A mountumental question

[clueless]

ok, I've spent weeks looking online for a goto mount. I think I've found every website there is.
The question I ask is what is the cheapest goto (GEM) WORTH buying.
ANyone?:question:

[mental4astro]

What scope do you want to load onto the mount, and for what application, photo or visual?

[leon]

As mentioned, for imaging you will need the best you can afford, as the mount is the work horse for this type of work, however for visual you can get something a little less robust, and have a great visual experience.

Leon

[clueless]

I have an celestron astromaster 130eq, it's my first scope. I find it pretty good. I also want to take photos, so I suppose I want a mount that can do both.
It will also need to look after me for a few years to come as I upgrade the scope at some stage, and add other equipment.
I wouldn't worry about DSO photos until I have a better scope.
I also don't want to upgrade my scope for a while as my wife is proud of the fact she bought it for me.

[Poita]

For me the most basic EQ mounts worth buying are the EQ6Pro and the CGEM.

The HEQ5Pro will do if the loads are going to be smallish.

Anything less is a headache for imaging. Both the EQ6Pro and CGEM are upgradeable via a TDM if you wanted to down the track.

Anything less and there is a good chance you will end up buying twice.

I've owned an EQ3, an EQ5, an EQ6Pro and a CGEM and had extensive use of a G11 (which I found not to really have much advantage over the EQ6 to be honest).

Of course it depends what you want to do, if you have a 60mm scope and just want to star-hop and maybe do some wide field photography then something smaller or even an astrotrac might do the job.

Otherwise though a HEQ5PRO is as low as I'd personally go.

[clueless]

HI Poita,

Yes the HEQ5PRO does seem like the go. It has rave reviews and although a little expensive for me, I think its longevity would be more than worth the price.
And yes, I don't want to have to buy twice, espcially considering I will be looking to upgrade my scope one day and buy a few other bits and pieces.
To be honest, I feel like a kid at Christmas time.

[Poita]

The cheapest I have seen it is $1200 at Andrews Communications, however you can probably pick up a good EQ6Pro 2nd hand for that money.
Worth a thought...