6" or possible 8" reflecter, any recomendations

[Glyn172]

Hi after all the advise i have recieved it looks like i'm going with a 6" or possibly a 8 " reflector, ive had a skywatcher 150p recommended which looks quite a good scope, any other recomendations i will be doing basic imaging as i am new and i have a budget of £350ish not worried if second hand or new, thanks for any pointers as i only know skywatcher celestron and meade.

thanks

Glyn

[Astro_Baby]

Imaging with a newt may be problematic - I'd get some advice on that. The new Sky-Watchers DS models are supposed to be geared for imaging (usually the problem is the focuser an insifficient 'in' travel on it).

I assume the £350 is for the scope and the mount in which case the 150 DS version on an EQ3-2 is going to max you out - you'd also need a motor for tracking for imaging I'd imagine but the imaging folk will be able to advise better.

[Chris H]

Always get the biggest you can afford and still easily move around. The 8" gets excellent reviews will collect more light than the 6" it is an F6 scope so is not too demanding of eyepieces and collimation should be easier. If you have room for the 8 and can managae the size (my scope is a 10" on a dob base and its on the limit for moving in one piece) then go for it.

[GazOC]

An 8" f6 or f5 Newt is a great size scope.

[Astro_Baby]

Yes but he did say he wants to do imaging so that rules out a Dob I guess. An 8" on an EQ5 will bust the budget.

[johnkirkpatrick]

I agree 8" or more if you can. A dob is always a good bet, more mirror for less cash

[Glyn172]

I'm no david bailey just want to get nice pics, i was looking on ebay a few mins ago there is a skywatcher 250 on a dob for £300 aparently just a month old with a load of extras, so from what i take it its no good dropping the neximage webcam in the lens of that.

Thanks again

Glyn

[GazOC]

I'm no david bailey just want to get nice pics, i was looking on ebay a few mins ago there is a skywatcher 250 on a dob for £300 aparently just a month old with a load of extras, so from what i take it its no good dropping the neximage webcam in the lens of that.

Thanks again

Glyn

You really need to be able to track at the same speed as the Earths rotation, a Dob mount won't do that.

[RikM]

I have the 150P on an EQ3-2 with the dual axis drives and it's a lovely little scope. I have taken some basic afocal pictures just holding a compact digital camera up to the eyepiece but I haven't yet had the chance to do any proper imaging with a DSLR.

http://stargazerslounge.com/members/rikmcrae-albums-photos-picture4537-moon-22-03-2010.jpg

I had the same budget available as you when I bought this scope, and I would buy it again without hesitation given the same budget constraints, but I do still wish I'd gone for a 200P. That said, I am sure if I had one of those, I would wish I'd bought a 300P flextube auto and I'f I had that...etc.

What I am saying is set yourself a budget and get the biggest and best you can afford. For purely visual, a big dob is great, but for anything other than point and click pics of the moon, you will need a driven (probably EQ) mount if you want to do imaging.

Rik

[dweller25]

For imaging you need to concentrate on the mount first - you will defo need a motorised equatorial mount.

The Neximage is only good for planetary - not deep sky unless you get it modified for long exposure.

[pvaz]

You should read this for some ideas:

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-tips-tricks-techniques/48674-dso-imaging-budget.html

Imaging is a very demanding part of the hobby that requires a few skills and haves a steep learning curve. You'll definitely need a book before you get on with it, Making Every Photon Count is often recommended.

Within your budget I would recommend you start with planetary imaging as it requires only a modified webcam and is much cheaper and easier to start. As others pointed you'll need a mount capable of tracking so you have no choice but to get a motorized equatorial mount, a dob is not an option.

[iamjulian]

I looked at both the 200 and the 150. In the end I compromised and got the 150 on the 200's EQ5 mount. The 200 tube is quite a bit bigger than the 150 - still very managable, but significantly bigger.

The 150 will still show you tonnes of stuff, and when you start pointing a camera through it, even more. Not sure about the 200, but the 150P now has a Crayford focuser which doesn't seem to suffer the problems Astro Baby mentioned above. I know a camera on the 130 struggles to achieve focus, but never had a problem with the 150.