Second scope...

[Brady]

Evening all, im looking to add a relative to the 200p and have my eye on the Skywatcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro Outfit, to start with im looking for a wider field of view compared with the 200p and to lighten the load on the EQ5 mount for imaging....if it wasn't for the FoV i would probably upgrade the mount to an EQ6 if a second hand one came up but ...1...i don't have that sort of cash...2...as already stated the FoV...3...the EQ5 does what i want it to so why upgrade?

Can anyone recommend the scope at all? or not recommend for that matter...

Could there be an alternative kit out there in direct competition with this kit?

Appreciated as always

Wayne

[Brady]

The other scope is the Skywatcher Equinox-66 PRO ED, i know this is OTA only but it still looks a nice scope

[red dwalf]

if your looking for an imaging scope with as wide a field of view, there are a couple of things to consider, 1, the size of the chip you are imaging with and 2, the focal length of the scope, the longer the smaller the field of view, are you going to start imaging with a dlsr ? if so and you want the widest field of view i`d go for the Skywatcher Equinox 80 APO PRO OTA and you`ll need a flatner with it with a large chipped camera.

this scope and camera should suit each other well and be a good scope if you ever move on to a cooled ccd camera.

[Brady]

Cheers Rob, im keeping the dslr and still going to use the qhy5, i don't want to get technical with it all, just a wider view, i.e better view of the moon as a whole for instance, the 200p is 1000 focal so assumed the 80ed which is 600 would be wider? may even go to 400, the Equinox 80 is far too much for what i intend to spend on a second scope, although it looks very nice it will have to wait until my numbers come up im afraid  is a flattener required for any refractor/dslr combo?

cheers

[red dwalf]

Ideally with a smaller aperature scope and a big chip camera, as the stars on the edges of the image will be oblong shaped due to the curve of the scope lens, although you could crop them off and still have a nice big image.

[Brady]

Cheers Rob, just what i want to hear 

[+RonC]

Altair Astro do a Reducer/flattener for the ED80 that is a reasonable price.

[Brady]

Sorry Ron i missed this, thanks for the reply, although im still stuck on which to buy, Rob is swaying me to a Equinox 80, it does look nice but with a flattener which i no doubt will buy in the future and needing a diagonal comes to around the £700 mark while the Evostar 80ED comes as a kit = flattener for £520 ish...and great reviews except for the possible sliding focuser does the Equinox really justify the extra £200?...im really struggling here ...loving that warm room by the way 

Edited September 27, 2015 by Brady

[+Graham]

Why do you need a diagonal ???

If you are imaging with this you do not want a diagonal. You will need an extension tube to be able to gain focus though.

[Brady]

Alright Graham, should've been clearer, it would be nice to actually look through it sometime as well 

[BAZ]

Well said that man! 

[+RonC]

I have added a Moonlight focuser to my ED80 and never regretted it both for visual and AP..

[Guest StevenWhatley]

Cheers Rob, im keeping the dslr and still going to use the qhy5, i don't want to get technical with it all, just a wider view, i.e better view of the moon as a whole for instance, the 200p is 1000 focal so assumed the 80ed which is 600 would be wider? may even go to 400, the Equinox 80 is far too much for what i intend to spend on a second scope, although it looks very nice it will have to wait until my numbers come up im afraid  is a flattener required for any refractor/dslr combo?

cheers

 

I just posted a couple of comparisons of the moon, using the ED80 and my 250p, if it helps..

 

I also use a modded 1100d DSLR

[Brady]

Steven how in gods name are you getting a full moon on that scope? i have the 200p with qhy on it with no barlow and get this.....am i doing something wrong? or is yours the view you get with a DSLR on it? maybe different focus?, i havnt tried my dslr on the moon yet but i think i need to check this out sooner rather than later.....and thanks for the heads up

 

[BAZ]

That's a nice sharp shot. I reckon you need to do a mosaic, that would be stunning.

[Guest StevenWhatley]

Steven how in gods name are you getting a full moon on that scope? i have the 200p with qhy on it with no barlow and get this.....am i doing something wrong? or is yours the view you get with a DSLR on it? maybe different focus?, i havnt tried my dslr on the moon yet but i think i need to check this out sooner rather than later.....and thanks for the heads up

 

 

 Hmmm yep this is the entire view I would get.. This is probably because of the sensor size which is why I'm picking the whole image up, but  I will pop my GP Cam on and see what I get..

 

Mine is the 250p Dob so not sure if that makes a difference tho...

[Brady]

Cheers Steven, hoping for some clear at the weekend and im going to try that dslr out for sure...Martyn that shot was actually my very first attempt at a mosaic but i missed a bit out 

Edited September 29, 2015 by Brady

[Werisit]

Hi Wayne. Firstly, NICE IMAGE!

Here is a shot taken with a Nikon D300 DSLR, sensor size 23.6 x 15.8, On a 6" f9 astrograph. The focal length is quoted as 1370mm. The Canon (450 etc) sensor is slightly smaller at 22.2 x 14.8mm so the moon would be a bit larger in the frame on a Canon. So a non full frame DSLR on your 1000mm fl scope will easily fit in a full moon.

16 Oct 2013 8.25pm. 150mm F9 Astrograph. 400th sec.iso250(Nikon). by Alan Piggott, on Flickr

Edited September 30, 2015 by Werisit

[Brady]

That looks great Alan, smashing shot, was going to ask the settings but just seen them at the bottom...must give it a try

Thanks again

[Brady]

I know its been a while since the last post on here but to the SW ED80 owners out there....is there a reason at some stockists the ed80 shows a gold focuser button on the duel controller while others show black? not being picky but im looking to order tomorrow from somewhere and just making sure that there isnt a second version thats slipped by that i should be looking out for or is it just cosmetics?...

Thanks

[Guest]

To answer your first question, I have the common or garden ST80 Achromat. I rather like it for wide field views but I don't get much use out of it now:

 

Firstly, I am no longer in a globetrotting job, so don't need a travel 'scope

 

Secondly, I have 15x70 bins, so there's lots of overlap of use

 

Finally, I now have a DSLR lens capable of 300mm, so don't need it for photography.

 

I take lots of full disc lunar shots with a Skymax 127, which has a focal length of 1540mm. I don't have a QHY or similar and doubt I could get a full disc.

 

Apart from the question of budget, I don't have enough time to start doing longer exposures. I find enough to view and snap with what I have.

[catman161]

To answer your first question, I have the common or garden ST80 Achromat. I rather like it for wide field views but I don't get much use out of it now:

 

Firstly, I am no longer in a globetrotting job, so don't need a travel 'scope

 

Secondly, I have 15x70 bins, so there's lots of overlap of use

 

Finally, I now have a DSLR lens capable of 300mm, so don't need it for photography.

 

I take lots of full disc lunar shots with a Skymax 127, which has a focal length of 1540mm. I don't have a QHY or similar and doubt I could get a full disc.

 

Apart from the question of budget, I don't have enough time to start doing longer exposures. I find enough to view and snap with what I have.

The original question was regarding the ED80 not the ST80 Phil.

[Guest]

23 hours ago, catman161 said:

The original question was regarding the ED80 not the ST80 Phil.

True. My point is that if the ST80 is quite good, the ED80 is surely better. If I had an ED80 I would almost certainly prefer to use it than a DSLR lens at 300mm. I can vouch for the quality of Starwatcher stuff, as I also own a Skymax 127.