What to buy? Budget £1200

[the3rdway]

This is my first post. It's another "which telescope?" I'm afraid. However, I looked through similar threads on this forum, and the community seem to be friendly, tolerant and ready to share both experiences and expert advice. So here goes.

I have a budget of ~£1200, and a Canon EOS 450D. I'm interested in both viewing and astrophotography, and would like to buy a scope/accessories that will enable me to do both. Portability isn't in a priority; the scope will mainly be used from home.

So what say you? What would you buy?

[Woody]

G'day mate and welcome.

The first bit of advice I got on this forum was to buy this book-

Books - Making Every Photon Count - Steve Richards

It answered all of my astrophotography questions, has equipment lists and step by step guides. A very informative read.

Have fun:)

[Doc]

If you want to do both then I recommend a EQ5 and maybe a 4" refractor, include adapters, dew heaters, power cables, battery and a few eyepieces and you should get it below £1200 secondhand.

[steppenwolf]

How about the Skywatcher 80ED Refractor and an HEQ5 GoTo mount. This would go nicely with your DSLR camera for astrophotography and the mount has room for other telescopes in the future.

[the3rdway]

G'day mate and welcome.

The first bit of advice I got on this forum was to buy this book-

Books - Making Every Photon Count - Steve Richards

It answered all of my astrophotography questions, has equipment lists and step by step guides. A very informative read.

Have fun:)

Thanks for the tip. More reading is DEFINITELY a good idea

[the3rdway]

... oh, and I could/should add that I'm fairly familiar with the night sky (Northern Hemisphere, at least), and regularly use binoculars and a skyscout for the purpose of viewing. However, I've never owned a scope. As regards photography, my best efforts have been of the Northern Lights (Norway), and from a boat in Milford Sound (New Zealand). The latter ZERO light pollution and I can thoroughly recommend

[Bizibilder]

It's not "which telescope?" you should ask but "which MOUNT?". As Steppenwolf suggests the MINIMUM mount you need for serious astro-photography is the HEQ5 size. The telescope should be a secondary consideration. Again the ED80 is a good choice for starters unless you have a particular interest in the Moon and planets when a longer focal length may be a better bet. Maybe even a 150 PRO Mak/Cas?

[ollypenrice]

Visual and imaging scopes are only rarely one and the same thing. For imaging I agree, small refractor and HEQ5 minimum mount as stated above. In choosing a scope though, for deep sky don't consider anything with an f ratio slower than F7.5 .

Olly

[shepsboss]

Hi I am in exactly the same position as you, even to the same camera. I have been considering Celestron C8 SGT XLT (FLO £1015). It seems to be a fairly good compromise.

[the3rdway]

Hi I am in exactly the same position as you, even to the same camera. I have been considering Celestron C8 SGT XLT (FLO £1015). It seems to be a fairly good compromise.

I'll check it out. Thanks for the heads up

[the3rdway]

How about the Skywatcher 80ED Refractor and an HEQ5 GoTo mount. This would go nicely with your DSLR camera for astrophotography and the mount has room for other telescopes in the future.

This combo looks ideal. I guess I need to figure out whether I save for a little longer and go for the 120ED, or hop in now with the 80ED (see TELESCOPE SUPPLIERS - SKY-WATCHER TELESCOPE)

[malc-c]

This is my first post. It's another "which telescope?" I'm afraid. However, I looked through similar threads on this forum, and the community seem to be friendly, tolerant and ready to share both experiences and expert advice. So here goes.

I have a budget of ~£1200, and a Canon EOS 450D. I'm interested in both viewing and astrophotography, and would like to buy a scope/accessories that will enable me to do both. Portability isn't in a priority; the scope will mainly be used from home.

So what say you? What would you buy?

I've just spent a similar budget. I opted for a C6-SGT, purchased some additional eyepieces and a neximage CCD camera - total cost just over £1100. I could of saved a bit of cash by not buying the camera, and (if I had the space to store it) opting for a Skywatcher 8" newtonian on an HEQ5 goto mount, which would of come in at around the £1000 mark with the same eyepieces.

I'm waiting for delivery of the scope, so can't really tell you how solid the mount is, how good the scope or camera performs, but for me this offered the best compromise on size, functionality and storage when not in use as we are limited for space here at home.

Best advice is to spend hours researching on the net, possibly pop along to a star party at a local astronomical society, or visit a few shops to see what's on offer. Comparing two or three scopes side by side is better than on glossy web sites. - IMO.

[the3rdway]

I've just spent a similar budget. I opted for a C6-SGT, purchased some additional eyepieces and a neximage CCD camera - total cost just over £1100. I could of saved a bit of cash by not buying the camera, and (if I had the space to store it) opting for a Skywatcher 8" newtonian on an HEQ5 goto mount, which would of come in at around the £1000 mark with the same eyepieces.

I'm waiting for delivery of the scope, so can't really tell you how solid the mount is, how good the scope or camera performs, but for me this offered the best compromise on size, functionality and storage when not in use as we are limited for space here at home.

Best advice is to spend hours researching on the net, possibly pop along to a star party at a local astronomical society, or visit a few shops to see what's on offer. Comparing two or three scopes side by side is better than on glossy web sites. - IMO.

Thanks. I think I'll start with the book recommended by Woody (above), and then consider options

[ollypenrice]

Any imager of the deep sky will tell you straight away that a long focal length SCT like the various incarnations of the 8 inch Celestron is expert's territory and will require an excellent mount, a lot of additional bits to make it work, and very high order autoguiding. If the manufacturer's blurbs have given you the impression that they are all ready to take pictures they are grossly exaggerating. I am tempted to put it more strongly than that.

Simply cruise the deep sky imaging board and look at who is using what. There is a reason why the small apo refractor is the overwhelmingly popular choice.

Only after reading up on imaging and understanding the implications of F ratio and focal length should you make an expensive decision. Really and truly. Like many others I wasted a lot of cash in the early days.

Olly

ollypenrice's Photos

[the3rdway]

Any imager of the deep sky will tell you straight away that a long focal length SCT like the various incarnations of the 8 inch Celestron is expert's territory and will require an excellent mount, a lot of additional bits to make it work, and very high order autoguiding. If the manufacturer's blurbs have given you the impression that they are all ready to take pictures they are grossly exaggerating. I am tempted to put it more strongly than that.

Simply cruise the deep sky imaging board and look at who is using what. There is a reason why the small apo refractor is the overwhelmingly popular choice.

Only after reading up on imaging and understanding the implications of F ratio and focal length should you make an expensive decision. Really and truly. Like many others I wasted a lot of cash in the early days.

Olly

ollypenrice's Photos

Thanks for the candid (and informative) response, Olly. I'm going to take your advice and also that of the other responders

[Psychobilly]

Got to go along with Olly and Steve's advice... I make the Forked SCT mistake but stuck with it....

It's been a interesting journey but not a quick one so just as an example here's a single 30 min (1800s) sub taken with a modified 1000D on a CPC800XLT at f6.3 (1280mm FL) guided using a Meade DSI IIc on a 500mm f8 telephoto lens...

The scopes on a substantial pier and wedge in an obs and I spent a lot of time working on the Azm drive to get decent guided performance...

Heres the reult of 9 hours worth of 30 min subs... tryign to do the "impossible" with a Modded DSLR and bring out the fainter outer halo...

Billy...