[dulwich.hill (James)]

Hi,

I have recently acquired a large Skywatcher 150mm aperture, 1200mm focal-length refractor. The scope came with an EQ4 (previous version of EQ5) mount and aluminium tripod. It produces terrific images of Mars and Jupiter.

However, I get a lot of telescope shake after focus and RA adjustments. My guess is the mount/tripos combination is just not up to the weight and length of this telescope.

My question is: should I look to upgrade the mount? Which mount should I buy? In terms of usage, I would really like something that can at least automatically track stars/planets. I would also be interested in doing some very basic photography using our old Canon EOS 300 analog camera.

So far I have found: EQ5, HEQ5, HEQ5Pro, EQ6, Losmandy GM8 and Vixen Sphinx range.

The HEQ5Pro looks promising, but it seems many people complain about the build quality of unit? I want hassle free viewing.

Thanks in advance!

James