Ready to Go Deeper

[Liquidtravel]

Hello all,

 

I have been using the following setup for a while:

• Askar FRA300 Pro 
• ZWO ASI533MC
• Orion 60mm Guidescope
• ZWO ASI178MM Guidecamera
• ZWO EAF
• ZWO AM5 Mount
• ZWO ASIAir Plus

I have had pretty good results overall but I am wanting to consider a new setup to get a little deeper/ and a little bit closer.  I would love some suggestions for a rig with a large aperture, long focal length, and a Monochrome camera and filters.  I would want to use a ZWO EAF, ZWO AM5 Mount, and ZWO ASIAir Plus.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

[SamAndrew]

For a low budget option I'd go for an 8" Newt, Skywatcher F4 or F5, or for a bit more money an Orion Optics one. If the money allows, then I'd get an APO refractor; the SharpStar 140PH looks interesting but a bit of an unknown quantity, and would require you to add the counterweight to the AM5. The Skywatcher Esprits are heavy for their aperture so would push the AM5, and I'd budget for a focuser upgrade. You don't need a long focal length, a Rasa 8 paired with the ZWO 294MM will give you 1"/pp and a good field of view, but getting the spacing and tilt sorted can be a pain. For filters, Antlia seems to be a great balance of price and performance.

[Liquidtravel]

1 hour ago, SamAndrew said:

For a low budget option I'd go for an 8" Newt, Skywatcher F4 or F5, or for a bit more money an Orion Optics one. If the money allows, then I'd get an APO refractor; the SharpStar 140PH looks interesting but a bit of an unknown quantity, and would require you to add the counterweight to the AM5. The Skywatcher Esprits are heavy for their aperture so would push the AM5, and I'd budget for a focuser upgrade. You don't need a long focal length, a Rasa 8 paired with the ZWO 294MM will give you 1"/pp and a good field of view, but getting the spacing and tilt sorted can be a pain. For filters, Antlia seems to be a great balance of price and performance.

Thanks for your thoughts.  I know nothing about Newtonian and was curious why you feel they are more suited for what I am looking for than other types.  Thanks

[ollypenrice]

These days, with small pixel cameras, there is no need for more than a metre of focal length unless you have a site with phenomenally stable seeing. I've had great results from a TEC 140 refractor but it isn't a fast option for going deep. A scope I'd certainly look at would be the Skywatcher Mn190. You'd want to upgrade the focuser but it produces fine results when sorted.

Orion Optics UK were recommended earlier in the thread. I would strongly advise you to Google 'Orion Optics UK customer service' before considering them - or PM me if you wish.

Olly

[SamAndrew]

1 minute ago, ollypenrice said:

Orion Optics UK were recommended earlier in the thread. I would strongly advise you to Google 'Orion Optics UK customer service' before considering them - or PM me if you wish.

Haven't owned an OO scope myself, so I'd heed Olly's warning

Olly beat me to it, but it comes down to not needing a long focal length due to the small pixels on modern cameras, so newts offer a great aperture for the price at a suitable focal length.

Cassegrain's typically have long focal lengths that will give you a very narrow field of view

Good refractors are expensive, a TEC would be top of my list, one day when the budget allows