why is it so hard to decide? More advice needed

[cearnshaw]

Hi again. I realise that ultimately I have to make my own decision but I cannot decide what the best next scope is. I have a 5yr old Skywatcher 150mm f5 newt which is fine but is a bit of a pain to lug around and I want something with better optics and smaller but which will give good views from reasonable skies. I have now considered most things but am drwn to either a celestron 80mm ed refractor or possibly the 100mm but it is £200 more as I can't find it as an OTA, only on a CG5 mount, or the bargain Celestron c6-s SCT on a CG5. Please someone talk me into buying one of these as the alternative is that I dither so long that they will all be sold.

[acey]

Good views of what? Moon, planets, double stars? Then get the best refractor you can afford. If you want to see galaxies and nebulae then get your newt to a dark site, or if you find it too big to transport then get a smaller instrument you can take easily (even binoculars will do).

[jgs001]

For portability, the 80mm ED is probably the best. I've only used fracs, and 80mm at that, so I might be a little biased . The tube is short enough and light enough that it can be moved easily one handed, a decent camera tripod will work great for widefield objects, like clusters, M31 etc where you're not trying to track at high powers, and your newt is probably better for that anyway. I went for an 80mm frac, on the basis the best scope is the one that's used the most, and didn't want, at the time, to have to lug loads of really heavy gear out. Now for quick looks, I use a pair of 15x70's bins.

Hark at me, I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about :mrgreen:

[tinvek]

have to agree wth jgs001, i've a skywatcher 150 f5 newt on an eq 3-2 and i bought a c80 ed before xmas. as he said it mounts nicely on a photo pod or a cheap alt az mount. i did a first light on the skywatcher AZ3 mount here http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php?topic=38856.0 though originally i had it on a £12 argos photo pod.

the c80 ed is a wonderfull bit of kit, have alook at some of jgs001s pictures he's taken, up till the last couple of weeks they've been taken with his c80ed on an alt az mount !

also there are a couple of first lights on it on the various forums

here's jgs' one

http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php?topic=35793.0

i find it complements the newt really well, especially with the quickness of set up / pack up

[cearnshaw]

so the refractor is looking like the one? How much detail can you see with it om Saturn and Jupiter and can you get the trapezium in M42? I keep reading that it is too small for visual stuff and better for imaging

[jgs001]

Errm... I've not looked at much through it, although my small amount of M42 data I captured with it (I think I got 6 frames in before the clouds set in) showed the trap nicely. I was able to see the rings and moons of Saturn and the main cloud bands on Jupiter with the ST80 and the optics on the C80ED are much much better than that.

[acey]

If you want a refractor for looking at planets then you should think of long focal length (ie high f-number) and a very stable mount, as you'll be needing high magnification. I have a short-tube F5 80mm scope that I use on a photo tripod for low-power deep-sky viewing from dark sites and it's great for that, but it's not an instrument for planets. Yes I can see Jupiter's cloud belts and Saturn's Cassini division, but I'd see them better with an 80mm (or preferably 100mm) scope with longer focal length and better colour correction, mounted on a heavy-duty EQ. Low f-number refractors are "rich field" scopes offering low-power, wide-angle views. Think about exactly what you want to do with your scope and make sure you get the right tool for the job.

[John]

so the refractor is looking like the one? How much detail can you see with it om Saturn and Jupiter and can you get the trapezium in M42? I keep reading that it is too small for visual stuff and better for imaging

To some extent it depends on how much you perservere - in theory a good 80mm refractor can see loads of DSO's and will pick out nice planetary detail - Cassini's division, for example, is possible on a good night with a decent eyepiece as is Jupiters Great Red Spot, cloud belts, moon shadow transits and even a the more distinctive festoons on really good nights. If you have a really dark site to observe from you will see more of course.

I've owned a number of 80mm scopes (ST80's and ED80's) and liked the views that they gave. I ultimately found though that 100mm provided more potential and not much more weight so I've now settled on a 102ED as my "grab & go" scope.

I don't suppose you have considered getting a more portable mount for your 150mm Newt ? - that OTA would probably go on a Vixen Porta Mount fine then you get the best of both worlds.

John