New Scope, Wedges & Eyepieces

[Mav359]

For three years i had a basic Tasco refractor which as a basic instrument was ok but never really did anything but start my astronomy hobby. However i now have the time & oppertunity to buy some good equipment and push forward....

So here i am with my initial thoughts and i was hoping to get some feedback....

Scope:

I have norrowed it down to 1 of 2, either a

Celestron CPC 9.25"

or

Meade LX90 10"

Equitorial Wedge:

Do i really need one?

Eyepieces:

As the scopes only come with one eyepiece i will obviously need to buy more & build a collection. As the scopes arent cheap i wont be able to do that straight away so as a stop gap measure i was looking at Celestrons Zoom Eyepiece 8-24mm. Am i wasting my money on this?

Also is there any particular brand of eyepiece in the £60-£90 range that anyone recommends?

Any advice would be great

Thanks

Alan

[rowan46]

both are good scopes by all accounts. you only need the wedge if you are going to do deep space photography. so if you are not you might consider a large dob with enough money to buy a couple of nice eyepieces. if you do want to image you might consider a heq5 and a small refractor. If you are going to image an sct on a wedge isnt the best way forward. and if you are going the visual route apparture is what you need a big dob will be a lot cheaper. I am sure some one will give clearer advice. I like sct's but they are a compromise design a reflector is cheaper for apparture and consequently better visually a decent refractor is better for imaging.

[Capricorn]

You do not need a wedge. Most would use both without one. Also if you want to go down the astrophotography route later then simply buy one later.

Both are good and both are a fair size, not grab and go. Have you seen one in the flesh? Or just via web pages?

For eyepieces, would expect that you would need the longer ones as the focal length of either scope is not small. So 32, 25, 20 and 15mm at some time. Not sure of the cost of the Celestron zoom, but if not great then try one, I have no experieence of them or any other zoom. Be careful of spending as much on a zoom as you might on a few eyepieces.

One thought is that the zoom has to have a range of focal lengths that are long, a 6-15 would possibly be of little use as the magnification may be too much. You need a zoom like 15-30mm

Both scopes need power so get a mains adaptor, you can make a simple dew shield.

[CGolder]

Hello,

I have a 10" lx90 and it is a very large scope, the go to can be qwerky and tbh i wouldn't recommend this scope for a beginner. I am very experienced with auto star and Meade LNT technology and my LX90 still had me out for 2 nights without seeing a single object when i first got it.

for visual i would say that the wedge is not a very good idea as it makes viewing harder.

Its tough trying to get good EP's and would advice a 2" to get a decent FOV.

[Mav359]

Cheers for the advice everyone

[brantuk]

I use the Hyperion zoom Mk2 - you can get them in v.good condition for around £100 s/h (now the Mk3 is out). Much better than the Celestron zoom which has a lot of internal reflections (imho) and came last in a SaN review last year.

You can get the Celestron one very cheap though - I've seen them go for under £50.

[john56]

I have the Meade LX90 8" it is very good for Moon and planetary work have'nt tried it on nebs or gallaxy pics yet. I have the 2" lens for it I find them mutch better if you are out viewing for a longe time. You can move the 8" about you wont with the 10" scope. The celestrons are as good as Meade they have good and bad pionts.