Celestron EdgeHD 11" Or William Optics FLT 132 APO Triplet

[astrogeorge]

Hi All,

I'm looking to get a new scope, it will be fitting on to my EQ6 Pro mount. My main interest is imaging the moon and planets but don't want to restrict myself as i will want to do some deep sky imaging at a later date. What are your thoughts? I also have the chance of an Meade LX200 10" (EMC Coatings)

[Ben Ritchie]

Personally i'd buy the C11 for the lunary/planetary stuff and look to supplement it with an 80mm-ish refractor for deep sky imaging in due course, that would be the best of both worlds I think.

If it must be just one 'scope then go for the refractor, as the C11 is pretty limited for deep-sky on that mount (the focal length is very long). However, i'd suggest reading up on the WO132 QC issues first - i'm certainly not saying they're all bad, but some very duff ones have made it through.

[FLO]

I'll ditto Ben's suggestion, the SCT's greater focal length and aperture is better suited to imaging planets and the lunar surface. Consider also the C9.25 which is something of a legend amongst planetary imagers.

It'll be interesting to see what focal ratio the dedicated HD reducer will achieve.

HTH

[Ben Ritchie]

The C9.25 is also more manageable too if you're setting up/tearing down each night, although the C11's not a monster - the Celestrons are a fair bit lighter than the Meade OTAs.

Just for the avoidance of any doubt, all i'm saying about the WO132 is that - based on what's been reported online - if I was buying i'd (a) expect to star-test it myself, and ( pick a dealer who'll support you. I'd suggest the forum sponsor for the latter, having had a rather poor experience with another big WO dealer who lost all interest once my card cleared

[davinchi]

A C11 will work wonders visually on deepsky, I have it on the same mount and works great... about imaging with the focal reducer fine... only drawback it´s big, it takes a while to cooldown ( better add a fan or similar ) ...