Cant decide help needed

[Gadget]

Hi all

The funds are almost in place for my new scope and now have a few questions that may help me make my choice I was dead set on getting a 8SE due to the ease of set up and the great optics ive read so much about but while ive been getting my funds together I have been doing a lot of looking at other scopes and keep looking at the Skywatcher Evostar 120ED DS pro as I have read the quality of the telescope and views it gives are some of the finest so the first question really is would this be a backward step choosing a 4.75" APO over a 8"SCT as I keep reading aperture is king? and would my novice eyes notice the quality of the images between the two.

And of course there is the mount to consider is there a mount that can be used with the APO that is as easy to use and set up as the 8SE as I know nothing about polar aligning etc and not really keen on a EQ mount sorry if questions are a bit noobish but need the help

Thanks for any input you may have

[Ben Ritchie]

Aperture does matter, but it depends on what you're interested in - for covering most bases a 5"-ish refractor does very well, and for general use it would be a long time before you ran out of things to look at. If I could only have one 'scope, my 5" f/8 would be it. Obviously though if you're looking at popping faint fuzzies then every inch counts unless you're under very dark sky.

My personal take would be to go for the refractor, and maybe pair it with a 10" or 12" dob at some point in the future if you want more aperture at a reasonable price, to me that's a great pairing. But just my take on it, obviously...

As for EQ mounts, they are no big deal: confusing the first couple of times maybe, but talk to people here and you'll get it figured out in no time.

[adamsp123]

I would go along with Ben on this one, remember the 120ED has no central obstruction and will give better contrast which will make up for the lesser aperture considerably, no collimation to do, pin sharp stars and virtually no CA, it is a good choice. As no one scope can do everything well, a later addition of a cheap large aperture Dob seems very sensible.

And.....if you get into imaging the 120ED is a good scope for that!

But......I would recommend if you go the refractor route to get an equatorial mount it isn't so bad with a little practice to use one, and they have many advantages.

[ollypenrice]

We have a Meade 127 refractor here, very similar I would think to the SkyWatcher 120, and never in a million years would I think of observing with our 10 inch SCT in preference to the apo. There is no comparison in image quality. The apo is crisp, with tiny sharp stars and high contrast. The view is exquisite and exciting. The view through the SCT isn't bad, but, you know...

For webcam users the SCT would probably win, however.

I really wouldn't worry about the German mount. It only remains intimidating for about 20 minutes.

We live in a golden age of affordable apochromatic refractors. Why miss out?

Olly

[Deneb]

Another Vote for the Refractor

[A McEwan]

One more vote for the low-maintenance, high grin-per-view rate ED refractor. But is it possible you get a chance to try one of each before buying? Go to a star party or join a local club to get hands-on experience of them perhaps?

[Whippy]

But is it possible you get a chance to try one of each before buying? Go to a star party or join a local club to get hands-on experience of them perhaps?

My thoughts excatly. You're looking at spending a fair bit of money so why not see first hand rather than relying on the thoughts of others?

FWIW, the SCT will show you more due to it's aperture but what the refractor will show, will look nicer. Just out of interest, you haven't considered a newtonian. Any particular reason?

Tony..

[Doc]

Lots of good comments but you all seem to forget what is he going to mount his 120ED on. In my mind it needs at least a EQ6.

Total cost would be much more then a 8SE.

I agree on planets, double stars and clusters a 120ED will win but on DSO's aperture still rules.

[GazOC]

For visual a ED120 is OK on an EQ5 and very solid on a HEQ5.

[Doc]

For visual a ED120 is OK on an EQ5 and very solid on a HEQ5.

Sorry Gaz but I would always over mount as to me it's the mount you will always keep for future upgrades.

[GazOC]

Me too Doc but honestly the HEQ5 has plenty in reserve where the ED120 is concered. I use the setup regulary and its solid mate.

[Gadget]

Wow was not expecting so much great advice so quickly thank you very much got plenty to think about now

Just out of interest, you haven't considered a newtonian. Any particular reason?

Tony..

Hi Tony

Yes there are reasons but purely from just my novice point of view which are I was not keen on the bits mirrors etc being exposed id be checking every 5min for dust, spiders or anything else that wanted a closer look and I know I would end up taking it to bits at some point to clean it all which would end in tears and also there is the collimation side of it which seems more involved

I know the SCT requires collimation also buts sounds more straightforward and the mirrors are enclosed which would make me feel better, Like I said its just from my novice point of view

As a few mentioned I need a club or star party as I would love to see first hand these telescopes in action

Im still being drawn to the APO though

Thanks all

[Whippy]

Interesting viewpoint there as I was always quite happy to deal with newtonians at first and was more worried about scopes with corrector plates like SCT's and Maks!

Fact is unless your mirrors and/or corrector plate are filthy, then it doesn't affect the view so there would be no need to worry about that. Collimation isn't as scary as it's made out to be on any scope either, and there's a whole range of aids that make it really easy.

For the same sort of money you're looking at spending, you could get a 10" or even a 12" dobsonian with tracking which for DSO's would be much better than the two you're considering.

But the APO would be really nice!

Tony..