Hello CN Community, I enjoyed looking at the stars over the last 18 months with a 60mm Gosky spotting scope and taking a few videos and photos with my iphone 11 pro (some pics on my profile). I also have a Celestron - 70mm Travel Scope. That scope will be good for kids to learn with while I am using the to-be new WO scope sometimes. My dad also has a 5" Meade reflecting scope I borrow sometimes.
I would like to get a telescope with little or no chromatic aberration mainly for sitting with the night sky for a few hours and watching the stars. I really appreciate nice glass and clear images. After reading and watching videos for about 30 hours I am drawn most to the Zenithstar series from WO with a manual Equatorial mount for now. I wear bifocals most of the day with fancy Zeiss glass and I now really like nice glass. When I look through a scope I take them off and use my stronger eye with less astigmatism.
Since I am not using a DSLR camera I feel the Zenith Star series is best for me over the triplet style scopes WO carries.
I wanted to share my plan for a purchase to see if anyone has made a similar purchase and has a suggestion on a different WO model, or different accessories.
My plan:
$798- WO ZenithStar 81 with free case
$95- WO 1.25 inch DURA BRIGHT Dielectric Diagonal
$118- WO 40mm swan eye piece
$289- Baader 8-24mm Mark IV 8-24mm eye piece
$279- Orion Astroview EQ tripod/mount
$1,579- Grand Total
Plan to buy at optcorp. If anyone thinks another store is faster or more reliable let me know. Giving advice and getting the product more on the quick side are important.
Fyi I already have a moon filter , 14.4mm 1.25 inch eye piece, and Celestron iphone adapter. I used them with my dad's 5" reflecting Meade scope.
Any feedback on the ZenithStar 81 for visual use (without DSLR) and perhaps occasional iphone 11pro use, and the accessories is much appreciated. I also considered the WO Zenith Star 73, but like the idea of having a little more magnification. I mainly want to look at constellations (especially Pleiades), the moon in more detail, planets, and special cosmic events.
I am open to buying the ZenithStar 73 or even perhaps the ZenithStar 103. I would be open to totally changing my plan to another manufacturer if anyone has used the ZenithStar 81 and felt another one was much better for visual for my purposes. I am also open to the WO GT 71. I think the WO 81 is out of my price range. I am trying to keep my total purchase with manual EQ tripod/mount at or under $1,600.
Thank you,
Scot in Washington, D.C.
p.s. I visit a low population area in Chesapeake Bay in MD once a month to visit relatives where it is very dark and great for night sky viewing.
Edited by sbholliday, 01 January 2021 - 03:37 PM.