Anyone got any images to share using HEQ5/6 + ED100 / ED120

[kana]

Hi guys,

Really on the hunt for a basic optimal setup for achieving decent results long term after putting in a good amount of effort.

Would kill for some work you've done to point me in the right direction about what's possible.

Many thanks!!! :thanx:

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Kana,

I thought you had your heart set on an Orion 10" goto dob I sold you on??? :D

Seems you are looking for something in the $1500-$2000 range for AP and visual, well then, my scope combo of HEQ5 Pro and 8" BD200N newtonian reflector has taken a few nice images in the past with a DSLR and the Atik 314L+ CCD camera.

You can pick up a similar rig with a Bintel F4 imaging newt 8" for around $1500 ish and considering the 8" is what I use in Light Polluted Sydney, I don't have too many issues picking up faint fuzzies as well as small nebula and galaxies, so your relatively darker skies should kill it.

I did an advanced search on my name as the "posts started by user" in Beginner's AP and Deep Space and it shows some (if not all) of the posted images I have taken over the years with my scope and mount.

I hope it works (the link below) and I know it is not an ED100 or ED120, but the 8" is bang for your buck if you want the best of both worlds, without too much money leaving the wallet.

See if this link brings up images and take a look if you would like.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/search.php?searchid=2995473

Cheers

Chris

[kana]

Thanks Chris!

The more I read about deeper space AP the more it turns me off a DOB. This forum and you guys are bloody brilliant.

[kana]

Great images btw Chris!!! :thumbsup:

[Screwdriverone]

No worries Kana and thanks for the compliment.

As I just mentioned in my PM, if you want to go towards AP, then think seriously of an HEQ5 Pro (second hand or new) and maybe an ED80 second hand. You could probably get both for around $1000 ish all up and get cracking quite quickly.

A new HEQ5Pro and Bintel 200mm F4 newt reflector here (http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/Reflector/Bintel-BT200-f/4-HEQ5-Pro-GOTO/990/productview.aspx) is $1699 and is very similar to what I have for visual and AP and you should be able to get 30 sec-1 min shots with a DSLR quickly without guiding if your polar alignment is good.

Consider splashing your $1500 on some second hand kit if you can wait, it will lessen the blow, give you access to some top gear for reasonable money (check out Icetrade now for some nice ED80's and mounts) and then you will have some change to buy power supplies, extras like coma correctors and T rings and dew heaters etc, if the bug bites you hard.

Of course, if you are impatient like me and want that new scope smell, well, make sure you post your kit list here first and we can analyse it for you to make sure it is a good deal and offer suggestions as to the best bits you will need from day one.

Cheers

Chris

[Meru]

Hey Kana,

I have had both the 80ED & 120ED on a NEQ6 (with my friend using the 120ED on a HEQ5). It is a *brilliant* set up and you will get some amazing images them. Astrobin has plenty of images taken from these scopes which will give you a taste, otherwise if you look at some of my older image uploads you will see what an amateur like me (or more like a first timer compared to folks around here) can achieve.

If I had to start again or stick with only one set up I would probably buy a 120ED second hand and a NEQ6 (or a HEQ5, both can handle the weight fine) second hand, and use a OAG. I personally would go 120ED as it gets a bit closer to the action and with a simple reducer, you can have similar FOV as a 80ED as well. In fact I have images using a 0.67x reducer with the 120ED which shows how well this works. The only merit for the 80ED is that it's cheaper, comes up more often second and would be slightly more forgiving with tracking errors (as it's got 30% 'less zoom' than a 120ED).

Dont be afraid to pull the trigger on any of these second hand here, all the sellers are great and I found the members to be very helpful. Worst case you can always sell your equipment here and try something different :) I should know, I've bought and sold many times trying to find the right set up for me!

[cometcatcher]

Just wondering, which reducer is this?

[Meru]

It's the CCDT67 from Astro Physics, I bought mine from teleskop express. It was designed for RCs but I tried it with my refractor and the results were pretty pleasing. Edge correction wasn't the best however nothing that some post processing and light cropping cant take care of!

[alistairsam]

hi Kana,

Which camera are you planning to use?

I took this with an ED80 and a baader mpcc, no flattener/reducer, OAG, NEQ6.
http://www.astrobin.com/full/64885/0/

you'll save yourself a lot of trouble if you focus equally on the guiding camera and method, I personally prefer the OAG, lot simpler than a separate guidescope, only caveat is that you need a sensitive guidecam. a significant part of your budget would go toward the two.
Options are the QHY5L2-mono or the Lodestar, latter being twice the cost of the L2.

HEQ5Pro is a brilliant mount. compact, very effective and does the job well. perfect for the ED80 or ED100.

I think the ED100 with a 0.8x reducer/flattener designed for it would be ideal. you get a bit more aperture with the 100.
focuser is also key, but not as important as the guiding and mount.

I use this OAG and works great. comes with a variety of options for the camera side and telescope side.
http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p6123_Off-Axis-Guider---only-9mm-length---with-M48-adaptation-for-big-sensors.html
this reducer / flattener is designed for the ED80/100

ED80 - http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p3627_Skywatcher-0-85x-Reducer---Corrector-for-Evostar-ED-80-600.html
ED100 - http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p3625_Skywatcher-0-85x-Reducer---Corrector-for-Evostar-ED-100-900.html

remember to check the spacing requirements for your flattener.

you'll also need a decent dew heater, straps, the USB2EQ5 cable, a wireless game controller and you're all set. oh a baht mask as well.

Cheers
Alistair

[cometcatcher]

I have just purchased a Skywatcher ED100. I like it very much for visual and photographic. I also have a HEQ5 pro goto. They are a good match.

You wanted to see images, I have only a couple so far due to cloud and they are not very deep from the limited time between clouds so they are a work in progress. They have all been taken at prime focus. I want to get a focal reducer for the scope as well to make it a bit faster for those times when it's needed.

Here we have the Sun with an Orion white light solar filter, NGC6723 in Corona Australis along with some blue reflection nebula and dark nebula, M16 with the Star Queen and comet 2012 X1 LINEAR. All taken with an unmodded Pentax K-x DSLR except for M16 which was taken with a full spectrum modified Nikon D70s.

Paula also posted some images when I was asking about the ED100 in a post here. http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=1073337&postcount=2

[gb44]

I've had Skywatcher Pro ED100 for a few years and have some pics using it so I've attached a few.

[gb44]

And a recent pic.

[astronobob]

Just sold my ED100 and hunted down some photos I took with it on the Heq5 & 600D back in 2011.
Images have been cropped a little (except Eta) as can afford with 18Mp . .

Eta Carina, NGC253, Dumbbell, M104 Sombrero

[orion69]

All these images (except last one,Pacman) were made with Equinox 120 ED, same optics as ED120 I believe.

http://www.astrobin.com/users/orion69/

[rocco57au]

Hi Kana,

A recent shot taken using a Canon EOS7D mounted to a Orion ED80T CF with 0.8x flattener and HEQ5 Pro. It's a stack of 14x30 sec subs, was all I could manage before it clouded over, no darks or flats.
I've still a lot to learn with regards to AP but I think I managed a reasonable result, much to my surprise, and looking forward to greater things ahead.
Btw, if you were to consider the HEQ5Pro and Bintel 200mm F4 newt reflector set up at $1600 that Chris has suggested I have a virtually new/un-used HEQ5 Pro advertised here with a good saving to be made :D
Keep researching, there's always so much to learn and there is a never-ending wealth of knowledge on this site.

Clear skies!
Rocky