Moving On said: Nice looking scope, Moving On. Never quite got one that big, although I owned a Meade 2080 for a few years, but sold it to a college student who really wanted a Schmidt Cassegrain. I use my Celestron Nextstar 6SE a lot and when I need a wider field I use the Celestron f 6.3 reducer/corrector for that purpose. For more portability I have a couple of Orion Apex Maks: The 90 and 127. I use them with a Vixen Porta II or a mount that I cobbled together out of a video tripod and a table top Dobsonian mount. I have a 37 year old Celestron 90 with drive and wedge which was my first serious telescope. Also have an Orion Short Tube 80 for traveling. I'm still considering larger, but likely a large Dob as six inches is as large as I care to go with a SCT or a MAK.
I went with the Dob for the 2" wide field focus, no need for power, and it is collapsable. I think when it comes to viewing it's hard to beat for light gathering bang for the buck. No auto tracking or computerized locating. It is a hoot to find deep space objects though and the wide field Tellevue is the closest you'll get to star walking through a lens. Though certainly not the best for astro photography, I intend to explore its limited capabilities....
Been lukewarm about computer tracking but the 6SE was the biggest SCT that I cared to own. Easily adaptable for eclipse, lunar, and planetary photography. I do enjoy "star hopping" with the Orion Apex 127 (5" MAK) on the Vixen mount. Even with sodium vapor streetlamps i can still spot the Ring Nebula in this one.
Gansoyen pumping station. One of the salvageable pictures from a KW Pilot Super with a fixed aperture lens. Fomapan 100 (HC-110, H, 10m 20C)
One more from me before the new thread starts tomorrow. This one as my wife and I were leaving for work one morning. Olympus 35 RC with Ilford FP4+. Guessed at exposure since the meter went south quite some time ago. morning sun, underexposed
