Orion Optics Europa 250 f4.8 & Red Dot Finder.

I would be interested in any feedback from owners of this telescope. I
understand that it is supplied on a EQ5 mount - do find this mount
suitable for this size telescope?

I also have chance of buying one brand new for £599, but there is a 6
week wait for delivery.

Finally, I would be grateful for some feedback on the perforance of
the Red Dot Finder by Tal (I think).

KR's

Paul D, Worcester, UK.

P wrote:

I would be interested in any feedback from owners of this telescope. I
understand that it is supplied on a EQ5 mount - do find this mount
suitable for this size telescope?

I can really only offer you feedback on the OTA, as mine was originally
supplied on a GEM1 mount and is now on a HEQ5. The OTA is superb value
for money, giving crisp views almost to the edge. It's light enough to
still be called 'portable', although 'transportable' might be a better
term. I can't see me parting with mine for _quite_ some time yet.

I'm actually about to visit Orion to have a second finderscope bracket
fitted - that way I can mount both my 9x50 rightangle and 6x30 straight
through at the same time.

I would suggest that if you are not concerned with photography then the
EQ5 will suffice. Whilst not exactly light, the OTA on a Europa 250
isn't massively heavy either. You'd need to be looking at a fairly hefty
mount if you wanted to to imaging on a regular basis though.

One thing to bare in mind if you start looking at HEQ5/EQ6 mounts - the
tripod legs (on the HEQ5 at least) are too tall for a Newtonian 'scope -
you'd need a stepping stool to view objects near the zenith.

Sorry, I seem to have wandered a bit...

Jim
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On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 07:40:42 +0000, (Jim)
wrote:

P wrote:

I would be interested in any feedback from owners of this telescope. I
understand that it is supplied on a EQ5 mount - do find this mount
suitable for this size telescope?

I can really only offer you feedback on the OTA, as mine was originally
supplied on a GEM1 mount and is now on a HEQ5. The OTA is superb value
for money, giving crisp views almost to the edge. It's light enough to
still be called 'portable', although 'transportable' might be a better
term. I can't see me parting with mine for _quite_ some time yet.

I'm actually about to visit Orion to have a second finderscope bracket
fitted - that way I can mount both my 9x50 rightangle and 6x30 straight
through at the same time.

I would suggest that if you are not concerned with photography then the
EQ5 will suffice. Whilst not exactly light, the OTA on a Europa 250
isn't massively heavy either. You'd need to be looking at a fairly hefty
mount if you wanted to to imaging on a regular basis though.

One thing to bare in mind if you start looking at HEQ5/EQ6 mounts - the
tripod legs (on the HEQ5 at least) are too tall for a Newtonian 'scope -
you'd need a stepping stool to view objects near the zenith.

Sorry, I seem to have wandered a bit...

Jim

Thanks for the reply Jim. At first I would only want to image with a
digial camera using this kind of mount:

http://www.telescopehouse.co.uk/prod...oduct_ id=337

would it be suitable on a EQ5?

Sorry about the stupid question, but I assume the OTA is the tube of
the telescope?

KR's

P wrote:
Sorry about the stupid question, but I assume the OTA is the tube of
the telescope?

Not stupid at all! The stupid approach would have been *not* to ask!

OTA = Optical Tube Assembly

Best,
Stephen

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On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 10:40:51 +0000, (Jim)
wrote:

P wrote:

Thanks for the reply Jim. At first I would only want to image with a
digial camera using this kind of mount:


http://www.telescopehouse.co.uk/prod...subsection_id=
29&product_id=337

would it be suitable on a EQ5?

To be honest I have no idea, but my gut feeling is 'perhaps not'. I'd
let someone more knowledgeable answer that one though.

Sorry about the stupid question, but I assume the OTA is the tube of
the telescope?

That's right, OTA stands for 'Optical Tube Assembly'. Took me a while to
work that one out as well :-)

Let us know how you get on.

Jim

Well I will buy the Europa, but I have be told that the OTA might a
slightly unstable on a EQ5 mount and tripod.

Are there more light weight digital camera mounts on the market?

KR's

Hi P,

I have the 250 F4.8, It is a great scope the images are very good
indeed. I have always felt and still feel that the scope is always
requiring a little bit of tinkering, to get it absolutly right.
Fortunatly this has nothing to do with the optics but more the design
of the tube. I have owned my scope for nearly 5 years and i have not
grown out of it yet. Since then Orion Optics has made some significant
changes to the OTA such as changes in the scope to allow for better
cool down times, a four vane spider instead of the two vane that mine
came with. I understand but cannot confirm that these changes have
been for the best.

The scope is very portable for it's size. I purchased mine with the
Vixen DX mount which is capable of handling this OTA for photography,
however, i would not mount the tube on much less if photography is
where you want to be. I decided way back then that i would forego all
the bells and whistles and just buy the best mount for this OTA even
if it meant a couple of months extra savings. This was quiet literaly
the best thing i did, and i would reccomend that approach to anyone
intrested in photography. The mount really is that important.

HTH
Barry

P wrote in message . ..
On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 10:40:51 +0000, (Jim)
wrote:

P wrote:

Thanks for the reply Jim. At first I would only want to image with a
digial camera using this kind of mount:


http://www.telescopehouse.co.uk/prod...subsection_id=
29&product_id=337

would it be suitable on a EQ5?

To be honest I have no idea, but my gut feeling is 'perhaps not'. I'd
let someone more knowledgeable answer that one though.

Sorry about the stupid question, but I assume the OTA is the tube of
the telescope?

That's right, OTA stands for 'Optical Tube Assembly'. Took me a while to
work that one out as well :-)

Let us know how you get on.

Jim

Well I will buy the Europa, but I have be told that the OTA might a
slightly unstable on a EQ5 mount and tripod.

Are there more light weight digital camera mounts on the market?

KR's