Vixen VC200L Catadioptric Telescope with GPD2 Equatorial Mount

The VC 200L is an 8" f/9.0 highly-corrected, highly-specialized telescope for astro imaging. With its elaborate aspherical optical design it achieves an excellent image correction throughout the large illuminated field. (42-mm diameter fully illuminated)

Astro Imaging

The VC200L is designed around Astro Imaging. Even at the edge of the 35 mm film format (larger CCD chips) stars are sharp (smaller than 15 micrometers). This is smaller than the resolution of fine quality CCD cameras, which means that the telescope does not limit the image quality. With the recommended f/6.4 reducer, you get much shorter exposure times.

The basic configuration already contains a piggy-back camera holder. You can then take photos both through the telescope and using a telephoto lens parallel to the main instrument or you can use the VC200L for guiding while the camera sits on top.

The GPD2 Mount

The GPD2 equatorial mount is the stronger and heftier of the GP mounts. With its solid steel R.A. and declination axes and brass worm gears, this mount will hold up to years of heavy use. In order to assure accurate tracking for astrophotography, the worm gears are especially machined to a very high-precision that minimizes periodic error.

The GPD2 holds almost 50% more weight than the GP2 and comes standard with tripod and counterweight. It is easy to use and functions well for both the visual observer and astrophotography. Motion is controlled by included control knobs for accurate slewing. The polar altitude adjustment varies from 0-degrees to 62-degrees in altitude.