Telescope suggestion

[Ianw]

Hi all :)

 

Just looking to purchase my first telescope and wanted some advice, I was looking at purchasing the Celestron Nexstar 5SE as my first.

I am very interested in astrophotography and things outside of our solar system, how do you think I would get on with this unit or could you suggest a better telescope for what I want. I don't mind a learning curve, no effort no gain as they say.

 

Thanks in advance.

Ian

 

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @Ianw and welcome to SGL. 

Mak's and SCT's tend to have long focal lengths. For lunar and planetary imaging this is not going to be much of a problem. I am not sure whether the Celestron f/6.3 FF/FR will work with it; as I am purely visual at present. For DSO's and other 'stuff' you maybe better off with a wide-field refractor or a 130mm Newtonian 'scope and mount. Other SGL'ers will be able to clarify.

If you decide to go for the C5; don't forget a dew shield, as all Mak's and SCT's are dew-magnets. You can either buy them ready made or DIY. Also they require time to acclimatise to the ambient temperature before use to let the warm air inside the tube escape. With my 're-modded' ETX105 and C6/SCT-xlt; I allow about 30-60 minutes; with the visual back un-capped pointing skywards.

[Beardy30]

The 5 is fine in itself - I have An 8 but the mount is not right for Astro Photography you’ll need an AVX or EQ5 Pro at the very least. 

the SCT scope is super however as a scope with some amazing optics just be carful about the mount as that’s more important I’d say than the tube. 

[Ianw]

Thanks for feedback, what about this instead, would this be better suited?

Sky-Watcher Explorer-200P (EQ5 PRO) Parabolic SynScan GO-TO Newtonian Reflector

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

The C5 is a fine little scope, but the C5 SE is a visual scope outfit, and the mount is not suitable for deep space astrophotography, so if that is your primary interest you should buy something else.   It would work for planetary imaging, though.

Sky-Watcher Explorer-200P (EQ5 PRO) Parabolic SynScan GO-TO Newtonian Reflector  This is completely different from your first thought.  Again, not particularly suitable for astrophotography.  The mount is barely adequate for the 200p as a visual scope.  Again, if astrophotography is your main aim, buy something else.

Edited June 23, 2020 by Cosmic Geoff

[Beardy30]

Agree with cosmic Geoff 

[Ianw]

Thanks again for the info, what should I be looking at around the £5-799 mark.

 

Thanks again.

[Beardy30]

Have a look at this - it’s what you’ll need mount wise as a minimum with the 5SCT tube https://www.firstlightoptics.com/advanced-vx-goto/celestron-advanced-vx-5-sct.html

 

[Beardy30]

4 minutes ago, Ianw said:

Thanks again for the info, what should I be looking at around the £5-799 mark.

 

Thanks again.

If that’s your budget I’d go for a different scope - you’ll struggle to get a Decent sized SCT scope on the mount you need 

[sputniksteve]

I'm still having this debate with myself. I really like the look of the Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 on the AZ=GTi. But I know I shall want to have a look at some DSO. So, I'm also looking at the Celestron Astro Fi 6. Now, I know that for imaging of DSO this is not the best option; however, the C6 OTA is £649, whilst the Astro Fi version is ... £649. So, I'm thinking I could get this to get me started knowing that at some point I shall want to upgrade the tripod. In the short term, there's a thread here somewhere of people doing some great imaging on alt-az mounts ...

[Ricochet]

40 minutes ago, Ianw said:

Thanks again for the info, what should I be looking at around the £5-799 mark.

 

Thanks again.

The minimum suggested beginner mount for astrophotgraphy is the Skywatcher HEQ5. That will set you back £789. On the assumption that you already have a DSLR, you could then fit that directly to the mount with whatever lens you have while you save up to buy either an 80ED or 130PDS.

The book Making Every Photon Count should be your first purchase, else you risk having no money and a telescope/mount that is completely unsuitable for your aims.

[Ianw]

11 hours ago, Ricochet said:

The minimum suggested beginner mount for astrophotgraphy is the Skywatcher HEQ5. That will set you back £789. On the assumption that you already have a DSLR, you could then fit that directly to the mount with whatever lens you have while you save up to buy either an 80ED or 130PDS.

The book Making Every Photon Count should be your first purchase, else you risk having no money and a telescope/mount that is completely unsuitable for your aims.

Thanks, I have ordered the book

[Ianw]

I am almost ready purchase the HEQ5 Pro mount as recommended,  if I get that and say the Sky Watcher 200PDS would that enable me to do what I want and last me a number of years before needing to upgrade?

 

Thanks for all your advice so far

Edited June 25, 2020 by Ianw

[Beardy30]

Absolutely 

[Wyvernp]

1 hour ago, Ianw said:

I am almost ready purchase the HEQ5 Pro mount as recommended,  if I get that and say the Sky Watcher 200PDS would that enable me to do what I want and last me a number of years before needing to upgrade?

 

Thanks for all your advice so far

My recommendation would be to look on astrobin for images taken with any scope you want to purchase, this will give you a good idea of what to expect.

https://www.astrobin.com/search/?q=+200PDS

[Ricochet]

3 hours ago, Ianw said:

I am almost ready purchase the HEQ5 Pro mount as recommended,  if I get that and say the Sky Watcher 200PDS would that enable me to do what I want and last me a number of years before needing to upgrade?

 

Thanks for all your advice so far

I believe you would need an NEQ6 or larger for a 200PDS. 

[Erling G-P]

On 25/06/2020 at 14:26, Ricochet said:

I believe you would need an NEQ6 or larger for a 200PDS. 

It would definitely be better, no question about that, but you can image with a 200PDS on an HEQ5 Pro.  Wind has to be very light, as it's quite a sail.  Here are some of my best shots with just that combination. Mount has been belt modded, with the relatively inexpensive Rowan kit.  Camera is a Canon 700Da cooled DSLR.  Autoguided with a Staraid Revolution.

[Ricochet]

1 minute ago, Erling G-P said:

It would definitely be better, no question about that, but you can image with a 200PDS on an HEQ5 Pro.  Wind has to be very light, as it's quite a sail.  Here are some of my best shots with just that combination. Mount has been belt modded, with the relatively inexpensive Rowan kit.  Camera is a Canon 700Da cooled DSLR.  Autoguided with a Staraid Revolution.

Nice, thanks for sharing. You should definitely mask the edge of your primary to tighten up the stars. The bright star just right of centre in the last photo shows it best, there are three gaps in the diffraction spikes all around the star, where the mirror clips are blocking the bad mirror edge. If you mask the rest of the edge you will cut out all of the other spikes, except the four caused by the secondary spider. 

[Erling G-P]

17 hours ago, Ricochet said:

Nice, thanks for sharing. You should definitely mask the edge of your primary to tighten up the stars. The bright star just right of centre in the last photo shows it best, there are three gaps in the diffraction spikes all around the star, where the mirror clips are blocking the bad mirror edge. If you mask the rest of the edge you will cut out all of the other spikes, except the four caused by the secondary spider. 

Thanks, I'm aware of the problem but haven't gotten round to try the masking yet (you should see my Alnitak in a Horsehead shot.. )