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Which scope to choose? (1 Viewer)

alphan

Well-known member
Shopping for a Astroscope for birding and encountered the following three scopes. Though the Skywatcher Evostar 80 ED is the most popular here (thanks to Paul C), should I just rule the other two out?

1) Skywatcher Evostar 80 ED http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p1060.html

2) Celestron Omni 102 ED http://cgi.ebay.com/Celestron-Omni-102-ED-OTA-/300399974267?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0#ht_3759wt_1133

3) Celestron Ultima 80 ED OTA http://www.astroshop.eu/celestron-telescope-ap-80-600-ultima-80-ed-ota/p,7900

The Ultima 80ED comes with focuser, diagonal, eyepiece and finder scope. The Celestron Omni 102 ED basically is 900mm f8.8 which mean less magnification to reach my desired 1500-200mm (without crop sensor magnification).

Anybody can comments on the two Celestron?

Thanks.
 
i would not be surprised if the two 80mm scopes came from the same place..SOME of the celestron/skywatcher stuff all comes from the synta factory - quality wise all 3 will be similar -
 
Been on holiday for a couple of weeks and just popped into the forum to catch up on things, looks like it's been busy. Got you message you sent me alphan, probably best to post all your questions in this thread regarding accessories and stuff.

Regarding the scopes you linked to. The Celestron Omni 102 ED uses a poorer quality glass.

The Celestron Ultima 80ED uses the same glass as the Skywatcher 80ED. You can also look at the Orion 80ED which has the same glass and as dannat said, all these scopes come from the Synta factory. If you want a bigger scope then the Skywatcher,Celestron and Orion ED scopes with FPL-53 glass come in 100mm and 120mm sizes.

Paul.
 
Yes dannat, they are from the same manufacturer and I suppose the same importer but could be under different dealer/seller. But they may not be the exact same thing to each other. Even what comes with them are different.

Good to see you back Paul. Must have lots to share with us with so many weeks of shooting and experiment...LOL. Yeah, did notice your absence the last couple of weeks. Hope you did thoroughly enjoyed your break.

So with the 102 ED being poorer glass, I better stick to either the Celestron 80 ED or SW 80 ED. The Celestron comes as complete but their focuser are only rack and pinion where as the SW 80ED comes only with OTA but their focuser are Crayford. The Crayford are definetely easier to use but with practice on the rack and pinion, how would that fare? Currently, the dealer for SW80ED can only ship nearest to me would be Singapore then I have to reship. The Celestron dealers have responded with shipping direct to me. Most other dealers do not ship to Malaysia which I can understand. Our Postal system can be questionable at times.

One thing I would need our fellow German speaking members to confirm the following for me. http://www.astroshop.eu/celestron-telescope-ap-80-600-ultima-80-ed-ota/p,7900#tab_bar_2_select . This item are originally in German but translated to English by computer. So I need the confirmation that what's in German are correct in English. That it comes with 80mm ED OTA, 600mm, f 7.5, tube diameter 100mm, 2" rack and pinion focuser, 25mm 1.25" eye piece, Zenith mirror diagonals, 6 X 30 finder scope, mounting place with tube clamps.

Thanks everybody here.

Cheers.
 
I'm pretty sure that the description is correct and the scope comes with those accessories. Everyone else who sells that scope also sell it with the listed accessories.

I don't think the rack and pinion focuser is that bad on the Celestron. Most people who purchase one will change the grease on the focuser for a better quality grease and this is supposed to make a good improvement on how smooth it runs.

Paul.
 
I will most probably ended with a Celestron. Got two positive replies for Celestron but nothing from Skywatcher dealers.

Google around and found that the Celestron 80 ED, though using same glass as the SW 80ED, their tube are different. Only 90mm against SW 80ED's 100mm and also almost 1/2 a kg lighter. Their hood are detachable but takes about 10-11 turns to get it out and mounting clamps looks more stylish but very roughly done LOL.

Any issues with collimation with either the C 80ED or SW 80 ED? Need to check collimation regularly or it is only critical for astrology?

Cheers.
 
Collimation is fixed on all these scopes and non-adjustable. They are only a doublet which means collimation shouldn't ever be an issue. It's only with a triplet that you really need to line up all the optics.

Paul.
 
Thanks Paul. Glad to hear that it more maintenance free.

Any idea what grease would be good for the rack and pinion? Give me choices if possible as special grease are hard to get in a small place like here.

Cheers.
 
From reports I've looked at people have used silicon, lithium and graphite based grease/lubricant so your options are fairly wide open.

Paul.
 
Paul, I recall you trying out an DOI 3X TC but couldn't find that post now. How did it work out? Would a 3X TC perform better than having 2 TCs of 2X + 1.4 or 1.5X? I ask because there are a few Vivitar 3 X TCs on the market and if they are of any use to use.

I ordered the Celestron Ultima 80 ED OTA but would not expect it to be here soon. They will only receive their stock 6th September then only ship. In the meantime, I already got 2 DOIs 2 X TCs and a set of extension tubes coming.
 
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Paul, I recall you trying out an DOI 3X TC but couldn't find that post now. How did it work out? Would a 3X TC perform better than having 2 TCs of 2X + 1.4 or 1.5X? I ask because there are a few Vivitar 3 X TCs on the market and if they are of any use to use.

I ordered the Celestron Ultima 80 ED OTA but would not expect it to be here soon. They will only receive their stock 6th September then only ship. In the meantime, I already got 2 DOIs 2 X TCs and a set of extension tubes coming.

I tried the Vivitar 3X and didn't like it at all. Also Tried the Kenko Pro 3X and the DOI 3X and I think a Prinzflex 3X. The only one I kept is the DOI 3X which I found to be equal to the Kenko Pro 3X and I tried them out side by side.

The Prinzflex was really awful but then it's a budget make. If it's bad on a nice prime lens like the scope then god knows how bad it must have been on a normal camera lens.

All the 3X teleconverters tend to be a little softer compared to other methods like stacking. For stacking I find that a pair of low power ones work best, like a pair of 1.4X or a pair of 1.5X or a 1.4X with a 1.5X.

This sort of high magnification wont be of use most of the time and it needs perfect conditions because you will likely be using it over long distances. I find it works well in winter but other times of the year warmth of the sun sets up shimmering air currents that prevent you photographing over a long range. It takes a lot more skill at really high mag too.

Other things to try are putting a macro tube between the camera and teleconverter. Something like a 50mm macro tube between the camera and a 2X teleconverter will boost it to 3X. If you look at most 3X teleconverters then this is essentially what they are doing anyway. They are about twice the length of a normal teleconverter and the optics are placed a long way from the camera. It's a similar ting with barlows, 3X barlows are basically the 2X version with a longer body.

Paul.
 
Thanks. I almost went in to bid for the Vivitar 3X seeing that it's cheap, but shipping are always expensive. I will try with extension tube between TC and camera first. No more shopping for now until my scope arrive.

I do not intend to shoot anything really far away. My subjects will mostly be under 100M, but the size is what matter. Small birds even when 30M away will require heavy cropping thus loosing out on the contrast and sharpness. I doubt if I can ever use it for long distant subject with such high humidity here. It normally hover between 75-95%.

Cheers.
 
I am doing things a little bit the other way round. Most of you got the scope first then the accessories but since my Celestron scope won't be here for another 2-3 weeks, I might as well start off with my accessories.

I already stripped down my 2 DOIs X2 TC. Nothing got wrecked and can be assembled back if needed. One is in OM mount and the other in MD mount. The one with OM Mount, I use the mount (both front and rear) as my TC Cell disc. With both TC cells mounted on disc, I just need to slot them into any part of the extension tube needed. This setup will give me the flexibility in all kind of combination regarding the position of TCs, extension tube between TC and camera and extension between TC and focuser. I can also stack TCs together by playing around with the various lengths of tubes.

Any suggestions, please voice out. Hopefully, we can improve the usage of OTA in photography.
 

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Hi Alphan, I have the Celestron 80ED scope that is in your link. In the US they offered it as a spotting scope with the same accessories. The rack and pinion on my scope was good enough with me I never regreased it. The objective lens cover is a pain, it comes off and the "pipe clamps" ;-) "can" make a mark on the tube. Most people have buffed this out. I use regular scope rings.
Regards,Steve
 

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Thanks mooreorless. Yeah those are the frequent drawback of the Celestron but not critical to my use. My only concern are the rack and pinion. Paul had mentioned that he does not find it a problem. The grease thing will only be needed if it becomes sticky. Hopefully mine would be alright as they are waiting for new stock to arrive from factory. I may change the Tripod mounting to the one similar to Paul's SW80ED to both reduce weight and size.

Does your scope comes with the 45 deg or 90 deg diagonals? How's the supplied eye piece? I will primarily use the scope for birding but will certainly not sit in the store room at other times. It will certainly be in my sitting room on tripod ready to point upwards on any clear nights. As I am staying a little outskirt from the bright city lights, my family and I might as well enjoy some nice views in the sky.

Cheers.
 
The scope came with 45° erecting prism diagonal, the eyepiece is ok to use, I have other eyepieces. I would get a 90° diagonal when you get a chance, just switched right to left. I use it in the daytime with no trouble unless you are trying to read something.;) Excellent as a grab and go scope for the night sky. You can get a different focuser for it, but it takes a threaded end focuser and you need an adapter. The scope is not as big around as some of the other 80ED like Orion. 90mm I think compared to 100mm in the others.
Regards, Steve
 
I would rate the view of birds, landscape etc. as excellent+ As far as the problems with scopes this size, not waterproof, heavy and an long.
 
Mooreorless, when I start looking for scope, I started looking at the Olivon spotting scope because of the tutorial given with Digiscoping. Though a Malaysian maybe known as the "Father of Digiscoping" (I am not interested in that statement), I am in another part of the country where the only scope I can see are the China cheapie good for "seeing" something 100ft away. Then as I research more on the web, I landed at BF and shortly after, found this section.

I narrow down my choices of scope as the SW 80ED and the Celestron Ultima 80 ED both for the price and familiarity among forumers here. Couldn't find a sellers with a reasonable pricing who is willing to ship here, thus I ended with the Celestron.

From what have been discussed here, the 80ED though not waterproof and fogproof are suitable for our use. What's the use of waterproof and fogproof when my camera are not? This scope are easy to disassemble and clean whenever necessary.

My only initial reservation is the rack & pinion focuser against the SW80ED's dual speed Crayford. That have been assured by Paul and you seconded it. The advantage of this scope as you mention is the diameter size. It is also almost 1/2 kg lighter. It'll be week before they ship and another week to get here. Getting a bit restless here LOL.
 
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