New Telescope

[bayarealondoner]

Hi all, 

So this is my first post. I currently have a Celestron LCM114. I have never had much luck with it and from the reviews it would seem its a but of a turd.

So I am looking at upgrading to something else, id like to get into some amateur astro photography  hopefully. So my attention keeps getting drawn to the Celestron nexstar 8se.

Could I get your personal opinions.. would this be a good enough scope to move onto? Could I get some nice photographs with it or are there any better alternatives out there for around the same cost.

Thanks in advance for any help

Chris.

[PeterCPC]

Depends what you want to image. It would be good for planetary imaging and almost hopeless for DSOs.

Peter

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @bayarealondoner / Chris and welcome to SGL. 

+1 as above as said by @PeterCPC.

I used to own a Tasco 114 many years ago, then upgraded to a TeleVue 70mm refractor, Meade ETX105 & Celestron C6/SCT-xlt. After many years, I still have all three ‘scopes after giving away the ‘114 to a neighbours son, as he was doing a school project about the Moon.

 

    

Above are images of my three ‘scopes as mentioned.

Should you purchase the C8, two additional items are needed...

• a dew shield... this is a must have as Mak’s & SCT’s are notorious dew magnets.
• an f6.3 FF/FR (field flattener/focal reducer) for asto-imaging.

Other things, like a sturdy mount, polar-aligned, patience, etc., are also part of the list.

Though for imaging DSO’s you may have to think about a wide field refractor.

My ETX105 looks different from the Meade one, because several years ago, it fell from a mount after the dovetail bar snapped and damaged two of three mounting points and cracked the rear ABS back. Luckily it was on grass/turf, otherwise it would have ended up as a landfill statistic.

Edited August 23, 2020 by Philip R

[AstroRookie]

Hello bayarealondoner,

I'm using a second hand Celestron C8 (built in 1997, bought it around 2000), which was - together with the second hand Meade LXD75 mount - for years neglected under a cover in the garden shed. With this corona going around which forced me to work from home, came also a lot more free time,  so I removed the dust and wanted to start astro-imaging with this setup in combination with a Canon 500D dslr (aka T1 Rebel in other parts of the world). Soon I realised (and also read in different posts on different forums) that this a not the ideal gear for astrophotography. As replacing the scope, mount and camera was (financially) not an option, I found out that the first most important thing for DSO photography is the mount, and I replaced the LXD75 - after having wrecked it by taking it apart to clean it (but I donated it to the youth department of a local astro-club) - by a skywatcher EQ6R-Pro mount. Next will be the scope - maybe in one year from now, and then the following year the camera. To me this seems the most logically  path to replace old astro gear (unless money is not an issue  😉 ).

Kind regards,

AstroRookie

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL. The 8 SE is a very nice scope but is not really designed for astrophotography. You would be able to photograph the Moon and the planets, but DSOs would be difficult. Something like the SW 80 ED pro on the HEQ 5 mount would be better for DSO photography, but not so good for visual observing. It is difficult to get a scope that will do both. 

[rwilkey]

Hi Chris, welcome to SGL.  Before you even think about astrophotography you ought to read the book by Steve Richards called 'Making Every Photon Count', it is the beginners astro-imaging 'bible', found here:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

Good luck and clear skies!

Edited August 23, 2020 by rwilkey

[Andy38416]

I have this scope and it is amazing, really really good bit of kit. But like others have said, planets and moon for astrophotography should be ok, but any DSO’s will be very hard on the alt azimuth mount.

the scope isn’t the issue, just the mount for astrophotography.

but it is a very good scope.

Edited August 23, 2020 by Andy38416

[Cosmic Geoff]

The C8 SE is a fine visual scope outfit, and if pushed it can be used for planetary imaging.  But if you want to do serious astrophotography, you should buy something else.  For deep space imaging, you want a completely different scope on a better mount.  For planetary imaging, a C8 will do fine, but you would soon feel the need of a more stable mount with less wobble and backlash.  As for a C8 SE on a wedge, don't even think of going there.  I suggest that you read the book "Making Every Photon Count" before you waste your money on buying unsuitable kit.

And before you ask, there is no outfit equally suited for visual and imaging. To avoid an unsatisfactory compromise, think of  choosing one or the other, or 1 mount + 2 'scopes.  Though ideally it would be better to have two mounts as well, as a Nexstar SE mount would be far easier to deploy for a bit of visual than a Synscan EQ-6 equatorial mount.

Edited August 23, 2020 by Cosmic Geoff

[Nigella Bryant]

Yeah, I agree with the comments above, C8 is s very capable planetary and lunar scope. However in saying that I did have a Meade 8inch years ago on a wedge and those days used an off axis guider to visually guide for up to 45mins using slide film to great affect. These days I use a c11xlt and German equatorial mount, a Neq6. 

[bayarealondoner]

Thank you all for the advice, 

I've looked at the skywatcher 80ED and HEQ5 mount and have just a concerns.

The SW setup is a little more than the price range i was hoping for but not out of reach, i'm just concerned that if I need to add accessories it will go out of my range.

Also concerned that if I don't get the know how or get to grips with the hobby I would've wasted my money, so a plan I was thinking of is still go with the 8se and in about a years time, get the SW setup as well if all goes well.

Lastly, i'm guessing that the mount in the link below that comes with the 80ED is just as bad as the one that comes with the 8se

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1060553-REG/sky_watcher_s20160_80mm_proed_apochromatic_refractor.html?ap=y&smp=y

 

Again, thank you all for your help and time.

 

Chris

[Cosmic Geoff]

6 hours ago, bayarealondoner said:

 

Lastly, i'm guessing that the mount in the link below that comes with the 80ED is just as bad as the one that comes with the 8se

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1060553-REG/sky_watcher_s20160_80mm_proed_apochromatic_refractor.html?ap=y&smp=y

You guess correctly - it does not look like a serious imaging mount.

[Stu1smartcookie]

Hi , And welcome to SGL

I too am dreaming of a Nexstar 8 SE ... but , like others have said on here its quite Niche where photography is concerned . A scope i once had  was a skywatcher  130pds . 

I took my first DSO on that scope , mounted on an a Synscan eq3 of all things ,...it still remains my best photo . As for the Nexstar , be aware that this scope will need a certain amount of cool down time , which can be frustrating when the weather is unpredictable . I haven't had my gear out for 2 weeks due to the set up time and variable cloud etc. How i wish i still had a Dob! 

[teoria_del_big_bang]

Hi and welcome to SGL.

Some very good advice above and all pretty much singing from the same hymn sheet 🙂 

I started getting into Imaging just over 2 years ago and had no idea what I wanted when I started but got some great advice on this forum so keep asking all those questions you may have. Everyone is very friendly and there are no stupid questions.

One thing I did learn early on was that really planetary imaging and DSO imaging require different scope / camera setups and in fact to some extent different skills and techniques. So maybe have a think which you fancy getting into first as trying to do both would be difficult and expensive and if you try to do both on a budget then you will not do well at either as the equipment will be compromised.

I chose to concentrate on DSO's and there is certainly no shortage of targets and the good thing is that some are relatively easy to image (with the right equipment), there are many intermediate targets and plenty more challenging, so always something to challenge you in the future.

As well as getting the data on the night there then is the processing which for me was actually more challenging than taking the images but is every bit as important as taking the images and in fact maybe moreso. Many (including myself) find this more difficult that the actual imaging.

Anyway good luck with the hobby, do plenty of reading up on both the imaging and processing before spending a penny, rushing to buy what you may consider a bargain is not worth it, make sure you know exactly what you want, and ask questions on here 😉 

Steve