RE: [APML] Scope Question

["Tom &/or Elizabeth Skinner" <dateach@va.prestige.net>]

Hi Rob,

You have gotten excellent advice and I only have one thing to offer.  If
you want to do photography of just about any kind with a telescope, the
first thing you want to do is sell the N8 for whatever you can get for
it.  It was never intended as a photography platform as Celestron will
be the first to tell you.  The moon and brighter planets - yes, but
nothing else.  The wedge will not change this.  The drive mechanism of
the N8 is a spur gear with so much slop it could never be considered as
a tracker except for visual.

When I started out I thought any GOTO telescope with motors etc. would
do for everything, visual, photography, etc.  So, I bought the NexStar 5
- which I'm sure you know is a spruced up Celestron C5 OTA on the same
mount as the NexStar 8.  It took me a year of frustration before I began
listening to the advice on these newsgroups and bought an LX200 which, I
believe, most people would agree is entirely adequate for photography -
especially a for a beginner.  I kept the N5 which makes a great
grab-an-go scope for visual.  I have mounted an 80 mm Stellarvue and an
Olympus OM1 on the LX200 and now have a wide variety of photo platforms
and guidance options.

Tom
 




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