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Up Grading Info for Beginner


Paul Tomo

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At the moment I'm using a Astromaster 130 with additional 5mm, 12mm and 25mm Celestron X-Cel LX Lenses. Next week I'm thinking of buy the EQ5 from Rother Valley as a start to my up grade. What would be a decent telescope to add to the EQ5 that will not break the bank. I would like something similar to the scope I have now but obviously better, I would like to take photos as well and I would be taking it on field trips so it can't be too big.

 

Any ideas and advice would be most grateful.

 

Paul Tomo

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With that mount, i think a nice 100mm class refractor would be a nice match up.

 

Not too big to manage, good for imaging. Take a look at the Sky Watcher Esprit 100 ED Pro Triplet.

I have a friend in our astro society who has just purchased one and has taken some nice images with it.

Depends on your budget of course. See if Adam (at RVO) will do you a deal ?

 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/esprit-professional-refractors.html

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30 minutes ago, Bino-viewer said:

With that mount, i think a nice 100mm class refractor would be a nice match up.

 

Not too big to manage, good for imaging. Take a look at the Sky Watcher Esprit 100 ED Pro Triplet.

I have a friend in our astro society who has just purchased one and has taken some nice images with it.

Depends on your budget of course. See if Adam (at RVO) will do you a deal ?

 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/esprit-professional-refractors.html

I’ve just took a look at the Esprit 100 ED I think a bit of saving up is in hand. Would I see a big difference from the setup I have now?

Plus will I be able to use the Celestron lenses I have now?

Edited by Paul Tomo
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What about an EQ-35 rather than an EQ-5? They both have about the same load capacity (the 35 is actually quoted as slightly larger than the 5) but the 35 is slightly cheaper and has a bigger RA worm gear so the tracking is likely to be better (guided I get better than 1" RMS out of mine).

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Also.....

Keep a look out on ABS for second hand gear

EQ-5 are on there quite regularly...

 

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Plus one for watching ABS for used gear.

 

If your purely into visual then a decent achromatic refractor is worth a look. Even new a 120mm evostar refractor wouldnt break the bank and would be a good next step.

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Should I be looking at buying a tripod and mount that’s better than EQ-5 something like the motorised models?

 

Edited by Paul Tomo
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If you're planning on doing astrophotography then you will eventually need a motor driven mount. Most Skywatcher mounts come as either the basic mount or the 'pro' models that have the Synscan goto system pre-fitted. The synscan system can be purchased seperately and fitted to the basic mount but it's probably cheaper to buy the pro version rather than buy them seperately.

For astrophotography the mount is probably the most important bit of kit. Even the best telescope will give dissapointing results on a flimsy mount. However, for purely visual use, the eye tends to be more forgiving than a camera.

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37 minutes ago, Clive said:

If you're planning on doing astrophotography then you will eventually need a motor driven mount. Most Skywatcher mounts come as either the basic mount or the 'pro' models that have the Synscan goto system pre-fitted. The synscan system can be purchased seperately and fitted to the basic mount but it's probably cheaper to buy the pro version rather than buy them seperately.

For astrophotography the mount is probably the most important bit of kit. Even the best telescope will give dissapointing results on a flimsy mount. However, for purely visual use, the eye tends to be more forgiving than a camera.

Thanks Clive, would £500 get me a good SynScan goto ? I will take a look at the price’s and see what’s going.

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The HEQ5 will certainly give you more telescope upgrade options as it has a much higher load capacity (but are you after a large scope?) It comes at the expense of being a heavier mount so possibly less portable (do you require easy portability?) It will give much better tracking and stability for astrophotography (but is that something you want to take up seriously?)

It's always a difficult decision and in the end probably only one you can make. My (poor) advice is to seriously consider where you really want take your hobby in the next few years and take it from there. It took me more than 6 months to finally decide what mount would meet my requirements.

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I’ve always been a keen photographer and it’s an hobby that will always stay with me, astronomy has always been an interesting hobby and I’ve had a telescope for many years but not really used it much but I thought why not put the two together and enjoy them both at the same time.

 

I've decided to save up that little more and go for the HEQ5 I will be using it away from the home but not on a regular basis. I’m not sure what scope I will be buying yet but that will come when it’s ready to, I need to learn more about scopes before I buy one. 

 

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Sounds like a sensible decision Paul. Hopefully once lock-down is eased you'll be able to meet up and see what scopes other people use. 

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1 hour ago, Glafnazur said:

Sounds like a sensible decision Paul. Hopefully once lock-down is eased you'll be able to meet up and see what scopes other people use. 

Thanks Dave, 

I've never done stargazing with anyone else apart from members of my family and so all that I've learned is from doing things myself. I don't know if I'm setting up the scope right when I do go out on a night's viewing. The lock down will be over soon and like you say meeting up with people will be a big help. Thanks for replying 

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Rother Valley are saying the HEQ5-Pro won’t be available until November they also say that the EQ5 may be available at the end of the month, if I keep putting a few pounds away each week then by the end of November I should have enough for the HEQ5-Pro. 
 

The camera I was thinking of using for my Astro photography is the EOS 450D with an 80mm lens, please feel free to comment about this setup or what camera and lens setup would be better. I should start to put my questions in the correct thread with headings from now on as I have lots of questions to ask you all. 

 

I do have one more question to you folks that have gave your feedback already and that is what am I expected to see using the AstroMaster 130 with Celestron X-Cel LX 5mm, 12mm and 25mm lenses. I can see the rings around Saturn  and also Saturn’s moons, Jupiter and 4 moons orbiting that planet, Andromeda and the Comet NEOWISE. The AstroMaster 130 is entry level I know and I guess it’s for planets in our solar system only.

Thanks Paul

 

 

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14 hours ago, Clive said:

Is that the Canon 28 - 80mm f/3.5-5.6 lens you are talking about?

I think it’s a fixed lens, I’ll check and let you know.

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On 22/07/2020 at 06:11, Clive said:

Is that the Canon 28 - 80mm f/3.5-5.6 lens you are talking about?

I’ve just checked and the lens is 60mm fixed 2.8

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It sounds like the EF-S 60mm F/2.8 Macro lens.

 

I wasn't aware you could use a Macro lens for Astro : i thought they were for specialist close up work ?  

 

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Well it's mid way between wide angle and short telephoto so should give some nice images with reasonable detail especially when used on a tracked mount. Where I am, at F2.8 I have to limit exposures to about 60 sec due to light pollution, but stacking several images can bring out some great detail. I've no knowledge of that particular lens and you may feel you need to stop it down a bit to get better star images in the corners (unless you crop the images) with a corresponding increase in exposure time, but that's a personal preference.

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If I was to buy another lens for the 40D what would be a good lens to buy?  plus is the camera I hoping to use any good or should I look at buying another camera? 

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Is it a 450D (earlier post) or a 40D? As for a lens, it really depends upon your what you want to achieve (and your budget). The Canon 50mm F1.8 'nifty fifty' is an excellent lens for its price and the Samyang 135mm F2.0 gets some great reviews for astro but the former is not much different in focal length to what you already have.  For a slightly longer focal length, the Canon 200mm F2.8 is an excellent lens that can be used wide open but it's not cheap. If you're interested in getting wider fields,  I'll leave it to others to make recommendations. 

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12 hours ago, Clive said:

Is it a 450D (earlier post) or a 40D? As for a lens, it really depends upon your what you want to achieve (and your budget). The Canon 50mm F1.8 'nifty fifty' is an excellent lens for its price and the Samyang 135mm F2.0 gets some great reviews for astro but the former is not much different in focal length to what you already have.  For a slightly longer focal length, the Canon 200mm F2.8 is an excellent lens that can be used wide open but it's not cheap. If you're interested in getting wider fields,  I'll leave it to others to make recommendations. 

Yes Clive the camera is a 40D I managed to find it yesterday. I’m going to try and use what bits of equipment I’ve got now and in time buy what I need as I progress in the hobby. My first major purchase at the moment is going to be the HEQ5-Pro and by Rother Valleys reckoning that won’t be available until November. 

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