TheSkySearchers

Hi,

I'm looking for the most universal telescope as applied to astrophotography ;-)

So, I would probably have to choose among the below following 3 models:


1) Omegon Teleskop Pro Astrograph 304/1200

2) Skywatcher Teleskop N 300/1200 Quattro-12S

3) Skywatcher Teleskop N 304/1500 PDS Explorer BD


I would highly appreciate if somebody could impart one's experience concerning them all in order I could decide upon whether at least one of them is worth buying.

Thank you in advance.

Hello and welcome cuneiform, do you have some links or website that you were looking at these.
Being able to compare specifications would be a help.

Also, what does "universal" mean to you? Lunar, planets, DSOs, solar, all?

Lady Fraktor wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2020 5:24 am Hello and welcome cuneiform, do you have some links or website that you were looking at these.
Being able to compare specifications would be a help.

Their specs are nearly the same; the matter is all kind of nuances that can totally ruine the whole construction.

Say, buying a Bresser would be a suicide cause it's c o m p l e t e l y made of plastic. No stable focusing is possible at all.
As if the constructors are unaware of that. However, some amateurs are. There are detailed reports available on the net.
So, no one normal amateur should buy it to such pieces of experience. Any specs are not decisive in this particular case.

All what I need is one's experience with these models.

notFritzArgelander wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2020 7:28 am Also, what does "universal" mean to you? Lunar, planets, DSOs, solar, all?

Musk's latest projects towards Mars change ones' minds.

You cannot travel within the sky any more without paying tribute to Musk's plans of colonizing Mars within 1 M population by 2050.

Mars, however, will be imaged only as a small spot if your telescope is measured less than 300 mm :-))))))))))))

Now, in my opinion, u n i v e r s a l seems to be one with a detailed Mars within the next years up to 2050.

You cannot forget Mars as an amateur from now on. Even if you are a devoted traveler among galaxies indeed.

Regards.

The most universal scope i would say is an sct with a hyperstar attachment or a focal reducer.

mars will not be a small spot with a smaller scope,smaller than a 12'' can still do quite well.

some image from astro bin with a 8'' sct
https://www.astrobin.com/407134/?page=2&nc=user
https://www.astrobin.com/401544/?page=2&nc=user

a 10'' sct
https://www.astrobin.com/367333/G/?nc=user&page=2

a 11'' sct
https://www.astrobin.com/257031/?page=5&nc=user

if a newt astrograph is only in your budget, then out of the 3 i would pick the number 3 because it's f5 with a longer native focal length which you need as much of it as you can get, you will most likely be stacking barlows . and for use with deepsky astro imaging it will cheaper and easier to correct with a coma corrector. f4 is pretty expensive for a good coma corrector.

edit:oh yes, do you have a mount that supports a 12'' astrograph ? typically 50% to 60% load on a mount for astro imaging and the tube weight list 21 kg, so you need a mount that will support 35-42 kg.

for planetary imaging i would recommend a smaller sct , it will save you a lot on weight,and will be easier to achieve a reasonable focal length.

Well I certainly wasn't expecting a paean to Musk's plans for Mars. They are unrealistic in neglect of biology. His Starlink satellite constellation will pollute the night sky. Musk is annoying.

Here is a picture from a 12'' f4 newt of jupiter i imaged 3 years ago with a 2.5 x barlow stacked in a 3x barlow for 9060mm fl.

not particularly fun ,focusing is pretty difficult and collimation needs to be really good.

@yobbo89


Your Jupiter is a great job! Thanks! Any software applied?
Now, I am absolutely convinced that it must be done!
To support my own position apropos at least a 300 mm vehicle,
I'm adding 3 photos taken by Russian masters with Meade 12" and C11;
while that with C11 applying autostakkert and a blue filtering
along with atmospheric dispersal correction.
Do you know any better software?
Nowadays, suppose, none could go on without software.





Any refractors of 150 mm cannot even stand with while compared as related to the Mars,
as I could see compared on that Russian site.

But what about the telescope cell cameras? I've heard of small and big ones cells. Which one(s) should I take?
I would like to work with a notebook without visual control. Is it possible?
What is the price of such a camera?

Apropos of the mounting and the weight... I'll go to a garage :-))))))))))))))))))))))))) joking... :-)
Maybe, a secondhand buy?!

Then, how about the leading devices? What motors should be taken to use for navigation?

Again, you are saying that for a planetary imaging I should take a smaller set...
No wonder, if I have to enjoy your 'national park' of vehicles :-)
I cannot let me waste so much of the living space in my apartments, as it is taken by books, keyboards, and other things like
the Hammond B3... ))))))))))))))))))))))))

Therefore, I mentioned a universal instrument suitable both for any a d v a n c e d planetary and deep-sky imaging if possible.

Please, do advise me somewhat further.

Cheers.

@notFritzArgelander

Chap,

my reply was disapproved by the local moderator, sorry.

I start counting disapprovals. It shouldn't be prohibited.

Regards.

@yobbo89


What is your software for framing out, say, as taken here, 380 frames out of 3000 single frames?

SW2001P EQ5, Canon1000D

The Moon, Clavius

cuneiform wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 9:41 am @notFritzArgelander

Chap,

my reply was disapproved by the local moderator, sorry.

I start counting disapprovals. It shouldn't be prohibited.

Regards.

Hi and welcome to the forums!

All new members posts are held in moderation and need approval first. The moderators do try to get to them as soon as we can( we have a international group of moderators to try cover most of the time zones) if you do not see your post straight away please be patient, we will get to them.
If you feel it has taken to long, feel free to send a PM to any of the team for further assistance.

cuneiform wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 10:02 am @yobbo89


What is your software for framing out, say, as taken here, 380 frames out of 3000 single frames?

I image with firecapture and sort out and stack frames with autostakkert ,other software i use is pipp,winjupos, and i'll sharpen in registax and then further process in pixinsight.

cuneiform wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2020 11:17 pm @yobbo89

But what about the telescope cell cameras? I've heard of small and big ones cells. Which one(s) should I take?
I would like to work with a notebook without visual control. Is it possible?
What is the price of such a camera?


Cheers.

for planetary imaging you can basically get away with just a computer webcam with a diy eyepiece adapter . but i would recommend something like this or similar or better for starters , usb 3.0 is also a good option to have too.

https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/product/asi120mc-s

i'm not sure what you mean about using a notebook without visual controls .

yobbo89


You are very kind while imparting pieces of experience, thank you.

That's what I'm in need of right now in terms of usability and universality.

I'm a professional philosopher and cannot drop a word here philosophically as this forum is strictly devoted to astronomy.

A couple of my posts were rejected here as for comments on Musk, Werner von Braun, Nietzsche.

I cannot take astronomy techniques for astronomy's sake only.

So, I don't feel like being bound to this forum while having some 30 000 non-astronomical posts elsewhere.

I'm tremendously thankful to you for your pieces of advice concerning the right scope focus length and the proper software.

If I correctly understood, there is no universal cell camera for planetary and deep-sky imaging?

Thank you in advance.

Cheers.

Yes there is a general camera that can do both, generaly you pick the smaller chip that has higher frame rate for planetary none cooled, usually cheaper. AND for deep sky a bigger chip, cooled, more dynamic range ect more expensive ectt.

Maybe just look into a deep sky camera, you should be able to use the region of interest function or Roi that will only use the pixels you want thus increaseing frame rate.

Check what asi zwo have, there are some planetary cameras with larger chips that work well with deep sky, vice versa deep sky camera for planetary.

I have this to add on why it is so problematic to focus on a fast scope with Barlows, especially stacked barlows, it might be something to do with this.

A sct VS a f4 newt given both have barlows and are pushed to the same f ratio, let's say f30. From just user. Experience I found the sct is alot easier to focus even though they are at the same f ratio, maybe someone can clarify this.

You are very advanced, and you can be proud of your powerful equipment.

Did you mean USB cameras, too?