Posts Made By: Gene Griggs

They don't like people posting web links on this forum - but do a search for Better View Desired and click on the title BVD Reference Set. You'll need to scroll about 3/4 down the page to find the Pentax PF80-ED scope review.

Be carful about purchasing a "semi"-APO scope. I don't want to list the brand but I had an achro (semi-apo that routinely gets rave reviews) which gave me near APO views of the Moon and the planets with very little false color. Then I took some shots of Bald Eagles resting under the shadow of a cliff -- and got some very light purple tinges to their white heads.

My advice is to go with the Pentax PF80-ED or Cat (Celestron C90 / C5 or equivelant) scope. I now use a Meade 5" Maksutov coupled to a DSLR.

Nice photos... These wouldn't be the Eagle's nesting out near Llano, TX would they? If they're still there I'm considering driving out there and taking a few photos myself.

Excellent shot... How far away were you when you took this photo?

Wow.. Excellent photos!!!

Scott I've owned several scopes and hopefully can give you some good advice. When you're looking at small scopes (reflectors) you may quickly find that a good 80mm refractor will perform equal too or better than a 4.5" or even 5" newt or cassegrain or maksutov style optics (barring some hybrid design like D&G Off Axis).

I've compared a 80mm refractor side by side to a 105mm Maksutov and the 80mm refractor absolutely destroyed the 105mm Maksutov.

If you want small then stay with a refractor and go with something like a Televue or Borg or Vixen 80mm ED scope. The Orion ED is quite a buy!

If you want more noticable umph power than a 80mm refractor then plan to step up to at least a 6" reflector. If you want magnification then go with something like a 6" Maksutov (compact and high mag views). Otherwise you may be sorely disappointed.

Does anyone have any idea whether the Canon 20D will out perform or be close to performance of the new Meade Deep Sky Imager that is now shipping?

Are the astrophoto's posted on the web using the 10D/20D/300D at 5mp, 6mp, etc. Or - is everyone using their lowest resolution setting (640x480 or whatever it is)?

I'm trying to figure out if I'm better off getting a Canon 300D and new Meade DSI for general purpose and astrophotography --- or spending $1500 and just get a Canon 20D.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Wow - that is one nice picture.. Is the 8" f/5 a custom job using a coma corrector... Will you give us the details of this scope - thx!

I'm in the process of setting up an astrophotography rig holding similar weight as a 10" f/5 newt and here is what I'm doing.

I using a Losmandy G11 with Guidedog software and a Philips ToUCam with a 90mm Maksutov spotting scope as my autoguider. I think you're going to have a problem finding an easily portable mount for a 10" newtonian setup. The Losmandy G11 would work great for your scope and reasonably easy to transport but it's heavy! If you want a mount that's portable and capable of long exposure astrophotos you might need to step down in scope size to a 8" newt or 4" refractor and look at the new Vixen Atlus or Losmandy G8 setup. If you step down in scope size you might even try the chinese made Meade LXD75's with the hypertune kit but... Possibly these lighter mounts Vixen Atlus or GM8 or LXD75 might be good enough for astrophotography with a 10" newt but you're walking a fine line. Just remember the ability to accept an autoguider is going to be critical for your application. If you buy something like the Losmandy G11 or an Astrophysics you'll be happy with the outcome. If you get a $500 or $600 chinese clone mount you may or may not be happy with the outcome... If you're planning to do a lot of 30 second stacks versus long exposure you can get away with a cheaper mount.

Another shameless plug -- Orion Nebula. I should have used a remote trigger to take the photo as you can see a slight tremor and movement of the stars in the vertical position. A very short 30 second unguided exposure just to quickly try out the camera on a nebula.

Once again could have used some focusing help.

Here's the 2nd part that shows the Meade #520 manual.