Sky adventurer or HEQ5 (Goto) - Beginner astrophotography with DSLR

[Jasp05]

Hi guys,

I've been dabbling in some widefield astrophotography for the last few months. Have built my own barn door tracker which has allowed some nice shots of the milkyway with my dslr.

However I'm looking to start using some longer FL lenses and see if I can get some images of fainter dso's.

Currently looking at a Sky adventurer mount, as I like the idea of it being so portable, and its reasonably priced for its performance from the reviews I've read.

However I do feel like astrophotography is something I will likely continue to do in the future and am wondering if purchasing a mount like a heq5 pro would be better. This would allow me to throw on a refractor or something down the track as I get more involved.

Can anyone provide some insight as to which option would be best or pro's and cons of both? Budget is in the $600-$800 range. (I believe a second hand HEQ5 would be in this price range?)


I currently own an 8 inch collapsible dob, which I plan to make an EQ platform for. Or as a third option would buying an EQ platform for my dob allow for better astro shots than any of the above options?

[Atmos]

I'd go for the HEQ5 myself for a couple of reasons.
1) It is future proofing a bit.
2) Has a higher capacity so it'll handle heavier lens' better.
3) Having larger gears it'll likely have better tracking performance.

I have been using a non-goto HEQ5 for years for visual and DSLR photography, works a treat.

[raymo]

I second that.
raymo

[Jasp05]

I've found a heQ5 pro mount with a saxon 200DS scope attached.

Its only a 30 min drive from where I'm located. He's asking $1300.

Is this a reasonable price?

Comes with a ProStar LP-Guide USB camera as well.

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: Not a bad price at all , if its in good condition mechanically and optically you cant really go wrong ( an all in one option ) with the LP-Guide as a bonus , and if you like it your 8 inch Dob would sell quickly to offset some of the cost ,,, of a small ED80 or something to compliment the 8 inch OTA thats with the HEQ5 ? . ( slippery slope to empty pocket's )

Just a thought :question: ..

Brian.

[Atmos]

As Brian says, if it's in reasonable condition then the price is pretty good.
The only ceveat to replacing your 8" dob with the 8" newt on the HEQ5 is that newtonian telescopes on an equatorial mount was designed by Satan himself :P

[brian nordstrom]

:lol2: But you can foil satan :astron: ,,, a nice set of rotating tube rings ,
there are plenty of cheep really good options you can make on the net .

Brian.

[Atmos]

That's a good point! :wink2:

[raymo]

I made a D.I.Y. device that allowed me to turn the OTA at will,
for $5. It made it more convenient to use than a refractor, being able to put it in a comfortable viewing position no matter where it was aimed in the sky.
raymo

[that_guy]

you gonna leave us hanging or are you gonna let us know how you made it :P

[brian nordstrom]

:D Yep , photos old mate .

Brian.

[raymo]

Hi Tony, The tube rings are threaded at top centre for attaching accessories, so put countersunk screws into both of them, and get two wing nuts or the black plastic knurled knobs used for tightening cameras onto said screws.
[The scope may have come with one of the black knobs for the supplied
screw which is used for mounting a camera on top of the tube for widefield imaging].
get a piece of steel strip 25mm x 4mm x long enough to reach from about 10mm forward of the front tube ring screw to about 25mm beyond the
rear of the scope when it is set as far back in the rings as you are ever likely to need to put it for balancing purposes.
drill a hole in the centre of the strip, large enough for the screw to slide
easily into, about 8mm from the front end of the strip. place the hole onto the front screw and mark the position of the rear screw. Drill the hole for the rear screw, and then elongate both holes about 50mm, so the strip can slide back and forth by that amount.
Bend the rear end 90degrees about 20-25mm from the end.
Attach a square of Teflon to the inside face of the turned in end, which
will prevent the rotating of the tube from damaging the scope's paintwork.
Balance the scope approximately, and fit the strip with the turned in end touching the rear face of the scope; tighten the two wing nuts/ knobs and then slacken off the tube rings enough to allow you to rotate the scope
so that the focuser is where you want it. Once the scope is resting against
the turned in end of the strip you can leave the rings slightly slackened
so that you can rotate the tube any time you like; if imaging, nip up the ring securing knobs, but if using visually they can remain slightly slackened. This might sound a bit fiddly, but I made it in 45 minutes.
You can of course improve its appearance by painting it the appropriate
colour for your scope.
Hope this helps
raymo

[raymo]

Sorry Brian, no pics, all my gear has been sold off; all I have left is a pair of nokkies. Hopefully, my description will be sufficient. If not I will do a simple
sketch. Actually, I might have a pic of the rig somewhere, I'll have a look.
raymo

[brian nordstrom]

:D Yep , photos old mate .

Brian.

[raymo]

I have a photo that shows the device well, but unfortunately it is a large
file, and I no longer have a downsizing programme on my comp, and it
is refusing to download anything. I have posted a photo which was taken
at a different angle so that the device is only seen side on. The piece of flat bar is bent over 90 degrees at the rear of the scope with a piece of teflon stuck to the inside of the bend so the scope turns easily, and the paint doesn't get damaged. Worked fine for me for over four years. You can get a slightly
better idea of it if you magnify your screen until just before the photo starts to pixellate
raymo

[Jasp05]

Got a few more questions regarding the viability of the Sky adventurer mount.

At this stage from what I've seen, the HEQ5 mount is a bit out of budget right now.

What kind of Focal lengths would I need to capture some decent details in some of the brighter nebulae's (Lagoon, triffid, M42, Eagle etc).

I've currently got a 200mm lens on an APS-C Sensor (So effectively 300mm approx).

How big a lens (or FL) can the sky adventurer handle whilst maintaining tracking accuracy?

And is the autoguide feature on the sky adventurer actually worthwhile using given it has no tracking in declination? (It only adjusts in RA).

If i could get 3-5 min subs using guiding with a 200mm lens I think that would allow me to image many objects to keep me occupied for a long while.

But I want to be sure that this is a reasonable expectation of the sky adventurer mount. (I've read some people can do 1-2min at 200mm (unguided I believe) while others are getting 4min subs with perfectly acceptable results. see below.

http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/user/reviews/Star_Adventurer_review_hq.pdf

[raymo]

I know nothing about the Sky Adventurer, but the fact that it only tracks
in R.A. is irrelevant, as full size equatorial mounts [such as the HEQ5] also only track in R.A. which
is why polar alignment has to be spot on.
raymo

[cadman342001]

Hey mate,

I am/was in the same boat, couldn't afford a proper EQ mount, also I'm flying down from Cairns to Surfer's for a month to visit my daughter so portability was a consideration too.

I've just started using my Star Adventurer, with a Nikon D600 so full frame and a 200mm I'm getting 2 min subs and I'm using a QHYCCD Polemaster for polar alignment.

I have been trying to use longer FL of 360mm (180mm + 2X TC) but was only getting 1 minute subs with that and wasn't picking up the nebulosity - not sure though if this was because the exposures weren't long enough or because of light pollution or more likely both.

I was using that lens with the camera on a ball head on the L-bracket with counterweight but am now not using the BH as was advised that it makes tracking less accurate.

Andy

[DarkKnight]

I've been through/going through this exercise and will give another :thumbsup: for the HEQ5 Pro for it's weight handling and future proofing.

I've seen some pretty impressive results with DSLR's and lens in the 400mm mark.

Keep an eye on the forum classifieds as there are a couple of HEQ5 Pro's in there at present.

[Jasp05]

I'm interested to know how you went with doing longer subs at 200mm though Andy.

or are you finding that 2 min subs are long enough?

[axle01]

There's a good forum on face book for the Star Adventurer mount.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/StarAdventurer/

Al

[Jasp05]

Thanks for the link to the facebook page Alan. I think after having a flick through their posts I've made my mind up.

Going to aim for the HEQ5 mount. Might have to save up a while longer or hope a good deal for a mount comes along.


However I am concerned that If I go with the HEQ5, how much more gear is required accessory wise? (I'd have the telescope, mount, dslr and t - ring adapter).

I've read if you want anything longer than 1 min subs on the mount you will almost certainly need an autoguider?? is this true?

[raymo]

The sky's the limit as far as accessories go, but you only HAVE to have a
battery to run the mount, or if working from home, a 12v adaptor so
you can run it off of the mains supply. If you are planning to stack
lots of shortish subs, then the first thing I would get is a cheap
intervalometer off of ebay[$10-20] so you don't have to stand there for long periods of time opening and closing the camera shutter.
When you get this simple setup working well you can decide if you want to delve into all sorts of areas, such as autoguiding, laptop control of the mount etc. Oh! I forgot, a Bahtinov mask is terrific for easy focusing; you can
make your own quite easily from instructions on Utube for a couple of dollars.
raymo

[raymo]

I forgot your second question. The length of sub you can get is
directly related to the length of a piece of string. Firstly, the longer
the focal length of your lens/scope the shorter the subs will be. Secondly,
the accuracy of your polar alignment is also factored into the equation,
and other factors include the wind shaking the scope, and the tracking
qualities of your particular mount. Lastly, the nearer your target is to the celestial equator the shorter the subs will be. You can get much longer
subs near the celestial poles.
As a rough guide, from my own experience, with very good polar alignment, using a 1000mm focal length scope, aimed near the celestial equator, you should get a very high percentage of usable subs at 30-45 secs, a good percentage at around 60 secs, and a low percentage at 75-90secs. I have had occasional round star subs at 120, and even one or two at 150.
Obviously, if using a shorter scope you will get longer subs, roughly twice as long with a 500mm lens/scope.
raymo

[axle01]

Thanks Ramo your input is helpful to me also.

Al

[raymo]

O.K. have finally found a way to downsize a better shot. Hope it helps.
raymo