Bob Dobber Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 (edited) Long time readers (OK I've only been on here a few months) may recall my indecision about what to do with my various telescopes. At present my "fleet" is... 1) SW 200PDS (currently benched in the loft) @ 1000mm focals 2) Celestron Edge HD8 - which I was going to sell but think I will get it serviced and then definitively decide if I will ever master it (I have had discussions with fellow AP-ers who say they'd owned this scope for a couple of years before they felt like they were getting anywhere...) - 2032mm f/l or 1422mm with reducer (IIRC) 3) SW 130PDS - ostensibly bought as a wide(r) field companion to either of the above, 650mm f/l Right now then, I think that 3) is too long a focal length for much of the summery nebulae, and would really love to get the most out of 2). So, my thinking is that I want to do the following.. Sell the two SW newts and keep the Edge for longer range stuff and obviously galaxy season, and then buy something like a SharpStar 61 triplet refractor @ 335mm f/l or 275mm f/l with reducer which will then serve as a proper wide field scope. What do people think about this? Assuming anyone actually reads this far 😉 Any suggestions on alternatives or whether I'm missing a trick. Sod's law that I am planning to sell the two cheapest scopes and replace with a scope that'll probably cost more than them put together... Edited July 23, 2022 by Bob Dobber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 I am no imager, but I think you'll miss the wide field the Newts offer, I can see why you would sell one, but someone more experienced might offer better advice. Bob Dobber 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Dobber Posted July 24, 2022 Author Share Posted July 24, 2022 45 minutes ago, BAZ said: I am no imager, but I think you'll miss the wide field the Newts offer, I can see why you would sell one, but someone more experienced might offer better advice. Ah, but the SharpStar will be a shorter focal length than the 130PDS... BAZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philjay Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 From your kit description and present usage I get the feeling you were visual but now concentrating on imaging a lot more. If that's the case, the hd8 is an excellent all round visual, a reducer will make it a bit more versatile. It will also give good image scale for galaxies, globs etc for imaging. The 130pds gives good widefield I would have thought but if its not wide enough then a short fl astrograph is good. By virtue that the 200 pds is in the loft indicates to me that you haven't used it in awhile and won't really miss it Bob Dobber 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottletopburly Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 Try using Astronomy tools to see what the pixel scale comes out at with different combinations of cameras and scopes on different targets gives you a better idea . Dave Bob Dobber 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Dobber Posted July 24, 2022 Author Share Posted July 24, 2022 Thanks both. Embarrassed to say that I've _never _ done any visual, went straight to AP. The 200 in the loft is partly due to wanting to make sure the Edge is for me, plus it's a bit of a swine to shift if selling... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 A short focal length frac is ideal for the up and coming Autumn/Winter months when its Nebular season. My question would be what camera are you going to be using with this frac ????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Dobber Posted July 24, 2022 Author Share Posted July 24, 2022 30 minutes ago, Graham said: A short focal length frac is ideal for the up and coming Autumn/Winter months when its Nebular season. My question would be what camera are you going to be using with this frac ????? I'll be continuing with my trusty 183MM-Pro, unless I submit to the lure of the new 533 mono. Pixel size is fine for either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 How about this : https://www.firstlightoptics.com/askar-telescopes/askar-80-phq-f75-quadruplet-astrograph.html Ready to image, and if you want to make it 'faster' a 0.76x reducer is now available https://www.firstlightoptics.com/askar-telescopes/askar-80phq-076x-full-frame-reducer.html .......and if 80mm doesn't rock your boat, you may be tempted by the 107 or 130mm models 😉 Bob Dobber 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Dobber Posted July 25, 2022 Author Share Posted July 25, 2022 18 minutes ago, Bino-viewer said: How about this : https://www.firstlightoptics.com/askar-telescopes/askar-80-phq-f75-quadruplet-astrograph.html Ready to image, and if you want to make it 'faster' a 0.76x reducer is now available https://www.firstlightoptics.com/askar-telescopes/askar-80phq-076x-full-frame-reducer.html .......and if 80mm doesn't rock your boat, you may be tempted by the 107 or 130mm models 😉 Crikey that's a lot of coin. I've ordered the SharpStar with reducer. 275mm @ f4.5. Should be perfect for nebular targets. +Bino-viewer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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