Astrophotography Telescope Objective Lenses Ranked: 154 selections evaluated
**Deep-Sky Astrophotography: Top Cassegrain-Style Telescopes Under $2000**
For deep-sky astrophotography enthusiasts on a budget of $1000-$2000, Cassegrain-style telescopes offer a compelling balance of aperture, compactness, and optical quality. Here are some top picks based on recent reviews and user feedback:
1. **Celestron NexStar Evolution 9.25**
This 9.25" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope comes with a GoTo mount, making it an excellent choice for both planets and deep-sky objects. Its strong optical performance and computerised mount simplify object finding and tracking, making it a popular option for imaging with added accessories.
2. **Sky-Watcher Skymax 150**
The Skymax 150 is a Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope that provides crisp, distortion-free views suitable for deep-sky and planetary imaging. Its smooth focuser is ideal for imaging, and its user-friendly design makes it a great value for beginners and intermediate imagers.
3. **Apertura Classical Cassegrain**
This classical Cassegrain design is highly praised for both visual and astrophotography use. Its solid build and versatile performance make it suitable for planetary and deep-sky imaging, with a focus on precision focusing that's critical for long-exposure imaging.
4. **Vixen VC200L 8" f/9 Cassegrain**
The Vixen VC200L offers a balanced aperture and focal length, making it suitable for deep-sky imaging with good focus quality. It's highly rated on computerised mount lists, ensuring precise tracking and imaging over long exposures.
### Why these telescopes?
These telescopes stand out due to their aperture and focal length, compactness, and focusing systems that are suitable for imaging. Telescopes in the 150mm to 235mm aperture range with focal ratios around f/8 to f/10 strike the right balance for deep-sky imaging, collecting enough light to reveal faint nebulae and galaxies while maintaining crisp optics.
### Additional considerations:
- Successful deep-sky imaging requires a good equatorial or computerised GoTo mount with tracking and autoguiding capabilities. - Accessories like field flatteners/reducers and DSLR or dedicated astronomy cameras will improve image quality. - Within this price range, the performance-to-price ratio is best among mid-sized Cassegrain or Maksutov-Cassegrain scopes rather than very large aperture Dobsonians or expensive apochromatic refractors.
In summary, the Skymax 150, Celestron NexStar Evolution 9.25, and Apertura Classical Cassegrain are the best Cassegrain-style telescopes for deep-sky astrophotography between $1000 and $2000 due to their optical quality, focusing systems, and mount options suitable for imaging.
- Engaging in astronomy as a beginner, these Cassegrain-style telescopes are a sound investment, considering their balance of aperture, compactness, and optical quality for deep-sky astrophotography within a budget.
- Option 1: The Celestron NexStar Evolution 9.25, a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, is ideal not only for deep-sky objects but also for planets, thanks to its strong optical performance and computerised mount, which simplifies object finding and tracking.
- Optical excellence and user-friendliness make the Skymax 150, a Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope, a popular pick for deep-sky and planetary imaging, particularly for its crisp and distortion-free views.
- For deep-sky imaging, the Apertura Classical Cassegrain, with its focus on precision focusing and versatile performance, stands out as a fine choice, suitable for both planets and deep-sky objects.
- The Vixen VC200L, an 8" f/9 Cassegrain, offers a balanced aperture and focal length, ensuring good focus quality and making it suitable for deep-sky imaging, with high ratings for precise tracking and imaging.
- The reason for choosing these Cassegrain-style telescopes lies in their aperture and focal length, compactness, and focusing systems that cater to imaging requirements.
- For successful deep-sky imaging, it's crucial to have a good equatorial or computerised GoTo mount with tracking and autoguiding capabilities, while accessories like field flatteners/reducers and DSLR or dedicated astronomy cameras will further enhance image quality.
- Within this price range of $1000-$2000, mid-sized Cassegrain or Maksutov-Cassegrain scopes boast the best performance-to-price ratio, as opposed to very large aperture Dobsonians or expensive apochromatic refractors.
