Focal reducer advice. - Forums

Topic starter

Sep 5, 2018 · Edited: Sep 6, 2018

Hey guys!
I am brand new to Astrobin, and I am addicted!
I am also fairly new to astrophotography, so I will be asking all kinds of questions!
My first one has to do with focal reducers.

I am currently using a Celestron C8N F/5. I just switched from a dslr to a ZWO ASI174mc cool camera.
This combo gives me a pretty small field of view. Great for smaller targets but not so good for everything else.
Does anyone know what sort of focal reducer I should get to give myself a wider field of view??
I have not been able to find much info on the subject elsewhere.

Thanks in advance!

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Cbingham129

Topic starter

Sep 10, 2018

Thanks guys…..

Michel Makhlouta

Sep 11, 2018

I have the same scope. The general consensus is that it is not worth it to have a focal reducer for a newtonian. They either don't work properly or are too expensive to buy (> 700 USD), almost the same price of getting a refractor.

The camera you've chose has a very small sensor, further reducing your FoV, and usually used for Planetary imaging and not DSO (or small DSO's maybe).

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Cbingham129

Topic starter

Sep 11, 2018

Thanks. I got the same feedback over on cloudynights.com.
Decided to get a 6" F4 newt to get a slightly wider field of view, and next I'll buy a small refractor for wider shots.
Camera does great for most DSO's…..just cant fit things like the Orion nebula or bigger objects with my current setup.
Thanks for the response…..Got kind of put off by the silence!

Michel Makhlouta

Sep 11, 2018

input your scope and camera details in stellarium ocular plugin and see what fits and what doesn't. You can also do the same online, one example is this.