Coma corrector suggestions for SkyWatcher 150PDS - Forums

Topic starter

Apr 2, 2024

Hello everyone!
I was wondering if you have any suggestions for a coma corrector to pair with this telescope (SkyWatcher 150 pds)? I have the Baader mpcc iii which i’m not happy with as it is quite susceptible to tilt, Although, it does a great job illuminating the whole frame (even full frame) so not too much vignette. On the other hand I also have a ts optics 0.95 coma corrector which does an amazing job correcting the coma and it works on full frame too, However, it gives me very very bad vignetting (something which it is advertised not to do) and also, worst of all, it gives me very bad reflections.

I’d like to hear what you guys out there have to suggest and are using. Ideally i’m looking for a corrector having both of the good qualities I mentioned above.
ps. I dont mind the corrector altering the focal length slightly. (Down to 0.8)

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Jordan Morley

Apr 3, 2024 · Edited: Apr 3, 2024

Ts optics gpu x1.0 is very good it does have some chromatic aboration tho I use it on my 250pds and 130pds it sets perfectly because focus is pushed outwards by 20mm so the focus tube doesn't protrude into the ota. When you get into focuser upgrades, tuning your ota, perfecting colimation and pulling things apart to improve on things the starizona Nexus is also really good.

Blackboard paint and an ocal will improve your ota immensely

Jordan

andrea tasselli

Frequent contributor

Apr 3, 2024

I'll give the nod to the TS GPU/SW QUATTRO/SharpStar. The TV Paracorr is also a top contender if you can put up with the increase in FL.

Turix

Apr 3, 2024

Jordan Morley:
When you get into focuser upgrades, tuning your ota, perfecting colimation and pulling things apart to improve on things the starizona Nexus is also really good.

Completely agree with regards to the Starizona Nexus, I absolutely love mine on the 200PDS but it's really a upgrade option and not a first coma corrector. While F3.75 isn't super fast, it starts to put you in the region where things like collimation quality/stability, secondary mirror size, filter band pass shift and so on start to become noticable issues compared to at F5.

That being said, the Skywatcher PDS newts take upgrades very well, so all of these issues can be worked around which will reward you with an easier life and nicer images!

Prior to getting a Nexus I was using the Sky-Watcher F4 Aplanatic corrector, which worked great - had no issues with it (still have it), but wanted to push for more speed to make up for the terrible weather I get here

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HaydenAstro

Apr 3, 2024 · Edited: Apr 3, 2024

Im using a little SW 130PDS.
Just recently went from using the Baader MPCC III to the Skywatcher F/4 Aplanatic Coma Corrector (Quattro CC) as I have an 8" Quattro on the way. Its advertised as an F/4 CC but it even says on it that I can be used for F/4 and F/5 scopes. Have only had it for a few weeks and have only gotten one session but I'm very happy with it, I just need to adjust back focus as you will see below.

Left (Baader MPCC), Right (SW Quattro CC).
Not a super fair comparison because one is more star dense than the other. The SW CC is performing much better in the middle left of the image.

This is what the top left corner of the images look like (APS-C Sensor, both at 55mm backfocus). Might not look like it but the SW CC is correcting the coma perfectly, I just need to adjust my back focus distance and the stars should be nice and round.

Also have a Starizona Nexus on the way which I'm very keen to test as others have been raving about them, though I understand you might not be too keen on the 0.75x reduction.

Hope this helps!
Hayden
C.S

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Ali

Apr 27, 2024

HaydenAstro:
Im using a little SW 130PDS.
Just recently went from using the Baader MPCC III to the Skywatcher F/4 Aplanatic Coma Corrector (Quattro CC) as I have an 8" Quattro on the way. Its advertised as an F/4 CC but it even says on it that I can be used for F/4 and F/5 scopes. Have only had it for a few weeks and have only gotten one session but I'm very happy with it, I just need to adjust back focus as you will see below.

Left (Baader MPCC), Right (SW Quattro CC).
Not a super fair comparison because one is more star dense than the other. The SW CC is performing much better in the middle left of the image.

This is what the top left corner of the images look like (APS-C Sensor, both at 55mm backfocus). Might not look like it but the SW CC is correcting the coma perfectly, I just need to adjust my back focus distance and the stars should be nice and round.

Also have a Starizona Nexus on the way which I'm very keen to test as others have been raving about them, though I understand you might not be too keen on the 0.75x reduction.

Hope this helps!
Hayden
C.S

Hello Hayden,
I'm wondering whether your Skywatcher F/4 Aplanatic CC intrudes into the light path or not of the primary mirror on the 130PDS. I'm considering this setup but afraid of the intrusion of the CC.

Best

HaydenAstro

Apr 28, 2024

Ali:
HaydenAstro:
Im using a little SW 130PDS.
Just recently went from using the Baader MPCC III to the Skywatcher F/4 Aplanatic Coma Corrector (Quattro CC) as I have an 8" Quattro on the way. Its advertised as an F/4 CC but it even says on it that I can be used for F/4 and F/5 scopes. Have only had it for a few weeks and have only gotten one session but I'm very happy with it, I just need to adjust back focus as you will see below.

Left (Baader MPCC), Right (SW Quattro CC).
Not a super fair comparison because one is more star dense than the other. The SW CC is performing much better in the middle left of the image.

This is what the top left corner of the images look like (APS-C Sensor, both at 55mm backfocus). Might not look like it but the SW CC is correcting the coma perfectly, I just need to adjust my back focus distance and the stars should be nice and round.

Also have a Starizona Nexus on the way which I'm very keen to test as others have been raving about them, though I understand you might not be too keen on the 0.75x reduction.

Hope this helps!
Hayden
C.S

Hello Hayden,
I'm wondering whether your Skywatcher F/4 Aplanatic CC intrudes into the light path or not of the primary mirror on the 130PDS. I'm considering this setup but afraid of the intrusion of the CC.

Best

Hey Ali,

The Aplanatic CC definitely sticks out of the focuser tube a slight bit, however I haven't noticed any inherent issues with it being in the light path. I have followed recommendations from other users of the Aplanatic to push the primary mirror as far forward as possible (Using the collimation screws, and then of course dialing it back a little bit to achieve collimation) which I'm led to believe it should mitigate any issues with the CC sticking out.

I have only used the Aplanatic for one session as I've been putting in time on the Starizona Nexus CC, so don't take what I say as 100% accurate and well tested

. But I do believe it works perfectly fine.

Many thanks
Hayden

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Ali

Apr 28, 2024

HaydenAstro:
Ali:
HaydenAstro:
Im using a little SW 130PDS.
Just recently went from using the Baader MPCC III to the Skywatcher F/4 Aplanatic Coma Corrector (Quattro CC) as I have an 8" Quattro on the way. Its advertised as an F/4 CC but it even says on it that I can be used for F/4 and F/5 scopes. Have only had it for a few weeks and have only gotten one session but I'm very happy with it, I just need to adjust back focus as you will see below.

Left (Baader MPCC), Right (SW Quattro CC).
Not a super fair comparison because one is more star dense than the other. The SW CC is performing much better in the middle left of the image.

This is what the top left corner of the images look like (APS-C Sensor, both at 55mm backfocus). Might not look like it but the SW CC is correcting the coma perfectly, I just need to adjust my back focus distance and the stars should be nice and round.

Also have a Starizona Nexus on the way which I'm very keen to test as others have been raving about them, though I understand you might not be too keen on the 0.75x reduction.

Hope this helps!
Hayden
C.S

Hello Hayden,
I'm wondering whether your Skywatcher F/4 Aplanatic CC intrudes into the light path or not of the primary mirror on the 130PDS. I'm considering this setup but afraid of the intrusion of the CC.

Best

Hey Ali,

The Aplanatic CC definitely sticks out of the focuser tube a slight bit, however I haven't noticed any inherent issues with it being in the light path. I have followed recommendations from other users of the Aplanatic to push the primary mirror as far forward as possible (Using the collimation screws, and then of course dialing it back a little bit to achieve collimation) which I'm led to believe it should mitigate any issues with the CC sticking out.

I have only used the Aplanatic for one session as I've been putting in time on the Starizona Nexus CC, so don't take what I say as 100% accurate and well tested . But I do believe it works perfectly fine.

Many thanks
Hayden

Hayden,

Thank you for the reply, will keep that in mind.
Also, let me say, your images are gorgus! They make me excited to have a newtonian.

best,
Ali

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Dale Penkala

Apr 28, 2024 · Edited: Apr 28, 2024

Hello all,
I’m currently using the SW f4-5 CC as well with my DBA Certified Newt. It’s a 12” f5 system. At one time I was using the paracorr which worked great but as @andrea tasselli mentioned its got an 11%ish increase in magnification. I’d also add that it pushes out your focus. For me these are the reasons I moved to the SW’s CC. At f5 I’m very happy with it and you’re welcome to look at my images on my profile. Many examples with this setup on there. I’ve also used it on my backup C10 newt when I was rebuilding my 12”.

I’ve seriously considered the Nexus but for me I wasn’t interested in reducing the fl or fr and I think @Turix is on track if I was to go down that route. Other things come into play with it. That said many love it and are using it. Its just not something I’d want to use with my setup.

Also FWIW, the question that @Ali asked about protruding into the light path, in my case it does not however because I was the one that completely rebuilt my setup I accommodated for that and its literally right at the inside surface of the OTA.

Dale

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HaydenAstro

Apr 29, 2024

Ali:
HaydenAstro:
Ali:
HaydenAstro:
Im using a little SW 130PDS.
Just recently went from using the Baader MPCC III to the Skywatcher F/4 Aplanatic Coma Corrector (Quattro CC) as I have an 8" Quattro on the way. Its advertised as an F/4 CC but it even says on it that I can be used for F/4 and F/5 scopes. Have only had it for a few weeks and have only gotten one session but I'm very happy with it, I just need to adjust back focus as you will see below.

Left (Baader MPCC), Right (SW Quattro CC).
Not a super fair comparison because one is more star dense than the other. The SW CC is performing much better in the middle left of the image.

This is what the top left corner of the images look like (APS-C Sensor, both at 55mm backfocus). Might not look like it but the SW CC is correcting the coma perfectly, I just need to adjust my back focus distance and the stars should be nice and round.

Also have a Starizona Nexus on the way which I'm very keen to test as others have been raving about them, though I understand you might not be too keen on the 0.75x reduction.

Hope this helps!
Hayden
C.S

Hello Hayden,
I'm wondering whether your Skywatcher F/4 Aplanatic CC intrudes into the light path or not of the primary mirror on the 130PDS. I'm considering this setup but afraid of the intrusion of the CC.

Best

Hey Ali,

The Aplanatic CC definitely sticks out of the focuser tube a slight bit, however I haven't noticed any inherent issues with it being in the light path. I have followed recommendations from other users of the Aplanatic to push the primary mirror as far forward as possible (Using the collimation screws, and then of course dialing it back a little bit to achieve collimation) which I'm led to believe it should mitigate any issues with the CC sticking out.

I have only used the Aplanatic for one session as I've been putting in time on the Starizona Nexus CC, so don't take what I say as 100% accurate and well tested . But I do believe it works perfectly fine.

Many thanks
Hayden

Hayden,

Thank you for the reply, will keep that in mind.
Also, let me say, your images are gorgus! They make me excited to have a newtonian.

best,
Ali

Not a problem and thanks for the kind words!
Newts are great fun. I've made some small modifications to mine recently which help a lot with the classic Newtonian flaws.
But a decent Coma Corrector is a definite must!

Cheers
Hayden

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Peter Graf

Apr 29, 2024

Little late in the discussion, I can say that I still use the MPCC III, whereas my camera's sensor is relatively small (533MC).
At first my stars looked really bad, especially in the corners, and I was looking for the TS GPU. However, after some astro friends of mine recommended the Baader ClickLock to me, the issues with the MPCC III were gone.
As I understand, the ClickLock clamp is primarily intended for observation, to quickly change eyepieces, and it does not have the best reputation for imaging. But since then everything has been going smoothly, the stars look good and round. At least to me, there is no noticeable tilt. And I can turn the camera to adjust the field of view in no time, without a rotator or fiddling.
Perhaps both the CC and clamp are simply tilted, and straight when combined :-)

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