About to Order a Scope Mount/Accessory Question

[BCjammin]

I’ve been several years without a telescope and ready to get a new one for both visual and photography use. I am locked on the decision to get an Orion ED80 for sure. I will be mounting a non-modified Canon 6D (full frame DSLR) for starters, but will likely look at change to another DSLR option (crop body, modified, etc.) at some point down the road.

For the mount, I am leaning towards either Orion Sirius EQ-G GoTo mount (handles 30lbs and includes a Polar Axis Scope) OR the cheaper Orion SkyView Pro GoTo mount ($350 less), which handles 20lbs and doesn’t include a Polar Axis Mount. I am open to a different mount solution if there’s a better value (specs/performance for the price). Is it worth it to upgrade and get the higher one for the Polar Axis Scope and extra capacity or either will work fantastic?

What else do I need to order with the scope/mount to be correctly set up day one to shoot (beyond changing cameras now)? Guide/finder scope? Focal reducer? Sky Glow filter (for when I shoot from home in the suburbs)? Focuser modification? Field flattener? Anything else? What are the top 1-3 must haves that will make for the best images based on the set-up plan?

Thanks!
B

[Retrograde]

Hi & welcome to the forum.

I can't comment directly on the individual mounts in question but I would suggest going for the bigger sturdier mount if at all possible. A good mount is absolutely vital for astro-photography.

From a quick internet search it looks like the Sirius EQ-G is similar (if not identical) to the Skywatcher/Synta HEQ5 that is so popular & is considered by many to be about the smallest viable mount for photography through a telescope.

I assume you are in the northern hemisphere from your location so a polar-axis scope would be fairly easy to use with Polaris to help you align it (our stars near the south celestial pole are quite faint making using polar-scopes a challenge in all but the darkest skies ).

Others with more direct knowledge of the mounts in question might chime-in with their thoughts.

Good luck with whichever one you choose!

[BCjammin]

Thanks, great feedback. I'll definitely go with the heavier mount, either the one I mentioned or the one you did - will check them out and compare.

Other than my DSLR and the mount/scope/alignment scope - what else should be a must have accessory or attachment to get going?

[Retrograde]

A field-flattener that covers your focal-length is probably essential - even more so if you are using a full-frame camera.
The guide-scope/guide-camera can probably wait for a bit. You should be able to get good unguided subs up to about a minute long at your focal length if you polar-align the mount well.

Have you thought about things like power for the mount if you travel to a dark-sky location?

[BCjammin]

Mount power, added to the list. :-) good call.