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Old 07-10-2020, 11:18 AM
Dilsh
Eq6r pro

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Location: Ivanhoe, Victoria
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Choosing upgradeable mount and telescope setup

Hi all,

First post on this forum but have been reading for months. Amazing wealth of information here!!

I am a complete newbie. A Canon 1100D is the only things close to AP that I own.

After lots of indecisiveness and tackling aperture/focal length envy I have settled on what I think is the best path for me in astrophotography.

Just a bit of background. I am a dad of 2 so will be doing most of AP from my backyard which is probably a Bortle 6-7 (from inner metro Melbourne).

Ultimately I would like to like to capture DSOs like the Southern Pinwheel and Sculttor galaxies but I realise that requires focal lenth, aperture and very good tracking with guiding, which I will not be able to do for awhile.

From my reading it seems a fast refractor seems to be the most sensible way to get the basics down pat.

An APO doublet seems to be the best bang for buck in this regard and I I have currently settled on a skywatcher ED80 (while always keeping an eye on the classifieds). As a beginner scope I did not want to spend too much (i.e. a high end triplet).

Once I get the hang of things, I was thinking of purchasing something like the celestron 9.25SCT. The variable focal lengths means I can recapture some of the DSOs I found with the ED80 and also look at Galaxies and planets.

With this future journey in mind, what mount should I get? Will the Eq6-r pro handle something like a 9.25SCT with all the bits attached?

Have a picked the correct two telescopes for my future aspirations?

Thanks in advance,

Dilsh
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  #2  
Old 07-10-2020, 11:32 AM
jahnpahwa (JP)
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Location: Canberra, AUS
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Welcome, Dilsh!

First scope and mount sound great to me. The 9.25SCT will be fine on the eq6-r, the edgeHD variety of that OTA has produced many, many really nice results on that mount, both native FL And with the reducer. If you haven't already, browse astrobin and filter by the mount and by the scope to get a good idea of what people are doing with both.

Sounds a good plan to me, but be ok with changing your mind a thousand times before buying that second scope Either way, that mount will be able to handle a lot and won't limit you too much at all.

A footnote here might be to grab/budget for a flattener for the ED80 too

Cheers,

JP
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Old 07-10-2020, 11:53 AM
Dilsh
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Hey JP,

Thank you for the reply and the vote of confidence. With the amount of indecisiveness I had with getting a fast refractor I am almost certain I will change my mind regarding the second scope.

Glad to see the mount/9.25SCT combination has precedence. I will defintely look at astrobin for that combination.

Field flattener added to budget.

Thanks again,

D
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Old 07-10-2020, 06:27 PM
Dilsh
Eq6r pro

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Quote:
Originally Posted by jahnpahwa View Post
Welcome, Dilsh!


A footnote here might be to grab/budget for a flattener for the ED80 too


JP
Any recommendations on a flattener the ed80. I see there is a dedicated skywatcher flattener. Are there any alternatives?

Cheers,

D
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Old 07-10-2020, 06:29 PM
AdamJL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dilsh View Post
Hey JP,

Thank you for the reply and the vote of confidence. With the amount of indecisiveness I had with getting a fast refractor I am almost certain I will change my mind regarding the second scope.

Glad to see the mount/9.25SCT combination has precedence. I will defintely look at astrobin for that combination.

Field flattener added to budget.

Thanks again,

D
If you're anything like me (newbie and dad of 2 as well!), don't bite off more than you can chew
Flattener is great but baby steps first! I have the ED80 and the EQ6-R. The mount is a lot to learn by itself, let alone all the software bits and bobs people will start recommending.
Most of the software looks like it was written in the 1980s. Smart programmers yes, but an eye for useable design and engaging GUI? Nope. They're all mostly a mess.

Start off with the mount, controller, and ED80, then progress as you get confident.

Saying that as someone who didn't do it that way but probably should have!
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  #6  
Old 07-10-2020, 06:42 PM
sunslayr (David)
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It's probably best to use the dedicated skywatcher ed80 flattener as it's designed to match the telescope. Other flatteners or reducers could have mixed results.
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  #7  
Old 07-10-2020, 08:16 PM
Dilsh
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamJL View Post
If you're anything like me (newbie and dad of 2 as well!), don't bite off more than you can chew
Flattener is great but baby steps first! I have the ED80 and the EQ6-R. The mount is a lot to learn by itself, let alone all the software bits and bobs people will start recommending.
Most of the software looks like it was written in the 1980s. Smart programmers yes, but an eye for useable design and engaging GUI? Nope. They're all mostly a mess.

Start off with the mount, controller, and ED80, then progress as you get confident.

Saying that as someone who didn't do it that way but probably should have!
Hey Adam,

Newbie astrophotographer dad's perspective much appreciated.

That makes sense. I have to keep telling myself to keep it simple. There is so much information out there you feel yourself going down a rabbit hole. Ok EQ6-r ED80 and DSLR, I will restrict myself to that.

Thanks mate

D
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  #8  
Old 07-10-2020, 08:18 PM
Dilsh
Eq6r pro

Dilsh is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Ivanhoe, Victoria
Posts: 194
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunslayr View Post
It's probably best to use the dedicated skywatcher ed80 flattener as it's designed to match the telescope. Other flatteners or reducers could have mixed results.
Thanks for the advice. Have been doing some browsing and that seems to be the overwhelming consensus. Will do down that route when I purchase a flattener.

Cheers,

D
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  #9  
Old 08-10-2020, 02:57 PM
AdamJL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dilsh View Post
Hey Adam,

Newbie astrophotographer dad's perspective much appreciated.

That makes sense. I have to keep telling myself to keep it simple. There is so much information out there you feel yourself going down a rabbit hole. Ok EQ6-r ED80 and DSLR, I will restrict myself to that.

Thanks mate

D
Good stuff.

There's enough to learn without trying to learn everything at once. Just aligning the mount (polar and single/double/triple stars) is easier on paper than the actual experience.

I went into a store last weekend, and the salesguy told me to go for my first shoot prepared for disappointment; things never go right the first time. And boy was he right!
Keep a positive attitude and try to learn from your mistakes.

I write down the things I need to improve as I make an error or can't figure something out.
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