Skywatcher Explorer 200P or 250p DS

[Iceman120]

Hi guys,

looking to get either the Skywatcher Explorer 200P or the Skywatcher Explorer 250P DS alongside a NEQ6 Pro mount. My main focus is observing but would like to have a go at astrophotography as well. I was wondering which is a better scope or if there are any differences. I understand most people who are into astrophotography recommend getting a smaller scope as you get a more forgiving field of view so tracking hasn't got to be as perfect but its is not my main goal and when I do get round to it I will be using a Canon 300d to take the pictures. 

thanks for any advice in advance

[Kyle Allen]

If you have any intention of doing imaging then you should get the 200PDS not the 200P else you won’t be able to focus with a DSLR camera.

Why are you considering an equatorial mounted Newtonian if your main interest is observing? A Dobsonian telescope would be cheaper (a manual one much more so) and, being alt-az mounted, would keep the eyepiece in a comfortable position. A big Newt on an EQ mount isn’t very friendly to use! 

[rl]

The learning curve for astrophotography is steep, painful and expensive!

Personally I'd get the 200PDS and keep the load lighter on the mount,and put the difference in price towards the extra bits you will need. You will also need to buy an off-axis guider setup and guidecam, and a coma corrector. The spacings are a bit critical so do some research before randomly choosing the bits hoping they will all bolt together and just work. 

Many good shots have been taken with the 300D...mainly 20 years ago when it was state-of-the-art. You might want to find a SLR with live view facility which makes focusing much less of a pain. I think the 450D is the earliest with this option. 

Don't forget the usual way in to AP is with a short focus 80mm refractor for lots of good reasons. You can just dive in with a big Newt but you will hit lots of separate issues to be solved all at once. But it can be done...

[bottletopburly]

I’ve had the 200p now got the 200pds there is not a lot between them imo other than the 200pds has a better focuser ,slightly shorter tube  , 200p focused with a dslr just the same all down to pennies .

[Iceman120]

3 hours ago, Kyle Allen said:

Why are you considering an equatorial mounted Newtonian if your main interest is observing? A Dobsonian telescope would be cheaper

I have just sold my 10" dob as I don't like the manual movement, I found it a real pain and frustrating as it was quite loose, tried the method of adding weights but wasn't to my liking, I had a 80mm go to refractor a few years back and enjoyed using it a lot more than my 10" dob but when I did actually get something in view it was a game changing image comparing the 2 which is the reason I am going for a newt.

2 hours ago, rl said:

Many good shots have been taken with the 300D...mainly 20 years ago when it was state-of-the-art. You might want to find a SLR with live view facility which makes focusing much less of a pain. I think the 450D is the earliest with this option. 

At the moment I'm not interested in upgrading my camera as I'm not 100% sure I will progress into astrophotography, I see other people getting these great images and would like to have a go at them myself, If I start enjoying it and want to take it more seriously then I would either upgrade my DSLR or get a dedicated astro camera.

2 hours ago, rl said:

You can just dive in with a big Newt but you will hit lots of separate issues to be solved all at once.

What issues could I expect to run into?

 

thanks for the comments

[rl]

Possible extra issues starting AP with a big newt.

• Collimation. Not just the usual visual collimation. The focal plane should be perfectly square to the camera sensor and not tilted. The problem gets more difficult with faster scopes because the focus blurs more quickly as you go away from the focal plane. . Some focusers allow you to set the "squareness".
• You will have to guide. OAG usually necessary to handle differential flexure, but typically harder to adjust and limited choice of guide stars compared to a guide scope.
• Mirror flop during meridian flips. Your OAG will help a lot in this regard taking out slow changes but it won't cope with sudden movement of the main mirror
• Focus tends to change more with temperature. Not specifically a Newt issue but small refractors seem to do better in this regard. Pricier Newts come with carbon fibre tubes for this reason. 
• Big tubes are more susceptible to wind. Not as bad as a 6" f/10 refractor though...
• The longer focal length makes finding targets more difficult if the mount alignment isn't on the money. The big sensor in a D300 will help here. 

None of it is particularly difficult to get right once you know about the potential issue..it's just more to go wrong when you're coping with learning all the other stuff. 

Best of luck..let us know how you get on...there is always plenty of help on this site.

 

[Iceman120]

Yeah I wasnt expecting the photography side to be as easy as the observing side. Been watching videos on youtube the last couple of weeks and have thought on a few occasions. Why is everyone using wide field refractors when if you're observing everyone recommends getting the biggest scope they can afford but the smaller wide field refractors are more forgiving? 

I think I'll get the 200pds as I am mainly an observer but keeps my options open for tinkering with the photography side of it later on. If things dont go smoothly I could always get a refractor further down the line and make it an ap set up.

Thanks for all the advice