Which is better for astrophotography, maksutov cassegrain or shmidt cassegrain?
The Maksutov Cassegrain has the best image quality of all the Reflectors normally used by Amateurs, because of the smaller central obstruction. The images are often compared to high quality Refractors. But again there is no such thing as a free lunch, they are also the most expensive of the two. Because of the thick corrector lens, they also take longer to cool down. Both of these Instruments require focal reducers because of their high F/ratios, typically F/10 to F/15. Their long focal lengths do not permit wide-andle shots of large deep sky objects unless you reduce the focal length. Both types are very popular for imaging and excellent results are commonly obtained after some practice.
