Use the 50ED or a reducer on 80ED & Rowan mod

[sinbad40]

Hi All,

I want to be able to get a wider field, and want to know if the 533 is alright to fit onto the 50ED or would i be better to get a reducer for the 80ED (more light etc).  Skywatcher do a .85 reducer/flattener, but it doesn't give that much more fov.  Any recommendations or pointers are more than welcome.

 

Another quick on, the HEQ5 rowan mod, did anyone do any testing before and after, been looking at sorting that but wanted to know from others if they found it to be a good investment.  I am not bothered about the noise decrease, just the tracking improvement.

 

Edited November 25, 2022 by sinbad40
added other question

[OK Apricot]

I can't comment on the mount - I use an EQ6-R - but a friend of mine uses a Rowan modded HEQ5 pro and can get good 3 minute exposures unguided with a Redcat, similar focal length to the 50ED. 

I have both the 80ED and the 50ED and the 533. You say you want a wider field - out of the two, the latter will provide the widest field. The lower the focal length, the wider the field - the 50ED focal length is 242mm while the 80ED is 510 with the reducer, so still more than double. For example, the North America and Pelican nebula will just about squeeze into one frame using the 533 on the 50ED, while you can only really fit the Cygnus Wall, or the pelican at a push, in the frame using the 80ED. Both very good imaging scopes!

You can fit the 533 to the 50ED but you'll want the field flattener for it. I'm actually considering swapping the camera from the 80ED to the 50ED soon for a change of field. See the pics for the fields I'm talking about with these scopes and camera. Hope this helps 🙂. 

50ED:

 

80ED:

[sinbad40]

Thank you for that, excellent images.  That is what i was thinking, I wasn't sure if getting a reducer, even  .5 would have been the better option on the 80 than using the 50 due to the size, but seems i should be able to get what i would like on the 50.

Not sure if you could answer this one, but i have a 2x flat field extender, I was thinking if that could be used to get some of the smaller objects, i know i will be dropping light, but by taking more images, it should be possible.

[OK Apricot]

Have a look on Stellarium. It's a great planetarium app - you can use the observing tools to show you the FOV of different combinations of scopes and cameras, just need to put in their details, FL, pixel size etc. It overlays a little red box on your screen so you can see how your target will frame up. From that you can pick and choose appropriate targets for the equipment you have, or even plan ahead for scope or camera purchases suitable for the smaller targets. 

[rockinrome]

On 25/11/2022 at 10:21, sinbad40 said:

Hi All,

I want to be able to get a wider field, and want to know if the 533 is alright to fit onto the 50ED or would i be better to get a reducer for the 80ED (more light etc).  Skywatcher do a .85 reducer/flattener, but it doesn't give that much more fov.  Any recommendations or pointers are more than welcome.

 

Another quick on, the HEQ5 rowan mod, did anyone do any testing before and after, been looking at sorting that but wanted to know from others if they found it to be a good investment.  I am not bothered about the noise decrease, just the tracking improvement.

 

Hi Sinbad40

I have done the Rowan Mod on the HEQ5PRO and can confirm much better quiding (less corrections) with no (very, very little?) backlash.
Well worth the investmant.

All the best
Matthew

 

[sinbad40]

Thanks Rockin, had a read up and watched a few vids, and placed the order with Santa, so something to do when the clouds come in over Christmas :)

[Adam J]

On 25/11/2022 at 10:21, sinbad40 said:

Hi All,

I want to be able to get a wider field, and want to know if the 533 is alright to fit onto the 50ED or would i be better to get a reducer for the 80ED (more light etc).  Skywatcher do a .85 reducer/flattener, but it doesn't give that much more fov.  Any recommendations or pointers are more than welcome.

 

Another quick on, the HEQ5 rowan mod, did anyone do any testing before and after, been looking at sorting that but wanted to know from others if they found it to be a good investment.  I am not bothered about the noise decrease, just the tracking improvement.

 

If you have the cash I can recommend the ASKAR FMA180 over either of those options. 

[sinbad40]

14 hours ago, Adam J said:

If you have the cash I can recommend the ASKAR FMA180 over either of those options. 

Thanks for the info, but I want to make the most of the gear i already have.