Orion SkyView Deluxe 6" EQ Newtonian - Your Opinion Please
Mustang
buy my first one soon. All things considered: quality, purposes and finances, I am
leaning towards this telescope. I have been unable to locate any astronmy clubs in my
area of eastern NC so I can't visit a "star-party" and preview this scope.
I would love to hear all first-hand information from those of you who might be
familiar with this scope; pro's and con's welcome. Thanks.
David
Jim Mueller
just the tube assembly and selling off the mount because I have a refractor with mount,
already.
The Starsplitter 6" GEM got a great review in the June issue of Astronomy. These two
scopes are essentially the same. The SVD has a 6" Pyrex mirror, a good mount with Polaris
axis finder, and good quality components.
The only better buys would be 6" and 8" dobs. Although, you wouldn't get an Eq. mount,
nor two Plossl eyepieces, the mirror may or may not be Pyrex, the secondary holder would
be a single stalk instead of a 3 vane spider, and you would get a paper sono tube instead
of a steel tube.
It's a trade off.
Jim Mueller
http://www.globaldialog.com/~webnik/C102HDRefractor.htm
Mustang
My brother has a 10" Dob and I got to view through it this past March, very nice, but
much too bulky for me. I want transportability so I can drive cross town to avoid
night lights from time to time.
I'm also interested in some amateur astro photography and thought this Newtonian
would be easy to use with the auto-drive mount unit.
Granted, an 8" or 10" would be superior, but I'm leary of spending $1500 on my first
scope without really knowing if I'll be happy or not. I figure for $800 or $900 on
this Newtonian, it'll keep some resale value (if I don't keep it), and it'll sure
help me to learn what features I like and don't like...Agree?
Thanks again, David
Jim Mueller
Mustang wrote:
:::::::::::::::::Snip:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> Granted, an 8" or 10" would be superior, but I'm leary of spending $1500 on my first
> scope without really knowing if I'll be happy or not. I figure for $800 or $900 on
> this Newtonian, it'll keep some resale value (if I don't keep it), and it'll sure
> help me to learn what features I like and don't like...Agree?
I agree that you should start off modestly and work your way up. Your scope, with proper
care, shouldl resell for 70% or more of your purchase price. If you learn to love stars
gazing, you can always move up. I started with a 3" refractor and moved up to a 4"
refractor (whoopy!) .
Amateur astronomy should not be about pricey equipment anyway.
Just My Worthless Opinion
Jim Mueller
http://www.globaldialog.com/~webnik/C102HDRefractor.htm
KDaly10475
>
>
>Just My Worthless Opinion
With opinions like that, you're worth is skyrocketing (at least with me).
Regarding the gentleman's question...I've yet to see negative comments about
this scope. I'm sure it isn't up to long exposure photography (although with
the dual-axis drives it will do quite well with a camera). It sounds like you
have the right idea. I'd say go for it.
Kevin Daly
Mattatuck Astronomical Society
http://members.aol.com/kdaly10475/index.html
Kking444
I have an ORION SkyView Deluxe 4.5" EQ and I have been very happy with the
scope. The EQ mount is fairly stable (visual use, IMO probably unsuitable for
photography) and the scope gives some pretty excellent views.
Two caveats though, first, get some sort of collimation tool (or make one
yourself). Collimation is extremely difficult by eye alone. This will help to
properly collimate the scope and improve your viewing experience. Second, IMO
the R.A. drive for this mount is terrible.(I don't have the dual-axis drive)
It attaches to the opposite side of the axle that the slow-motion control is
on. Unfortunately, the drive shaft does not allow the axle to turn freely,
even with the lockdown screw completely removed. Also, the tracking rate for
this drive is sporadic at best. If the rate is too slow and I try to increase
the speed of the drive, the drive actually slows down. Then, I turn the speed
button a little more and then it is too fast.
Other than what I have mentioned above, I have had a good experience with this
scope and I would recommend it for visual observation of both planetary and
deep-space.
Hope this helps,
Ken King
"If you gaze for long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."
Nietzsche
Mustang
I do understand the need for collimating and will plan on getting something when I
purchaser the scope. That was a little depressing reading about the disruptiveness of
the tracking drive. If the 6" does that, I would be very disappointed as this would
negate any chances of taking photographs over any period of time. I hope the
"dual-axis" drive on the 6" will prove to be smoother and more reliable than the
single-axis you describe.
You make the viewing experience sound pretty good, that excites me. I hope the 6" is
good also. I did notice you have a focal point of f/7.9 on your 4.5" - where I will
have an f/5 on the 6"...because of my desire to experiment with "timed" exposures and
photography, I'm concerned that my f/5, fast exposure, won't be too agreeable. Any
thoughts or experience with this area?
David
Kking444
<oli...@onslowonline.net> writes:
>You make the viewing experience sound pretty good, that excites me. I hope
>the 6" is
>good also. I did notice you have a focal point of f/7.9 on your 4.5" - where
>I will
>have an f/5 on the 6"...because of my desire to experiment with "timed"
>exposures and
>photography, I'm concerned that my f/5, fast exposure, won't be too
>agreeable. Any
>thoughts or experience with this area?
>
Unfortunately, I do not have any experience with astrophotography. Someone
else may have more experience and be able to help you with this. It is my
understanding that Cassegrain designs (this includes the Mak and Schmidt
variations)are more suitable for astrophotography. However, I have read that
several people have had great success with Newts. In my particular astroclub,
most of the astrophotographers use the C-8.
Again, I hope this helps
Ken King
I play golf in the mid-80s. Any hotter than that and I don't play.
Andrea Merritt
especially if you buy a higher quality eyepiece like a Televue Plossl,
Celestron Ultima, or Orion Ultrascopic. It collimates easily with the
Cheshire eyepiece, and the metal tube helps cooling. The focuser is a
bit shaky, though. The mount is sturdy, but probably not enough for long
exposure photography. I second the other's comments on the RA drive. I
ordered and returned it. At high powers above 200x, the RA caused enough
vibrations to blur the view. Also, I feel the drive is not strong enough
at low speeds, unless your scope is perfectly balanced and doesn't have
an add-on Telrad, perhaps. I also had a hard time disconnecting the
drive to adjust manually.
For visual observing, the scope is excellent - it combines
portability, excellent optics, none of the parts have the "cheap" feel
of 6" Celestrons, and provides great views. For me, I wanted a scope I
could set up fast, learn the sky, and carry easily. The polar alighment
scope in the mount works great, but the setting circles are in no way
good enough for astrophotography.
For astrophotography, I don't think this scope is your best bet,
unless you put it on a sturdier mount with a better drive. Andrea
Mustang
you appear happy with it for the most part. Others have shared your disappointment
with the RA drive chatter and inability to work it manually.
It's beginning to look like I may have to spend another $300+ to find a more stable
setup and smoother/reliable drive axis if I'm going to pursue any photography.
Thanks again for your input Andrea.
David
NC
c_aiz...@hotmail.com
I've had the Orion SkyView Deluxe 6" for
about four months now. This is my first
telescope. So far I have been very happy with
it, using it in my driveway in Baltimore as
well as in other darker sites outside the city.
I do not have the tracking drive and use the
scope for visual observations only, so I don't
know how it would perform for long-
exposure astrophotography. Even at higher
power (200x) the mount is fairly stable and
moves smoothly, although it has certain
points where it gets a bit jerky or too loose,
suggesting that it might not be great for
astrophotography. Optically, as far as my
relatively inexperienced eye can tell, I have
been very happy with it. I have been able to
resolve individual stars in M13 and M3 and
seen M51 (which judging from this
newsgroup is hard to find in a small
telescope) and I can almost swear I saw some
detail in its spiral arms. The "trapezium" in
the Orion nebula is very clearly visible. I've
also managed to see some detail on Mars and
much more detail on Jupiter and Saturn
(during the winter). The moon is amazing.
The field of view is quite large, so you get
really nice views of open clusters. I have
found it to be fairly portable, I can carry it
downstairs and out back by myself in one
trip, simply by removing the scope from the
mount. It also fits in my car with very minor
disassembly (just remove the scope from the
mount and unscrew the counterweight. There
were 2 problems with it, both of which got
mostly solved. First, the finder was way out
of focus, and in order to make it reach focus I
had to turn the objective as far as it could
possibly go, making it impossible to screw
the locking ring behind it. In the process I
managed to strip the plastic thread on the
eyepeiece end of the finder, and now it
periodically gets knocked loose by my nose.
In retrospect, I should have returned the
finder a asked for a replacement, but I was
too anxious to start observing! The second
problem is that the scope was way out of
collimation and was VERY difficult to
collimate properly, especially for a beginner
like me. The only help I got from Orion in
this respect was a comment like: "Yep, fast
Newtonians are hard to collimate". But with a
little patience and a collimating EP I managed
to solve that problem, learning a lot about
my scope in the process. At least I think its
collimated properly... Anyway, this scope has
been a lot of fun, and have been very, very
happy with it. I think it'll be a while before I
get the urge for anything of greater
aperture, in fact I'm happy I didn't buy an 8"
Dob, which would probably be too bulky for
me. Anyway, hope this helps.
good luck,
-Carlos
--== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==--
---Share what you know. Learn what you don't.---
carlos
good luck,
-Carlos
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Please remove NOSPAM from my e-mail address if you wish to e-mail me.
Mustang
Thanks very much for taking the time to provide such a well written and thorough
review. I do sincerely appreciate your info. Every bit of info helps as I too, am a
novice and investing in my first scope also.
I'm very glad to hear that you're pretty happy with the scope. I liked your
descriptions of viewing M13 and resolving the stars; and the detail of Saturn and
Jupiter. I could be very happy with sightings like that too. I also like the
portability. I have read too many sad stories about people owning terrific 10" and
12" scopes but finding it too much work to get them out and set them up. I'm afraid I
might cop that kind of attitude over the long haul too if it were a lot of work and
viewing conditions weren't always "optimal"...(the ol' - why bother tonight
excuse...)
I am also keen on the wide view you describe. f/5 right?
You make it sound like a winner...Now if I can just solve the problem with the axis
tracking!!!! hmmmmmmm...
Thanks again Carlos,
David
NC
Andrea Merritt
carlos
been collimating the scope? I found this to be extremely difficult without
a spot on the primary mirror. This weekend I finally built up the courage
to take the primary mirror out, in order to spot the center of it. Once I
did, collimating it with a sight tube was so much easier! Now I just have
to wait for the clouds to clear so that I can go test out my handiwork...
cheers,
-Carlos