Posts Made By: Kevin Lafone

I'm a newbie to this forum, and really fairly new to astronomy. I bought an Atlas EQ-G mount and a C6R 6" refractor back in July 08. The mount, I believe, is still a great platform for photography, but quite honestly, I'm tired of the C6R. So the question is.... What scope would serve me best for 80% photography use, 20% visual use, and a price range of ~$1200. Also, bear in mind that I've purchased an Orion 80ED and Orion's autoguider. Thanks for any advice!

Kevin

Ok, I can't leave this topic alone. I bet I'm the only person responding to this topic who is not yet to the bifocal/progressive lens phase of my life. However, I'm an optometrist who prescribes them every day.

It's interesting reading all the other responses. I get so caught up in "my side" of the business, it's easy to lose site of the patient's perspective which can be very important!

If it were me, I would get the progressives in either plastic or polycarbonate material with a QUALTY scratch or anti-glare coating. My office sells lenses with Crizal anti-reflective / anti-scratch coating and we offer a 2 year, unlimited replacement on the lenses if they do scratch. You'll most likely find that getting used to the progressives is a pain for a week or so, then you love them.

I would spend the extra $$ for a 2nd pair of glasses (nothing too expensive, just your basic frame and plastic lens) without the progressives and use those for observing. There are times when twisting or turning your body to reach an eye piece makes it impossible to look through the center of the glasses. And with a progressive, if you're not looking through the distance portion, your eye piece will not be clear. Think about it: you can buy a pair of glasses just for viewing and spend less than you've probably spent on some of your eye pieces...