Celestron 8SE v Orion SkyQuest XX12g/XT10G

[Cosmoman]

Hi everyone. I am particularly interested in moving up to astrophotography and looking to purchase either a Celestron 8SE (without eq mount as cannot afford) or an Orion SkyQuest XX12i or g (not sure the difference between i and g) or Skyquest XT10G. Portability is not an issue for me and I have mains power supply in my garden for an adaptor power supply.  I have a Canon 6D. For sure want to photograph the planets, in particular to get best shots poss of Saturn and moons but for sure want to get deep sky stuff in as much detail and colour as possible. Different mounts won't be an option at this stage re budget for any of these scopes.

Appreciate some guidance on which scope to get of these, and benefits of going to the 10G  from 8SE and then again re the 12ii or 12g 

I have the prices for the extra bits I need for the 8SE, T mount, adaptor, reducer, filters etc, but not sure what additional items and rough costs there would be for getting the necessary for the Orion's.

Many thanks

 

[Cosmoman]

Just to add to the above...

Of course I realise in an ideal world I need an GEM, trouble is I cannot afford it at this stage. As a beginner to astrophotography (I am an avid DSLR camera user and amateur cosmologist for decades) I was looking at something in my price range that I could later get a GEM but that would satisfy my initial desire to get some half decent deep sky images stacked etc, as well as of course the planets, and saw on this short 5min video that results without a GEM are indeed good enough for the beginner just getting into it.

https://youtu.be/6uXbF5hF3rQ

I can then source a GEM later for better results when I can afford it and when I then realise I can get even better by upgrading. I have already researched a quite a bit within my budget, and also spoken at length to a the owner of telescopes-direct.com. I need to get a rig within an all in budget of about £2000 $2600, which the 8SE and all the bits can be done, and potentially the Orion's too. 

[PXR-5]

I would go with the SE if you want to gravitate to AP.

I believe you can buy a wedge for it, that won't cost much at all.

 

(The 5 comes with the wedge)

 

I don't do AP, so maybe others have a better idea of what to get in your budget.

 

Maybe buy a decent scope for AP, but just get an affordable mount right now, then upgrade to a good EQ in the future. 

Just a thought.

 

Good luck 😃

 

[Cornelius Varley]

The Orion Skyquests are dobsonian mounted telescopes, so not well suited to DSO imaging. The "i" in the designation refers to Orion's own proprietary Intelliscope push-to system. This mount is not motor driven which also makes it unsuitable for imaging. The "g" version uses the Skywatcher Synscan goto system. 

[Cosmic Geoff]

If you want to do deep space imaging, you should buy a telescope and mount suitable for the purpose, and before you click the Buy button, obtain and read the book "Making Every Photon Count" available from forum sponsor FLO. It could save you a lot of wasted time and money.

If you are interested in deep space imaging, a C8 on its lightweight SE GoTo mount is entirely unsuitable. I have one, so I should know. As for putting it on a wedge, 😂 just don't go there. Doubly unsuitable.

A Dobsonian is equally unsuitable for imaging.

Visual use, planetary imaging, and deep sky imaging all have distinct requirements, and trying to use one setup for all three is like buying a pickup and trying to use it for closed circuit racing.

For visual you can pick a mount that is quick to deploy.  For planetary imaging, you want a well-behaved and stable mount + a planetary video camera, and for deep space imaging you want the most solid and accurate equatorial GoTo mount you can afford, and start with a small high quality refractor.

[Ricochet]

If you want to do astrophotography, I think that you should put all your money towards a suitable mount and use your existing camera and lenses directly. Then, when you have more money, you can add a suitable telescope. 

This is after buying and reading every photon counts of course. 

[Cosmoman]

How about this scope if I can stretch to it. Thoughts appreciated!

Celestron ADVANCED VX 8 EDGE HD Telescope - Widescreen Centre (widescreen-centre.co.uk)

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

1 hour ago, Cosmoman said:

How about this scope if I can stretch to it. Thoughts appreciated!

Celestron ADVANCED VX 8 EDGE HD Telescope - Widescreen Centre (widescreen-centre.co.uk)

The 'Edge HD' scopes are designed for full field imaging, but unless you are an expert astro-imager, a small aperture refractor with a focal length of about 500mm (the scope you link to has a FL of 2000mm) would be far easier to use.

The AVX mount would do nicely for visual observing or planetary imaging, but deep space imagers seem to regard it with muted enthusiasm.

I respectfully direct your attention to the comments above.

From personal experience, I can tell you that I produced some pretty-looking deep space images using my 102/500mm refractor, but the deep space images I tried with my C8 were all rubbish.

[jonathan]

I'd second (or are we on 3rd now?) a good quality small refractor (spend around £1k on some decent glass), enjoy the small but perfectly crisp visuals it gives and learn the ropes of astrophotography with a less expensive mount.  If you're already toying with the idea of spending about £1,400 on an 8SE then I think you should easily be able to afford a high quality refractor (between 60mm and 102mm) on a medium sized EQ driven mount, with or without goto (if Skywatcher then look for the mounts with 'Pro' in the title, they usually have better gearing).