telescope with goto and photography recommendations

opticsplanet.com

Dear Sir or Madam:
>
> I am considering purchasing a new telescope as an upgrade from an old,
> low-power refractor. I have budgeted US$1,000-1,250.00 for the scope,
> and would be perfectly happy to save money were it possible without
> compromising quality. Primary uses will be general viewing of
> celestial objects, and as a photgrapher, I'd like to be able to dabble
> in astrophotography some also. I am not particularly good at
> finding/identifying celestial objects, so a "go to" system w/ tracking
> would be a great benefit. Any input you could give would be greatly
> appreciated. Oh, I'd also like to get something that is either
> in-stock or could be received prior to the approaching lunar eclipse,
> if possible.
>
> Thank you in advance for your response.
>
> Regards,
> Alan Eads
> Cincinnati, OH
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opticsplanet.com · Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 5:28 pm Post subject:

Hi Alan

For an all around telescope with go to capability and camera adaptability, it would be hard to beat an SC (Schmidt-Cassegrain) or a Mak (Maksutov). These designs are both portable and versatile. For the price you mentioned, we can supply some good ones, in stock and ready to ship.

The Meade ETX 125 AT UHC, http://www.opticsplanet.net/meade-ts-etx-125-at.html is a great palce to start. It has advanced goto capability and is easy to adapt for camera use with appropriate camera adpaters.

The Celestron NexStar 8i Telescope Kit (XLT option) http://www.opticsplanet.net/clstrn-nxtstr-8i.html offers a full 8" of aperture for serious observing. Highly recommended.

Please let us know if you have any more questions!
_________________
----------------------
Your personal optics expert
Joanie (Jne) K
http://www.OpticsPlanet.com
Phone: (888) 263-0356
Fax: (847) 574-6820

Bill1964 · Joined: 11 Feb 2005 Posts: 1 Location: North East Iowa

Those are great recommendations. You could go cheaper and get the Meade ETX 70 telescope and the Meade Deep Sky CCD Camera, I have this setup and although I haven't been able to get out with it much due to the cold cloudy nights I did manage one trip out and got this image of M42 The Orion Nebula. This was the first shot I took, I can't wait for warmer weather so I can work on my technique.