[APML] Best Scope and mount for $2000 was Scope Question

[Jerry Lodriguss <jml@astropix.com>]

>  Except I felt the fork would have better support than the one armed fork 
> on the 8".

That should be true.

>  Also the camera to scope weight ratio makes the camera less of an impact 
> on the motor.

The camera should have minimal impact because in any case, you should 
balance it correctly with counterweights on both axis.



>Is there a better scope choice for taking nice shots of nebulas, clusters 
>like Pleides, tracking a comet here or there?  I'm willing to sell the 
>Nextar 8 and put that money towards a different scope since I don't have a 
>lot invested in "parts" yet.


That's a tough one. This is the $64 question. Or in your case, the $2k 
question.  This is what everyone wants to know, what's the best scope / 
mount combo for that kind of price range.

You get a lot for your money with the SCTs, but personally, IMHO, I think 
those are really made at that price ratio for visual work, and not 
astrophotography. The vertical fork is great for stability, but once you 
put it on a wedge, that's a completely different ball game.

I know a lot of people will probably disagree, and some, like Philip 
Perkins have done great work with an SCT. Of course, now he has advanced to 
a refractor, and most people who know better wouldn't start with an SCT for 
photography. It depends on how much you have to compromise between what you 
want to do, whether astrophotography is your primary purpose and you are 
willing to compromise your visual capabilities by not having a lot of 
aperture. If visual is primary and astrophotography secondary, then get the 
11" and live with the compromises and additional headaches for 
astrophotography.

But remember when you buy the GPS, a lot of what you are paying for is the 
computer gegaws in the mount. I'm not saying they aren't cool, and great 
for visual work (or CCD mosaics, but you are shooting film), but you don't 
need that stuff for photography, so why put the money there?

You don't really need 8 or 11 inches of aperture for photography. You're 
seeing limited at about 5 inches. You won't record any more of extended 
objects like nebulae with more aperture at the same f/ratio for whatever 
scope you use. F/8 is F/8 in a 5 inch, an 11 inch or a 200 inch. Only the 
field of view changes.

This has been discussed before on the list, but did we ever come up with a 
consensus on the best combo scope and mount for astrophotography for $2k?

The problem is getting a really good mount on that kind of budget. And the 
mount is really important.

Jerry


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