This post belongs to the series “I’m daydreaming” but I was wondering if my thought process here is correct. I currently own two AT scopes; 115 and 65. I understand that these are entry-level scopes and there are better ones out there. Although I have to say that neither of the scopes have been a limiting factor in my imaging and with the little experience I have, I have been still able to produce some borderline decent images.
So in case I would one day upgrade these scopes to the cream of the crop and go with Takahashi, they would probably be TAK85 & TAK130 scopes (please don’t read this so that there aren’t other great scopes out there, that’s not the meaning here). But in the above scenario, why would I buy two scopes when I can buy TAK FSQ-106EDX4, and get both a focal reducer and an extender for it. This would give me a scope with three different FL’s; 380, 550 and 850 with FR’s from 3.6 to 8. Yes the 130 is slightly faster and gives you an extra 150 mm FL but that’s an expensive 150 mm. I know there are other factors one need to consider here such as image scales and cameras used, not to mention one's imaging conditions but I'm talking generally here.
Totally different question would of course be, which would improve my images more (other than the obvious learning to better use the PixInsight) – a new scope or a new camera to replace the ASI1600?
Thanks for letting me fantasize,
Mikko