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Skywatcher ST80...no coma !


Guest peepshow

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Guest peepshow

Has anyone tried Narrow band imaging with a ST80,


or any other short focus cheap doublet 'scope with its built in coma? :)


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Don't forget that night down Sawley Noel, you had the ST80 on a photo tripod, and you have to admit, for the money, it's a cracking little scope. It did well on the Moon, and split some difficult doubles. With a half decent eyepiece, it makes a great travel scope.


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I can't understand why more people aren't using the ST80 as a starter #scope rather than 114mm and 130mm Newts. Mine had been round the world several times and I use it for deep sky imaging a lot (weather and bedtime permitting). As for coma, etc, well what are imaging processing tools for? I'm not one of these take a snap and tweet it immediately type of people.

Here's my deep sky gallery: http://s197.photobucket.com/user/PhillipPugh/library/Deep%20Sky%20Objects?sort=3&start=0&page=1

There is a shot of Melotte 20 in my main album that I will move to the Deep Sky album when it is more than a few days old.

I have used my ST80 for solar and lunar imaging but prefer my Skymax 127 and Coronado PST mostly.

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14456554408_e69de80806_s.jpg020 M106. r NGC4248,4231+4232,below asterism4217+below L 4226.jpegframes.59x45sec.44min 15sec. iso800. 500mm.f5. 66%crop startravel 102 by apiggott47, on Flickr

Hi Richard. I'll try to put up a shot of M106 I did with the ST 102. There's a bit of comma but the main thing is c/a. I'd think this would be less of a problem with narrow band though you'd need to re-focus for the different filters.

I assume that the barn door is now going well and you are wanting to expand you armory to take advantage of it.

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Guest peepshow

Thanks Sunny Phil.


 


Alan, the tracker needs a bit more PA tweeking but otherwise seems OK now.


 


Yes,  I am now looking at small telescopes to put on it in addition to the lenses I already have. 


I have gened up on doublets versus triplet and apochromatics so know the score there.


 


But a £100 punt tryout on a ST80 can't be too bad as it would easily resell as a guide scope anyway. 


I take in what you say about NB on it though.


 


That cropped image of yours is very impressive for that type of scope, a slightly larger version of the ST80. 


 


For £100 one gets two EP's, a barlow, a 90 diagonal, a zipped carry bag, a tripod and geared eq head.


In the corner of the cardbourd box it comes in there is the kitchen sink too........... full up with coma. :lol:


Oh,  and not forgetting a red dot finder.


What would we  do without the cheap Chineese? :)


 


Now Alan, how are you getting on with your own tracking system?...........  Haven't heard from you lately.


Edited by peepshow
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Scopes first. I have probably used my ST102 more than any other scope I own. I bought a fringe killer filter for it which makes a noticeable difference and the yellow cast doesn't bother me. It's also good for terrestrial as I use 45 and 90 deg prism diagonals.The point is, as you say, they are cheap but not crap! Very light weight and on an alt az mount great for just popping out for a quick look. I recon you'd find other uses for it as well. Can't go wrong at the price.

Now the tracker. Well, sad to say I've been too busy with work to do anything to it since my last post. I like getting out to observe and have managed to do that a bit. I won't prioritize imaging over observing. However I can see light at the end of the tunnel and have invested too much time and effort in the tracker to abandon it so hope I'll have some time to get on with it again in the next few weeks. I'm hoping my boss doesn't have other ideas!

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