Best 8" scope for CCD Deep Sky

Greetings all. I am currently getting started with CCD Astrophotography. I am awaiting the arrival of my Meade Pro Monochrome and filters. I currently have a Nexstar 8i that I am trying to get a wedge for. Wouldn't you know it, I sold my C8 Deluxe here on Astromart about 6 months ago before deciding this. So I am looking again for a similar scope as I am sure that my 8i will not be adequate for deep sky imaging. I know a Deluxe would be nice. What about a Ultima 8 or Ultima 2000 or the Powerstar 8 PEC? I am not familiar with the Meade line. Is the LX200 series good for astrophotography? Are there any I should avoid? Thank you.
Walter

For astrophotography you will find you will get best results from short focal length scopes. Longer focal lengths are harder and require more precision from your mount. Mounts like that are typically Takahashi, AstroPhysics, Losmandy and cost a lot. I know some are using an Orion EQ6 with good results and they are reasonably priced.

Get an 80mm APO refractor and an EQ6 and an Orion autoguiding camera and a little scope piggybacked for the autoguider. You will get better results than using an SCT with poor tracking and mirror shift and long focal lengths. It can be done but not easily.

Greg.

A vixen R200ss is an 8" f4 is a great imaging scope

Bob

Hello all,

I really appreciate the time everyone is taking to reply. It is fantastic to have all this knowledge and experience available and great people willing to share it.

I missed an opportunity on eBay on a complete setup with Orion ED80 on a ASGT mount (The setup I have been looking into) Went for a grand. I also almost bought a Celestron CN-8 on the same mount from another source. As I mentioned in another post in this thread, I've seen some very nice shots with the CN-8 setup on someones astrophotgraphy website. Maybe it is a good thing these fell through.

What about spending the money on something like a G-11 and mounting the OTA from my C8i and then saving up later for a better scope? I know there is mirror flop, but I've seen micro focusers that can be attached to the base of the SCT to help avoid this.

What about the exposure times required for a 80mm f/7 APO vs those for an 8" f/5 newt? Wouldn't they be significantly less allowing for much shorter exposures and thus not requiring such a stout mount? I know coma is problem with newts, but those shots look pretty nice.

There sure are a lot of variables and combinations, aren't there?!!

Thanks again for some great discussion.

Walter