Seben?

[Louise]

Hi all

Just joined and looking for infomation if possible.

Brought a Seban 1200-90

• 
  [li]Aperture: 90mm Focal Length: 1200mm Faintest discernable stars: 11.7M! Dawes Limit: 1.3 arc-seconds Focal Ratio: f/13 Eyepieces: 1.25” (31.7mm) Magnification: PL 26mm/46-fold [/li]
  [li]Plossl Eyepiece 1.25“ (31.7mm) PL 26mm
  Sturdy, vertically-adjustable Tripod
  Altazimuth Mount
  Finder Scope 8x21
  1.25“ (31.7mm) 45 ° Erecting Eyepiece
  [/li]
  

Im really new to this and so far ive seem Jupiters Moons even tho they were pin points. But, I was still chuffed.

As Saturn is comming into the night sky im really hoping to catch the rings. Altho I think this would ne near impossible with my scope.

Im after advice one which telescope I should look into?

I have seen seben have done an updated Plossl.

Mine is currently 26mmAF 40

There one is 8-24mm would this improve my field of vision?

Would a filter help me out?!

Again, I am still learning on a few subject.

Anyhelp would be great

Many Thanks

Louise

[Doc]

Hi.

There's no reason why your scope will not see Saturn's rings. But at this time the rings are almost edge on so seeing them might be a tad difficult.

Your 26mm plossl gives you a magnification of x46 so pretty good for viewing jupiter and Saturn.

This 8-24mm is that a zoom eyepiece you are talking about?

[Louise]

Hello

I cant copy/paste but this is the one im on about.

It you scroll down its the first 'added extra' on there page

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1200-90-New-Seben-Comet-Telescope-Spotting-Scope_W0QQitemZ330292667964QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Telescopes?hash=item330292667964&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Sorry its a direct line to Fleebay.

Louise

[RobH]

Hello Louise.

How much is the Seben scope?

I've seen them in their thousands on Ebay but never heard fo anyone using one.....Hmmm.

How much are you planning to spend?

Skywtcher scopes are good, very well priced and have consistently good reviews.

The last thing you want to do is buy a lemon...it'll put you right off.

Have a look at First Light Optics and a chat with Steve. Click on the logo at the top of the page.

Cheers

Rob

[Louise]

Hi Rob

The scope cost me £100 - I kinda read a few reveiws and jumped into the deep end on this one.

Im happy with the scope but am looking to upgrade if possible.

I understand I wont get great photos for the time being.

Im looking to get the Seben digital camera / camcorder adapter so I can in the future hook up a camera to catch some photos.

Again, I need to read up and get info from this site on the best camera that wont cost alot of money.

Currently have the 'Olympus' MJU 410 which I dont think would be any use. I could be wrong.

[Merlin66]

Fitting the MJU to a telescope is a little difficult.

Buying a cheap webcam ( where the lens can be removed) would be a better way to go.

A webcam ( SPC900) and a 1.25" adaptor would allow you to image the moon and planets... always a good starting point.

[Louise]

Webcam is no option. Have thought about this in the past but the PC is at least 20 foot from the balcony door

[Doc]

A long USB lead perhaps.

[John]

Hi Louise,

What is the scope mounted on - it looks like a photo tripod from the picture ?.

For simple astro imaging (moon, brighter planets) a webcam with an adaptor is best but I'm not sure that a photo tripod is up to the job.

It might be best to see what the scope can do visually before jumping into imaging.

I would be tempted to buy one more eyepiece and a thing called a 2x barlow lens which has the effect of doubling the magnification each eyepiece provides. You would then have a range of 4 magnifications which is a good start.

John

[John]

I should have added to my last post, don't feel you have to buy Seben accessories for the scope - other makes should fit and may well offer better value.

John

[Louise]

Cheers John

Just had a quick look on Ebay there is a few X2 Barlow for cheap prices so I might invest.

I was wondering that if I have a Seben I need Seben products.

Obviously not the case - Cheers

Just to add. Just had a look at another site and seen the Barlowx2 for £29.99 Or Barlow x3 for £5 extra

Which would be the better option? As I seem to read if I over do the scope I could affect the image?!

Cheers

Louise

[John]

Cheers John

Just had a quick look on Ebay there is a few X2 Barlow for cheap prices so I might invest.

I was wondering that if I have a Seben I need Seben products.

Obviously not the case - Cheers

Just to add. Just had a look at another site and seen the Barlowx2 for £29.99 Or Barlow x3 for £5 extra

Which would be the better option? As I seem to read if I over do the scope I could affect the image?!

Cheers

Louise

Yes, your scope will have a maximum magnification above which you won't see any more details. With a 90mm aperture scope the theoretical limit is 180x but in practice I would say 150x is a more realistic max.

You could get a 2x barlow and use it with your 26mm eyepiece which would give you 46x (eyepiece on it's own) and 92x (26mm plus 2x barlow) - add a 9mm eyepiece for 133x and that's probably enough to get you going.

I honestly would not invest any more after that until you have had a good chance to get to know the scopes pros and cons and what interests you.

John

[Louise]

Cheers Just ordered the 2x Barlow

Will keep you posted on how it goes

Great info so far guys

Thanks so much

Louise

[Talitha]

Louise, your scope's almost the same as my 90mm Meade ETX. Mine's also a Maksutov design, and it was also my first scope (June 1998). The ETX has a focal ratio of f/13.9, a focal length of 1250, and has the same Dawes limit as yours. Please understand that specs like 'Dawes limit' and 'faintest stars' assume near-perfect conditions (which none of us have ), but you'll be very happy with the scope nonetheless.

The Maks are tack-sharp when it comes to solar system objects. When Saturn's rings were fully displayed and the seeing was decent, I've seen the Cassini Division look razor-sharp, and have also seen Jupiter's GRS but it was a lot darker then. You'll definitely be able to see shadow transits of the Galilean Satellites on the surface of Jupiter if the seeing is good enough, too. Have you looked at the Moon yet? Absolutely stunning.

One thing I should mention by way of caution.. the secondary mirrors on Maks are glued onto the back of the meniscus lens and with time, they (my Meade did, anyway) tend to 'migrate' when stored on their side. Take a look at the attached image of my ETX. See how far it's drifted down from being centered on the back of the gold disc?

I'd noticed that my eyepiece view wasn't as sharp as it had been in the past, and discovered the migration issue while doing some online research. In checking the aperture, it was evident that my ETX had (like myself ) suffered the effects of gravity over time. Some day I might get brave and fix the secondary but the Mak still delivers good images and is my solar scope and one of my grab'n'go scopes. Btw, it's recommended that you store Maks aperture-down to avoid the migration issue.

Regarding astrophotography with the Mak, go here and scroll down to to the 'Applications' section and read the beginning of the 'Astronomical uses' subsection. I've done lunar photography with the ETX (Nikon CoolPix 4300) but haven't tried anything else.

Best of luck!

[Louise]

Ive had a quick read so thanks for that.

Out of interest, which would be a good camera to start with.

One the can be held on an adaptor but also not heavly priced.

Maybe the £100 range?

I have said before I have the MJU and that cost me £400 brand new few years ago so I dont really want to spend that much again as I still put that to good use.

Untill I get all my parts back and a clear sky I cant tell how good it will be.

[Talitha]

I don't know enough about cameras to suggest any particular one to you, but I can show you a little bit about mine and how my images are captured. Hope this helps.

[mdstuart]

Try using your scope to split some double stars. This is fun try an easy one first say Mizar in the Plough and then a tougher one such as Castor in Gemini. There are maps for these on the internet and both are really bright. Try this on your highest power and estimate how far apart they are in mm. They are actually about 100 or so times further apart than the earth is from the Sun..Let me know how it goes. That will tell you how good your new optics are....I expect Talitha will get double dobles with her sliding secondry mirror...

Then try seeing how many stars you can see in Pleides...which is a bright cluster...Then you can check how faint the stars are you can actually see. How many can you see inside the little square?

Enjoy....

[Louise]

Finally got my replacement part at £30 today.

Shame the sky is cloudy and pretty windy!

Really looking forward to seeing some sky again soon.

[proflight2000]

Hi Louise

I will be pretty blunt here, Seben are "ok" they are a mass produced item which as you will have noticed only seem to sell on ebay. I had a 90 mm seben and the quality was good, they are more a spotting scope than a total astronomical unit. For starting out I would say they are an ample item, but you will soon notice that they dont quite hit the spot, you will want more. So in short, Seben are fine but whatever you do, if you intend going higher later on, go for a skywatcher, or at the very least seek some views from in here. Apeture is everything at the end of the day. Also keep the Seben if you do go higher as it will make a great finder scope on a big baby.