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Which 8 inch Ritchey Chretien?

Equipment Ritchey-Chrétien Galaxy
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Marc Monarcha avatar
Marc Monarcha avatar
Hey!

I am considering getting myself an 8 inch RC for galaxy imaging. 8 inch would be best for my price range and guiding equipment. Any idea on which would be the best bang for buck? My first choice is a Vixen VC200L that I found on the secondary market although not technically a Ritchey Chretien. Still waiting for the seller to reply here. If not, I will go for an RC, but have no experience or knowledge about what to look for.

Regards,
Marc
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Johannes Maximilian Möslein avatar
Johannes Maximilian Möslein avatar
Hi Marc,

I have a RC8C by TS, and I love it. As I understand it, all of the 8" RCs are made by GSO and just get rebranded by the various sellers, so you could just choose the one you like the most or is near you.
I would recommend getting a carbon fiber version, as you don't have to deal with temperature changes. 
I don't know the VC200L, but it looks fine.

Johannes
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Reg Pratt avatar
Reg Pratt avatar
What Jonannes said. I had twin TS branded 8" and they were absolute workhorses especially after installing Esatto focusers on them.
John Stone avatar
John Stone avatar
Marc Monarcha:
I am considering getting myself an 8 inch RC for galaxy imaging. 8 inch would be best for my price range and guiding equipment. Any idea on which would be the best bang for buck?


The CarbonStar 8" RC just became available recently and if the 6" Newtonian is any indication the RC will be shipped with all your "standard" headaches already addressed/fixed.

https://www.highpointscientific.com/apertura-8inch-rc-ritchey-chretien-carbon-fiber-telescope-8rc
Andrew Ford avatar
Andrew Ford avatar
The Vixen VC200L will likely be a whole other league above the quality of the GSO scopes. The Vixen scopes are built like tanks. TSOptics does do some good work though, but it's still a GSO scope at its base.
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Derek Vasselin avatar
Derek Vasselin avatar
John Stone:
Marc Monarcha:
I am considering getting myself an 8 inch RC for galaxy imaging. 8 inch would be best for my price range and guiding equipment. Any idea on which would be the best bang for buck?


The CarbonStar 8" RC just became available recently and if the 6" Newtonian is any indication the RC will be shipped with all your "standard" headaches already addressed/fixed.

https://www.highpointscientific.com/apertura-8inch-rc-ritchey-chretien-carbon-fiber-telescope-8rc

I was going to say the Apertura 8" CarbonStar as well. I don't own it, but I'm eyeing this as my next purchase in the coming months. I've heard nothing but good reviews about all the CarbonStar products. 

Sounds like most of the issues people have with budget scopes are fixed on these models, which avoids the time and headaches of modifying. And it's still at an affordable price point.

I was split between that and the Celestron EdgeHD 8", but I think the RC CarbonStar is a better fit for my preferences.
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