| What scope would you choose coming from a rasa? | |
|---|---|
| Takahashi Epsilon 130 | |
| Takahashi Epsilon 160 | |
| Sharpstar Hypergraph | |
| Newton with Starizona Nexus | |
| RASA11 | |
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Hi folks! Up until now I have been using a Rasa 8 and love it! After some initial struggles with tilt, it ended up being a well tuned photon sucking machine. But! I have come to yearn for more! Especially a bit more FL, even at the cost of some speed (but not slower that F4). Also, I would love to properly put my asi2600mm to use with a FW. So, I was wondering what you guys went for after your Rasas? Have you been looking back? Thanks in advance! christopher |
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| What is your budget? If no concern you could consider a PW DeltaRho 350. |
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| Budget-wise <6k$. Portable would be preferable, so the delta rho, although a sweet scope would be a bit too much. |
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The options you listed aside from the RASA 11 and Starizona Nexus are more or less lateral moves that allow you to use a filter wheel. The RASA 11 gets you more focal length, but then you are still stuck changing the filters. The only way the Nexus allows you to increase your focal length is if you use it on a large newtonian, think 250mm+ of aperture. I have no experience with the Nexus so I cannot speak towards its quality. I would suggest searching astrobin for newt + nexus combos to see if you like the image quality. You might just have to accept that with current 'budget' options, a higher focal length comes at the cost of a higher focal ratio. |
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| If you do not mind collimation or diffraction spikes, then I would go for a Newton f4, 1000mm. You get most bang for your bucks. |
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I have the Epsilon 160 and it is a fantastic scope. The two biggest issues people have with the Epsilon series is 1) Collimation and 2) Tilt. Collimation gets easier and easier the more you do it and understand how the scope works. If you go this route the Takahashi collimation tools are absolutely required. Since you have found a way to mitigate tilt with the RASA the Epsilon shouldn't be hard to deal with. I use the ASG Photon Cage and adjusting for tilt is super easy with it. The Octopi is another device people use for the Epsilon to deal with tilt. If you do decide on an Epsilon I recommend the 160. It has the newest corrector and it the best adjusted for small pixel cameras like your ASI2600. The 130 is nice since it is a little bit lighter and easier to grab and go but I had no issues taking my 160 along with me to my imaging site. I love my Epsilon so much that it is currently at a remote facility so I can actually use it since it is so cloudy where I am! The Sharpstar HNT13028 or 15028 is alternative for the Epsilon series but I have no firsthand experience with them. Just by browsing images of them on here, I think the Epsilon series produces sharper images. |
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Thank you all for your replies! This pretty much consolidates what I have been gravitating towards…a Tak! Have a great weekend! cheers Chris |
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So you guys are saying I'm probably nuts to consider moving from a TAK TSA-120 to a RASA 8? Because that's exactly what I began daydreaming about a little while ago and decided to see what RASA users were saying and came across this thread! FXF |
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If you are used to the RASA8 then I would recommend RASA11 as next step. You can go for widefield with a 24x36frame camera (alignment is a bit tricky, but doable - I do it myself) and also for a quite small FOV with a (as example) ASI183 or ASI585 camera. Results are excellent, mono cameras work with either manual filter change or for some cameras like 183 series with the mini filter wheel from ZWO. That´s just my personal experience.... you need to get used to that setup, it needs some work before the results are fine, but the results are excellent. CS Georg |
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A real upgrade would be something like a 12" F/4 ONTC newtonian or similar quality newt, optical/mechanical quality wise and resolution wise. The Epsilons are just that... taks (not really an upgrade over RASA8 especially aperture wise) RASA 11 is just bigger but without filter wheel and automation its not that "big" of an upgrade. I would avoid the nexus reducer, for a newtonian you are better off with a quality F4 native that can correct a nice large sensor than a "faster" but smaller correction. For 6k budget a nice quality newt is probably your best bet for what you are looking for. |
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F. X. Flinn: I have the RASA 8. I wold very much like a TSA-120 for visual and long FL, but I would still keep the RASA for short FL. It's like camera lenses: You dont replace a tele-lens with a wide angle lens or vice versa. |
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| Go the Epsilon (I have the 130) - you can use a filter wheel and there is a 1.5x extender if you want a little more reach. |
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| I'd go Epsilon 160 or a 200mm f4 newt if you have the mount for it. |
