Celestron Omni XLT 150R

[Timothyterpsalot]

Has anyone done any astrophotography with this scope? I am thinking about purchasing it but am wondering about others' experiences. I have found a few reviews of it online but it was only visual use. I will be selling the CG-4 mount and will mount it on my CG-5GT.

Any pictures from this scope would be great! Thanks.

[Gary70]

It's an old post I know but did you get this scope? I am "saving" and plotting how to tell my wife I want one of these,

I think Sky watcher do a pretty solid short tube too

[John]

An F/5 achromat refractor is going to show too much chromatic aberration for imaging, surely ?

[Gary70]

You would think.

That's why I was hoping to find out if he used it, and if it is really the portable delight we are lead to believe it is.

[John]

That member was last active on the forum in September 2010 so we will probably not find out

[Gary70]

Darn it

[John]

I found this review on the US forum "Astromart" that might be of interest:

Astromart Reviews - CELESTRON OMNI XLT 150R

[Gary70]

Nice one John thanks.

That was a pretty useful read, it sounds like a decent bit of hardware for my budget/use. The Chromatic Aberration sounds an issue but is "fixed" if you play with filters (I do enjoy planets).

I was also looking at the Evostar 150, very nice too but I think the massive size compared to the Celestron may hinder the portability factor I prefer,

[John]

The Chromatic Aberration sounds an issue but is "fixed" if you play with filters (I do enjoy planets)..

I'd have to sound a caution there. An F/5 achromat produces a lot of CA. Filters will remove some of it but there will still be a fair amount present which will degrade / smear planetary detail and contrast somewhat. Also, CA comprises light which would contribute to the quality of the image if it was being bought to focus at the correct place. By filtering this out, you are in effect loosing this additional information which again reduces contrast and resolution.

It's about horses for courses - the F/5 achromats are just not planetary / lunar scopes regardless of the filtering you do. They are great for wide angle low to medium power viewing though

Personally I think the 150mm F/8 achromats are a better all round scope, certainly for visual use, alothough even those produce noticeable amounts of CA from my experience of them.

[Gary70]

Thanks, people usually say it's upto you when making direct a comparison.

I do like the look/price of the Evostar, and will certainly spend more time Lunar and planet watching. Plus the accessories you get with the Omni are pretty meagre.

I guess I have a while before I have to put the money up, this rain looks like it's here for a while..

[Jon Sales]

If you like a lot of lunar/planetary watching why not go for a smaller frac and a mak/sct of some sort?

It's all Hovis then isn't it?

Hovis - Best of both