Powermate 5X or 4X

[batema]

My friend and I are looking at another purchase for our school and are looking at the Powermate 5X. We are looking at using this for imaging planets with our Toucam however when I was looking at these at BINTEL I saw the 4X that has a 2" as well as a 1 1/4" whereas I think the 5X only has a 1 1/4" which would limit its use to I think the toucam. Can you astroimage using my 400d attached to the 2"powermate and would there be benefits in getting the 4X over the 5X????

Mark

[Omaroo]

Mark - not sure about the 2" variety, but my 5x Powermate splits at the waist to present you with a T-thread - meaning that I connect the 5x directly to my DSPR's with their appropriate T-adapters. Works very well indeed.

[batema]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your reply. Excuse my lack of knowledge but what is a DSPR? I have a canon 400d. Are you saying that the powermate can be attached to the camera with a T-ring and if so does this i suppose magnify the image like either a barlow(but better) or eyepiece projection. Do you reckon this would be a valuable addition for deep sky photography if you were imaging the sombrero galaxy and wanted it larger in the field of view????

Mark

[Dennis]

Hi Mark

My telescope focal ratios range from F9 to F12 and I have found that I now use my (new) x4 Powermate almost exclusively, in preference to my (old) x5 Powermate.

Cheers

Dennis

[Omaroo]

Sorry Mark - typo. "DSLR".

Yes, you can take a (newer) 5x PowerMate apart, exposing a thread. You need an additional adapter which threads on to this and that adapter, in return, then supplies a standard T-thread for your camera's T-ring. Here's a photo...

It's not the sort of thing you use to "magnify" deep sky objects - and neither is a 4x. Barlows decrease the incoming light, so you lose an f-stop or two, making exposure times all that much longer. They are great for planetary via webcam, and lunar work either via a webcam or DSLR. Here's one of the moon I took with my 820mm focal length refractor, the 5x PowerMate and my DSLR.

[batema]

Thankyou all for the feedback

Mark