Budget widefield 80-90mm Telescope for Astrophotography

[lkullez]

Hello Stargazers,

I've recently picked up AP as a hobby a few months back and am now looking to expand my reach into deep space by purchasing a telescope. I am sure this question has been asked multiple times before, the reason I ask it again is to get an up to date answer taking into consideration the current supplier circumstances and the shortage in stock for most retailers.

My current setup is a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer i2 Pro that I run with my Nikon d5500. I have a few lenses that have allowed me some range to begin with. A 50mm f1.8 (74mm on APS-c sensor) that I use for widefield, a 70-300 f4-5.6 AF-S for more detailed imaging (Mostly used for M42 and bigger, brighter targets) and finally a Meade 80AZ-ADR 700mm f8.8 that I picked up second hand, haven't used this much for imaging as I reckon it is pretty awful (thoughts?).

My question is therefor, what is the next telescope I should pick up? I am looking at the Evostar 72 ED from Sky-Watcher and like what I see, this however is out of stock everywhere... Any similar options in the same price range?

Should also mention that I live in Sweden and looking at the European market (including UK).

I very much appreciate any and every thought!

 

Thanks!

[KP82]

A 60 - 70mm ED doublet should work well on your current Star Adventurer. However since you've already been using a 300mm camera lens (even though it's a zoom), you won't gain much on the focal length (image scale) with such a scope. The Meade 80mm achro will produce pretty bad CA despite being f/8.8 as cameras are more sensitive. It is also quite slow and lacks a field flattener. You could give it a try, but generally speaking these achros are only good for narrowband mono imaging.

The most popular low cost step up from camera lenses is the Skywatcher 80ED. The various 102mm f/7 EDs are also good choices but substantially more expensive. Also these scopes will require a new mount. You might get away using an EQ5 with the 80ED, but I'd recommend HEQ5 Pro as a minimum.