the right mount

[TJD]

hi all i am going to do deep sky astrophotography and im looking for a mount.

its for a 6" sct and i need it as cheap as possible, does any one have any ideas.

thank

tjd

[Bolts_Tweed]

Gday Mate

Just so you get an answer tonight - if you want cheap(ish) and something that will do the job for beginners - a bit like comparing a commodore with a ferrari - look at the HEQ5Pro - Available everywhere for fair prices and has goto capabilities. Limited on loading ability but it should handle a 6" SCT - if not the EQ6 may be the option

See http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm

Mark

[that_guy]

if i was to get a heq5 pro mount would it be able to handle the ota of an 8" dob?

[Tandum]

Yep, been there, done that. Had to add a 3rd counter weight to balance the guide scope and cameras.

http://starshed.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=5&pos=0

[jjjnettie]

Alex has his set up for sale at the moment.
I've seen the mount in action and it's a good one.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=58120

[Tandum]

Alexmart :D

[jjjnettie]

LOL There's always bargains to be had. Tried and tested.

[pjphilli]

Hi Trevor

I have a HEQ5Pro mounted with a 6in sct. The all up weight (measured) of the mounting plate, 6in sct, guide scope, Telrad, imaging and guiding cameras etc is about 13Kg. I find that the HEQ5Pro mount handles this very nicely. I am thinking about replacing the 6in sct with an 8in fast Newtonian OTA, this would given an all up weight of about 16Kg. In THEORY the mount (which has an alleged capacity of 18kg) could handle this load but I am still thinking and making enquiries about this point.

Cheers Peter

[bmitchell82]

There is no disagreeance on the fact that these mounts can hold onto and more than often superseed their weight limits.

This is where the problem comes to light.

the more weight you dump up top the more it is suseptable to wind/vibration. I run my 10" up on a eq6 and have had brilliant results.! BUT there was not a breath of wind it was a cold winter night... on the whole i have had maybe 1 or 2 shots i was happy to put my name and let people see. I have had the 10" for a year...

Now on the other hand my ED80+Finderguider will work under any condition.! and from that setup i have notched up 5 or 6 decent shots that i don't mind showing people. I have had the ED80 for 3 months.

So what am i saying? If you want repeatable results then stick below 1/2 the actual specified load (as a general rule). If you want to go for that one stunner shot then load it up till you have more weight on it than you could poke a pointy stick at.! though be prepared to be dissapointed 9 times out of 10.

Just my 2c worth as alot of people will say that what i have said isn't true but its my honest opinion!

Brendan

[wavelandscott]

First understand that I am not an astrophoto taker...but I do enjoy looking at a pretty picture from time to time.

My observation in looking at other people's pictures is that you can't overmount a scope...the single most heard advice is don't skimp on the mount.

[AlexN]

This is true... it better to have the best mount in the world, and an average telescope + camera than an average mount and best camera and scope. The mount really dictates what you can do and can't do...

For visual work, the 6" SCT + HEQ5 would be a great setup, as would an 8" newt on the HEQ5... for visual work, a HEQ5 will hold a 10" newt... it will suffer some vibration in a good breeze, but it will hold it..

[Paul Haese]

In the immortal words of Peter Ward, the mount is the most important piece of equipment you will own for Astrophotography. Buy up big. If you can only afford a HEQ5, then save up for the EQ6 Pro, the weight will be worth it and the mount will be way better than the HEQ5.

In other words get the largest mount you can buy in the shortest saving time.

[TheDecepticon]

Yeah, the Ferrari isn't any where near a Commodore!!:lol::P;)

[M_Lewis]

Brendan,



How do you find the ED80 on the EQ6 in really windy conditions? I know it's not a large scope for this mount, but have considered buying one for that exact setup you described? Considering the EQ6 is capable of 24kg, the ED80 plus accessories is.... a 1/3 of that? Would love to see some shots if you were happy to show em.

[DavidTrap]

I've had advice from several sources suggesting one spend 60-75% of their budget on the mount. (That is for the mount & scope, not including imaging system...) This can be a very expensive hobby...

DT

[AlexN]

An EQ6 will carry an ED80 without even noticing the weight.. I would definitely recommend going the biggest mount you can afford, and sometimes, despite how keen you are to get a setup going, it is worth waiting and saving to get to the next mount up.... The price difference between the EQ6 and HEQ5 is not that great. I would definitely think going to bigger mount is worth the money.

[allan gould]

Have to agree with Alex on this. Having had an heq5 and an eq6 there is no comparison. Always go for the larger mount as it will handle the weight and load better. Having said that my heq5 pro mount handled a 127mm apo scope and a 80 mm apo WO scope on a side by side with three counterweights on it. It was at it's limits bit it slewed and guided perfectly with this load. It would be at it's limit with an 8-10" Newtonian in my opinion. The 10" Newtonian is at the limit of the eq6 with a guidescope attached. The rule of thumb is get the best mount you can as you will always want to ad more weight to it. The eq6 has impressed
me.

[bmitchell82]

http://s700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/brendanmitchell1982/?action=view&current=christmastreecluster.png

http://s700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/brendanmitchell1982/?action=view&current=LambdaCenturaiNebulaHQmk2ne t.png

http://s700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/brendanmitchell1982/?action=view&current=rose_filteredcopy.jpg

http://s700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/brendanmitchell1982/?action=view&current=Eta-Carinae-Nebula-complex-3mb.jpg

these 4 photos have all been taken in wind that exceeded 30km/h average windspeed with gusts upto 56km/h (lambda centurai neb) No wind protection using the 9x50 finder modified to accept a CCD camera as a guide scope

EQ6pro
ED 80 Goldtube
Canon 40d (modified)
DSI 2 guide cam
Modified Finder
10 min subs @ ISO 800

UNBEATABLE for an all condition portable astrophotography rig!

as for a general forumula for spending your dollars. there really isn't a formula.! for a start your going to get the biggest mount you can justify! untill you know this is where your passion rests, theres no point spending 5 or 6k on a losmandy G11 or equivelent. If i had my time again i would have saved for the G11 or AP mount straight up beacause aperature rules even in astrophotography. sure you can take a pretty picture with a ed80 or something like that, but once you have used a telescope that has a good whack of aperature.... using a 80mm refractor is dissapointing. What you use to catch in 1min with the aperature, takes you 2 min. what does this equate to? longer subs gives a greater time for things to go wrong! which inturn gives you less useable subs. less useable subs means less data, and a waste of your time!

My reccomendation for anybody just starting in the astrophotography arena, go with a short focal length refractor, a one shot colour CCD, and a nice little mount. once you figure out if you like taking photos of galaxies/neb/PN's ect ect, then taylor your needs to suit!