im thinking of buying the SKYWATCHER 200/1000 BLACK DIAMOND, is it a good choice? It would help a lot if you could answer in a short period of time

@@sunsetdrive4437 hi there. I didn't notice your message until now. This is a pretty standard f/5 reflector. Definitely suited for Astrophotography. Be aware you'll probably need to collimate reflectors, and you'll probably want to buy an additional coma corrector.

Redcat51?

Lol underrated

Alpha Star or is it

I did not disliked it. It's a great, informative, almost "idiot friendly" video. Just perfect for mediocre intelect such as mine but I am afraid that lots of those minuses came from "cultural" differences of what one sees as affordable. Unfortunately, from my latitude/longitude point ,1000 euros is certailny not reasonable price.

@@andrejm77 If you are interested in such hobby but finding things not so affordable in your region, I strongly suggest you to contact universities which have such departments. You may run into projects which need people. Good luck.

@@denizorsel1029 i am only 14 😖🥺

Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, a field flattener would be required for a triplet to avoid astigmatism. Second hand may make sense but you'll have to take care not to buy low quality stuff.

Which is it where you can just look at the things rather than take pictures ?

@@AstroForumSpace Agreed, but second hand is more of a problem with mounts than with the telescopes themselves, especially refractor telescopes, which you can buy with confidence, in the USA at least, in the classified ads on Cloudy Nights or Astromart--and there are sometimes listings from European sellers on these sites as well.

Im responding to your comments because, like you, i am a photographer as a hobby today, but did professional work in the past. WIth that said, i have Canon gear currently, 1DX, 1Ds MK II, 1D, with USM100mm-400mm and USM 28mm-300mm USM IS II, No bragging but you being a fellow professional, you understand my level as a photographer. Like you, or maybe not, I was just trying to take a picture at the moon. It all seems simple, mechanically, but the mechanics are the same, but not really? Get it? Anyways, im just behind you on this astro stuff. Watching Astro Biscuit and Astrobackyard and this guy, Im finding my list of things I need to buy, changing ever time I look( Daily). My hobbies destroy my bank accounts. I cannot stand buying twice. When I decide to do something, im gonna do it 200% or you wont find me doing it at all. My goals are simple, photo and view nebulas and local planets, and moons. Im prepared for $6000 in expenses to get going and then re asses more particular items as learning a new hobby will have, and new needs. I like having good equipment, as my last "SUBERBIKE RACING HOBBY" proved itself for the past 5 years, so when I buy equipment, i want it to be the last time I need to get it. I want quality images, I want NOT to buy twice on anything, im not a scientist, nor a scholastic professional needing $500,000 in equipment or even $50,000 worth of equipment. My goal is to suffice family time with this hobby and have excellent images and to also further my sons interest in higher education, OK, he is 8, but still.... Your start so far appears to be very much like mine,100's of hours in research, not a full grasp it what works the best and the costs associated. Could you provide any input to getting going? Also any more information on what didn't work and what has worked for you? You would be pulling me out of a very frustrating attempt at a hobby i want to do with my family. This is to anyone that has read this, Specially you Rob Smit, Astroforum, and anyone who could help me get the next pieces. I have already settled on a Celestron CGX or CGX L, if that isnt a good mount then I got troubles, beyond that i have considered a 14" Dob, 12 TPO RC Truss tube, the New Raptor 61 APO, Celestron 11 EDGE HD and variants because of the tremendous discounts at OPTCORP currently. The mic is yours and I am listening...

Hi there, thank you so much for the positive feedback! Clear skies.

Thanks for the positive feedback Matt!

Yes, the video is for deepsky astrophotography. The C8 is a good place to start in terms of planetary and some deepsky observing. Keep in mind that it's an f/10, which is relatively slow for deepsky observing. You could buy a.67 focal reducer which gives you a wider field of view at f/6.3. keep in mind that if you want to go into astrophotography, you'll eventually need a decent EQ mount. The C8 can be used for planetary imaging as you will be making videos instead of long exposure pictures. Clear skies!

The C8 is a great starter scope, you can often find them for $300-$400 on Craigslist and sometimes bundled with some good accessories. Honestly, it's all you'll ever need in a scope as a small time hobbyist for visual observing but not AP. You don't mention if you're a beginner to scopes or AP, based on the comment I'm assuming both. I would suggest getting a C8 with an Alt-Az mount but hope for a GPS Nexstar 8 (the ones with the carbon fiber tubes) for around $800-$1,000 used and get used to it, then get a wedge and continue from there. At that point you could get an earlier generation Hyperstar used and that along with the wedge would get you some AMAZING photos. You can even skip the wedge and I think you'll be fine since field rotation likely wouldn't be a huge issue for most objects. Cameras have come down a lot in price but there are many paths to your goal, find the one that's most comfortable for you.

Cost is the one big downside of decent refractors as opposed to an average Newtonian. Mobility can go either way. Smaller refractors are the most practical, but if you have a car then it shouldn't matter much. In either case you would have a mount which would be the bulkiest part. I would say maintenance matters more, as lugging around a Newtonian is bound to decollimate it. Alignment is more a matter of mount, so make it an eq rather than az. Eq mounts are made for natural tracking of the apparent movement of stars. Particularly as a beginner I found it so much easier to gently nudge an eq mount rather than waste time fiddling around an alt-az.

ВСЕМ ПРИВЕТ

Your question is very sound. Often the comparisons are for price of scope itself vs features, but then you need $1500 for a good motorized EQ and tripod to replace the clunky manual one delivered with the under $1500 scope. Then you need to buy photography mounts. Total cost is often 2000 to 3000USD. I have found the best scope for your stated core desires is the bronze tube SC Celestron NexStarSE. They come from 4" to 8" primary mirrors. They have a computerized tracking and object finding motor built in. They can be AZ aligned in 4 minutes, or polar aligned like an EQ with a latitude tilt table built in. The SE4 and 5 are light in total weight. The tripod is very shake resistant stable The tube and motor comes off easily and together as a short standing unit with very stable rubber feet. Easy to sit in your car floorboard, without rolling around. The tripod alone is very light. The scope may be used without the tripod as a tabletop scope on a level table. I use a cut level stump in my own field, which is as stable as you can get. The motor autotracks. The scope comes with a seperate camera mount opening and an eyepiece mount on the drawbar. There is a simple flip mirror to switch in a snap to the camera. So if you want the whole thing under $1500USD then that or the Orion or Meade competitors is probably best for the beginner. These are the first true Celestrons. I found a used one SE4 for $40 in pristine condition with a box of German eyepieces and filters that belonged to an elderly enthusiast, but that was luck. See them for $500 often, sold after a teen's interest wains. I have several Newtonians on traditional EQ and AZ tripod mounts and Dobsons, but by comparison they are much more awkward to use that these scopes.

Thank you for the positive feedback Elina!

Hey, da's aardig van je Rogier, dank je!

Wow, that's great Ed! Thank you. I thought about asking you to share some user experiences with your newt. Reflector in this video but was busy with work. Would you be open to some form of collaboration :-)?

AstroForum Absolutely! If you have any ideas let me know. My email is techristianjr@gmail.com

@@astroedsastrophotographych4562 alright, I'll think of something :-)

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you so much Dhaval!

Thanks for adding these timestamps! Clear skies.

Good choice! Hang on, there will be clear skies in your future Kevin!

Haha. Yes, I can relate to your comments. I get aperture fever every year from march till may (galaxy season). Rest of the year we have plenty of large nebulae to choose from without the need for a reducer. Thanks, clear skies!

Thank you Tobias!

Thanks Gustav, I appreciate that!

Oops, sorry - I had some typos, fixed.

Thanks Chuck! I'm no God but I'm glad you like it 😉

@@AstroForumSpace I can't believe I typed God, lol

No problem, happens to me all the time with my SmartPhone :-). Love your awesome timelapse videos of the sun Chuck. Truly amazing.

This video of mine is a bit older, but but I think this could help you: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jd2JnZNzm9KdZmg.html. Clear skies!

Thanks man!

You're welcome, thanks for watching!

Thanks for the positive feedback! I guess tinkering can also be fun :-).

Without doubt a small quality Refractor is a good place to start. I've two a ED80 and a TS130APO and love them both. That said my imaging scope of choice is my 10"F4 Newtonian. Collimation takes me just a few minutes. The scope delivers superb resolution, perfect colour and gathers the data so quickly.

@@MoultonDave hi David. Thanks for sharing. I was actually considering a Richey cretien as my next scope. Good to hear that collimation is not so difficult. 10" F4, wow that is indeed fast. Clear skies.

AstroForum Thanks for the reply. The RC's are great for galaxies especially, but can be quite tricky to live with, balance and collimation can be difficult. Slow though at F9 Just added you on Instagram buddy. I'm moulton2252. . The images I have shared on there were taken with various telescopes over the years, an ED80, TS130APO, Skywatcher MN190, and my latest the Skywatcher 10" Quattro. So a variety of scopes sure, but what might be of interest is that all the pics were taken with the same camera a QSI583WSG. I should finish by saying I'm from the Uk, but have moved to Australia so the image are from both hemispheres

Wow, you have an interesting astrophotography life :-). Thanks for following me on IG. I'll check out your feed as well. Maybe I should reconsider the RC.. But I like the aperture. I could also go for a larger refractor. Anyway, how are the skies in Australia? Better then in the UK I presume :-)

Glad it was helpful!

@@AstroForumSpace here’s a good question for you! 😏 if you had a 100mm x 800fl refractor and a 100mm x 400fl with a 2x Barlow, would they give the same FOV and quality of view?

@@Balataone that depends on the quality of your barlow lens. If you want a higher resolution picture, you'll need a bigger aperture, not a shorter or longer focal length.

Thanks!

Thank you!

Nice, hope you'll enjoy it! Clear skies Mohit

Hi Mohit, I was looking at buying the gso dobsonian. Can you see nebulae with it?

@@KarthikSuresh1 Hi there, you can probably see the larger, brighter nebula like Orion and objects like andromeda, pleades visually. If you are using it with an EQ mount and camera you'll be able to make longer exposures and image a lot more.

@@AstroForumSpace thank you for your reply.

from where and at what price did you buy it?

Thanks. Actually, in struggling with the same question about the second scope. 8" RC is good but collimation is difficult I've heard. 8"SC is ok but would need a reducer. Bigger refractor is nice but they are large and more expensive.

A better way to put this would be: Achromat is a doublet not a single lens and are corrected to bring two wavelengths(colors) in focus, mostly blue and red. "ED" is the same thing(an Achromat) just with special glass doing a better job correcting color. Great video otherwise!

Thanks ... I was beginning to think that ... as Pluto is no longer a planet(it is), that a simple lense, somehow, became an achromatic ... I could have sworn we called triplets Ortho-Achromatic(we're talking the 50').

I have no idea, just wondering: An achromat scope produce different focal lenghts on RGB colors, so it causes aberration. Is this issue in effect on monochrome cameras with narrowband filters? Thanks.

Adrian, don't be a little bitch.

Lose the agro dickhead........

Nice! It's a good scope. I still use my 80mm apo and love the wide field views. Clear skies!

You definitely got the astrophotography bug John, thanks for sharing your gear and story. Clear skies!

Great to hear my video is useful Martyn, thanks! I have other videos about equatorial mounts, perhaps useful. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fsiUhpag2t3bfqc.html clear skies!

Have fun!

I'm glad the information was useful Girish, clear skies!

Hi may I know if u have had tried using the following telescope that I was recommended 1) Orion starblast 4.5 AZ 2) Orion starblast 4.5 EQ 3) bresser messer 130/650 table mount . 4) skywatcher 130 AZ What do u think it is good for beginner and some people said EQ is for astrophotography. But required a bit time to learn . And table mount is for grab and ready to use . Will it take away the fun .or it would be more fun to start observing for a busy life working person . . ? Thanks appreciate ur thought on these or u have others u would recommend

Thanks so much!

Thanks Gary!

Hi John, thanks for your story. Yes, it's unfortunate that light pollution had become do much worse during the last couple of decades. I'm using narrowband filters which helps to block out all that light, but I'd rather have dark(er) skies. Take care.

That's pretty fast, good choice!

I went with that one too. love it

Yes, and thanks for watching

Your feedback is highly appreciated Mason! I'm focused on astrophotography in this video, but I agree completely that there is a step before that where your just get into astronomy and buy your first telescope and perhaps a computerized mount in a price range below 500 USD/EUR. I myself started with a celestron 102slt. I'll consider making an additional video about cheaper telescope/mount combinations to take your first steps info astronomy. Clear skies!

Hi, there are much cheaper telescopes available for visual astronomy. I'm talking about good quality astrophotography telescopes.

@@AstroForumSpace Thanks for your reply!! Just a newbie here looking for my first telescope. I realize there are so many levels to telescopes and a lot of them have different "purposes". I wish I could get my hands on one of these babies! Maybe one day. Thanks for making videos and sharing your knowledge!!

Thank you! I have other videos on my channel where I discuss mounts, cameras, and other astrogear. I also made a video about how to start AP, perhaps useful: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jd2JnZNzm9KdZmg.html

Thank you for the positive feedback!

Sure. There are lots of widefield targets like andromeda galaxy, Pleiades, veil nebula etc. With nebulae, you do need some decent tracking and guiding gear.

Definitely. The Redcat 51 for example is very popular with astrophotographers, even though it has a focal length of just 250mm. With Cropsensors like APS-C that is comparable to 400mm. (your 350mm scope would be comparable to a 560mm focal lenght for APS-C sensors). That is more than enough to get really decent pictures of most nebulas. And much more would make Andromeda really hard to image. On the other hand, with a high resolution planet camera (6mm sensor) you would be closer to a 2000mm equivalent. Far to much for most nebulas and far to slow (not enough light).

Sounds good to me. The only thing is the zwo asi 183. I don't own that one but I do own a zwo 178mc. The downside of that camera was that it produced ampglow at multiminute exposures. Also, it doesn't have any cooling. In short, I think the camera is very well suited for planetary and moon, but maybe not perfect on DSO's. But then again, the cooled versions are a lot more expensive, so it depends on your budget and what you want to image. Clear skies!

mick goodman get the ASI533 instead it’s better for you Apo scope and no amp glow

Hi may I know if u have had tried using the following telescope that I was recommended 1) Orion starblast 4.5 AZ 2) Orion starblast 4.5 EQ 3) bresser messer 130/650 table mount . 4) skywatcher 130 AZ What do u think it is good for beginner and some people said EQ is for astrophotography. But required a bit time to learn . And table mount is for grab and ready to use . Will it take away the fun .or it would be more fun to start observing for a busy life working person . . ? Thanks appreciate ur thought on these or u have others u would recommend

Totally agree with u on taking time to set up and taken them apart could be very frustrating. So I am thinking about getting one for friend that is easy to store and easy to useb

Hoi Mabel, hou er rekening mee dat die telescopen worden gemaakt van flint glas. Prima voor visueel gebruik hoor (zo ben ik ook gestart), maar als je serieus wil fotograferen (met name deep-sky objecten) dan zul je op een gegeven moment over willen stappen naar een ED of APO telescoop (wel duurder). Veel plezier!

Hi there, it's probably ok for the moon, but it's an achromat refractor, so you run the risk of chromatic aberrations in your pictures and videos.

@@AstroForumSpace ok thank you for the information

Thank you Bobby!

Great to hear that! I actually have no experience with those trackers, but I plan to take one with me this summer on my holidays. Thanks for sharing! Clear skies.

Don't know anything about the quality, it's a very low cost telescope. Don't expect too much from it. It's a 76/300, you should expect: nice lunar views, small, but visible, dots in the night sky of our bigger planets (Jupiter, Saturn) and some visibility on big and bright deepsky objects (e.g. Pleiades). Maybe great as a birthday present?

@@AstroForumSpace fair enough. Can't afford it as a birthday present don't think my family could either lol. I already found that out though from other reviews so I will keep looking. Might wait and save up for a good telescope. Cause I want to take pics of at least the planets not just as dots. Thanks though.

@@DoomWalker42 hi Tom. I started with a celestron 102slt refractor telescope and computerized goto system. You can put a zwo120mc planetary camera which will - together with a Barlow lens - enable you to make videos and pictures of the moon and planets. The SLT is about 550 euro and camera about 150. I wish astrophotography was cheaper so more people could enjoy it.

@@AstroForumSpace thanks. I think astronomy is definitely a hobby where its worth spending money if you are into it. Thanks for the advice! :)

Hi Mike, yes. I do remember that a normal sc like the nexstar suffers from astigmatism, meaning that your stars are more oval shaped towards the edges. I think this can be corrected with an additional coma corrector. Also,you can buy a focal reducer to lower your f/ratio. And Celestron also has the 8 inch edge HD, they are similar to nexstar but optimized for deepsky astrophotography, e.g. they don't have any astigmatism issues.

mike burns. hello. I was gonna buy the 8SE as well. But the only problem is it’s mount. For visual astronomy it is extremely great. For Astrophotography it can be done but you have a limit for the exposure which I think is 30 seconds. This is due to field rotation on an alt az mount. But you can image only planetary like the moon and all the planets and get good images. I found a telescope on FLO that you should check out (EQ5 150P-Ds) which is I believe the same price, or maybe a bit more expensive. That will help you get very long exposures. And adding a guide scope will give you almost unlimited exposures with great tracking. That is a great setup for deep Astrophotography. The 8SE I suggest is not to get, because I saw a lot of bad reviews about it I’m afraid. Hope this helped :)

@@mikebenengtouncry3613 thank you cosmic life!

@@AstroForumSpace no problem ;)

Glad I could help! and yes, reflectors are certainly affordable. I have an updated version of this video where I get into the pros and cons of reflectors vs. refractors if you're interested: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rZ5pmtiFrqjMY6M.html. Thanks for watching Reza, clear skies!

Yep, I've included newtonians in my newer video but people keep watching the is old one, lol. Newtonians are great value for your money, but they are also a bit heavier, they do need collimation, and then there's the coma and diffraction. Still, definitely a good way to start astrophotography... They have a fast f/ratio

killernat1234 we’re talking about telescopes here, not binoculars lol

Telescopes are precision instruments and made for a very small market. I think most videos like this assume that you have been doing visual astronomy for a while, and want to branch out into photography. All those things considered $800 is actually quite reasonable.

@@joostvisser6508 I was able to get an ES 102 triplet open-box for $800 as a first scope.

Your looking into the wrong hobby if u think that’s expensive.

My pair of sunglasses cost $699 lol!

Thanks Randy, I really appreciate that!

Tx Timothy! Pixinsight is the standard now, but it took my quite some time to learn how to use it. Have fun!

Thanks so much for your comment. I will keep working on it.

Thank you! If you're mainly interested in the planets, then perhaps this video is also useful: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nt2kndphnLe-o3k.html. Clear skies!

@@AstroForumSpace perfect. Thank you so much for your reply

Thank you Claudia.

You're welcome Dominic. As a general rule, a longer f/ratio is preferred for moon/planets whereas a shorter ratio is preferred for deepsky objects. Clear skies!

Thanks for the nice words Cosmic Live! Im actually thinking about buying a reflector myself, or an RC 8", have fun. Clear skies :-)

Thanks for the positive feedback!

Thanks! I have some new videos on telescopes and mounts in 2021. You can check out my channel if you like. Clear skies!

Thnx!

Hi Dan, check my channel for pictures I've been making with my 80mm APO refractor. 2nd point: Dobsonians are lovely for visual astronomy and planetary imaging, but they lack an equatorial mount so they are not really usable for deep-sky astrophotography. Hope this helps, clear skies!

Thank you for sharing nachbar :-). Bottle 3 skies sounds like a dream to me. Clear skies!

@@AstroForumSpace Yes, it's pretty darn good compared to what I had before. If you're in northern germany - the backyard is big enough for two scopes. ;)

@@OutGettingSubs thanks for the invitation! I may take you up on this offer to capture Andromeda :-)

@@AstroForumSpace Yes, please do so. Serious offer. ✌🏼

Great!! What's your budget and what kind of telescope are you looking for?

Dobs are great for visual observation and planetary imaging! For deep-sky photography, you would need a different setup. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Mark, highly appreciated!

Thank you Tony! Clear skies.

Awesome, thanks for your positive feedback. Let me know if you have any further questions.

Thanks for the positive feedback!

That's a good match!

Thanks. That's what I'm hoping for.

Hey Jodi, I know the feeling. I started with a 7*50 binoculars myself. On my website astroforumspace.com a I've shared blogs and tips on astrogear, so you might want to check that out. What would be your budget? And do you want to focus on deepsky or solar system first?

My first serious setup was: my teleskop service 80mm APO telescope: bit.ly/2WH3Jrb. My first AP mount was a celestron AVX: bit.ly/3dpUSQG. I started with a canon DSLR but eventually upgraded to a mono camera:bit.ly/2AJdQD4. The mount and telescope are particularity good for wider field astrophotography. For planets you might want to consider a Schmidt Cassegrain 8". You can detect planets with a refractor but they are pretty small. The moon looks awesome through a refractor. Let me know if you need more info. Where are you from?

AstroForum wow thanks for the fast response! I will have a look and a deep read on your blogs. I could invest initially up to 1,500€ in total. I will begin using it for pure observation and share impressions with my kids and friends. But potentially use it to astrophotography at a later stage. I am quite flexible. Maybe the wow factor on my kids come from planetary rather than deep sky. I do not know. But at mid long term I will definitely turn into a astro photography setup focused on deep sky. Maybe I could start with a decent portable and compact refractor. Like a natural evolution of stargazing with binoculars. No problem if planets look small at this initial time. For example we have enough if we can observe the shape of Saturn but not its Cassini divisions. Just the typical Saturn shape. Thanks friend!

AstroForum now answering rest of questions.... I am from Spain and live in the east coast. Close to beach. I like to drive west and up to the hills looking for dark skies. I am taking very very seriously your first setup. Both setups either refractor or Schmidt Cassegrain and their mounts look portable. Exactly what I am looking for. I will read your blogs and have a deeper analysis. This is pure help. Thanks a lot!

@@jordi5287 Thanks Jordi, and good luck taking your first steps into AP!

Thanks! I've been thinking about using a reducer on my 80mm f/6 as well to catch the hydrogen rich regions in Cygnus. Clear skies!