Going with a Orion SkyQuest XT6 IntelliScope

[ryanmercer]

I'm almost certain I'm going to go ahead and go with this... now... telescopes.com usually has imaging stuff with the better telescopes in the option accessories menu... however they don't for it...

Now... I don't need anything too terribly fancy. Something simple (and cheap)... I'm not going for images that will dazzle and capture one's breath... I simply want to have a little digital journal of the things I've seen. Can anyon recommend a fairly cheap digital set up... Possibly one of the usb cams? (have a notebook so a usb cam isn't an issue). I've been reading up on astrophotography... on astronomy.com and here... but heh... I feel I'm no where near informed enough to go purchasing without advice.

Oh, and when I start swearing at all of you in a month when I realize I've spent 5-600$ or more on a telescope and camera set up... just ignore me... I'll only be shocked for a week or so... the breath-taking images of the far away bodies will make it worth it :)

[JohnW]

I'm almost certain I'm going to go ahead and go with this... now... telescopes.com usually has imaging stuff with the better telescopes in the option accessories menu... however they don't for it...

Now... I don't need anything too terribly fancy. Something simple (and cheap)... I'm not going for images that will dazzle and capture one's breath... I simply want to have a little digital journal of the things I've seen. Can anyon recommend a fairly cheap digital set up... Possibly one of the usb cams? (have a notebook so a usb cam isn't an issue). I've been reading up on astrophotography... on astronomy.com and here... but heh... I feel I'm no where near informed enough to go purchasing without advice.

Oh, and when I start swearing at all of you in a month when I realize I've spent 5-600$ or more on a telescope and camera set up... just ignore me... I'll only be shocked for a week or so... the breath-taking images of the far away bodies will make it worth it :)
The reason there is no optional imaging equipment for this scope is that it's a Dobsonian. You need an equatorial mount to make long-exposure images. With this scope, you'll be limited to the Moon and planets.

[ryanmercer]

The reason there is no optional imaging equipment for this scope is that it's a Dobsonian. You need an equatorial mount to make long-exposure images. With this scope, you'll be limited to the Moon and planets.

Hrmm... scratch the dob Again... back to looking for a scope.

[aurora]

Oh, and when I start swearing at all of you in a month when I realize I've spent 5-600$ or more on a telescope and camera set up... just ignore me... I'll only be shocked for a week or so... the breath-taking images of the far away bodies will make it worth it :)

If you want good images, I think your budget is too low by at least a factor of 2 and more likely a factor of 4 or more.

[randb]

www.astromart.com Try this. You can buy used stuff for much cheaper....I myself bought plenty of stuff on here. An 8" Celestron SCT (c8, celestar, deluxe) will cost around $600-700, but you'll get everything you need. An equatorial wedge, eyepieces, barlow.... and other stuff. A meade LX90 may cost a little more. My advice: get a good scope first. Then if you still want to continue, buy more stuff...like eyepieces, camera...depending on what you'll need. If you feel that you can't do it anymore...then you can sell the equipment there. Try to deal with people who have good feedback.

[Kaptain K]

Before you scratch off the dob... Thanks to advances in CCD technology it is possible to get good images with an unguided scope. The secret is to take lots of short exposures (30 seconds - one minute) and combine them on your computer, using the proper software. One that has gotten high marks from reviewers, Registax is free (internet download). Another is Maxim DL. Orion includes a stripped down version (Maxim DL Essentials) with their astro cameras.

[ATC_Astronomer]

I wouldn't scratch the Dob yet. You may want to consider video. Check out this camera (http://www.digitecoptical.com/prod/si-sacmn.html). I comes with everything you would need to use it with your laptop. You can then use registax to make still images. You can read more about video astronomy at this site (http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/canterbury/222/astrovid.htm). Hope this helps.

[turbo-1]

www.astromart.com Try this. You can buy used stuff for much cheaper....I myself bought plenty of stuff on here. An 8" Celestron SCT (c8, celestar, deluxe) will cost around $600-700, but you'll get everything you need. An equatorial wedge, eyepieces, barlow.... and other stuff. A meade LX90 may cost a little more. My advice: get a good scope first. Then if you still want to continue, buy more stuff...like eyepieces, camera...depending on what you'll need. If you feel that you can't do it anymore...then you can sell the equipment there. Try to deal with people who have good feedback.This is good advice, especially if you already have a good idea what you want. If you are not sure what you want, do not spend a dime until you attend a couple of star parties and look through a bunch of scopes and talk to their owners. You may be in for some surprises. I took my 6" APO to a star party, and people with 8-10" SCTs and Newtonians were gasping at the views. Sure, APOs are expensive, but you may want to hold off on a purchase and start saving once you fall in love with a scope. Alternatively, you may fall in love with a big dob' light bucket or a cat. Don't decide until you have give a few scopes a test drive.

[Alleline]

Can I piggyback on this thread for some scope-buying advice? I need a new scope. I'm not into photography at all. A Dobsonian mount isn't going to work for me for the next few years, because my 5 year old daughter wants to see what I'm looking at. I'm edgy about buying used because I want a warranty.

Konus makes a 200 mm Newtonian with an equatorial mount for about $500 and Antares for about $700. What's wrong with them?

http://www.astronomics.com/main/Konus_Konusky200_8_equaorial_reflecor1793.asp/catalog_name/Astronomics/category_name/TFH8XLXFNNPN8P2366E55MFXS2/product_id/K200

http://www.agenaastro.com/Pages/Products_Telescopes/Antares/Antares_520.htm

I ask in all seriousness, because I was bitten by my cheapo eBay scope. I figured I couldn't go wrong for $115, delivered, for a 114 mm short-tube Newtonian on an equatorial mount, but I did. It simply won't collimate. The mirror isn't center-spotted and its mirror cell is glued to the tube. If I pulled the mirror assembly off by force, I'm not sure what my chances are of getting it back on the tube. It was pretty well collimated when it arrived in the mail, but in trying to improve it I have knocked things all out of alignment. It has been heartbreakingly slow to try to collimate by a series of star tests.

In short, I'm ready for something of decent quality that can be maintained and repaired like a normal telescope. But I have no dreams of astrophotography or spotting any new planets. I just want to be able to pull it out in my backyard to look at Messier objects and watch the moons of Jupiter.

[redshifter]

What about the Orion 4.5" dob? http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=364&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword= That should be short enough for your 5 year old to look through. You could also consider an Astroscan http://scientificsonline.com/product.asp?pn=3002001&bhcd2=1143751707 it would be a good first scope for you and your daughter to share. Either of those should do OK for your use, depending on how much detail you want out of the Messier objects, the Astroscan especially will be somewhat limited for the dimmer Messier objects. Heck, you could get one of those for your daughter and a more advanced scope for yourself :)

The scopes you list should be OK, though at that price point I'd be very concerned about the quality/stability of the mounts.