I have a sort of plan ...

[justanothermidlifecrisis]

Hi,

I've always wanted to get a telescope since watching Carl Sagan's Cosmos as a kid, journeying through space in a dandelion spaceship (as I recall).

When thinking about buying a scope recently I was initially drawn to the idea of a compound scope such as a SkyWatcher Sky Max 102 and I understand this would give me access to views of bright planets in the solar system, the moon, etc.

However, when I stopped and thought about it, what makes me really catch my breath and what really was imprinted from Cosmos was nebulae.
I understand that to access those celestial objects (and to photograph them) I'm going to need a more specialised scope and a decent equatorial mount in order to manage long exposures.

So my staged plan is now this (and I'd like a little feedback too please) ...

1) Invest in a decent equatorial mount that has a reasonable payload whilst not being too cumbersome. My idea is that even if I can only justify the cost of a decent mount at this time, I can combine it with my existing (albeit old) Canon 300 D SLR. When it was launched it seemed vast with a 6.3 MP resolution. I appreciate that it could be a limiting factor for now, but i's another item that I can upgrade as I go.

Recommendations for mounts I'm considering so far include:

• Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro Goto Mount - £789
• Celestron Advanced VX - £980
• iOptron CEM25P - £910

I'm leaning more toward the HEQ5 as ...

• They are popular (easier to pick up a used one?)
• Overall good reviews
• Good payload capacity
• Cheaper to add wifi adaptor than Celestron (I think the ability to control the mount by smartphone will make astronomy more accessible to my teenage daughter)
• A potenial downside for me (please advise if I'm mistaken) is that the head seems to weigh significantly more (2x) than the tripod! Is that an issue?

 

2) At some stage pick up an apochromatic refractor. The recommendations so far have been:

• Explore Scientific ED80 - £559
• Orion ED80T CF - £969 (too expensive)
• Williams Optics Zenithstar 73 APO - £549
• Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED - £499 
• Williams Optic RedCat 51 - £699 (highly rated, light, eye catching, pricey)

I appreciate that I might also require field flatteners/reducers for paticular scopes too
I'm leaning towards the Evostar 80ED despite it being the heaviest of the selections, again it seems that they are popular and so an increased chance of picking up a 2nd hand one but I'm open to opinions and offers 🙂

3) Get a new DSLR

 

4) Spend years shelling out for gizmos ...


I'd appreciate any thoughts or if anyone is prepared to sell me some of the aformentioned kit, or signpost me towards sites where I can buy 2nd hand gear I'd be very grateful

 

Thanks
Phil

[Eddie Jones]

Hi Phil,

Welcome to the forum ! 

Your plan is sensible, I'd go for the HEQ5 on the mounts it's a very safe buy. 
There is no problem with the mount being heavier than the tripod (just makes the tripod easier to carry)

CEM25 is good but lacking in payload capacity.

All of the scopes you have listed are great!

Edited July 25, 2020 by Eddie Jones

[CloudMagnet]

Yep definetly seems sound. On point 3 I would also consider at least a modified DSLR or even a dedicated astronomy camera. If you are really going to be chasing nebulas then you need a camera that will be sensitive to Hydrogen alpha to get the best results. Unmodified DSLR cameras tend to be lacking for this but your current camera will do for a start while you build up other equipment.

Longer term, a cooled astronomy camera will give the best results so its good to plan for that early on as the cost can get high quickly.