New starter wanting some advice on next steps

[savcom]

Greetings everyone - first poster and, as usual, I would like some advice.

A bit of background for you all - I'm interested in both observing and imaging and am pretty much at the start of both hobbies. At present I am more interested in DSOs than the solar system (both for observing and imaging) so would like to concentrate on these aspects of astronomy with my equipment.

I have a SW Star Adventurer Pro with its own tripod that I have used with my Pentax K3 DSLR and lenses for imaging and I recently acquired a motorised EQ5 with an SW 150/750 refractor.   I'm fully aware the large SW refractor won't be much use for imaging, but it will help me with observing.  The mount will however be a good start for imaging at home once serviced and upgraded.

I've been lucky enough to be given a decent sum of money to spend on an imaging scope so I am looking at what to buy to add to my equipment to help imaging and to provide me with a travel scope for observing when away too.  The scope therefore needs to be useable on the Star Adventurer  Pro and I have kind of ended up looking at either a 60mm or a 72mm scope along the lines of:

• Altair 72 EDF Refractor / RVO Horizon 72ED / TS 72mm F6 (these all look to be very similar if not identical scopes)
• WO ZS73
• SW Evostart 72ED DS-Pro
• WO ZS61
• Altair 60 EDF doublet
• Sharpstar 61EDPH
• WO Spacecat 51

I have the 25mm and 10mm eyepieces and the diagonal from the SW 150/750, so suggestions for other eyepieces and possible diagonal would help too.  I will get the appropriate flattener and the T-mount/adapter and spacer as necessary for the Pentax K3.

Hope I've covered everythuing - but happy to provide more info if required.

Thanks

[KP82]

The Altair, RVO, TS optics 72mm and WO zs73 are essentially the same scope. WO like to claim extra 1mm aperture on many of their models for marketing reasons. WO zs61 and Altair 60EDF are again the same scope.

There are two version of Sharpstar 61EDPH, mk i a doublet and mk ii a triplet. According to some threads on CN, colour correction on the mk ii isn't as good as what would normally be expected from a triplet.

WO Cat 51 is strictly a widefield imaging scope. But if that's the type of imaging you'd like to do, it is very good.

SW ED72 is another good choice and a lot cheaper than the above.

Most of these are out of stock at the moment. So if you need one asap, your choice will be down to availability rather than brand names.

 

The SW startravel 150 is a fast 6" achro, so not suitable for high magnification due to high amount of CA and spherical aberration. But since your main interest is in DSOs, it shouldn't be a problem for you. I'd recommend a wide angle eyepieces to go with it like ES68 24mm, Morpheus 17.5mm, Nagler T5 16mm, etc. If you get a 2" diagonal, you can also take a look at those 2" WA eyepieces in the 30 - 40mm range.

Edited January 7, 2021 by KP82

[savcom]

Thank you @KP82. Very useful information. 

I've also noticed the lack of supply - some sites quoting June as the earliest stock may be available!   This may sway my decision a little bit but more likely after I decide between a 70mm, 60mm or 50mm scope.

It looks like I have two steps to take now:

• For imaging I need to check the FOV offered by each scope when used with my Pentax
• I also need to check that the scope/camera/finder will work on the Star Adventurer Pro.

Thanks for the help regarding the eyepieces.  I'll see what budget is left once I choose the scope, but that gives me a good choice to start with.

 

[jonathan]

If the scopes you're looking at are essentially the same then you might be interested more in what equipment, fittings, and things like cases come supplied with them.  I have the Altair Astro Wave 102, a very nice refractor that came with a good rotatable dual speed focuser, 2" to 1.25" converter (all of it has brass collars), and an excellent custom fitted hard case.  I also bought the matching finder scope with diagonal and illuminated eyepiece, an expensive but nice-to-have luxury.  As you mention travel then a strong case should be high on the list, if it has custom fitted foam for the scope then even better and should serve you well.

There appears to be quite a few OTAs still in stock over at altairastro.com, unless their stock status is inaccurate.

I have the 38mm SWA PanaView eyepiece, it's a serious piece of glass that gives tremendous wide, sharp views on clusters, Andromeda Galaxy, Orion Nebula, etc.  There are other super wide angle eyepieces, some I'm sure may be better (so I've heard anyway) but I can't afford to buy them all to compare!  Worth the price if you're in for the visual wide field stuff. 

[savcom]

I had noticed Altair Astro had a better stock situation than many but they've not updated their site to say they're back after Christmas, so who knows if the stock is accurate.  Teleskop-Express also seem to have some stock too. 

As you'd have guessed, I'm putting together a small set of equipment to get me going.  The older SW 150/175 comes with a 2" diagional and two eyepieces that will serve to start me off, but that 38mm SWA PanaView may well be within budget - and interesting it's a 2" size too.  Thank you.

 

[KP82]

1 hour ago, savcom said:

I had noticed Altair Astro had a better stock situation than many but they've not updated their site to say they're back after Christmas, so who knows if the stock is accurate.  Teleskop-Express also seem to have some stock too. 

As you'd have guessed, I'm putting together a small set of equipment to get me going.  The older SW 150/175 comes with a 2" diagional and two eyepieces that will serve to start me off, but that 38mm SWA PanaView may well be within budget - and interesting it's a 2" size too.  Thank you.

 

Your startravel 150 being f/5 might be too fast for the 38mm Panaview which has poor edge correction on fast scopes. Hence why I suggested those more expensive eyepieces earlier.

From my experience, the stock level on Altair website isn't always accurate. If I were to order something from them, I'd get in touch with them to find out the stock level first.

Edited January 8, 2021 by KP82

[savcom]

6 hours ago, KP82 said:

Your startravel 150 being f/5 might be too fast for the 38mm Panaview which has poor edge correction on fast scopes. Hence why I suggested those more expensive eyepieces earlier.

From my experience, the stock level on Altair website isn't always accurate. If I were to order something from them, I'd get in touch with them to find out the stock level first.

I am also looking at eyepieces for use on the new scope when travelling, so use on both scopes has to be considered.

I appreciate your point about the eyepieces you suggested but again, availability may be the deciding factor at this point.

[savcom]

I've just ordered an Altair 72 EDF refractor and an adapter for the Pentax to start me on my journey.  It would appear AltairAstro's web site's stock control is accurate!. 

I'll take my time about eyepieces and see what I can get later on.

Thanks everyone for your help.