travel by car when space is at a premium, its a lovely scope and suits this role perfectly. It is in danger though of being swapped out for a 102 F7 APO! If I do planetary its the C9.25

Thanks for your comments jg777 & stu. As stu said I don’t think there is a right or wrong with both scopes. Both good especially for a lower budget. I think the 150pds will suit my needs better at the moment with the Mak, but a frac maybe on the list at some point in time. Thanks for everyone that took the time to comment! 👍