photography mount

[Amunous]

Hey all,

My partner is looking at purchasing an astrophotography mount, she has been looking at getting either an heq5 or neq6.
I have just stumbled upon a Mount called "iOptron SmartStar PR GoTo German Equatorial Mount", its only $1100 on the ozscopes website.

The problem is i have never heard of the brand and wanted to know if its new or is it some yum cha rip of the heq5?
Has anyone seen or heard of it before?
If so is it a decent mount to get started with and then upgrade later (when she gets used to the whole set up and taking pics?) or should she just go all out and get the neq6 knowing nothing about astrophotography?
Link to item is

http://www.ozscopes.com.au/ioptron-smartstar-pr-goto-german-equatorial-mount.html

Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[Amunous]

There is also
http://ioptron.com/index.cfm?select=productdetails&phid=a67ad030-ddfb-47c2-8184-ab63d55bf2e6

[renormalised]

Her best bet would be to buy the NEQ6, simply because she will be buying a mount that will do everything she wants and can heft a fairly decent weight (up to 20kg). For taking pics, the mount is the paramount (sic) thing to consider. Too light a mount and you'll have problems with guiding and mount stability.

The iOptron mount is the equivalent of the HEQ5 in size and capacity. You could fit a light scope and accessories to this, but your typical astropic setup would be a bit too heavy for this mount to handle. Especially if you were using an 8"SCT or a 5" or larger apo...with a guidescope and guide camera, the rings and mounting bar, the main camera and filter wheel etc etc etc.

[Poita]

For the sake of $300 extra, just get the EQ6.

[seeker372011]

Have you or more importantly your partner seen the eq6 and seen just exactly how heavy it is?
Who's going to be toting this beast around? You? Her?
Or do you have a permanent observatory?

[seeker372011]

There are plenty of people who image with an eq5 by the way

[ZeroID]

I can vouch that the EQ6 is a heavy wee beastie. It has prevented me from a few nights viewing since I got it. So I'm building a permanent setup, shed pier etc.
Photography does not require a huge setup depending on what you intend to use as the imaging scope. Bigger is better of course but you can substitute exposure time for aperture.
All the same an EQ5 would be my minimum mount for it.

[Poita]

I've been told that the CGEM is considerably lighter than the EQ6, can anyone vouch for that?

[Gem]

I believe the CGEM is about 34kg for the mount. I move mine outside each night quite easily (I have a wide door and no steps which makes it a breeze).

[Davros]

For what its worth i dabble in imaging with a HEQ5 but all things considered an EQ6 would be better. The extra weight carrying ability of the EQ6 will be something i have to consider in the future. I will likely upgrade in a year or two when the EQ8's come on the market. Hopefully there will be a few second hand EQ6s around then. If its only $300 difference go with the EQ6. THere is also a lot of software developed around the EQ6 for mount control from the computer etc.

[adman]

As someone who has tried to image with an EQ5 (not an HEQ5 - different beast) - please don't do it to yourself. You may get lucky and get a decent one - but it would be just that - luck.

The EQ6 is a tried and tested platform, so there is a lot of knowledge around about what to do if something goes wrong, and also software support etc. If you get the EQ6 you won't have to upgrade for a long time, and you will have an easier time of learning how it all works together for imaging without battling against the mount.

Adam

[Amunous]

Thanks for all the advice.

She has decided to splash out on the NEQ6-W pro, and a skywatcher ED 80.

I had it outside the other night. (looks like ill be the one toting this beast about as she is unable to lift it.) Very easy to align (once i stopped kicking the battery and unplugging it.) and tracks beautifully. Now all i have to do is work out how to polar align it so i can show her. (ill probably have to do this every time we go out as well while she sits in the car with the heater on lol) Then let the photography begin.

One thing that kept happening that frustrated the crap out of me is the focuser on it is CRAPOLA. It is the standard dual speed focuser that came with the scope, but when the telescope is pointed at a high angle the focuser slides out the the full focus length and is near impossible to roll back up. I have to level the scope out and then focus back in and tighten the crap out of the screw that holds it in, but then you cant fine tune it as the second you loosen the screw to fine tune it just drops it again. I've tried all sorts of eyepieces including really light ones and it does the same thing.

And YES that is a block of wood the scope is attached too lol. When we opened the box the adapter for the smaller dovetail mount was missing and we are waiting for it to arrive. I had to rig that up and she didn't want to wait another 2 weeks for it to arrive from the store before she could use the scope. It works surprisingly well.

[Terry B]

There must be a lot of variation in the quality of these focusers.
I have an early 127mm apo scope with the standard synta 2 speed focuser. These have also been widely criticized. I can hang my 1.5kg spectrograph on mine and still use it- admittedly with the lock to keep it from slipping.
There are adjustments that can be made in the focuser to improve it. Maybe it's time to pull it apart and see if you can make it work better.

[TheDecepticon]

Mmmmmmmm.........:question:

Shouldn't the focuser have a tension adjustment as well as a lock screw to lock the focuser? Try this article.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=4409

Cheers.:D