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New Telescope Soon Opinions Please

dazza1639

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dazza1639

dazza1639

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I may ( the wifes good nature willing) be in a position to buy a new scope in the next few months. My budget can probably stretch to about £1800. I have spoken to Steve at FLO about the LX90 8" GPS, I'm very tempted! I have been looking round on the forum and the online shops and I'm a bit unsure now as I've read some excellent reviews of the Skywatcher pro ED80 on a HEQ5 Pro mount.

Here's what I see are necessary for my needs, so you know what I'm thinking and what I'm going to be using it for.

1 Goto - I think this is necessary to find and view more objects (My sky knowledge isn't what it should be)

2 Good views of Planets & DSO

3 Portability isn't really essential as the garden is where I will mostly use the scope

4 Imaging - I currently only use Afocal projection with my Sony DSC-W1 and unmodified toucam II pro with adapter for planets

5 General viewing - I do a lot of visual observing of both planets & DSO so any scope I buy needs to be quite a good all rounder

Help please.

Darren

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Andrew*

Andrew*

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You've got a nice big budget there, but number 2 is a tough call. Planets need a high f ratio, and DSOs need a low one! You may be better off getting a SCT for planets and as large a newt as you can afford for the DSOs. But maybe a decent refractor can do both jobs. But I'm not going to mention any names because this is clearly above me.

Do keep in mind that though your max budget is £1800, you will need to keep a fair amount aside for nice eyepieces and other general accessories. I would save at least £500 for this.

Andrew

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FLO

FLO

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I have spoken to Steve at FLO about the LX90 8" GPS, I'm very tempted! I have been looking round on the forum and the online shops and I'm a bit unsure now as I've read some excellent reviews of the Skywatcher pro ED80 on a HEQ5 Pro mount.

Why not go for the HEQ5 pro and a couple of scopes (the LX90 mount isn't great for imaging).

The ED80 is a benchmark, at its price, and would be great for imaging.

You could add something like the Explorer 200 OTA for visual and still be well within budget...

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dazza1639

dazza1639

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the problem with the multi scope options are that I won't get away with buying more than one scope the budget will be slashed to the value of the one that is the best all rounder The £1800 is an absolute max for which I will have to earn a significant amount of brownie points.

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geppetto

geppetto

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Right, if you can only have one scope this time round then I would

start by spending a big chunk of the money on an HEQ6 PRO mount which

will carry any future stuff that you may buy.

Then see how much is left in the pot and shop for a scope within

the remaing budget.

Difficult to find one scope to do all things...

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MartinB

MartinB

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The Lx90 is exactly what you are looking for Darren. Of course there are a number of other options with pros and cons but imho your choice is spot on. It will give superb views of solar system. Smaller DSOs show up well but the field of view is a little small for larger ones. This can be over come using a reducer which will give you an F6.3 scope. Alternatively budget widefield 2" eps such as the moonfish are perfect with a scope like this. The long focal length means that EP performance isn't as critical so you don't need to spend a fortune there.

Alt az mounts are much more pleasant and convenient to use than german equatorials - no more craning you neck at awkward angles, turning the scope or problems passing the meridian. Viewing around the pole is no longer difficult. Viewing at the zenith is the only slightly awkward spot and then not really a problem.

You can image in Alt az using a modded web cam and a 3.3 reducer. You are limited to around 45 secs before field rotation becomes an issue. I used my nexstar 8" for a few months using this arrangement and had a lot of fun. For longer exposure you do need a wedge so that the scope is working in equatorial mode. A wedge mounted scope is again a pleasure to use.

Periodic error can be quite large for this type of set up compared with a GEM on the other hand the scope is compact which reduces random and wind errors. Also there is no leverage from counterweights. You can easily piggy back an 80mm refractor which again works very well for guiding or using the refractor for imaging. with a short focal length scope the PE is much less of an issue. If over time you really get the imaging bug and want to do long exposure long focal length CCD imaging you can buy an adaptive optics uint which will eliminate the problems of the periodic error. This is a long way down the line though. If by this stage you fancy a move to other scopes on a GEM then you can keep the LX90 for planets or flog it and it will owe you nothing!

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CELESCOPE

CELESCOPE

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Agree 100% there Martin , to think all my first images were done with alt -az. its a great way to get started in imaging , for all the reasons u stated, imaging the moon and Planets in alt -az carry no problems and great fun can be had using the low cost web cams,also a few of the bright nebula can be grabbed as well , certain programmes like Maxim or now i believe cheaper programmes can eliminate rotation which will allow you to get even more deep sky objects, so a great start and a fairly reasonable price , and also viewing is covered for planets at f10 can be used with Barlows to up the f ratio and as stated the 6/3 reducer for ultra wide field views , so all in all you are covered , after a year or so if you need to improve , then either a wedge or a complete change to an EQ set up may be needed, so there ya go , off to the shop you go heheheheh

Rog

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MartinB

MartinB

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But then Gordon you are missing the whole pleasure of using a fork mounted scope. I don't know how many people suggesting alternatives to Darren's plan have actually spent a decent amount of time using a fork mounted SCT.

Here is a recent HH image. This is taken with a zs66 piggy backed on an NS8GPS mounted on a wedge. 3 exposures each 5 minutes unguided. The tracking's not quite perfect but pretty good imo.

image.jpg

BTW it was windy as well!!

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geppetto

geppetto

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I don't know how many people suggesting alternatives to Darren's plan have actually spent a decent amount of time using a fork mounted SCT.

Yep, LX90 and ETX105.

I agree with you Martin, the fork mount arrangement is very comfortable to use.

Not against that type of mount at all, it was the LX90 in particular with a hint of

getting into astrophotography in the future that resulted in my suggestions.

:D

Not tried a Nexstar but from all reports they seem to have a good reputation 8)

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MartinB

MartinB

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Unhestitatingly. The GPS range is superb and there is a suspicion in some quarters that it was discontinued because Celestron could no longer afford to build it at that price point. My feeling is that the quality of components and overall build of the NS GPS is of a higher order than the LX90. It is certainly superior to the 12"LX at our astrosoc.

The scope is so easy to use. Plonk it down, level it by eye, no need for polar alignment. It will automatically take you to 2 alignment stars then you are ready to tour the skies. You can carry the whole scope and tripod easily. Up and running in 5 mins flat - how's that for grab and go - except you have to let it cool down!

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GordonCopestake

GordonCopestake

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True Mart, and the fork mounts are lighter than the equivilent gem. I guess with a wedge they are fine for photography and easier to use for visual stuff. Never used a fork mounted SCT though, so can't recommend one

Would you be able to mount a small 80mm APO piggybacked and still have stable views do you think?

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MartinB

MartinB

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If so how easy would it be to piggy back mount an ED80 at a later date?

Easy. You just need to get some piggy back rails and a counter weight system sorted. Don't know if FLO do them. I know Rother Valley Optics do. Arthur at Ambermile set up my system and I use both a ZS66 and an ED80 with it.

I would go for the Nextar Darren but I'm biased!

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maroon bells

maroon bells

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I bought a Celestron C9.25 XLT a couple of months ago. They have got a very good reputation. More aperature for your money but not too large on the OTA, a good balance if you ask me.

You may not like the CG5 mount though! It's OK for me as I don't do any imaging. The C9 needs 2 two counterweights on it which makes it very heavy.

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MartinB

MartinB

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Would you be able to mount a small 80mm APO piggybacked and still have stable views do you think?

Yes Gordon, very stable indeed. The ED80 looks big on the NS8 but vibration is minimal. I just slew at a slightly slower speed to go easy on the motors and spend a bit of time adjusting the counterweight that hangs below the scope.

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