An internet budget favorite! - Review of the Celestron Omni 150 6" f/5 Reflector (and its clones)!

Рет қаралды 29,099

Жыл бұрын

Excellent thread on the coma corrector: Setting up the GSO coma corrector - www.cloudynights.com/topic/46...
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Пікірлер: 138

@oculuis Жыл бұрын

I picked up my Celestron Omni last fall for a bargain price of $200 for the OTA only. Used with my Berlebach Castor II mount, it makes for excellent grab-n-go deep sky observing sessions! Don't underestimate the size of this scope. Just as Ed pointed out at 10:08, a 6" reflector can show you so many popular objects, even from my Bortle 7 backyard! My Mother loves to view Jupiter and Saturn through this telescope. The views are sharp, it's lightweight, extremely cheap for the aperture, and heavily upgradeable. You can change out the extension tubes for ones with compression rings, you can upgrade the focuser, you can flock the interior of the tube, upgrade the included eyepieces, the sky's the limit! Plus, it's colored blue! :) Overall, I highly recommend anyone this scope! Just as long as you have the proper mounting, this scope will give you years of observing! Hopefully when the weather clears up I'll check out some open star clusters later this week. Thanks for the review! Note: The reason why I chose the Omni over the Celestron C6-N was due to it's focuser. The Omni has a 2" metal focuser that allows both 1.25" and 2" eyepieces. The C6-N however has a 1.25" plastic focuser that allows only 1.25" eyepieces. That was a big deal breaker for me.

@MountainFisher Жыл бұрын

Hmmm, my C6-N had a metal 1.25 focuser that I have in a drawer after putting a 2" Crayford on it. Upgrades? I did the ultimate upgrade and had my mirror refigured to 1/12th wave and a Strehl of .98 with 96% reflectivity. Near perfect is all I can say about it. edit; I bought it at a pawn shop.

@puuxexil Жыл бұрын

My first telescope; bought 16 years ago. Best paint job in the industry. Glad to see it now offered with a 2" eyepiece focuser.

@VirgilTStone Жыл бұрын

Beyond the paint job, do you like it? Is it ok? Would you recommend it or no? Thanks

@puuxexil Жыл бұрын

@VirgilTStone it's a great value scope. It'll show you a lot of stuff before getting big and bulky. If your goal is to casually view the moon, planets, and some deep sky stuff, then this is a great choice. Collimation is a one person job.

@jeffreystyles9472 Жыл бұрын

Every video is like Christmas. Thank you for all the work you do. Your videos are the best.

@billmurphypenguins3774 Жыл бұрын

Ed is a legend, his knowledge is gold.

@jeffreystyles9472 Жыл бұрын

@bill murphy penguins Ed is definitely a legend. One of the best to gift his knowledge to us.

@Larpy1933 8 күн бұрын

That photo of NGC 891: sublime!

@whoe_whate8487 Жыл бұрын

I have been waiting for this video!! I'm getting this scope as my introduction to astrophotography.

@azdh85224 Жыл бұрын

Great review. I really like when you include your Astro images. Very nice job on them.

@zetacrucis681 Жыл бұрын

Excellent useful info on the GSO coma corrector. Many thanks!

@johnreilly8672 Жыл бұрын

I bought mine when it was $200.00 ! I got lucky with a "good" mirror. It is excellent condition, holds collimation very well. I do very limited imaging with it (yep, under mounted) it's my medium visual quick setup scope and I love the thing!

@ricardoimparato7835 9 ай бұрын

Just bought the coma corrector and yes, it helps. Thanks for the advice. 👍

@stevieb6173 Жыл бұрын

your a star mate really , well done , love the ending 👍👍

@panosepitropakis4146 Жыл бұрын

Really enjoy your vids Cheers from Australia

@jimmosley3382 Жыл бұрын

Great review Ed. Bought this Telescope with the CG4 mount and have been very happy with it.

@ThePieSnatcher Жыл бұрын

Ed, you keep talking about hidden gems but in reality you are the hidden gem. Thanks for the amazing videos 💯

@MH-jt3lx 11 ай бұрын

I love your show. I’ve learned a lot and have enjoyed buying some telescopes you talked about and they were the right choice for me in my situation.. thanks

@davidhoskin6144 Жыл бұрын

Nice review. I use this scope on my EQ6 so rock solid. Light leaks were an issue on my copy but easy enough to address.

@marksmith9192 Жыл бұрын

I bought this scope with the CG-4 mount about 3 yrs ago. This has been a great scope to get back into astronomy after a 25 yr hiatus. I've done some modification like flocking the tube and painting the edges of the mirrors but nothing too major or expensive. I did add an Astrogadget Goto to the mount for tracking which works great. Have had great luck with imaging with a non modified DSLR (no filters, correctors or reducers). Not professional quality but good. Good collimation is the helps too.

@Smurf_Garden Жыл бұрын

i owned a 32mm omni plossl that had extreme seagulling coma. I wanted to give it away to a beginner but luckily tested it with a coma corrector prior to listing it. It greatly cleans up the plossl. I've had this combo together for about 3 years now.

@Roaddog-hu2nn Жыл бұрын

I ordered 1 today. My first real telescope. Thank you

@martinwarm4041 Жыл бұрын

Great review Ed..thanks 👍

@charlessands6933 Жыл бұрын

I have this scope on Orion's Skyview Pro GEM (manual), which, as far as I know, is one of the EQ5s. I use it for a visual work and I also use my ZWO ASI 224 to stack lunar and planetary images.

@koomber777 Жыл бұрын

I split the difference and went for the skywatcher 130pds. 5" of absolute visual joy.

@aralmanni Жыл бұрын

This scope was the first on my list when I started in the hobby, i didn't get it till last year, as I was afraid from collimation, however, with a laser collimation the process is a breeze and it is the second lightest scope after an 800mm refractor or a C90, in my opinion. One thing to mention, Celestron originally provided this OTA with a 1.25" rack & pinion focuser then silently updated it to 2" Crayford style

@AmatureAstronomer Ай бұрын

I have one of these. I added an Astro--Gadget motorized go to conversion kit to the CG-4 mount and it works quite nicely. Though being elderly and feeble, I find it difficult to put the 12 pound optical tube on the mount, so I usually use my Orion Spaceprobe 130 ST, my Celestron 6" SCT or my Sky Watcher Startravel 120 refractor and the mount handles all very well.

@garytru563 Жыл бұрын

Excellent review!

@ricardoimparato7835 Жыл бұрын

I have one of those. Effectively I don't see the need to upgrade to other model, it does what I need for visual astronomy. I bought the motor for the CG-4, very convenient for tracking objects, specially when using high magnification.

@titobattaglia7932 Жыл бұрын

Hey Ed! Very nice review of a scope I know well - my first one. You did well to buy the sample ;D! I graduated to costlier OTAs but cannot bring myself to part with it, and won't. Mine is a good one, splitting doubles right down to Dawes' limit and showing beautiful star colours. I'd be perhaps a little more sanguine about the mount: having used the kit for 2 1/2 years I think that the bundled CG-4 is A-OK for it (visual or full disk lunar photography), even ditching the 6x30 finder and loading it with a 1kg RACI finder and additional red dot. But admittedly I use light 1.25 EPs and skip the whole 2" hand grenade + coma corrector thing: a good 32mm Plössl gives me a nice wide field without too much curvature, so… long live the OMNI 150 and thanks for the review!

@jaepark8922 Жыл бұрын

Ed, I’ve always liked the Vixen C6 even with the sliding focuser. I used an adapter to fit a 2 inch eyepiece, yes vignettes but visually ok. I’ll never forget the views of comets Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake in it. I wonder how these newer scopes compare to the old Vixen.

@mrjack8849 Жыл бұрын

I have a Orion 6” Astrograph. It comes with a metal 2” focus which was I wanted over the Orion Skywatcher. It’s a shorter tube which means it needs extensions tubes in the focuser. It works pretty well for my purpose of visual observation, but also trying some photography with it. I don’t have a tracker mount, so photography hasn’t gone far yet, but it’s a fast telescope at F4. The build quality is a bit suspect though, as a few screws were loose on the scope when I opened the box. One screw had even fallen out into the tube! I can’t really compare to another brand yet as I haven’t tried anything else like it. The views are comparable to my Orion XT8 dobsionian, just a bit dimmer.

@arongyorffy3070 Жыл бұрын

8:06, my back had started to hurt from looking at the focuser's palcement on the alt-az mount.

@joshuariddensdale2126 Жыл бұрын

This looks like a nice equatorial scope. I have a Meade 4" that I got as a Christmas present over 10 years ago, but since I can't get parts for it anymore, I'm looking to upgrade to a 6 or even 8 inch. Since I'm only looking at things like Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, I probably only need a Dobsonian mount, but a computerized equatorial would be nice.

@nekite1 Жыл бұрын

I have the TS Photon clone and I am pleased with the scope - my next purchase is a better mount as I only have an EQ3-2 which is not up to the job.

@billducas Жыл бұрын

Ed, love all of your videos. What is the blue telescope to your right?

@joakimastro Жыл бұрын

Had the Sky-Watcher version of this as my first scope spesifically for astrophotography. Bought as a bundle with an EQ3 Pro. Undermounted, as you say, and the scope is optically "OK" but doesnt really produce sharp stars. The stars in your images are well representative to what this scope can manage to offer.

@MountainFisher Жыл бұрын

You forgot the Celestron C6-N Ed. It is the cheaper version of the 150. That's the one I had the mirror refigured to near perfect focus and had to put a JMI focuser on it because the 1.25" wasn't cutting it. I use a Celestron CG-4 and it isn't shaky at all with the C6--N. It handles the 12 lb. scope just fine. I've taken some pictures, but it is a manual mount so very short exposures. Guy in my club used it to take some photos, but he put it on a heavy mount.

@castronomy Жыл бұрын

Even tho i already have a couple of telescope, a 6" newt is something ill probably get at some point. Very nice size and also fits well with many cameras.

@user-lt9py2pu6u 11 ай бұрын

I bought the sky watcher version which came with the EQ3-2 mount. Found the mount to be a bit too small. I fitted sky watchers electric focuser which does improve the focusing experience. I did try imagining with it but found my results (excepting the moon) somewhat disapponting but that may have been due to my own inexperience at the time. Visually I found it to be fine for the money paid and still use it for lunar imaging.

@bambino198532 Жыл бұрын

Hello Ed, love your channel. I'm in a tear right now between the celestron evolution 6 and the celestron advanced vx 6" Schmidt cassegrain scope. Would love to see a comparison video !

@edting Жыл бұрын

Between the two, always choose the AVX. It is more accurate.

@bowrudder899 Жыл бұрын

Somehow I lucked out and got one (used) with a 2-speed focuser. Makes it far more pleasant to use.

@gumnaamsur Жыл бұрын

The Omni XLT series also has 102mm & 120mm doublet refractors. Would love to hear your thoughts on those. I got the 102mm. Yes, there is some CA, but for my needs of beginner visual astronomy it is perfect!

@goldni4429 Жыл бұрын

I'm about to buy the 102mm and agree a review on the refractors would be great!!

@Beaver-be8vk Жыл бұрын

I have the Orion version and I never thought it was that bad. But then again I haven’t used it since I’ve stepped up to much better scopes. 🤔

@sjpp71 Жыл бұрын

Ed, I think it would be really nice if you could make a video reviewing other budget 5" astrograph reflectors (like the Skywatcher 130PDS, or the GSO, which I know you made a video about a year ago, although it was the F/6 and that review seem to have been dedicated to visual astronomy only). Any chance the mirror (spherical maybe?) in this celestron could be the cause of the low quality results? Always enjoy your videos. Thanks!

@ronm6585 Жыл бұрын

Thank you.

@OMMgreenshirt 7 ай бұрын

Mr. Ting you are spot on and hit all the pros and cons points. I have owned one for over 4 years now and experienced what you have described. The CG-4 mount is okay but to light due to the fact it only takes a couple of accessories to run right up to the weight limit. Why oh why is the eyepiece draw tube painted silver?! I airbrushed it ultra flat black with better results with viewing now especially using Tele Vue Panoptics. So why did I buy it? Yes for the price and because it is blue in color. I'm a blue-a-holic so there you go. As for the coma corrector (yes I purchased one) it would have been better to put the money towards another Tele Vue eyepiece. Anyway clear skies and congratulations for buying another telescope. 🤣😅🤣😅 I am laughing with you because I have five now and have other to get. 🔭🔭🔭🔭🔭👍 Besides, in another 100 years it isn't going to matter.

@michaeledmonds3027 Жыл бұрын

Love your channel, Ed..... I just bought a pair of Celestron 8X21 binoculars to stow in the console of my SUV for quick object inspection. Are these still your choice for small, inexpensive binoculars under $25? Amazon reviews are mostly positive, but I don't mind spending up to $50 for better quality. I have Leica Trinovid 8X42s for serious general viewing. Thanks for your thoughts, Michael

@pppjourneyonabike5992 Жыл бұрын

Do have a link to video showing or telling what modifications u had to do to your camera for beginning astro-photography

@yqh8247 Жыл бұрын

In China,we have the sky-watcher version and it's probably the best seller for serious beginners especially for those who want to do astrophotography.The sellers have all the modifications to deal with all the problems this scope would come across.Maybe I would buy the newly-come-out f/4 version for nightvision in order to get larger exit pupil diameter.

@guyjordan8201 Жыл бұрын

Best, marketing, ploy, ever… Get Ed to review your old equipment, then buys your old equipment.

@PaulSauve 2 ай бұрын

i was undecided & had already ordered the Orion AstroView 6 but it was on 2 month backorder... after listening to your video, i cancelled & ordered this one today.😀

@jomon723 Жыл бұрын

🔭Nice review....Thanks 🖖🏼👽

@Beanerds Жыл бұрын

A few years ago I ordered a 150mm f5 Refractor from a local dealer here in Australia , they sent one of these instead , and I was so amazed with its performance I kept it , it was basically perfect optically . I used the difference in price to grab a few eyepieces and a drive for my EQ5 mount , a great telescope that I used and loved for years .

@kasa6038 Жыл бұрын

I looked at one of these from a fellow club member when I was looking to upgrade my 130 mm Meade reflector. We ran it on his AVX. His price to me was $200 but I ended up passing. I knew I needed a good mount as well. I would suggest a 8 inch AD Dob from High Point Scientific instead. It would be a similar price but comes with a mount. The weight would be more, but I think that it is a much more flexible instrument. I ended up buying a 10 inch AD Dob, so I may be biased.

@gothicm3rcy426 Жыл бұрын

saw an omni xlt 150 in classifieds recently for $250....included a cg-4 mount. I really should have picked it up

@deltacx1059 3 ай бұрын

12:01 thats what a separate ir filter is for and honestly a non rich begainner is not going to be using expensive/new equipment if they can help it, this is the approach i took anyway.

@ultrametric9317 Жыл бұрын

Interesting - the double diffraction spike means the spider vanes are not collinear! The tube holes for the spider must not be evenly spaced. Never have seen this before.

@knarf9335 Жыл бұрын

Will you be reviewing psv-14 night vision?

@JollyFigNut Жыл бұрын

I've been looking into getting one of the Orion SkyQuest dobs and noticed something off. I was under the impression that the XT8 comes with a metal 2" Crayford focuser and the XT6 uses a plastic 1.25" rack & pinion focuser. But when looking at Orion's website listings they both say and show a "precision 2" Crayford focuser with 1.25" adapter". Looking through their online e-catalogue which hasn't been updated past 2020 still shows what I thought to be the case, XT6 uses a plastic 1.25" focuser and the XT8 uses a metal 2" focuser. Before I purchase anything I just want confirmation that the focusers on the XT6 and XT8 have changed since 2020 and if the new ones are any good (I've desperately tried looking into the new focusers on reviews/forums/etc to no avail).

@nancyparr7824 Жыл бұрын

I own this telescope, bought used, and it is not bad for the price. I've added the Lacerta dual speed microfocus upgrade for a more precise focus setting. With a good Coma Corrector like the Baader MPCC Mark III, it can be good. I would have a picture of M51 taken Tuesday night to share with you, but unfortunatly it is not possible here.

@FedorKorsakov Жыл бұрын

I found that Baader MPCC works pretty great for this family of telescope models (I'm using ts-photon branded one), and crucially, is adjustable. With coma managed, it's a remarkably versatile imaging telescope. One point of interest, however, is that open cell design for primary can introduce light leaks - I am not sure how prevalent of a problem it is though.

@koomber777 Жыл бұрын

Shower cap over the end sorts it out.

@VirgilTStone Жыл бұрын

Another great video Mr. Ting, thank you for your efforts. Any chance of reviewing the cousin to that reflector, the Omni XLT 120 refractor? Is it worthwhile? Thanks again. Clear skies, warm nights to you.

@edting Жыл бұрын

I haven't seen one of those in a while. If I get one in I'll let you know.

@VirgilTStone Жыл бұрын

@@edting You honor me with your reply, thank you sir. A loyal viewer from Ohio in a Bortle 23 or so area. Yes, I know the scale as 1 to 9, but you should (try to?) see our sky.... Long time subscriber, Mak user. Looking at first steps into refractor world, other than the department store 60mm I've been using since high school (too many decades ago). Time to get a Chevy or Buick, rather than a Cadillac or Bentley, figuratively speaking, of course. "Decent" will be good enough, don't need (or want to afford) the really "nice" ones. Thanks again for your efforts, and your reply. Good health to you and yours. P.S. the humorous moments are a nice touch. Well done!

@MatthewHolevinski Жыл бұрын

I have the 5"? version of this, and I have a blast with it, the optics aren't great, but if I drop it I'm not going to cry.

@borzak101 Жыл бұрын

Have had one for 15 years or so on an Atlas mount. I use it quite often here in southwest TX even though I have many larger and more expensive scopes. Not sure if the new ones from Celestron come standard with a 2" focuser.

@wdavis6814 Жыл бұрын

SW Texas has some of the darkest and clearest skies I've ever witnessed. Went to McDonald Observatory few times and did some AP south of Van Horn once. Beautiful place for astronomy.

@heyhey97777 Жыл бұрын

Very interesting

@williamthesing7495 Жыл бұрын

Hello Ed! I bought this exact OTA AFTER buying an AVX mount for my then mothballed 8" SCT about 3 years ago. This was my start in EAA and astrophotography. I had been a visual observer for many years, but the light pollution pretty much put an end to what were somewhat decent suburban skies. The Omni 150 was recommended as a good workhorse scope. It now rides on an EQ6 R Pro, along with AsiAir Pro, ZWO EAF, and a ZWO asi 533 MC Pro. It has been a great scope, and had no need for any corrector whatsoever. I've modded it a bit with a rear cooling fan. I 3D printed a flanged insert for mounting the fan, as well as eliminating the light leakage. It has been an outstanding performer from the beginning, and would highly recommend it to anyone, based on what I've gotten from it. Collimation has been almost rock solid, but I would reccommend a set of Bob's Knobs to make things easier when it's necessary. As you have said, skies make a huge difference. My home went from Bortle 4.5 to 7.5 over the past 10 years, but still do most of my imaging here, and use this scope more than my 8" SCT. I think if you were to play with it some more, you would find it to be one of those hidden gems for its price point. I always look forward to your next video!

@davidwilson410 Жыл бұрын

Bought your book!

@lornaz1975 Жыл бұрын

At 1:00 if you look at the tube rings on those no name newts they look like they were made by GSO. Also the dove tail as well.

@ultrametric9317 Жыл бұрын

Ed is the mirror parabolized? I had to jump in at the last moment and stop a friend from buying a 5" Celestron with a spherical mirror (I know from experience) - that scope had HORRIBLE SA and was IMO just about useless.

@artiraina5857 Жыл бұрын

Hello sir Could you please make a video on how to do astrophotography with smart phone and a telescope in a light polluted sky. 🙏

@jwg9338 Жыл бұрын

Part of my gripe with these faster newts and the "cheap" coma corrector is the lack of dial adjustment - like the parracor - (IMO required) You need to play with spacer rings for each eyepiece. Seriously detracts from the enjoyment of observing. If you upgrade to a paracorr, it cost more than the entire OTA, putting you at the same price as a 6" SCT.

@Megastring 2 ай бұрын

I do not like finder scopes. So, I mounted a rail with a SvBony 60mm Guide scope with a diagonal. 'Tis now a finder and then some.

@TevisC Жыл бұрын

Ed.. I'm real surprised at your take on AP with this scope, so much so I think it could use further elaboration. I Think it's more than capable of good AP. The SW 130PDS for example has a very large AP following. I have a SW 150 f/4 as well as an AT80EDT and the newt produces better deep sky AP.

@sjpp71 Жыл бұрын

I was thinking about the same, what about the 130pds, and SW recently put out the quattro 6". Maybe with a few modifications (flocking, blackening mirrors, covering the back, etc) the Omni XLT should deliver good images.

@edting Жыл бұрын

The Omni 150 is a great bargain but it will always be a cheap scope. Compared to a first rate apo it feels like a toy. It won't come close to filling the frame of a full-frame sensor without distortion and even with an APS-C camera attached I had to crop 1/3 to 1/2 of the image so you wouldn't see what was happening at the edges. I also had to do tons of post processing to make the images look acceptable. As you saw the contrast was also lousy. The Stowaway's field flattener is an astonishing piece of optics that fills a full frame sensor all the way out to the edges, and images look great straight out of the camera. Then there's the unparalleled contrast of a fine refractor...

@victorvillenapenas4274 Жыл бұрын

I use the 150pds for astrophotography and I can say it is fantastic, I don’t care how fine those apos are, a decent 150mm reflector will show better detail than a fancy 120apo simply because of aperture. Also a good coma corrector will be able to cover an APS-C sensor more than efficiently. I’m not here to start some beef but I feel like the quality of Ed’s images are due to his abilities as an astrophotographer not because of a cheap newt. Love this man channel tho.

@robertlautenslager9832 Жыл бұрын

I agree, I started with an Orion Starblast with an upgraded focused 😮and an Atik Infinity camera for EAA..and it was my go too. Night after night for deep sky objects that I could never see in my backyard. The 6” f5 Newtonian has a special place in my collection.

@TevisC Жыл бұрын

@@robertlautenslager9832 I still have my Orion Starblast 4.5 and have upgraded it as well. Flocked, bob's knobs, upgraded 1.25 focuser. Setting on the bench waiting are a 46.5mm secondary and 2" Skywatcher crayford focuser. The Cameras I use with it are my ASI585MC and SvBony 905C (The 905c is about the right size to show no-to minimal coma). Small sensors, but many of the targets I want to image are small. 3.75um pixels = about 1.72" per pixel and 2.9 is 1.33" per pixel.

@PhrozenN 7 ай бұрын

A wise man once told me, "the best scope in the world is the one you have". @edting did you include the link for the aperture corrector?

@StagnantMizu Жыл бұрын

what is the highest feasible limiting magnitude reachable with a solid budget as an amateur? currently really demotivated to pay solid money for something that shows way less than the sdss9 or dss or hsc surveys in stellarium..

@KingLoopie1 Жыл бұрын

No problem Ed! We all know that as with anything else in life, the idea amount of telescopes = N+1. 👍

@daleordogne1490 10 ай бұрын

Ed How much does the draw tube interfere with image due to an obstruction.?

@edting 10 ай бұрын

This is common with inexpensive Newtonians. I wouldn't worry about it.

@siberx4 Жыл бұрын

It looks like you might have been slightly miscollimated for some of your astro photos there; I see a distinctive double-image in your vertical diffraction spikes, and I usually get that when I've got something misaligned in my 6" f/4 newtonian. With everything aligned, it's an excellent astrophotography tool; I pair mine with the Quattro 4-element (GPU) corrector which produces very sharp and well-corrected results for the price. I think this type and class of telescope is under-rated for astrophotography; being reflectors they're fully free of chromatic aberration, and if you have a good figure on the primary and a good coma corrector, they're free of spherical aberration and coma too (leaving only some largely unnoticeable astigmatism as possible errors). Even with a coma corrector factored in, they're substantially cheaper than triplet refractors of similar light-gathering capability (with better resolution owing to the larger aperture), and can produce fabulous views either visually or photographically.

@victorvillenapenas4274 Жыл бұрын

I couldn’t agree more, I use the 1500pds with the GPU coma corrector and after some mods and good collimation it delivers stunning results. A friend of mine owns a skywatcher esprit 120 and his images aren’t superior in any way despite the price difference.

@joseborges8479 Жыл бұрын

After a lifetime of hardwork finally can afford a couple of decent telescopes. So I bought a 6" Celestron F-8 refractor on a VX mount, an Orion 10" F-4 Newtonian Astrograph (mount pending), and a Celestron 7" F-15 Mak. Upgraded to 2" star diagonal. Due to eye issues (I'm 62) my eyepieces are all 2". So far have Baader Hyperion 31mm, 17mm and 8mm. Have heard that not all eyepieces are optimal in all type of telescopes. What would be a good selection of two eyepieces for the otas listed. I'm looking at Explore Scientific 2" eyepieces, but not sure what size. Any suggestions?

@edting Жыл бұрын

Good job getting into the hobby! You are going to have mount issues with all three optical tubes. The AVX is not strong enough to hold that 6" refractor. I had the Astro-Tech variant of the 10" f/4 and my G11 would not hold it. You are going to spend many thousands on a mount for it. I don't know where you live, but our conditions here in the northeast can rarely support the focal length of that Mak. It needs a VERY sturdy mount.

@turbomike71 Жыл бұрын

What type of modification did you do on the camera? I was thinking of getting my Canon modified for imaging faint galaxies.

@edting Жыл бұрын

I paid someone to remove the IR filter on the T3i. This is a good, but not great modification. It works well enough for the purposes here in the video.

@turbomike71 Жыл бұрын

@@edting I was thinking of the full spectrum mod, but expensive.

@orangutaneclipse 6 ай бұрын

Are there any better telescopes with similar price for mainly deep sky ?

@edting 6 ай бұрын

There's the standard recommendation of the 8" Dob.

@chargert9 Жыл бұрын

Hi, Great videos and explanations, Thank You. I'm looking for my 1st scope and on a tight budget. I found a Celestron Astromaster 130eg with the mount and the motor drive brand new still in the box for $200.00 I want something that would be easy to transport and set up too. Is this worth giving it a shot? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

@edting Жыл бұрын

AstroMasters and PowerSeekers are variations on the same junk. See my review of the PowerSeeker 127.

@chargert9 Жыл бұрын

@@edting Thank you very much for the heads up I'm checking it out now👍

@chargert9 Жыл бұрын

Hi, I crossed that off my list to buy. Lol I've be looking at an Orion Skyscanner 135mm for $299.00 new or just saving up for the XT6 or the Orion Skyline 6 both of those are $449.00 new. Thank You for any direction you can give me.

@iang-zf1wr Жыл бұрын

What is the focal length of that telescope. Is it a 150 mm aperture by 750mm focal length

@edting Жыл бұрын

Yes.

@A0111. 6 ай бұрын

Can't find review of 6" Orion Starblast with poor optics which Ed mentioned at 1:15. Please help. (Looked here, and at scopereviews, but haven't found)

@edting 6 ай бұрын

On Scopereviews the review is on Page 32. It can also be found off the Master List.

@A0111. 6 ай бұрын

@@edtingThanks Ed, I thought it's a different one, as it's written there that "Optically the scope is pretty good", and "I had some trepidation about buying it, as a recent sample of Orion's 6" f/5 Imaging Newtonian (same OTA as the Starblast) left much to be desired optically. ", so I suggested that there's another review of the not-so-good Orion 6" f5

@danjay2889 Жыл бұрын

Hey, Im searching for a good first time telescope and came across the Skywatcher N 150/750 Star Discovery P1 50i SynScan WiFi GoTo and was wondering if its a good option. What do you trunk about IT?

@edting Жыл бұрын

The issue is the mount. That mount is sold in the US as the NexStar SLT and Orion had a variant as well. You might get an accurate one, you might not. I also have concerns about long term reliability.

@danjay2889 Жыл бұрын

@Ed Ting Thanks for your reply. Do you have a recommendation for a other telescope about this size and price?

@danjay2889 Жыл бұрын

@@edting or do you have a recommendation for a alternative mount?

@jonathanhuwwilliams5656 Жыл бұрын

Which make would you say is best, as a general rule, celestron or orion? I was looking at the 10 inch dobsonion.

@edting Жыл бұрын

All that stuff comes from the same place. Get the one offering the best deal, or whoever has what you want in stock.

@jonathanhuwwilliams5656 Жыл бұрын

@@edting thank you Ed. What should I look for if buying second hand?

@edting Жыл бұрын

As long as it hasn't been abused or dropped, used scopes are usually very safe buys. The owner is probably just looking to get something else. One exception - if you are buying a fancy goto scope, *assume* the electronics are dead or will die at some point (hint: it's a good assumption).

@jonathanhuwwilliams5656 Жыл бұрын

@@edting thank you very much again. I'm a total technaphobe, point and observe is my limit. That's why I was thinking of the 8 or 10 inch dobsonion.

@A0111. Жыл бұрын

This scope is faster than AP Stowaway, but it looks like it loses half of the light. Mirrors can't be that bad, maybe the corrector? It's a mystery.

@edting Жыл бұрын

There's something about the contrast of a refractor. The field flattener for the Stowaway costs more than the entire Omni 150 tube and is an amazing piece of optics. It will fill the frame of a full-frame sensor with no distortion. The cheap FF you saw me use will fill perhaps 1/2 the field of a full frame sensor, if that.

@lornaz1975 Жыл бұрын

I find my Omni 150 to not have the smoothest of surfaces and does not do well on high magnification. Perhaps its not made for that.

@yamlcase230 6 ай бұрын

with shooting, your scope shouldn't cost more than the gun. What's the analog in astrophotography?

@edting 6 ай бұрын

In astronomy, it's common for your eyepieces to be worth more than your telescope. It's common for your telescope to be worth more than your car. Astrophotography is even more counterintuitive. The optical tube is far down the list of what's important. Imaging is all about the mount. Then it's the post processing, then the camera, then the field flattener/coma corrector and autoguider, and then maybe the optical tube.

@spizzlo Жыл бұрын

It's $700 with the cg-4 mount. I feel like for that money you'd be much better off getting an 8" dob. You can find these 2nd hand, but you can also find skywatcher 8" dob 2nd hand (although often without the base).

@Smurf_Garden Жыл бұрын

I wanted a wider field of view in a rich field telescope.

@bowrudder899 Жыл бұрын

And a 6" fast Newtonian is closer to a grab and go than an f/5 Dob.

@springbloom5940 Жыл бұрын

'Clone' may not be the best term, as I suspect the majority of those models are the same scope. At least the same optical train.

@mycarolinaskies Жыл бұрын

I bought a barely used AP rig in 2017 that included the XLT150 with MPCC, ST80 guidescope w/asi120mc, all on an NEQ6 Pro. Since your spacing with CC was imprecise I think it unreasonable to compare the results with any APO. The 150s effective aperture is around 127mm and even with a decent CC far less than any triplet refractors using FFs. I'm loathe to sell off my XLT150 as I think I can mount it on an old LXD55 or LXD75 for cheap EAA work.

@jrpstonecarver Жыл бұрын

I would never make fun of you, Ed. ;)

@Jabba1625 Жыл бұрын

Guan Sheng and aperture are the same, just saying.

@jtm_h Жыл бұрын

First viewer. Pin me!

@jongroubert4203 Жыл бұрын

Ed, when you say, "It doesn't look too bad" @12:27, what do you mean? What's wrong with those captures of M31, NGC 891, the Veil, M27, Crescent, and Pacman? Is it the corners?

@edting Жыл бұрын

Those images are severely cropped (close to 50%) so you don't see the massive distortion at the edges. Also, I had to do a ton of post-processing work to get those to look acceptable. A nice refractor will fill the frame to the edges without distortion, and its images will look great straight out of the camera and barely need post processing.

@jongroubert4203 Жыл бұрын

@@edting Got it; thanks.