Telescope Reviews: Are there any visual video observers out there?

Hi Mike,
I started out in this hobby as a visual observer about 6 years ago. I moved from a 4.5" reflector to a 13", then a 16" and topped out at a 30" F/4.5 by my 2nd year in the hobby, all because I wanted to see more...... Faint fuzzies weren't enough for me, I found myself looking at, and trying to figure out how to buy a 36” scope…..I’m a product of Telescope advertising…. You know the ones, pictures of nice big Galaxies on the boxes of 4” Telescopes

Even with the 30" from great dark sites I was going back to the same objects over and over..... The ones that showed me some really good detail and some showed color..... but for all the work involved I just was not getting the return that I wanted for all my effort, I was questioning weather or not I wanted to stay in the hobby.... I was on my way out....

Then I found the MallinCam... I used it in my 30" with good results, but quickly found I needed better tracking and a wider FOV to max out the Camera's potential, So I found myself going down in Aperture.

What really Sold me on the mallinCam was that it could be used Live without processing and thats how I use it with a Speco Monitor, sometimes I use it with a Computer but only to Broadcast Live, not to capture and process images.

I sold the 30” and used some of the money to build a fast 16” on EQ mount for use at my home location, I also bought a CGE and Meade 10” S/N for darksite trips.... I’m back in the Hobby for the long Term….. And as a side note I put A LOT of money from the 30” back in the Bank……

The only visual I do at home is Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and the Moon
From dark sites I like to look at a VERY few objects through an eyepiece if there is a big enough Scope around, but even then I need to see more….

From my heavily light polluted Backyard even with my 10” F/4 reflector I can see WAY more detail in objects Live Without the Processing that goes with CCD Imaging, and can even see detail in objects that I couldn’t even see with my 30” and an Eyepiece from a dark site……

I have Two Good eyepieces left a 26 T5 Nagler and a 13mm Ethos that I will keep for now to use in other peoples scopes at Dark sites.

I know and respect people who like the challenge of spending a lot of time searching out Faint Fuzzies , Using averted vision and all that.... I myself even like to be dark adapted and under dark skies, but averted vision is not for me ....
What they are using averted vision to see I can see Spiral structure and even color in star forming regions with the MallinCam and a smaller Scope.

So Long story Short…. Video Astronomy is not for everyone, But, The MallinCam Saved me when it comes to staying in this Hobby.
What I can do with a smaller scope and the MallinCam Live without all the processing that goes with CCD imaging, and from my Light Polluted backyard, Still Amazes me, even years after I first started using it.....

GregW

Edited by greg (03/16/10 02:13 PM)