Lunt LS50Tha double stack or not?

[Moodtastic]

Last summer I had great fun with my LS50THa which I coupled with a ASI178MM, but also enjoyed visual side as well.

I am thinking about getting the feather touch focuser and LS50C double stack module for it to take my solar imaging forward

However, I could probably sell my LS50THa and for the extra money that I am thinking of spending jump to a 60mm Lunt. The downside is that the cost to double stack the 60mm will likely mean it will be a few years before I can afford to do this.

I am just looking for some advice really. Anyone have any thoughts or experience on if I should upgrade my LS50THa to double stack and better focuser, or get a bigger 60mm?

 

Edited May 8, 2021 by Moodtastic

[xtreemchaos]

you could get a quark, double stax performance at half the price and have a choice of what scope to use.

[Moodtastic]

1 hour ago, xtreemchaos said:

you could get a quark, double stax performance at half the price and have a choice of what scope to use.

This is not a bad shout to be honest and its something I am considering. I could keep my LS50THa. My hesitance is quality which I have heard is a bit variable (although that is less of an issue via FLO and their good service).

[PhotoGav]

I was in exactly your position just recently. I opted to purchase a Double Stack for my Lunt 50 as one came up on Astro Buy & Sell for a sensible price. I am absolutely delighted with the improvement that it has brought to my solar imaging. It seemed quite subtle to begin with, but now I’ve sussed out settings, the difference is what I had hoped for.

Having said that, of course I would prefer a Lunt 60, double stacked! We all know that increased aperture is key to resolving power and the 50 is limited. Cost is prohibitive for this. While we are at it, the 80 would be even better!

Having said that, I would also love a refractor plus Quark! I didn’t go down this route now as it would end up more expensive, given that I would need a suitable dedicated refractor too (my refractors are assigned to deep sky imaging duties). It would be less portable than the 50, which I also use for outreach observing and is just perfect on a small mount or my Star Adventurer. Ultimately, I will probably able end up purchasing a Quark system at some point, for close up views, leaving the 50 for whole disk views.

Good luck with your research and eventual choice. Suffice to say that I can wholeheartedly recommend the double stack upgrade for the Lunt 50 - it is probably your easiest and cheapest first step. It will also hold its value very well and be very sellable once you decide to sell and upgrade your whole system.

[xtreemchaos]

i wouldnt worry about quality its from a while ago thay seam to of got it sorted well i say that but with everything in life you could allways get a dud but i havnt heard any nightmare storys for a long time.

[Kitsunegari]

i would not bother with double stacking such a small telescope with a second etalon,  you are best to hold off and just save for a bigger scope.

 

More aperture is more valuable than a double stack these days,  because the double stack filters just are not made to the same standards they were 8 years ago when everyone was super buzzed about the h-alpha scopes.

 

Double stack filters are more or less, "rejected" filters that are always off band.

[Moodtastic]

On 08/05/2021 at 10:24, PhotoGav said:

I was in exactly your position just recently. I opted to purchase a Double Stack for my Lunt 50 as one came up on Astro Buy & Sell for a sensible price. I am absolutely delighted with the improvement that it has brought to my solar imaging. It seemed quite subtle to begin with, but now I’ve sussed out settings, the difference is what I had hoped for.

Having said that, of course I would prefer a Lunt 60, double stacked! We all know that increased aperture is key to resolving power and the 50 is limited. Cost is prohibitive for this. While we are at it, the 80 would be even better!

Having said that, I would also love a refractor plus Quark! I didn’t go down this route now as it would end up more expensive, given that I would need a suitable dedicated refractor too (my refractors are assigned to deep sky imaging duties). It would be less portable than the 50, which I also use for outreach observing and is just perfect on a small mount or my Star Adventurer. Ultimately, I will probably able end up purchasing a Quark system at some point, for close up views, leaving the 50 for whole disk views.

Good luck with your research and eventual choice. Suffice to say that I can wholeheartedly recommend the double stack upgrade for the Lunt 50 - it is probably your easiest and cheapest first step. It will also hold its value very well and be very sellable once you decide to sell and upgrade your whole system.

Thanks for this. Given I already have the ls50 that I bought from new I decided to go with the double stack and keep a dedicated solar scope rather than a Quark system. I may come back to the Quark though for similar reasons you have suggested.

 

 

[niallk]

I'm only visual, but I'm delighted with the double stack on my LS50 - luv the big difference it makes.  I also went for a focusser upgrade- I went for the Moonlight.   Dual speed is crucial for the best experience at the EP imho.

I did once look through a 60mm DS, with a TV binovue no less... and it was stunning.   But that setup is a multiple of the cost of mine!

[Moodtastic]

The feathertouch I ordered is dual speed.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/specialist-focusers-borg-tele-vue-lunt-gso-rc/feathertouch-125-dual-speed-focuser-for-lunt-ls50-solar-telescopes.html

The moonlite looks great though with the red. It seems hard to find though.

[Moodtastic]

I decided to also order a Solarquest mount. Not entirelt sure if this was a good idea or if i have wasted money but my CEM40 is a bit of a hassle to set up for quick sessions in the daytime and the reviews of the SolarQuest makes it sound really quick, easy and portable.

I hope for quick visual sessions the SolarQuest will be great. Though I will need to learn some new processing techniques to remove field rotation when I image.