07-29-2004, 03:35 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,968
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Advice On A Telescope
I am in the market for a telescope, in fact I will probably be picking one up this Friday and I am seriously considering getting the Celestron NX114GT. It is 1000mm, f/9.0 and has a diameter of 114mm (4.5"). It can be computer controlled and I can buy an adapter that would help me connect it to my Canon 10D for fairly cheap. And most importantly, this $700+ camera is currently available for under $300.
I am a big astronomy nut but I know only a little bit more than a novice when it comes to telescopes for amateurs. This is going to be my first telescope. So do any of you have advice, recommendations or suggestions on this telescope, or others? The most important consideration is cost which needs to be as low as possible (i.e. about $300).
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07-29-2004, 03:53 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 332
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I'm partial to Meade, personally. If this is your first, you might want something a little cheaper and portable. The ETX series is portable, flexible and has lots of accessories.
http://www.meade.com/catalog/etx/etx_mak.html
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07-29-2004, 04:27 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,968
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Meade looks good but they are all several hundred dollars more expensive than then equivalent Celestron.
I am also worried about two things -
1) Will the secondary mirror (in the Celestron) interfere significantly with how much light the promary mirror captures?
2) Since I will be hooking it up the a Canon 10D, will the tracking be thrown off due to the weight of the camera?
Suhit
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07-29-2004, 04:35 AM
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Theorist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 307
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BTW, Suhit, where are you finding this for under $300? (I'm thinking about a 'scope, too.)
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07-29-2004, 05:47 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 176
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Found a guide to picking a telescope:
http://www.scopereviews.com/begin.html
From the guide your telescope is....
2) The Newtonian Reflector, invented by Sir Isaac Newton, uses a
parabolic mirror at the end of a tube and focuses the light back at the
front of the tube, where the eyepiece sits, after being deflected by a
smaller secondary mirror in the light path.
Reflector advantages: Cheapest of the three designs (especially those
on Dobsonian mounts), more portable than refractors of similar aperture,
inherently color free (no chromatic aberration).
Reflector disadvantages: Secondary obstruction results in some loss
of contrast, still quite large compared with Schmidt-Cassegrains, can
require frequent collimation (alignment) of optics.
__________________
~~~Sylvangale~~~
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07-29-2004, 06:14 AM
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07-29-2004, 06:49 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 402
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by BugDude10
BTW, Suhit, where are you finding this for under $300? (I'm thinking about a 'scope, too.)
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I would like to know that too! 8O
Btw, will you use a Pocket PC to control that telescope Suhit? 
__________________
Filip Norrg�rd:: My blog @ filips.net |
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07-29-2004, 02:56 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,968
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by BugDude10
BTW, Suhit, where are you finding this for under $300? (I'm thinking about a 'scope, too.)
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Oh man, I am going to totally regret telling people this because now I bet they are going to go out of stock (so people, please leave at least one for me) but I was going to get it from B&H Photo Video.
Suhit
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07-29-2004, 02:58 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,968
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by manywhere
Btw, will you use a Pocket PC to control that telescope Suhit? |
 Actually it can be controlled with a PocketPC as far as I know, although one has to buy a fairly expesive adapter. I was planning to hook it up to my laptop and/or PC. It comes with a RS232-to-serial cable.
Suhit
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07-29-2004, 03:26 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 332
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Are you going to be doing a lot of long exposures? If so, then a Schmidt-Cassegrain seems to work better for that. But what if you were to get a CCD instead of a camera adapter? That would be very small in comparison. On a reflector with an equatorial type mount, I'm guessing it could handle the weight of a small camera. The biggest problem is it has to track very smoothly to get decent exposures.
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Linear Mode
