Astrophotography - Meade Scopes

[TonyS]

Last year I purchased a Meade ETX which is good fun but I would like to acquire a larger scope (8 - 10 inch) - can anybody explain the benefits of the LX200 over the LX90 (i understand they have same optics) re : photography ?

Would anybody recommend another make which is better suited with photography in mind ?

I have only had the ETX for a few months so I'm still feeling my way !

[Rocket Pooch]

Hi Tony,

Can you give us any clues what you would like to photograph and a budget?

Chris

[TonyS]

Chris, I am currently using an ETX 105 and would like a scope that will enable me to photograph brighter deep sky objects clearly and showing nebulosity. Can this be achieved with an 8 inch scope ? I don't think I could practically use a larger scope in my poky garden ! My overall budget would be £2,500.

I would be interested to see what you think. Cheers Tony

[Rocket Pooch]

Hi,

On the user groups there are two lines of thought.  If you need to have a goto (I do) because you can't find your way round as well as some can (I can't).  Anyway the LXD75 scopes are better than the LX90 if you want an out of the box solution where you do not need to buy a wedge etc.  Also you could then say but an SCT for the focal length this will work with a web can and then get a SkyWatch 80F5 or ED80 and still have some money left for a Starlights Express CCD or SAC CCD.  You should also have some money left got an Ha and OIII filter for colour imaging if you buy the mono camera.

The other route is to put all the cash into a LX200 GPS, ultimately better than the LXD, but you will not get all the goodies (camera, piffy back scope, filters etc) for the budget.

If you can find things then Paul can offer some light on this because he used I think a GPDX motorised mount and camera lenses with a Starlight Express camera.  

[TonyS]

Thanks Chris - lots to think about.

Tony

[Whitters]

Tony,
Other things to think about when buying a cope is what do you want to image, If you want to go for th planets, or small deep sky objects, then you would want t long focal length scope. a Mede or Celestron 8" SCT would do the job. If you want to image large objects then you will want short focus instrument with the largest appature you can get. Say either camera lenses, lots available on e-bay (Tamron are good, Canon are about the best) With short focal length lenses polar alignment is less critical, so if like me you have to put up and  break down your kit after each session that can be a deciding factor. Momo cameraas are good, but large format cameras are pricey. If you want instant color then a digi SLR, Canon Rebel or Nikon are good options. The Rebel has had very good astro press reviews. I use an ancient(18 year old) Super Polaris mount for my camera lens imaging and find it very good, it can handle an 800mm f5.6 telephoto lens with ease. It did struggle with the C8, for which I use a Losmandy moount. Another advantage with camera lenses is that you can buiold an adaptor using a rear lens cap suitable tubing and a jublee clip to make a 1.25" eyepice holder and you have both a telescope and a nice imaging lens.

To find out what can be fitted onto a CCD chip using a specific focal length instrument have a go at http://www.webbsociety.freeserve.co.uk/notes/Plate_Scale.html

My main advice is to ensure that the mount will easily handle the instrument you plan to put on it, the supplied one with a telescope package may not be man enough for the job, re: C8 and Super Polaris. A polar finder scope built into the mount is very usefull. Spend your money on a good mount, the best optics you can afford. The rest like filters etc can be added later once you have ot the hang of setting up the kit, polar aligning image processing etc.

Good luck