Argh Telescopes?!

[oliross100]

So...

I'm clearly annoying people in the Equipment section by asking which scope to get. I am currently trying to choose between the Sky Watcher 250PDS newt and the 80ED.

I am relatively a newbie...i've had a spotting scope (a good one) for a couple of years and been using that every few weeks with some friends to do some good viewing but i want the proper business now and would like to invest good money on a good scope.

I eventually want to do astroimaging but i've no DSLR, no knowledge of how to do it or even how to use Photoshop, so I'm way behind on that. I want to use this scope for really good viewing of DSO and planetary, which i will eventually use hopefully for Astroimaging, though im tempted to always just buy a separate scope at a later date for that considering my skill level!

My budget is probably £1500. I'm most likely going to buy an NEQ6 anyway as it should suffice for all my current and future needs.

If not one of these scopes (if so then feel free to advise me on which), would you suggest any others that would do the trick? Portability, whilst always an advantage, is not something that i feel is an inhibiting factor.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[kniclander]

fundamentaly, the ed80 will be pretty limited for visual and the 250 will not be easy for imaging (I'm not an imager but that's just the vibe I've picked up). So you really need to choose what yuor priority is and then choose the scope. your "dilemna" is like someone saying, "shall I but a microwave oven or an iron?" (well, not exactly, but a little bit).

[RoveyDoveyGrovey]

Im sure you've been told this already but you could read the book 'Making Every Photon Count' if you're interested in astrophtography, i've read it and it is good, tells you all the about the process from setting up the scope to processing the photos and what equipment you will need. I don't know much about scopes but i'd check if I were you if the 250pds + camera etc.. will be too heavy for the mount or not, probably close to the limit.

[StarryEyes]

Hi there,

I also would suggest that you read 'Making Every Photon Count', which is a brilliant book. I started looking at scopes and like yourself had narrowed it down to two, a refractor and a reflector but (I had to) as Kniclander said you need to decide what your priority use of the telescope is, observing or imaging (this is the advice I had been given). For me it was that ultimately I wanted to do imaging with it so after reading the book and listening to many peoples advice (which was all generally the same) I decided to go for the 80ED. Which I only purchased this week and have yet to get first light with it due to the rubbish weather!

Just to go back to the book. I found that being new to all of this I didn't follow fully everything that the book was referring to, like polar alignment etc (this is not a criticism of the book) but now I have my set up I have revisited those sections and it has helped me with set up etc.

[todd8137]

1500 quid is a lot of cash if you do not like the hobby after a few months

[Capricorn]

Problem is that you state both visual because you will not be doing any astroimaging yet BUT you intend to and imaging because that is what you want to do.

The 2 scopes you mention each can do one or the other but not both.

250PDS newt is good for visual but not so good at imaging, and the 80ED can do imaging but is not great at DSO and the many, many faint things out there.

So the problem is one of your own making. Decide what it is that you want to do. Imaging and visual do not mix, consider them as separate aspects of astronomy. So you can do only one. The choice is your's as to which one.

Suggest that you locate somewhere that has a section of imagers where you can go and see the equipment that they use. The last setup I saw used an ed80 as a guide scope, the imaging scope cost a LOT more.

[RoveyDoveyGrovey]

I'm still trying to decide myself what to buy (looking to do astrophtography). I've kind of narrowed it down to a ed80 or a 200pds. All i did was go through the imaging section and look at all the pictures that I would like to be able to take and then write down the equipment used, these two scopes came up the most from what I could see, the camera that seemed to come up most was the Canon 550D, might be an idea to do the same.

[oliross100]

Thanks for your comments guys. To be honest, I don't have an SLR. I don't know how to even begin doing AP and I don'tk now how to use Photoshop or Stacker software.

So in reality, I won't be able to give it a go imaging wise for a while. I think I might start visually with the 250PDS and maybe do a bit of imaging on there. Later on I could always be a bit naughty and buy the 80ED as well when I know what im doing. I think taking each scope as a separate part of astronomy is a good idea.

Sound like a sensible plan? (Obviously not sensible for the bank balance...)

[kniclander]

you can often pick the ed80s up quite cheap second hand. I noticed one on ABS going for 175 which is about the going rate (it's not mine )

[Bigdaddyjeff]

I think i just put a post on your your other thread so sorry for the repeat

I'm looking at getting the 250PDS too and as it's just visual observing(for now) but it has the potential for imaging a lil further down the line

Gaz

[Ad Astra]

Getting the 250mm scope and sticking to visual work for awhile seems to be a very sensible path.

There is a lot to learn in astronomy - you will be busy trying to figure out how to line up and focus your scope properly, how to select the right eyepiece and keep your object in view as it moves across the sky. Just learning about the constellations and all the treasures located deep within them is a wonderful adventure.

Once you have all that down - and you are a proficient enough astronomer that you know the following pretty well without asking, you will be ready to take on the challenge of astrophotography:

1. How to set up, maintain, and get the best performance out of your scope, including collimating the optics and tuning the mount.

2. What constellations are up, what objects are in their most favorable positions tonight, and what should they look like in a decent telescope view.

3. What to do when things go wrong with your kit. If you are going to add the challenge of photography to the challenge of observing with advanced gear, you need to know how to diagnose a problem - and fix it effectively - in the dark.

These are all wonderful and fun challenges - but give yourself some time to enjoy them!!! Don't make your hobby into a job! Add the complexity only when you have achieved mastery of the kit you already have!

Do this, and you will probably still be in the hobby a year from now, instead of wondering what you can get on e-bay for all this astro-rubbish you cluttered up the garage with!

I hope that helps!

Dan