I am soon to purchase my first telescope and I don’t want to be purchasing a better one as time goes on. I would be quite happy doing it right the first time so this video is extremely helpful in setting me up for a one time purchase more or less. Thankyou so much for putting this video out there. It informs us newbies as to what everything does and why it is needed. Now I can go for my first purchase and not waste money with something I won’t use or need. Again Thankyou so much for this great video which I will watch over and over!!!
To be brutally honest the celestron 8" and 9.25" edge HD are almost no brainers. every company makes almost everything for this cassegrain. I had an 11" meade lx90 and the thing was MASSIVE! but it was only alt/ ast instead of equatorial and getting items for that telescope to do ANY imaging was either i was too late for it or i had the wrong tripod for it.. Go Celestron my friend i can guarantee you have this until the main glass falls off lol
Thank you so much for making this video. I have just purchased the Celestron Edge hd 11. I was not sure where to start my purchase of items for this telescope. You have made my search easier one. Please continue your amazing videos!!
Great review and photos. But this review once again confirms to me that there is no better telescope than the Celestron 8 HD for photographing the night sky. It is easily portable compared to the HD 11. When I use it with the F7 1400mm reducer, it is the perfect zoom for most planetary nebulae. I have not bought a hyperstar lens for it because the old Celestron SCT 8 inch telescope has one and when we are talking about a hyperstar then it doesn't matter if the telescope is HD or SCT for perfect round stars from edge to edge. And the 390mm F1.9 on the 8-inch telescope makes it quite useful for wide-angle photography. Andromeda as well as the Heart nebulae are captured without being clipped. Not to mention the price of the telescope itself with the cheap accessories for 8 inches. I hope this helps some especially with limited funds. Good luck and clear skies!
Well said. And 8" SCT is an excellent scope. Very light and portable for the aperture and very flexible as it can be used at f2 (hyperstar), f7, or f10.
I'm in Calgary. I found your review comprehensive and directly applicable to my situation, and one of the better telescope reviews I have seen on TH-cam. You are also clearly getting some nice images. Your channel deserves more exposure so I am giving you a Sub. Who knows, maybe we will even run into each other one in real life of these days.
Thank you so much for watching. The shirt was a gift so I am not sure where it was purchased. I will find out and update this post. I think it might have been ETSY.
Hi Abdur, keen to see your collimation of the hyperstar video you mentioned in this video. I recently bought an edgeHD8 and hyperstar v4 and find the stars near the edge of the fov are not the best (and i assumed it would be better). Am using a imx571 OSC sensor which works quite well. - cheers
Hi Mark. Congratulations on the purchase! That's a great setup. The hyperstar 4 should be able to give you really good stars on the IMX571 sensor with a bit of adjustment. A hyperstar collimation video is definitely on my to-do list but it might take a bit longer as I normally leave my camera on my scope now that I've got good stars. I am planning to take the camera off for the summer so that will be a good time to make a collimation video. One tip I can give for now is to check to see if your secondary mirror/corrector plate is centered in your scope before you start collimating the hyperstar. Otherwise, you might not be able to get round stars in the corner even if you adjust the hyperstar screws. On a new scope, it should already be centered but it doesn't hurt to double check :)
Abdur, Your video is very informative and done skillfully. If possible please show us how to do the camera sensor tilt adjustment by improvised clever device. Want to see the original video or article which you have taken help from.
Thank you. I didn't want to mess with my asi1600mm as I spent a lot of time adjusting the sensor tilt in it. In my case, the sensor tilt of the camera made it impossible to properly collimate the hyperstar as the sensor tilt meant that at least one corner was always our of alignment. So I am in the market for a new camera (colour/OSC this time) and as soon as I have it, I will make a video showing how to adjust sensor tilt in the camera and then how I collimated the hyperstar.
Thank you for this excellent, super interesting video. Subbed. When using the Hyperstar adapter, are you still using making 'full usage' of the money that went into this telescope? Would you achieve the same results from that adapter + telescope setup with a much cheaper system? You also mention that the mirrors of this telescope can move slightly as the telescope slews to another part of the sky. I'm very surprised to hear that since I would have thought/expected (at that price) the fixing mechanism would 100% prevent that? (maybe showing my inexperience though...maybe they are meant to be 'floating' i.e. dampener between mirror and tube to allow temp-related contraction/expansion?, vibration dampening?)
Thank you! I am still using the Hyperstar system but I recently switched the camera (from a mono camera with a mini-filter wheel to a colour camera with a filter slider). I find that I get more detail if I use my mono camera with my 8" reflector due to the longer focal length and overall sharper optics of the reflector. Hyperstar is very good at collecting light quickly but has some limitations (such as lower detail captured than an equivalent reflector or refractor system). The mirror flop I mentioned is inherent in the design of the Celestron SCT systems and I think is partly to compensate for expansion and contraction at different temperatures. Most telescope companies are also legendary for trying to save a few bucks even on telescopes costing thousands of dollars. The newer version of the RASA telescopes have upgraded the focusing system and largely solved the issue. Despite being a fairly expensive telescope for most of us amateurs, the Celestron EdgeHD is a tiny fraction of the price of actual expensive telescopes (such as PlaneWave CDK scopes which don't suffer from such issues).
Thanks for the review. A fast apochromat with a field flattener is also a very capable imaging platform for deep sky in a lighter instrument and at more forgiving focal length.
Thanks for watching. My focal length is only 560mm with the Hyperstar adapter which is about the same as a fast apochromat. I definitely recommend a fast apo for most beginners in astrophotography though. Much easier to use than a large SCT.
Thank you. Are you looking at the EdgeHD 11" or regular one? And what camera and mount are you thinking of pairing it up with? Or is it purely for visual?
Congratulations for this excellent review. I was thinking of buying an hyperstar v4 for my C11 HD, but worried about collimarion, which is very hard to face in my situation.
Thank you. I recently changed the backfocus distance on my hyperstar after installing a new filter and I am collimating it again. Definitely a very involved collimation process compared to my other scopes. But the F2 keeps me coming back.
I read the following in CloudyNights discussion: " If you use a hyperstar, you BYPASS the correction that gives you the flat field. The correction is in the baffle tube. You are not using the baffle tube when you attach a hyperstar. So why pay more for the HD series if you are going to shoot with a hyperstar?" Thoughts ?
I agree with that comment. For anyone buying a scope just to use it for hyperstar, you can go with the regular SCT instead of the Edge series. The main advantage of the Edge series besides the flat field when used at f7 or f10 is that they have mirror locks (the new version of the non Edge C14 also has mirror locks) and cooling vents. The mirror locks don't help when using the scope in hyperstar mode and the vents are useful for cooling but aren't a big factor. I find that in a lot of cases people buying the hyperstar already have an SCT or they want a scope that is a jack of all trades and would also be great at imaging/visual use. so I wouldn't recommend buying the Edge version just to use it with hyperstar. I use my C11 Edge for visual use as well where it excels compared to the regular C11 and I definitely notice the difference at the edges of a widefield eyepiece (the double cluster looks amazing in a Panoptic 35 in the Edge series). The mirror locks also really help with planetary imaging as I use an external focuser for that. Really eliminates the image shift SCTs usually have. For anyone only looking to use the scope at F2, I would recommend looking at the RASA as well (version 2). The focusing mechanics are much improved and you don't have a large hyperstar adapter sticking out the front to take off each time you want to put on a lens cap (of course that comes at a cost). But for anyone who already has a regular SCT, a hyperstar might be a great way to improve their imaging.
Nice. How did you track the ISS for the image you showed briefly at 2:05? And how would viewing the ISS visually compare to that image at 2:05? Presumably far smaller, like ~1/10 how it appears in this video?
Hi there. I had manually tracked the ISS by hand (with the mount off and clutches unlocked) while looking through the finderscope. Then I stabilized the footage later using a software called PIPP. I have tried to see it visually as well but it moved VERY fast so I have never managed to see much actual structure. Visually the images would look maybe 1/5 that size depending on what eyepiece you use.
Thank you. I must apologize for not being able to get a tutorial out on collimation yet. I got married 2 weeks ago and planning for that and attending other related events has kept me very busy this summer. I will publish my notes on collimating a hyperstar still when I get a chance. I recently purchased an expensive Hotech Laser Collimator for hyperstar as I wanted to be able to collimate my hyperstar during the day instead of spending precious clear nights doing it and I will post a video of my journey figuring out best practices for it. I'll compare it to my iterative process (collimating under the stars the hard way) which I had used previously.
Great video! Hey stupid newbie question for you, Aside just guessing at the “seeing conditions” how does one arrive at that value? Appreciate any feedback! Cheers
Hi there. We can look at size of the star and the value of it listed under FWHM (Full width half maximum) in PHD2 while guiding. The smaller this number, the better the seeing. I'll post a more detailed answer soon when I get a chance :)
Assalamu alaikum. Great to see your video, Actually i am planning for the same set up. My only question --- Is ER6 R pro is enough, have you faced any issue while doing Astrophotography ? I am from Toronto. Other mounts are too heavy to carry outside.
Thank you for watching. The EQ6R Pro is enough with the C11 if you are using the hyperstar adapter and image at F2. Because of the short 560mm focal length with a hyperstar adapter, it isn't very demanding on your mount. However, if you are imaging from a windy location, then the EQ6R struggles a bit and a lighter telescope would be more stable. I wouldn't recommend using the EQ6R with a C11 for imaging at it's native F10 or F7 focal lengths as that would be too demanding and would require a much more expensive mount. The EQ6R is also quite heavy and the head alone weights 38 lbs and the tripod weights 16.5 lbs. But that's light enough for most people to carry.
Thanks for watching. I used a combination of all the ideas that I had found online and on cloudynights threads. However, I just tested what worked and what didn't work for me. Ultimately, it was a LOT of trial and error under the stars to fine tune things that got me the stars that I wanted.
Abdur, this is a very helpful review and exactly what I was looking for. I have a C11 EdgeHD on the way. I've been looking for availability for a couple of months, and when one finally showed as being in stock I immediately ordered it. So now I'm in the process of purchasing accessories. What is the orange mounting rail you have attached to the top of the OTA? This is exactly what I would like to have for mounting a guide scope. Thanks!
Thank you for watching, Scott. Congratulations on purchasing the C11 Edge. It is an amazing scope and I still love mine. The orange rail is called the Celestron 11" CGE Dovetail bar. It is the exact same dovetail bar as the one below the scope. Here is a link for it that I found on the Celestron page (www.celestron.com/products/11-inch-dovetail-bar-cge). It should be available at most astronomy stores. It's very handy for mounting a guide scope or other accessories. I personally mount my USB hub on it these days. It also makes it easier to carry the scope. And you can mount a handle on it too (a friend uses a file cabinet handle attached to it) which makes it easier to carry the scope. Since I am only imaging at 560mm focal length using the hyperstar adapter on the C11 Edge, I just put my guide scope in the little finderscope mount next to that orange rail instead of directly on the orange rail. It's too small to cause any balance issues.
I'm 76 and was really into amateur astronomy for about 25 years. I sold my last scope in 1992 and then my interest in the hobby began to wane. As I look at the modern world of amateur astronomy, I can't believe how much things have changed. In my day most night sky enthusiasts were into visual. Only the most dedicated were into astrophotography because they had to use film and take extremely long exposures. Today...oh my goodness, the choice of scopes has greatly increased; and astrophotography is a new world with ccd cameras and computer software. Ah to be young again.
Haha. Reminds me of this meme: meme-arsenal.com/create/meme/11184203 I happen to be very frugal in everything else and work my tail off to fund my passion. Grew up with nothing so I may have gone a bit overboard now :)
My dream scope...excellent review, will be watching closely your channel to see the potential of this scopes abilities. How do you think it would be trying to capture Neptune or Uranus, is there an atmospheric dispersion corrector available do you know?
Thank you. It was my dream scope too for a large part of my life until I finally got it. I will be posting my newest image from this scope this weekend on my instagram channel @OurAstroLife. I also plan to share my workflow for processing my images in a TH-cam video soon. This scope would be great for planetary imaging. Uranus and Neptune will still look fairly small compared to the closer planets but the colour will be easy to capture. When I took the planetary images that are on my Instagram channel, I was using a ZWO ADC (Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector). It's a pretty inexpensive accessory that really helps when the planets are not very high in the sky.
Excellent review. I finally saved up enough $ to buy the Edge HD 14" with a CGX-L mount. I also bought the .7X reducer. I was looking at the CCD suitability calculator on Astronomy Tools and put in the ZWO 2400mc camera to see what I might expect. It shows that I will be slightly oversampling. I think my seeing conditions are better than yours, but to be honest I am concerned that the images will not be as good as I would like. The other option would be the buy the 294mm and Bin2x2. No one seems to be able to clarify if is possible to Bin2x2 with a OSC camera. Do you know if that is possible? I guess I could save $ for another year and buy the 6200mm and Hyperstar. That would produce some really nice pictures. These Edge telescopes have a lot to offer but they certainly require patience. Thank you.
Congratulations on the new setup! :) The ASI2400MC would be a bit oversampleld on most nights (almost all nights in my area) but if your seeing is good you would be able to get some great detail on smaller targets. The results would be affected quite a bit when the seeing isn't good though due to the oversampling. Although it is possible to bin a colour OSC camera, the resulting image would be monochrome (without being quite as sharp or detailed as the image from an actual monochrome camera). So you would need filters to get a colour image from a binned OSC camera. It's not really worth it to bin an OSC camera in my experience. An ASI294MM binned 2x2 would give you 0.7" per pixel with the 0.7 reducer on this setup which is great. However, the ASI294MM does have a much smaller sensor than the full frame ASI2400 so your field of view would be much smaller. Getting the hyperstar would be the best way to get amazing images without spending a week on each image in my opinion. However, a colour OSC camera might work better with the hyperstar than a mono camera. Although you can install a filter wheel in front of a smaller mono camera like mine or like an ASI294MM, a full frame mono camera like the ASI6200MM would require larger filters and a bigger filter wheel. You could manually change filters like most people do but that is additional work. Hyperstar is so fast that the added sensitivity of mono is not required :)
Thanks so much for posting this review/tutorial on the EdgeHD series SCTs. Definitely agree this is a very versatile “do it all” kind of scope. I have the 8” version on a Avalon M-Zero mount. Would have gone with the 9.25” or even an 11” if I didn’t have to move it around. Right now I can manage the OTA and mount/tripod with additional accessories attached in one trip. This is my 2nd Edge and both examples were/are excellent. The very best SCT I have owned and I’ve owned many in 35 years in the hobby. Was starting to set up this scope for imaging and have the F7 reducer. The seeing at my location is mid level overall but can be excellent on occasion. We also travel to southwest USA areas of excellent seeing so F7 is fine for now. Probably just keep this setup for planetary + brighter smaller scale DSOs imaging and visual observing. This makes up 90% of my planned use. Was looking at the HyperStar F2 system but after watching this review I don’t want to deal with the collimating issues nor the other concerns you mention. Probably end up getting a Rasa 8” F2 for faint large scale DSO but that’s in the future. Right now I’m just enjoying this versatile little scope for visual viewing and sorting out the imaging setup for planetary and smaller DSOs. Again great review
Thank you for sharing your experience with the EdgeHD series. I love hearing from other astrophotographers who have used the equipment. Portability is definitely a big consideration as a smaller scope that gets used often is better then a bigger scope that sits in a box. If I had to move the C11 EdgeHD all the time I probably wouldn't use it much. I think planetary and smaller bright DSOs is where this series really shines. The 8" RASA would be a great second scope as that way you don't have to convert the C8 EdgeHD to F2 each time or worry about collimation as much. I look forward to hearing of your experience with the RASA if you end up getting one. Clear skies :)
Thank you so much for your informative review. I have the opportunity to purchase a C-11" Edge with an older CGEM DX mount for $3500 obo. I've read that the CGEM mount can hold a larger payload than the newer mounts....I've seen discontinued models of the C-11 w/ the older mount for around $3600. In any event, I currently have a CPC 800 w/ Hyperstar and image with a ASI294. Still debating whether to go w/ the 11" or move up to 14" however after your review, I'm edging toward the 11". Many Thanks, Steve
Thanks Steve. I think the 11 is a much more manageable size. A friend of mine has a C14 and it is an absolute beast. I certainly wouldn't want to have to lift that on to a mount. I think the C14 would also be too large for a CGEM DX class mount even in hyperstar configuration where as it would handle the 11 just fine. The 14 would require a serious mount like a EQ8 or better :)
Abdur, I was able to purchase the C-11 Edge complete (see post below) for $3,300.00 US Dollars. I'm not sure if you have experience with Hyperstar, but I used one previously on a CPC-800 fork mount. Now having the C-11 with an EQ mount, I'm struggling between a Hyperstar and a Celestron .7X focal reducer (which I never used). The ability to photograph small galaxies with the .7X focal reducer is appealing, however I'm guessing you need an off-axis guide and camera in addition, whereas the Hyperstar is just that....and guiding isn't really necessary. Any recommendations?
Hi Steve. That's a great scope and I am sure you'll love be it. I use the Hyperstar V3 with my C11 Edge and I definitely prefer it for imaging compared to the 0.7x reducer. Even with the 0.7x reducer, I am very oversampled with almost any modern CMOS camera. And an OAG would be recommended for imaging at that focal length with any SCT (due to flexture and potentially mirror flop). Imaging with Hyperstar is much more enjoyable. You don't even need to guide (although I do guide with a 60mm guide scope anyways) and you can use short exposures. You can get a great shot in an hour or two compare to spending an entire night of imaging on one target at f7. For smaller targets like galaxies, you can use drizzling when stacking to double the size of your final image. Now if you live in a place with amazing seeing, then imaging at f7 might be a worthwhile endeavor. I am camping at the moment but I can answer any questions you might have in more detail after I get back :)
There seem to be multiple (sub)models in the 11” edgeHD line: CPC deluxe (11009), CGX (12057), and CGX-L (12076). Do you know much about these differences? Thanks
Hi David. All of those models have the same optical tube. However, they have different mounts. The CPC Deluxe has a dual fork alt azimuth mount. It is great for visual observing and decent for planetary imaging. Not made for deep sky imaging though. The CGX version is a good equatorial kit. It is great for deep sky imaging and visual observing as well. The CGX-L version is similar to the CGX but with a higher load capacity (75lbs vs 60lbs) and would have an easier time handling the large scope. It is heavier and more expensive though.
I started from the same place. I didn't even have a telescope for most of my time as an amateur astronomer. The first time that I was able to rent a telescope from the local astronomical society, I was unbelievably happy. I would recommend seeing if there is a local astronomy group in your area. Amateur astronomers are usually very welcoming and they would be happy to show you lots of things through their scopes :)
Thanks for watching. The Celestron focus motor works fine with the hyperstar on a C11. In fact, that is the best method to focus as focusing by hand at such precision would be very hard. You just have to make sure you use backlash compensation in the settings if you are using a program to autofocus the Celestron focus motor as SCT telescoes can have some mirror flop as the scope tracks a target through the night. Also, you have to leave your mirror locks unlocked when using the focus motor if your telescope has mirror locks :)
Great review, I finally got an edgehd 9.25 w/hyperstar v4, What do you think would be best camera for this setup? I was thinking AS183MC Pro, ASI071MC pro, ASI071MC Pro or ASi2600MC pro, any thoughts about these cameras? Thank your
Congratulations on the purchase Fernando. The ASI2600MC Pro would definitely be the best one from that group. It has a high full well capacity, low noise, and no amp glow at all. The APSC sensor size is also perfectly matched for Hyperstar V4. Of course it's the most expensive as well so if budget is a consideration then ASI071MC pro would be a good second choice. I personally wouldn't get the ASI183. The tiny pixels saturate quite quickly and the sensor size is quite small so the field of view is quite limited.
Thank you. I had done the math on how much obstruction the mini-filter wheel would cause before I decided to use it and it wasn't too bad. However eventually I had to admit that the hyperstar works best with a color camera. So now I use an ASI2600MC Duo on the hyperstar instead of a mono camera.
I just watched the video to the end , please if you can share how did you solve the tilting issue I will be grateful for you! I am suffering from this issue! Also do you have to center the secondary mirror each time you install the hyperstar?
Hi friend. Apologies for the late reply. As long as your secondary mirror holder (the metal part on the correctly plate that you insert the secondary mirror into) doesn't rotate and is securely attached to the telescope, you don't have to center the secondary each time. As long as it is still centered from the factory or you have centered it once, you shouldn't have to do it again. As for the tilting issue, I have spent some more time working out the best way to adjust tilt as the methods listed online weren't working for me. I did manage to work out a system and I will be posting it here soon once I have a little bit of time off from my regular job. What camera are you using on your hyperstar?
In the meantime, I can give you some tips on how I collimate the hyperstar now. As long as your secondary mirror is reasonably centered (you can do that by standing in front of the telescope and slightly adjusting the centering screws (loosen the screws at the front of the corrector plate first but don't take them out, and then loosen the screws on the side of the optical tube one at a time and tighten the opposite screw to make adjustments until the reflections of the secondary and primary mirror look circular. I have a ZWO tilt adjuster attached to my hyperstar and my zwo asi1600 attached to that. I make adjustments to the hyperstar and the zwo tilt adjuster to collimate. I'll post details of how I know which screw to adjust on each when I have a bit more time.
Hi Rashmi. I had ordered that cover from Telescopes Canada. It's a Telegizmos 365 cover. Works very well and I highly recommend it. I will do a full review of it one of these days if there is any interest.
@@hael8680 I bought another one as well since then (the new one is for my 16" dob) and I will review both soon. I've already got most of the footage :)
Dude! Just how rich are you exactly????? Haha, I kid (mostly). Lol In all seriousness, I really enjoyed your review and I tossed you a sub. Clear skies!
Haha. Thanks friend. I grew up in one of the world's poorest countries so I learned to live frugally. Now that I can save a bit of money, I spend it on what really matters, family and astronomy. The secret to buying equipment is patience. Sometimes I wait years for a good deal on the used market since I can't usually afford to buy new things :)
@@AbdurAstro You're making me even more sure that subscribing to your channel was the right thing to do. Just awesome, man! Good for you, and also great advice! Being patient when you find something so easy to be passionate about like Astronomy/Astrophotography, is no easy task! 🙂
If you are only doing visual observing, the regular CPC1100 will be fine. But doesn't have the corrective optics of the EdgeHD 11 so the stars at the corners won't be great. That mainly an issue for astrophotography. If you plan to do astrophotography, the EdgeHD 11 is superior and the stars will be noticeably better in the corners. The CPC 1100 has an alt-az mount so it will suffer from field rotation which means you can't imaging for very long on that mount.
@@amolambli I personally think it's the best for the price. It's a very versatile scope, has a lot of options for accessories (such as the 0.7 reducer and F2 Hyperstar). It's great for both visual observing and imaging. I love my C11 Edge :)
Hi Dave. The one shown in the video was the JMI EV2c. It appears to now be discontinued which is a shame as it was an excellent focuser. The motor allowed precise focus for planetary imaging and the clutch allowed me to disengage the focuser for manual control immediately when needed. Jmi still offers other models at Farpoint (farpointastro.com/search?q=jmi+focuser+cassegrain) including some motorized ones.
Hi. The EQ6R Pro is enough with the C11 if you are using the hyperstar adapter and image at F2. Because of the short 560mm focal length with a hyperstar adapter, it isn't very demanding on your mount. However, if you are imaging from a windy location, then the EQ6R struggles a bit and a lighter telescope would be more stable. I wouldn't recommend using the EQ6R with a C11 for imaging at it's native F10 or F7 focal lengths as that would be too demanding and would require a much more expensive mount. However, the EQ6R handles the C11 easily for visual use.
It was scary watching you mount your OTA. I’ve only been in the hobby about a year and have a C8. I use the Starizona focal reducer. Most cameras don’t have tilt adjustment, my ASI071MC is an exception but there are no instructions on the technique on how to adjust the plate. I use It’s been discontinued by ZWO. I’ve been thinking of getting a Hyperstar but I’m thinking maybe I should replace my C8 with the C8 Edge HD first. I got from this review you will not see round stars on the outer edges due to camera tilt and collimating errors of the Hyperstar. I use Siril for processing and their Dynamic PSF tool will show tilt. My camera is a little off and I would expect all consumer cameras to be off. It would be interesting if you could go into detail on how you got your F/2 collimating dialed in. Can you list your sources you mention ed this video. Thanks.
Thank you for your video. It perfectly answered my questions and gave me good inspiration, especially about the HyperStar and ZWO EFW compatibility. However, since my telescope is the Celestron 925 EdgeHD which has a different size, I am still very concerned about whether the HyperStar and ZWO EFW can work together on my imaging system, like you, I do not want to manually change the filters. I asked the manufacturers of Starizona and ZWO respectively, and they both told me that the HyperStar cannot be used with the ZWO EFW 7x2" filter wheel because it blocks the scope. But I clearly saw a solution in your video. So I'm seeking your advice on whether you think my telescope can use both the HyperStar and ZWO EFW 7x2" like yours. In addition, I see the person who provided the 3D printing accessory also offered print drawings suitable for the C925. If my telescope can use both the HyperStar and ZWO EFW 7x2", should I use this blueprint? In addition, my system also includes WO AM5 / ZWO ASI2600MM PRO (Sensor Size 28.3mm) / ZWO EAF. Thank you very much for your help.
Hi there. Sorry about not seeing your comment earlier. It's been a busy few weeks. The 31mm x 5 mini filter wheel which I use is the largest I would recommend for a hyperstar and even then it might be a bit big on the C9.25. I wouldn't recommend a 7x2" filtewheel even on a C14 as that is quite big and would block too much light. The AISI2600MM is a great camera but for a hyperstar on a C9.25, a colour camera with a duo band filter might work better. Also, not all narrowband filters will work well on a fast system like hyperstar or RASA. Only a few manufacturers make narrowband filter that work well at F2 which is why I was using the MaxFR Ha and O3 filter from Astronomic.
Hi Abdur! You have such a nice equipment, what is dream for me... ) ok I have one question. on your f/2 equipment you use filter wheal, which size is a little more, than focal reducer. doesn't it decrease to collect a light for telescope?
Hi. Thank you for the question. I had done some measurements before I decided to use a filtewheel and the filter wheel doesn't take up any more space infront of the telescope than using a DSLR camera like the Canon 6D would take. I wouldn't use a filtewheel on the C8 Edge Hyperstar but on a C11 Edge or C14 Edge is fine. I use a ZWO mini EFW which is the smallest filterwheel I know of. And I use 5 x 31mm filters in it.
Unfortunately I don't think I will get a chance to make a video about that rig I made in particular but since then I have switched to using an iterative approach which works well (trial and error, take an image, writing down results, and then making more corrections). I don't have a resource for that rig as I had built my own from things I had lying around and used my wife's glass table for it but this link uses some similar ideas. You don't have to use the bearing like he uses: www.macobservatory.com/blog/2021/11/28/how-to-remove-sensor-tilt-from-your-astrophotography-camera-while-indoors
Great review and images, Abdur. What about a camera with larger pixel size, like the asi2400 (5.94µm pixel size), which might allow you to bin your way to better sampling while at 2800mm or w/.7 reducer configuration? Can't let all that focal length go under utilized. Course, if you solve that then you need to deal with guiding at such high focal lengths. It's a journey... I've the 9.25 EHD w/asi071 (4.78 µm pixel size), use all three configurations as well and can attest to both the fun and challenges.
Thank you Gerry. The ASI2400 is not available in a monochrome version, only colour I believe (please correct me if I am wrong). You can't bin a colour camera so that wouldn't help with the long focal length. I think even 5.94 micron pixels are too small to use at 2800mm focal length and will quite often be seeing limited at 1960mm focal length with the 0.7x reducer from most locations. However, the long focal length is excellent for planetary and lunar imaging. It's an interesting journey for sure :)
Thank you for the video. I can't say the edge HD 14 isn't tempting. I could also consider the 11. Lots of wonderful things about these scopes. But the transmission profiles drive me out of my skull. They throw away too much. In an e-mail chain when i asked about optical quality they indicated that their standard was a strehl of 97.5%, but they would only guarantee diffraction limited, which is a strehl much lower than that. So I'm probably going with a custom 12 inch, f4.5 Newt.
Thank you for watching. The 12" F4.5 custom Newt with a good coma corrector would definitely make a great imaging setup. But it'll also need a bigger mount than the SCTs. Are you thinking of going with carbon fiber to reducer weight? And what mount are you planning to put it on? :)
@@AbdurAstro Planning on putting it on my CEM120. It's a carbon fiber tube, so it's pretty light, and well under my mount's capacity. Nice thing about an edgeHD though is it's great for visual on an equatorial mount. A Newt can get a bit awkward.
@@matthewbrown8679 Totally agree. I found the EdgeHD a pleasure to use visually. Even my 8" newt gets awkward for visual use on an equatorial mount so I stick to Dobsonian mounts for that.
Hi Jerry. This is the EV-3cM. Model 3 Cassegrain Version with Motor. I got it for use for planetary imaging as it completely eliminates the focus shift one experiences when imaging using the built in focuser. It comes with a hand controller I use for focusing and I can also attach it to my computer through a USB box to focus remotely.
would you recommend the 8" for beginners? Or would it be overkill? I've had the astromaster 130eq for a few years but was a bit disappointed with the results so i'm looking to upgrade big
Hi. The 8" EdgeHD is an excellent scope and would be a big upgrade over the 130eq in every way. However, are you planning to use it for visual or imaging? And what camera are you planning to pair it with? For purely visual observing, you will get better views of objects with a larger dob. For DSO imaging, the 8" EdgeHD would be great at f7 with the focal reducer. It is a bit slow for my liking at f10. It would also be great with the hyperstar adapter at f2. I often recommend the hyperstar as an option and use one myself as shown in the video. It really does make it much easier for beginners to get good images without spending 20 hours on a target (but it is a bit pricy for sure).
I can vouch for the 8” EdgeHD being an excellent scope and will be useful for both visual and Astrophotography. I own one. I find that an ASI294MC (uncooled) is a good camera to use in conjunction with the 0.7 reducer. I also managed some useful planetary images using the much cheaper SVBony 305 camera. I have used livestacking in SharpCap Pro a lot and it gives you some very quick satisfaction to see the images appearing live!!
@@martynh5410 Thank you. I am hoping to do a lot more live streaming on this channel now that I got a colour camera. I'll be using Sharpcap Pro as well.
Hi. I normally image the planets at f20 with this scope (using a 2x barlow) as they look fairly small at f10 with my camera. Here is one example at f20 on my Instagram page: instagram.com/p/CSSJDFHpRHu/ The seeing is quite poor in my area so I am waiting for Jupiter to get higher before I image it again.
Can you also please suggest me should i buy skywatcher eq6r pro or the cgem ll goto mount for celestron 11 edge hd tube . I am confused which one is best to buy so that i don’t have any balance issue with the optical tube
@@Min_3256 The EQ6R is a better mount than the CGEM2. Tracking and guiding is much more accurate from what I have seen. When the seeing is really good I get almost 0.5" per pixel on mine. But neither the EQ6R or the CGEM is really suitable for deep sky imaging with a C11 Edge at f7 or f10. Only with the hyperstar at F2. Either mount will do the job for planetary imaging (though I still prefer the EQ6R).
I was trying to find a top bar for my Celestron Edge 800 but small print on the description said it was not for the top of the OTA, Any ideas what would go on top of a 8' Edge?
Does your Edge 8 have a CGE bar or a narrow (vixen) bar at the bottom? I believe the Edge 8 should have holes for a CGE (wider) bar at the top but I can check with some friends that have them.
Personally, I find the 14" too large to handle and it requires a much larger and more expensive mount. The difference in performance wouldn't be great enough to justify the extra expense for me.
Hi Abdur, Excellent video. Can you tell me how the ideal back focus changed (if at all) when adding your Crayford focuser? Is Ideal still 146.05 mm after the focuser? I want to set mine (Edge HD11) up with a Crayford focuser and a camera for planetary imaging and (ideally) use a Baader flip mirror with the camera straight through and the optical eyepiece on the flip top...Just unclear about backfocus using the Crayford. Thanks!
Hi Bruce, for planetary imaging, I still strive to keep my backfocus close to the ideal position. I had done some measurements previously and I'll send you an image of my imaging train when I get back from camping. The backfocus doesn't have to be exact for planetary as you aren't using the 0.7x focal reducer and being off by 10 or 20 mm is no big deal. I just used a ruler to measure the distance between where the camera sensor would be and the back of the C11 flange and used that.
An 8" EdgeHD should be capable of producing sharp stars. However, as I see from my C11 EdgeHD, you need very good seeing for that. I find myself seeing limited on the vast majority of nights. Which is why I was using my C11 EdgeHD at F2 with the hyperstar. That gives me pretty sharp results as I am not seeing limited but of course, the stars aren't as pinpoint as they would be in a nice refractor like yours. For nights where the seeing isn't great and I want sharp stars (and don't need the focal length or resolution), I use a 60mm quintuplet refractor. Sadly all scope designs have their strengths and weaknesses.
Hello! I want to thank you very much for this video. I am interested in purchasing this telescope but in the Edge 8HD version and using it with my ASI 1600 mono and the same filter wheel that you use. Can you please show me the part you 3D printed for the filter wheel please? would it work with the 8HD? Also please could you in an upcoming video show how you collimate using the Hyperstar? I am interested in deep space astrophotography but I like this tube because it is very versatile. I live in Monterrey Mexico and I have the opportunity to go to Bortle 2 skies. Really thank you very much for taking the time to share your experiences, really thank you very much. You have gained a new subscriber. Greetings and clear skies.
Hi Enrique. The EdgeHD 8 is a very versatile scope and a great choice :) Should work quite well with your ASI1600MM and the filter wheel at f7 and f10. My only concern would be how much of the mirror the filter wheel would cover on the 8HD in the hyperstar configuration since it has a smaller light collection area than the 11HD. The math to figure that out shouldn't be too hard. Let me know if you need a hand with that. The part I 3d printed would work perfectly fine with the 8HD. I had to redesign mine to fit the 11HD because the 3D model I had found was originally for the 8HD. Here is the link to the model: www.thingiverse.com/thing:2640393 I will make a future video showing how to collimate the hyperstar for sure. Thank you for subscribing! :)
Thank you very much for answering me and sharing the image. What you mention is true, the Edge 8 is smaller and it may affect the mini filter wheel. Perhaps the solution in my case is to buy a color camera and use it only at f2. Once again, thank you very much and we will be waiting for your videos. Greetings and clear skies.
@@elbagre71 A colour camera like the ASI294MC would be a great fit for the hyperstar. I am also considering doing that someday in the future as I don't get a lot of clear sky time in my area. Sometimes the clouds move in before I get enough data for one of the filters for my monochrome camera.
I am seriously thinking of shadowing you. I priced a full kit at OPT with Ron Azad's help. I wonder if you'd be willing to take a look at what I have listed and comment on it? Not sure how I would get that list to you?
I can definitely take a look. I have imaged with this setup pretty extensively now and I would be able to offer some suggestions. You can send me an email by clicking on my profile picture and clicking on the About section :)
Please, which company did you purchase the dew shield and the dew heater band - from? Does the dew heater band work? I have heard that a single band does not work - I believe that you are using 1 heater band: do you feel that 2 bands would be preferable? I applaud you for keeping it HONEST. So many of the alleged reviewers are all SCAMS! They receive FREE equipment and substantial discounts from the manufacturers to say good things about their products. The purport to review equipment - hey, if I were to receive FREE and large discounts from company X, I'd probably also call CRAP - great stuff. In any case, hold your honest standards and comments: then you have a valuable channel. Regards.
Hi Jonathan. Thank you so much for watching and for the feedback. I buy all my own equipment so I can provide honest feedback on everything whether it is positive or negative. And unlike some channels that receive free equipment and review it after using it for a few days, I have used my equipment for years in most cases before I review it so I have enough time to work out all the pros and cons. I bought my dew shield and dew heater from a liquidation sale that a company called Scope Essentials in Canada was having. I don't know if they still have any of these left but they should be available from just about any major telescope retailer. The dew shield is just a standard C11 dewshield and I used an exacto knife to cut those grooves into it so it fits over my telescope dovetails. The band is a Kendrick Premiere dew heater band and I find that a single band works fine even in the worst dew conditions. The trick is to get a high quality band like the Premiere series (instead of the basic model or the cheap ones on amazon). The SCT corrector plate dews up really fast so in this case it is worth spending the little bit extra for a good dew heater. The one I use also has a very good cable that doesn't get stiff in the -20C weather when I am imaging. You also need a controller to use with the heater and I was just using the very basic cheap Kendrick 2 channel controller and it works fine.
For any frugal astrophotographers like me who can't always afford to buy fancy equipment at new prices, I recommend buying used. I often wait many years until the right deal comes along and I often have to buy what is available on the used market rather than what I would buy if money wasn't a consideration. This way, I have been able to assemble my setups without breaking the bank. For example, I paid the equivalent of $725 USD for the C11 EdgeHD, $375 USD for the Reducer, and the same for the hyperstar. Of course the setup wasn't in great shape when I bought it but I am always willing to put in the work rather than complaining that things are too expensive. Took me a few $ to replace all the rusted screws and not too much to replace the gasket in the scope (along with countless hours collimating things) and now I have a scope that works good as new. Of course someone who isn't looking to wait many years to find a once in a lifetime deal like me might want to buy something now. I can get images that are 80% as good with my cheap 8" F4 newt which cost around $500 USD new. I did have to spend a lot of time optimizing the newt for imaging like flocking the tube (very cheap) and blackening all the edges ($1 sharpie) but you can't have it all without hard work.
What I appreciate the most, watching this, is the “with and without” difference in imaging. The first hand visualization teaches me a lot
Thank you for watching. Glad it was useful :)
Thanks, Abdur, for your clear explanation of what is possible with the C11 Edge HD.
Thanks Eric :)
I am soon to purchase my first telescope and I don’t want to be purchasing a better one as time goes on. I would be quite happy doing it right the first time so this video is extremely helpful in setting me up for a one time purchase more or less. Thankyou so much for putting this video out there. It informs us newbies as to what everything does and why it is needed. Now I can go for my first purchase and not waste money with something I won’t use or need. Again Thankyou so much for this great video which I will watch over and over!!!
To be brutally honest the celestron 8" and 9.25" edge HD are almost no brainers. every company makes almost everything for this cassegrain. I had an 11" meade lx90 and the thing was MASSIVE! but it was only alt/ ast instead of equatorial and getting items for that telescope to do ANY imaging was either i was too late for it or i had the wrong tripod for it.. Go Celestron my friend i can guarantee you have this until the main glass falls off lol
I am so glad that was helpful. And very sorry for the late response. This month has been hectic :)
Thank you so much for making this video. I have just purchased the Celestron Edge hd 11. I was not sure where to start my purchase of items for this telescope. You have made my search easier one. Please continue your amazing videos!!
Thank you. Glad I could help :)
Great review and photos. But this review once again confirms to me that there is no better telescope than the Celestron 8 HD for photographing the night sky. It is easily portable compared to the HD 11. When I use it with the F7 1400mm reducer, it is the perfect zoom for most planetary nebulae. I have not bought a hyperstar lens for it because the old Celestron SCT 8 inch telescope has one and when we are talking about a hyperstar then it doesn't matter if the telescope is HD or SCT for perfect round stars from edge to edge. And the 390mm F1.9 on the 8-inch telescope makes it quite useful for wide-angle photography. Andromeda as well as the Heart nebulae are captured without being clipped. Not to mention the price of the telescope itself with the cheap accessories for 8 inches. I hope this helps some especially with limited funds. Good luck and clear skies!
Well said. And 8" SCT is an excellent scope. Very light and portable for the aperture and very flexible as it can be used at f2 (hyperstar), f7, or f10.
Excellent review! Looking forward to seeing your columnation process. Thanks!
Thank you Robert. I will definitely get to that this summer. I have several other videos I am working on in the meantime that I hope to upload soon :)
I'm in Calgary. I found your review comprehensive and directly applicable to my situation, and one of the better telescope reviews I have seen on TH-cam. You are also clearly getting some nice images. Your channel deserves more exposure so I am giving you a Sub. Who knows, maybe we will even run into each other one in real life of these days.
Thanks buddy. Much appreciated. Hoping to see you at a star party or RASC meeting sometime :)
Love the music and the scopes.
Thanks for the enjoyable tutorial. You discussed many topics and provided very helpful explanations.
Thanks for watching :)
Abdur, very cool presentation, i will be following along for more tips. And where did you get that shirt i love it ?
Thank you so much for watching. The shirt was a gift so I am not sure where it was purchased. I will find out and update this post. I think it might have been ETSY.
I’m planning to buy an Edge HD. So, landed on your video. Very nice and informative review.
Thank you. Glad you found the review useful :)
Hi Abdur, keen to see your collimation of the hyperstar video you mentioned in this video. I recently bought an edgeHD8 and hyperstar v4 and find the stars near the edge of the fov are not the best (and i assumed it would be better). Am using a imx571 OSC sensor which works quite well. - cheers
Hi Mark. Congratulations on the purchase! That's a great setup. The hyperstar 4 should be able to give you really good stars on the IMX571 sensor with a bit of adjustment. A hyperstar collimation video is definitely on my to-do list but it might take a bit longer as I normally leave my camera on my scope now that I've got good stars. I am planning to take the camera off for the summer so that will be a good time to make a collimation video. One tip I can give for now is to check to see if your secondary mirror/corrector plate is centered in your scope before you start collimating the hyperstar. Otherwise, you might not be able to get round stars in the corner even if you adjust the hyperstar screws. On a new scope, it should already be centered but it doesn't hurt to double check :)
This telescope is amazing!
Thank you. Still my dream scope :)
Just found your channel. Nice work. I just purchased a EdgeHD 9.25 and still getting a few accessories for it.
Thank you. Congratulations on the EdgeHD 9.25. It's an excellent scope. Are you planning to image with it or use it strictly visually?
Awesome review Abdur!!!
Thank you for watching! :)
Abdur, Your video is very informative and done skillfully. If possible please show us how to do the camera sensor tilt adjustment by improvised clever device. Want to see the original video or article which you have taken help from.
Great video! Thanks. Have you made any progress on your video to collimate the Hyperstar? Looking forward to it.
Thank you. I didn't want to mess with my asi1600mm as I spent a lot of time adjusting the sensor tilt in it. In my case, the sensor tilt of the camera made it impossible to properly collimate the hyperstar as the sensor tilt meant that at least one corner was always our of alignment. So I am in the market for a new camera (colour/OSC this time) and as soon as I have it, I will make a video showing how to adjust sensor tilt in the camera and then how I collimated the hyperstar.
@@AbdurAstro Thanks for the update.
Thank you for this excellent, super interesting video. Subbed.
When using the Hyperstar adapter, are you still using making 'full usage' of the money that went into this telescope? Would you achieve the same results from that adapter + telescope setup with a much cheaper system? You also mention that the mirrors of this telescope can move slightly as the telescope slews to another part of the sky. I'm very surprised to hear that since I would have thought/expected (at that price) the fixing mechanism would 100% prevent that? (maybe showing my inexperience though...maybe they are meant to be 'floating' i.e. dampener between mirror and tube to allow temp-related contraction/expansion?, vibration dampening?)
Thank you! I am still using the Hyperstar system but I recently switched the camera (from a mono camera with a mini-filter wheel to a colour camera with a filter slider). I find that I get more detail if I use my mono camera with my 8" reflector due to the longer focal length and overall sharper optics of the reflector. Hyperstar is very good at collecting light quickly but has some limitations (such as lower detail captured than an equivalent reflector or refractor system). The mirror flop I mentioned is inherent in the design of the Celestron SCT systems and I think is partly to compensate for expansion and contraction at different temperatures. Most telescope companies are also legendary for trying to save a few bucks even on telescopes costing thousands of dollars. The newer version of the RASA telescopes have upgraded the focusing system and largely solved the issue. Despite being a fairly expensive telescope for most of us amateurs, the Celestron EdgeHD is a tiny fraction of the price of actual expensive telescopes (such as PlaneWave CDK scopes which don't suffer from such issues).
Thanks for the review. A fast apochromat with a field flattener is also a very capable imaging platform for deep sky in a lighter instrument and at more forgiving focal length.
Thanks for watching. My focal length is only 560mm with the Hyperstar adapter which is about the same as a fast apochromat. I definitely recommend a fast apo for most beginners in astrophotography though. Much easier to use than a large SCT.
@OurAstroLife 11 inch aperture at the focal length of a fast apo...too sweet.
Clear Skies.
@@horaciodortona574 It sure is! Comes with a few challenges that I'll explain in a future video but it's a fun experience once you work those out :)
Excellent video...I am looking into an 11" celestron. Your thoughts, it is two years old.
Thank you. Are you looking at the EdgeHD 11" or regular one? And what camera and mount are you thinking of pairing it up with? Or is it purely for visual?
Congratulations for this excellent review. I was thinking of buying an hyperstar v4 for my C11 HD, but worried about collimarion, which is very hard to face in my situation.
Thank you. I recently changed the backfocus distance on my hyperstar after installing a new filter and I am collimating it again. Definitely a very involved collimation process compared to my other scopes. But the F2 keeps me coming back.
I read the following in CloudyNights discussion: " If you use a hyperstar, you BYPASS the correction that gives you the flat field. The correction is in the baffle tube. You are not using the baffle tube when you attach a hyperstar. So why pay more for the HD series if you are going to shoot with a hyperstar?" Thoughts ?
I agree with that comment. For anyone buying a scope just to use it for hyperstar, you can go with the regular SCT instead of the Edge series. The main advantage of the Edge series besides the flat field when used at f7 or f10 is that they have mirror locks (the new version of the non Edge C14 also has mirror locks) and cooling vents. The mirror locks don't help when using the scope in hyperstar mode and the vents are useful for cooling but aren't a big factor.
I find that in a lot of cases people buying the hyperstar already have an SCT or they want a scope that is a jack of all trades and would also be great at imaging/visual use. so I wouldn't recommend buying the Edge version just to use it with hyperstar. I use my C11 Edge for visual use as well where it excels compared to the regular C11 and I definitely notice the difference at the edges of a widefield eyepiece (the double cluster looks amazing in a Panoptic 35 in the Edge series). The mirror locks also really help with planetary imaging as I use an external focuser for that. Really eliminates the image shift SCTs usually have.
For anyone only looking to use the scope at F2, I would recommend looking at the RASA as well (version 2). The focusing mechanics are much improved and you don't have a large hyperstar adapter sticking out the front to take off each time you want to put on a lens cap (of course that comes at a cost). But for anyone who already has a regular SCT, a hyperstar might be a great way to improve their imaging.
Nice. How did you track the ISS for the image you showed briefly at 2:05? And how would viewing the ISS visually compare to that image at 2:05? Presumably far smaller, like ~1/10 how it appears in this video?
Hi there. I had manually tracked the ISS by hand (with the mount off and clutches unlocked) while looking through the finderscope. Then I stabilized the footage later using a software called PIPP. I have tried to see it visually as well but it moved VERY fast so I have never managed to see much actual structure. Visually the images would look maybe 1/5 that size depending on what eyepiece you use.
@@AbdurAstro wow, interesting. Thanks for the reply.
24:50 Your star shapes look fantastic! Still planning to make a video on collimation?
Thank you. I must apologize for not being able to get a tutorial out on collimation yet. I got married 2 weeks ago and planning for that and attending other related events has kept me very busy this summer. I will publish my notes on collimating a hyperstar still when I get a chance. I recently purchased an expensive Hotech Laser Collimator for hyperstar as I wanted to be able to collimate my hyperstar during the day instead of spending precious clear nights doing it and I will post a video of my journey figuring out best practices for it. I'll compare it to my iterative process (collimating under the stars the hard way) which I had used previously.
Great video! Hey stupid newbie question for you, Aside just guessing at the “seeing conditions” how does one arrive at that value? Appreciate any feedback! Cheers
Hi there. We can look at size of the star and the value of it listed under FWHM (Full width half maximum) in PHD2 while guiding. The smaller this number, the better the seeing. I'll post a more detailed answer soon when I get a chance :)
I have a Canon 50mm f1.4
Is and will always be my favorite lens.
That's a great lens. What camera are you using it on? :)
@@AbdurAstro Canon T6i, but I also have an astomodified T2i and a 35mm Rebel 2000.
@@ryanmichaelhaley Very nice. I also use a Canon T2i for widefield shots sometimes. I still have to astromodify it though.
Dam dude
U the cool guy.
Auto focuser hyperstars f2 11-in aperture dew cover cameras 3D printing roto filters. 😂😂🎉
I got to step my game up
Assalamu alaikum. Great to see your video, Actually i am planning for the same set up. My only question --- Is ER6 R pro is enough, have you faced any issue while doing Astrophotography ? I am from Toronto. Other mounts are too heavy to carry outside.
Thank you for watching. The EQ6R Pro is enough with the C11 if you are using the hyperstar adapter and image at F2. Because of the short 560mm focal length with a hyperstar adapter, it isn't very demanding on your mount. However, if you are imaging from a windy location, then the EQ6R struggles a bit and a lighter telescope would be more stable. I wouldn't recommend using the EQ6R with a C11 for imaging at it's native F10 or F7 focal lengths as that would be too demanding and would require a much more expensive mount. The EQ6R is also quite heavy and the head alone weights 38 lbs and the tripod weights 16.5 lbs. But that's light enough for most people to carry.
Thanks for the video. Whos video did you watch for collimating your hyperstar.
Thanks for watching. I used a combination of all the ideas that I had found online and on cloudynights threads. However, I just tested what worked and what didn't work for me. Ultimately, it was a LOT of trial and error under the stars to fine tune things that got me the stars that I wanted.
Abdur, this is a very helpful review and exactly what I was looking for. I have a C11 EdgeHD on the way. I've been looking for availability for a couple of months, and when one finally showed as being in stock I immediately ordered it. So now I'm in the process of purchasing accessories. What is the orange mounting rail you have attached to the top of the OTA? This is exactly what I would like to have for mounting a guide scope. Thanks!
Thank you for watching, Scott. Congratulations on purchasing the C11 Edge. It is an amazing scope and I still love mine. The orange rail is called the Celestron 11" CGE Dovetail bar. It is the exact same dovetail bar as the one below the scope. Here is a link for it that I found on the Celestron page (www.celestron.com/products/11-inch-dovetail-bar-cge). It should be available at most astronomy stores. It's very handy for mounting a guide scope or other accessories. I personally mount my USB hub on it these days. It also makes it easier to carry the scope. And you can mount a handle on it too (a friend uses a file cabinet handle attached to it) which makes it easier to carry the scope. Since I am only imaging at 560mm focal length using the hyperstar adapter on the C11 Edge, I just put my guide scope in the little finderscope mount next to that orange rail instead of directly on the orange rail. It's too small to cause any balance issues.
@@AbdurAstro Thanks again! I just placed an order for the dovetail bar.
@@ckott99 Awesome! I'm sure you'll like it. I find it indispensable now and I always have a top bar on almost all of my scopes for mounting things :)
I'm 76 and was really into amateur astronomy for about 25 years. I sold my last scope in 1992 and then my interest in the hobby began to wane. As I look at the modern world of amateur astronomy, I can't believe how much things have changed. In my day most night sky enthusiasts were into visual. Only the most dedicated were into astrophotography because they had to use film and take extremely long exposures. Today...oh my goodness, the choice of scopes has greatly increased; and astrophotography is a new world with ccd cameras and computer software. Ah to be young again.
You have a 16 inch out back? Some people make too much money, lol :) Very Cool.
Haha. Reminds me of this meme: meme-arsenal.com/create/meme/11184203
I happen to be very frugal in everything else and work my tail off to fund my passion. Grew up with nothing so I may have gone a bit overboard now :)
My dream scope...excellent review, will be watching closely your channel to see the potential of this scopes abilities. How do you think it would be trying to capture Neptune or Uranus, is there an atmospheric dispersion corrector available do you know?
Thank you. It was my dream scope too for a large part of my life until I finally got it. I will be posting my newest image from this scope this weekend on my instagram channel @OurAstroLife. I also plan to share my workflow for processing my images in a TH-cam video soon. This scope would be great for planetary imaging. Uranus and Neptune will still look fairly small compared to the closer planets but the colour will be easy to capture. When I took the planetary images that are on my Instagram channel, I was using a ZWO ADC (Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector). It's a pretty inexpensive accessory that really helps when the planets are not very high in the sky.
Excellent, thanks for the reply, will have a look on Instagram now.
Excellent review. I finally saved up enough $ to buy the Edge HD 14" with a CGX-L mount. I also bought the .7X reducer. I was looking at the CCD suitability calculator on Astronomy Tools and put in the ZWO 2400mc camera to see what I might expect. It shows that I will be slightly oversampling. I think my seeing conditions are better than yours, but to be honest I am concerned that the images will not be as good as I would like. The other option would be the buy the 294mm and Bin2x2. No one seems to be able to clarify if is possible to Bin2x2 with a OSC camera. Do you know if that is possible? I guess I could save $ for another year and buy the 6200mm and Hyperstar. That would produce some really nice pictures. These Edge telescopes have a lot to offer but they certainly require patience. Thank you.
Congratulations on the new setup! :) The ASI2400MC would be a bit oversampleld on most nights (almost all nights in my area) but if your seeing is good you would be able to get some great detail on smaller targets. The results would be affected quite a bit when the seeing isn't good though due to the oversampling. Although it is possible to bin a colour OSC camera, the resulting image would be monochrome (without being quite as sharp or detailed as the image from an actual monochrome camera). So you would need filters to get a colour image from a binned OSC camera. It's not really worth it to bin an OSC camera in my experience.
An ASI294MM binned 2x2 would give you 0.7" per pixel with the 0.7 reducer on this setup which is great. However, the ASI294MM does have a much smaller sensor than the full frame ASI2400 so your field of view would be much smaller.
Getting the hyperstar would be the best way to get amazing images without spending a week on each image in my opinion. However, a colour OSC camera might work better with the hyperstar than a mono camera. Although you can install a filter wheel in front of a smaller mono camera like mine or like an ASI294MM, a full frame mono camera like the ASI6200MM would require larger filters and a bigger filter wheel. You could manually change filters like most people do but that is additional work. Hyperstar is so fast that the added sensitivity of mono is not required :)
Whats that thing between your camera and the hyperstar? Sorry fur this question im fairly new
Hi. That is my ZWO mini filter wheel. I did the math and it didn't block any more light than a large DSLR camera.
Thanks so much for posting this review/tutorial on the EdgeHD series SCTs. Definitely agree this is a very versatile “do it all” kind of scope. I have the 8” version on a Avalon M-Zero mount. Would have gone with the 9.25” or even an 11” if I didn’t have to move it around. Right now I can manage the OTA and mount/tripod with additional accessories attached in one trip. This is my 2nd Edge and both examples were/are excellent. The very best SCT I have owned and I’ve owned many in 35 years in the hobby. Was starting to set up this scope for imaging and have the F7 reducer. The seeing at my location is mid level overall but can be excellent on occasion. We also travel to southwest USA areas of excellent seeing so F7 is fine for now. Probably just keep this setup for planetary + brighter smaller scale DSOs imaging and visual observing. This makes up 90% of my planned use. Was looking at the HyperStar F2 system but after watching this review I don’t want to deal with the collimating issues nor the other concerns you mention. Probably end up getting a Rasa 8” F2 for faint large scale DSO but that’s in the future. Right now I’m just enjoying this versatile little scope for visual viewing and sorting out the imaging setup for planetary and smaller DSOs. Again great review
Thank you for sharing your experience with the EdgeHD series. I love hearing from other astrophotographers who have used the equipment. Portability is definitely a big consideration as a smaller scope that gets used often is better then a bigger scope that sits in a box. If I had to move the C11 EdgeHD all the time I probably wouldn't use it much. I think planetary and smaller bright DSOs is where this series really shines. The 8" RASA would be a great second scope as that way you don't have to convert the C8 EdgeHD to F2 each time or worry about collimation as much. I look forward to hearing of your experience with the RASA if you end up getting one. Clear skies :)
Thank you so much for your informative review. I have the opportunity to purchase a C-11" Edge with an older CGEM DX mount for $3500 obo. I've read that the CGEM mount can hold a larger payload than the newer mounts....I've seen discontinued models of the C-11 w/ the older mount for around $3600. In any event, I currently have a CPC 800 w/ Hyperstar and image with a ASI294. Still debating whether to go w/ the 11" or move up to 14" however after your review, I'm edging toward the 11". Many Thanks, Steve
Thanks Steve. I think the 11 is a much more manageable size. A friend of mine has a C14 and it is an absolute beast. I certainly wouldn't want to have to lift that on to a mount. I think the C14 would also be too large for a CGEM DX class mount even in hyperstar configuration where as it would handle the 11 just fine. The 14 would require a serious mount like a EQ8 or better :)
Abdur, I was able to purchase the C-11 Edge complete (see post below) for $3,300.00 US Dollars. I'm not sure if you have experience with Hyperstar, but I used one previously on a CPC-800 fork mount. Now having the C-11 with an EQ mount, I'm struggling between a Hyperstar and a Celestron .7X focal reducer (which I never used). The ability to photograph small galaxies with the .7X focal reducer is appealing, however I'm guessing you need an off-axis guide and camera in addition, whereas the Hyperstar is just that....and guiding isn't really necessary. Any recommendations?
Hi Steve. That's a great scope and I am sure you'll love be it. I use the Hyperstar V3 with my C11 Edge and I definitely prefer it for imaging compared to the 0.7x reducer. Even with the 0.7x reducer, I am very oversampled with almost any modern CMOS camera. And an OAG would be recommended for imaging at that focal length with any SCT (due to flexture and potentially mirror flop). Imaging with Hyperstar is much more enjoyable. You don't even need to guide (although I do guide with a 60mm guide scope anyways) and you can use short exposures. You can get a great shot in an hour or two compare to spending an entire night of imaging on one target at f7. For smaller targets like galaxies, you can use drizzling when stacking to double the size of your final image. Now if you live in a place with amazing seeing, then imaging at f7 might be a worthwhile endeavor. I am camping at the moment but I can answer any questions you might have in more detail after I get back :)
There seem to be multiple (sub)models in the 11” edgeHD line: CPC deluxe (11009), CGX (12057), and CGX-L (12076). Do you know much about these differences?
Thanks
Hi David. All of those models have the same optical tube. However, they have different mounts. The CPC Deluxe has a dual fork alt azimuth mount. It is great for visual observing and decent for planetary imaging. Not made for deep sky imaging though. The CGX version is a good equatorial kit. It is great for deep sky imaging and visual observing as well. The CGX-L version is similar to the CGX but with a higher load capacity (75lbs vs 60lbs) and would have an easier time handling the large scope. It is heavier and more expensive though.
32:44 I wish I was an amateur at this level 😂😂 I have a 6 dollar eyeglass and I love it, one day I'll get to that level.
I started from the same place. I didn't even have a telescope for most of my time as an amateur astronomer. The first time that I was able to rent a telescope from the local astronomical society, I was unbelievably happy. I would recommend seeing if there is a local astronomy group in your area. Amateur astronomers are usually very welcoming and they would be happy to show you lots of things through their scopes :)
Thanks for the upload. So, you can't use a Celestron Focus Motor with a Hyperstar on a C11?
Thanks for watching. The Celestron focus motor works fine with the hyperstar on a C11. In fact, that is the best method to focus as focusing by hand at such precision would be very hard. You just have to make sure you use backlash compensation in the settings if you are using a program to autofocus the Celestron focus motor as SCT telescoes can have some mirror flop as the scope tracks a target through the night. Also, you have to leave your mirror locks unlocked when using the focus motor if your telescope has mirror locks :)
Hi! When you use the hyperstar does the c11 face any tilting problems?
Great review, I finally got an edgehd 9.25 w/hyperstar v4, What do you think would be best camera for this setup? I was thinking AS183MC Pro, ASI071MC pro, ASI071MC Pro or ASi2600MC pro, any thoughts about these cameras? Thank your
Congratulations on the purchase Fernando. The ASI2600MC Pro would definitely be the best one from that group. It has a high full well capacity, low noise, and no amp glow at all. The APSC sensor size is also perfectly matched for Hyperstar V4. Of course it's the most expensive as well so if budget is a consideration then ASI071MC pro would be a good second choice. I personally wouldn't get the ASI183. The tiny pixels saturate quite quickly and the sensor size is quite small so the field of view is quite limited.
@@AbdurAstro Thanks.
How’s the mini filter wheel in the light path when using the hyperstar? Amazing!
Thank you. I had done the math on how much obstruction the mini-filter wheel would cause before I decided to use it and it wasn't too bad. However eventually I had to admit that the hyperstar works best with a color camera. So now I use an ASI2600MC Duo on the hyperstar instead of a mono camera.
I just watched the video to the end , please if you can share how did you solve the tilting issue I will be grateful for you! I am suffering from this issue! Also do you have to center the secondary mirror each time you install the hyperstar?
Hi friend. Apologies for the late reply. As long as your secondary mirror holder (the metal part on the correctly plate that you insert the secondary mirror into) doesn't rotate and is securely attached to the telescope, you don't have to center the secondary each time. As long as it is still centered from the factory or you have centered it once, you shouldn't have to do it again. As for the tilting issue, I have spent some more time working out the best way to adjust tilt as the methods listed online weren't working for me. I did manage to work out a system and I will be posting it here soon once I have a little bit of time off from my regular job. What camera are you using on your hyperstar?
In the meantime, I can give you some tips on how I collimate the hyperstar now. As long as your secondary mirror is reasonably centered (you can do that by standing in front of the telescope and slightly adjusting the centering screws (loosen the screws at the front of the corrector plate first but don't take them out, and then loosen the screws on the side of the optical tube one at a time and tighten the opposite screw to make adjustments until the reflections of the secondary and primary mirror look circular. I have a ZWO tilt adjuster attached to my hyperstar and my zwo asi1600 attached to that. I make adjustments to the hyperstar and the zwo tilt adjuster to collimate. I'll post details of how I know which screw to adjust on each when I have a bit more time.
Hi
Where did you get the big telescope cover from?
I also live in Canada.
Thanks
Hi Rashmi. I had ordered that cover from Telescopes Canada. It's a Telegizmos 365 cover. Works very well and I highly recommend it. I will do a full review of it one of these days if there is any interest.
@@AbdurAstro There is 😉
@@hael8680 I bought another one as well since then (the new one is for my 16" dob) and I will review both soon. I've already got most of the footage :)
Dude! Just how rich are you exactly????? Haha, I kid (mostly). Lol In all seriousness, I really enjoyed your review and I tossed you a sub. Clear skies!
Haha. Thanks friend. I grew up in one of the world's poorest countries so I learned to live frugally. Now that I can save a bit of money, I spend it on what really matters, family and astronomy. The secret to buying equipment is patience. Sometimes I wait years for a good deal on the used market since I can't usually afford to buy new things :)
@@AbdurAstro You're making me even more sure that subscribing to your channel was the right thing to do. Just awesome, man! Good for you, and also great advice! Being patient when you find something so easy to be passionate about like Astronomy/Astrophotography, is no easy task! 🙂
@@AbdurAstro yup 100% I came from similar background and good advice its how you can enjoy such a hobby.
Which one is good among celestron CPC 1100 or celestron Edge HD 11
If you are only doing visual observing, the regular CPC1100 will be fine. But doesn't have the corrective optics of the EdgeHD 11 so the stars at the corners won't be great. That mainly an issue for astrophotography. If you plan to do astrophotography, the EdgeHD 11 is superior and the stars will be noticeably better in the corners. The CPC 1100 has an alt-az mount so it will suffer from field rotation which means you can't imaging for very long on that mount.
@@AbdurAstro thank you bro, I will buy edge hd 11, is this this best in celestron,or is there any other models
@@amolambli I personally think it's the best for the price. It's a very versatile scope, has a lot of options for accessories (such as the 0.7 reducer and F2 Hyperstar). It's great for both visual observing and imaging. I love my C11 Edge :)
And what are the assesories that can be purchased for this, and I am from Bangalore India
Good review. I am looking for a crayford style focuser for my C11 EdgeHD, what is the one you show here? It wasn’t listed in your linc’s. Thanks
Hi Dave. The one shown in the video was the JMI EV2c. It appears to now be discontinued which is a shame as it was an excellent focuser. The motor allowed precise focus for planetary imaging and the clutch allowed me to disengage the focuser for manual control immediately when needed. Jmi still offers other models at Farpoint (farpointastro.com/search?q=jmi+focuser+cassegrain) including some motorized ones.
Do you think the eqr6 mount for this telescope is good for visual and astrophotoraphy?
Hi. The EQ6R Pro is enough with the C11 if you are using the hyperstar adapter and image at F2. Because of the short 560mm focal length with a hyperstar adapter, it isn't very demanding on your mount. However, if you are imaging from a windy location, then the EQ6R struggles a bit and a lighter telescope would be more stable. I wouldn't recommend using the EQ6R with a C11 for imaging at it's native F10 or F7 focal lengths as that would be too demanding and would require a much more expensive mount. However, the EQ6R handles the C11 easily for visual use.
It was scary watching you mount your OTA. I’ve only been in the hobby about a year and have a C8. I use the Starizona focal reducer. Most cameras don’t have tilt adjustment, my ASI071MC is an exception but there are no instructions on the technique on how to adjust the plate. I use It’s been discontinued by ZWO. I’ve been thinking of getting a Hyperstar but I’m thinking maybe I should replace my C8 with the C8 Edge HD first. I got from this review you will not see round stars on the outer edges due to camera tilt and collimating errors of the Hyperstar. I use Siril for processing and their Dynamic PSF tool will show tilt. My camera is a little off and I would expect all consumer cameras to be off. It would be interesting if you could go into detail on how you got your F/2 collimating dialed in. Can you list your sources you mention ed this video. Thanks.
Thank you for your video. It perfectly answered my questions and gave me good inspiration, especially about the HyperStar and ZWO EFW compatibility. However, since my telescope is the Celestron 925 EdgeHD which has a different size, I am still very concerned about whether the HyperStar and ZWO EFW can work together on my imaging system, like you, I do not want to manually change the filters.
I asked the manufacturers of Starizona and ZWO respectively, and they both told me that the HyperStar cannot be used with the ZWO EFW 7x2" filter wheel because it blocks the scope. But I clearly saw a solution in your video. So I'm seeking your advice on whether you think my telescope can use both the HyperStar and ZWO EFW 7x2" like yours.
In addition, I see the person who provided the 3D printing accessory also offered print drawings suitable for the C925. If my telescope can use both the HyperStar and ZWO EFW 7x2", should I use this blueprint?
In addition, my system also includes WO AM5 / ZWO ASI2600MM PRO (Sensor Size 28.3mm) / ZWO EAF. Thank you very much for your help.
Hi there. Sorry about not seeing your comment earlier. It's been a busy few weeks. The 31mm x 5 mini filter wheel which I use is the largest I would recommend for a hyperstar and even then it might be a bit big on the C9.25. I wouldn't recommend a 7x2" filtewheel even on a C14 as that is quite big and would block too much light.
The AISI2600MM is a great camera but for a hyperstar on a C9.25, a colour camera with a duo band filter might work better. Also, not all narrowband filters will work well on a fast system like hyperstar or RASA. Only a few manufacturers make narrowband filter that work well at F2 which is why I was using the MaxFR Ha and O3 filter from Astronomic.
Hi Abdur! You have such a nice equipment, what is dream for me... ) ok I have one question. on your f/2 equipment you use filter wheal, which size is a little more, than focal reducer. doesn't it decrease to collect a light for telescope?
Hi. Thank you for the question. I had done some measurements before I decided to use a filtewheel and the filter wheel doesn't take up any more space infront of the telescope than using a DSLR camera like the Canon 6D would take. I wouldn't use a filtewheel on the C8 Edge Hyperstar but on a C11 Edge or C14 Edge is fine. I use a ZWO mini EFW which is the smallest filterwheel I know of. And I use 5 x 31mm filters in it.
@@AbdurAstro ok understand, thanks for answer
18:40 Where I can find something about it?
Unfortunately I don't think I will get a chance to make a video about that rig I made in particular but since then I have switched to using an iterative approach which works well (trial and error, take an image, writing down results, and then making more corrections). I don't have a resource for that rig as I had built my own from things I had lying around and used my wife's glass table for it but this link uses some similar ideas. You don't have to use the bearing like he uses: www.macobservatory.com/blog/2021/11/28/how-to-remove-sensor-tilt-from-your-astrophotography-camera-while-indoors
@@AbdurAstro Thank you. :)
Great review and images, Abdur. What about a camera with larger pixel size, like the asi2400 (5.94µm pixel size), which might allow you to bin your way to better sampling while at 2800mm or w/.7 reducer configuration? Can't let all that focal length go under utilized. Course, if you solve that then you need to deal with guiding at such high focal lengths. It's a journey...
I've the 9.25 EHD w/asi071 (4.78 µm pixel size), use all three configurations as well and can attest to both the fun and challenges.
Thank you Gerry. The ASI2400 is not available in a monochrome version, only colour I believe (please correct me if I am wrong). You can't bin a colour camera so that wouldn't help with the long focal length. I think even 5.94 micron pixels are too small to use at 2800mm focal length and will quite often be seeing limited at 1960mm focal length with the 0.7x reducer from most locations. However, the long focal length is excellent for planetary and lunar imaging. It's an interesting journey for sure :)
Thank you for the video.
I can't say the edge HD 14 isn't tempting. I could also consider the 11. Lots of wonderful things about these scopes. But the transmission profiles drive me out of my skull. They throw away too much. In an e-mail chain when i asked about optical quality they indicated that their standard was a strehl of 97.5%, but they would only guarantee diffraction limited, which is a strehl much lower than that. So I'm probably going with a custom 12 inch, f4.5 Newt.
Thank you for watching. The 12" F4.5 custom Newt with a good coma corrector would definitely make a great imaging setup. But it'll also need a bigger mount than the SCTs. Are you thinking of going with carbon fiber to reducer weight? And what mount are you planning to put it on? :)
@@AbdurAstro Planning on putting it on my CEM120. It's a carbon fiber tube, so it's pretty light, and well under my mount's capacity.
Nice thing about an edgeHD though is it's great for visual on an equatorial mount. A Newt can get a bit awkward.
@@matthewbrown8679 Totally agree. I found the EdgeHD a pleasure to use visually. Even my 8" newt gets awkward for visual use on an equatorial mount so I stick to Dobsonian mounts for that.
Can you tell me the model you are using for the Event Horizon focuser.
Thank you
Hi Jerry. This is the EV-3cM. Model 3 Cassegrain Version with Motor. I got it for use for planetary imaging as it completely eliminates the focus shift one experiences when imaging using the built in focuser. It comes with a hand controller I use for focusing and I can also attach it to my computer through a USB box to focus remotely.
would you recommend the 8" for beginners? Or would it be overkill? I've had the astromaster 130eq for a few years but was a bit disappointed with the results so i'm looking to upgrade big
Hi. The 8" EdgeHD is an excellent scope and would be a big upgrade over the 130eq in every way. However, are you planning to use it for visual or imaging? And what camera are you planning to pair it with? For purely visual observing, you will get better views of objects with a larger dob. For DSO imaging, the 8" EdgeHD would be great at f7 with the focal reducer. It is a bit slow for my liking at f10. It would also be great with the hyperstar adapter at f2. I often recommend the hyperstar as an option and use one myself as shown in the video. It really does make it much easier for beginners to get good images without spending 20 hours on a target (but it is a bit pricy for sure).
I can vouch for the 8” EdgeHD being an excellent scope and will be useful for both visual and Astrophotography. I own one. I find that an ASI294MC (uncooled) is a good camera to use in conjunction with the 0.7 reducer. I also managed some useful planetary images using the much cheaper SVBony 305 camera. I have used livestacking in SharpCap Pro a lot and it gives you some very quick satisfaction to see the images appearing live!!
@@martynh5410 Thank you. I am hoping to do a lot more live streaming on this channel now that I got a colour camera. I'll be using Sharpcap Pro as well.
Hi,can you please share planetary images or live views with this telescope without a reducer?
Hi. I normally image the planets at f20 with this scope (using a 2x barlow) as they look fairly small at f10 with my camera. Here is one example at f20 on my Instagram page: instagram.com/p/CSSJDFHpRHu/
The seeing is quite poor in my area so I am waiting for Jupiter to get higher before I image it again.
Is it necessary to buy hypstar for planet observations as well?
Hi Abdul. Not at all. Hyperstar is only useful for DSO imaging.
Can you also please suggest me should i buy skywatcher eq6r pro or the cgem ll goto mount for celestron 11 edge hd tube . I am confused which one is best to buy so that i don’t have any balance issue with the optical tube
@@Min_3256 The EQ6R is a better mount than the CGEM2. Tracking and guiding is much more accurate from what I have seen. When the seeing is really good I get almost 0.5" per pixel on mine. But neither the EQ6R or the CGEM is really suitable for deep sky imaging with a C11 Edge at f7 or f10. Only with the hyperstar at F2. Either mount will do the job for planetary imaging (though I still prefer the EQ6R).
I was trying to find a top bar for my Celestron Edge 800 but small print on the description said it was not for the top of the OTA, Any ideas what would go on top of a 8' Edge?
Does your Edge 8 have a CGE bar or a narrow (vixen) bar at the bottom? I believe the Edge 8 should have holes for a CGE (wider) bar at the top but I can check with some friends that have them.
@@AbdurAstro I found a vixen that fit on the top which works for my other devices thank you for the reponse.
@@Dudleydogg Glad to hear it :)
Is the difference between 14'' and 11" big?
Personally, I find the 14" too large to handle and it requires a much larger and more expensive mount. The difference in performance wouldn't be great enough to justify the extra expense for me.
how do you know of your seeing is local or remote. most likely its local seeing. which you can control!!
Hi Abdur, Excellent video. Can you tell me how the ideal back focus changed (if at all) when adding your Crayford focuser? Is Ideal still 146.05 mm after the focuser? I want to set mine (Edge HD11) up with a Crayford focuser and a camera for planetary imaging and (ideally) use a Baader flip mirror with the camera straight through and the optical eyepiece on the flip top...Just unclear about backfocus using the Crayford. Thanks!
Hi Bruce, for planetary imaging, I still strive to keep my backfocus close to the ideal position. I had done some measurements previously and I'll send you an image of my imaging train when I get back from camping. The backfocus doesn't have to be exact for planetary as you aren't using the 0.7x focal reducer and being off by 10 or 20 mm is no big deal. I just used a ruler to measure the distance between where the camera sensor would be and the back of the C11 flange and used that.
@@AbdurAstro Thanks!
I have an EHD 800. in comparison to my TV NP101 the result is:
C8 is extremely blurry. Forget it.
An 8" EdgeHD should be capable of producing sharp stars. However, as I see from my C11 EdgeHD, you need very good seeing for that. I find myself seeing limited on the vast majority of nights. Which is why I was using my C11 EdgeHD at F2 with the hyperstar. That gives me pretty sharp results as I am not seeing limited but of course, the stars aren't as pinpoint as they would be in a nice refractor like yours. For nights where the seeing isn't great and I want sharp stars (and don't need the focal length or resolution), I use a 60mm quintuplet refractor. Sadly all scope designs have their strengths and weaknesses.
Hello! I want to thank you very much for this video. I am interested in purchasing this telescope but in the Edge 8HD version and using it with my ASI 1600 mono and the same filter wheel that you use. Can you please show me the part you 3D printed for the filter wheel please? would it work with the 8HD? Also please could you in an upcoming video show how you collimate using the Hyperstar? I am interested in deep space astrophotography but I like this tube because it is very versatile. I live in Monterrey Mexico and I have the opportunity to go to Bortle 2 skies. Really thank you very much for taking the time to share your experiences, really thank you very much. You have gained a new subscriber. Greetings and clear skies.
Hi Enrique. The EdgeHD 8 is a very versatile scope and a great choice :) Should work quite well with your ASI1600MM and the filter wheel at f7 and f10. My only concern would be how much of the mirror the filter wheel would cover on the 8HD in the hyperstar configuration since it has a smaller light collection area than the 11HD. The math to figure that out shouldn't be too hard. Let me know if you need a hand with that. The part I 3d printed would work perfectly fine with the 8HD. I had to redesign mine to fit the 11HD because the 3D model I had found was originally for the 8HD. Here is the link to the model: www.thingiverse.com/thing:2640393
I will make a future video showing how to collimate the hyperstar for sure. Thank you for subscribing! :)
Thank you very much for answering me and sharing the image. What you mention is true, the Edge 8 is smaller and it may affect the mini filter wheel. Perhaps the solution in my case is to buy a color camera and use it only at f2. Once again, thank you very much and we will be waiting for your videos. Greetings and clear skies.
@@elbagre71 A colour camera like the ASI294MC would be a great fit for the hyperstar. I am also considering doing that someday in the future as I don't get a lot of clear sky time in my area. Sometimes the clouds move in before I get enough data for one of the filters for my monochrome camera.
@@AbdurAstro Thanks a lot!
Can you see planets and pleadies with this
You sure can. The Pleiades is quite large though so I can't fit the entire cluster in the field of view at once.
I am seriously thinking of shadowing you. I priced a full kit at OPT with Ron Azad's help. I wonder if you'd be willing to take a look at what I have listed and comment on it? Not sure how I would get that list to you?
I can definitely take a look. I have imaged with this setup pretty extensively now and I would be able to offer some suggestions. You can send me an email by clicking on my profile picture and clicking on the About section :)
Please, which company did you purchase the dew shield and the dew heater band - from? Does the dew heater band work? I have heard that a single band does not work - I believe that you are using 1 heater band: do you feel that 2 bands would be preferable? I applaud you for keeping it HONEST. So many of the alleged reviewers are all SCAMS! They receive FREE equipment and substantial discounts from the manufacturers to say good things about their products. The purport to review equipment - hey, if I were to receive FREE and large discounts from company X, I'd probably also call CRAP - great stuff. In any case, hold your honest standards and comments: then you have a valuable channel. Regards.
Hi Jonathan. Thank you so much for watching and for the feedback. I buy all my own equipment so I can provide honest feedback on everything whether it is positive or negative. And unlike some channels that receive free equipment and review it after using it for a few days, I have used my equipment for years in most cases before I review it so I have enough time to work out all the pros and cons.
I bought my dew shield and dew heater from a liquidation sale that a company called Scope Essentials in Canada was having. I don't know if they still have any of these left but they should be available from just about any major telescope retailer. The dew shield is just a standard C11 dewshield and I used an exacto knife to cut those grooves into it so it fits over my telescope dovetails. The band is a Kendrick Premiere dew heater band and I find that a single band works fine even in the worst dew conditions. The trick is to get a high quality band like the Premiere series (instead of the basic model or the cheap ones on amazon). The SCT corrector plate dews up really fast so in this case it is worth spending the little bit extra for a good dew heater. The one I use also has a very good cable that doesn't get stiff in the -20C weather when I am imaging. You also need a controller to use with the heater and I was just using the very basic cheap Kendrick 2 channel controller and it works fine.
Had you given up you would have been out a lot of dollars !
I could have sold the gear to use the money elsewhere but I am usually not one to give up easily :)
I'm sorry, minus what degrees? Where are your gloves. I feel LESS THAN😂
Haha. -16C (3F) is definitely not the coldest temperature I used to go out at. I know better now.
$3,800 telescope with $3,800 accessories
For any frugal astrophotographers like me who can't always afford to buy fancy equipment at new prices, I recommend buying used. I often wait many years until the right deal comes along and I often have to buy what is available on the used market rather than what I would buy if money wasn't a consideration. This way, I have been able to assemble my setups without breaking the bank. For example, I paid the equivalent of $725 USD for the C11 EdgeHD, $375 USD for the Reducer, and the same for the hyperstar. Of course the setup wasn't in great shape when I bought it but I am always willing to put in the work rather than complaining that things are too expensive. Took me a few $ to replace all the rusted screws and not too much to replace the gasket in the scope (along with countless hours collimating things) and now I have a scope that works good as new. Of course someone who isn't looking to wait many years to find a once in a lifetime deal like me might want to buy something now. I can get images that are 80% as good with my cheap 8" F4 newt which cost around $500 USD new. I did have to spend a lot of time optimizing the newt for imaging like flocking the tube (very cheap) and blackening all the edges ($1 sharpie) but you can't have it all without hard work.