Astronomy and Birding in one?

[rusirius]

I noticed on the FLO website that they sell a SkyWatcher StarTravel 80 OTA with 45deg erecting prism. It occurs to me that this might service nicely as both a birding spotting scope as well as a 'grab-and-go' astro scope for lunar, and planetrary observation.

I was wondering whether the x160 max practical magnification might be a bit limiting when it comes to planets and whether the StarTravel 102 might be better, or whether it is a bit too big for grab-and-go? Also, can the 102 be mounted on a sturdy photographc tripod? Finally, why does the 102 come with the red dot finder when the 80 appears to come with an optical one? Which one is better?

[brianb]

Quite honestly, this falls a bit between two stools:

You need more than 80mm for good views of the planets.

Birdwatchers need something that is very easy to cart around. They also often want sealed / nitrogen filled optics so they can operate in rain, a requirement not common amongst astronomers.

Can't answer the question about the marketing of the StarTravel scopes with finders, except to say that I find red dot finders completely and absolutely useless.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Can't answer the question about the marketing of the StarTravel scopes with finders, except to say that I find red dot finders completely and absolutely useless.

To be honest i cant see the point in them AT ALL. I mean to place the red dot on the desired object you have to move the scope til the object is in your FOV. The RDF only indicates to you that the object is centred in your FOV. Who cares if it is centred? You know it is there and if not centred you just tweak the RA,DEC controls.

Finderscopes with SOME magnification make MUCH more sense.

[John]

Coversely, many (including myself) find red dot finders exceptionally useful, for astronomy purposes that is.

I only rarely find the need for an optical finder. If the RDF is correctly aligned with the scope it's used with, you can put the red dot (or concentric circles in the case of the Telrad or Quikfinder) on the region of the sky that your chosen target is in then use a low powered eyepiece to pick it up in the scope.

I can see their limitations for ornithology but don't write them off for astronomy.

[LukeSkywatcher]

What i plan to do with my Dob is......start off with a 32mm EP and gradually replace it with a higher powered EP until i have the desired object at the magnification i want.

Thats what i did with my manual 90EQ. I just have to get used to the ALT-AZ setup of the Dob.

P.S.~~~i really like to observe birds in my garden. For this i just use a pair of 10X50s (unmounted) or my 450D on a tripod.

[MishMich]

I wan't keen on the RDF at first, then I got a scope with a finderscope, used it a bit, and decided the RDF isn't that bad. I now use the RDF for setting up and alignment, using a 32mm lens to get objects centred, then I swap over for the finderscope, and use that to get other objects centred. I find the RDF can be easier to look through at some angles than the finderscope.

M.

[Starjumper]

I dont think you can beat the Telrad.!!!!!!

John

[rusirius]

I find the Telrad on my Dob an excellent companion. I did have an RDF on an LX90 once but I couldn't get on with it. I much prefer an optical finder although I understand that an RDF might be better under really dark skies.

brianb, I'm not sure whether Nitrigen filled is important to me. I probaby won't be out in the rain much, but maybe something worth considering. I initially considered getting a Spotting Scope an an appropriate adaptor for astro eyepieces. Having seen the ad on the FLO site it occurred to me to consider the problem the other way around.

Many spotting scopes have zoom eyepieces to aid targetting but these are not generally useful for astronomy. I presume one can get a decent one for ornithology though?

[MishMich]

I think you have to pay a lot for a good zoom eyepiece - I have a cheap one and it is rubbish. Lots of yellow fringing. The Baader hyperion is tempting, but the best deal I've seen on them is from the USA at about £130.

45 degree eyepiece would be nice, but for me, a 90 degree dielectric prism is a higher priority.

I have/had a Celestron 102, and I wouldn't try it on a photographic tripod myself. I have an ED80, and that does sit on a photographic tripod OK, but is a bit wobbly (but no more so than a pair of bins).

To get back to the original post...

I've yet to try twitching with my ED80, but I'm sure I will in the spring. I know its not an ED scope, but for £85 you can't wrong really - these will always sell on, as people snap them up to use as guidescopes. I'd say the next alternative to the 80 OTA would be to go for the 102 with the Alt-Az mount, at £185, then you don't need to worry about using the camera tripod - and you could use the mount for photography as well.

M.