I have a 1989 non-ED 178mm AP Starfire.
SNIP
However, some tell me the quality has suffered in
recent years.
Can't comment on that, but Celestron and Meade produce telescopes
that on average are good but this means that there are excellent ones
and less good ones as well. I guess since they make less C-14's than
C-8's quality control could be better for these instruments.
Can someone tell me of their experiences in comparing
these two very different telescopes?
Wish I could...
Would I lose much planetery detail and the ability to split close
doubles?
Under perfect seeiing the C-14 would show more (more light, more
detail due to larger aperture)and should be able to split closer
doubles. Problem is that larger telescopes and telescopes with
obstruction suffer more from seeiing than refractors. Due to the
obstruction, you will also loose some contrast in the image!
Are stars fuzzy or pinpointed when using the C14 visually?
Pinpoint in my C-14, but make sure collimation is as good as you can
get it... same comments about seeiing: brighter stars at higher
magnification will look "fuzier" than in the Starfire due to
obstruction and larger aperture being more sensitive to seeiing
effects.
I would presume ccd deep sky imaging would improve with the C14
but,
would the stars be bloated?
Due to the long focal length (= higher primary magnification) and due
to the optical system used, brighter stars appear somewhat larger
than they would with a refractor.
My five cents...
Geert Vandenbulcke
