Thanks Steve,
You have given me a lot to think about.
I understand the thought process behind the largest mount with best mechanics. But, I am limited by three factors:
1. Budget - this is to buy a beginner scope and some kind of mount that can handle it.
2. Health - I need something highly portable and that I can move/transport easy.
3. Transport - I live in quite bright suburb, so need something I can move in my small car.
I think to begin I will start small and cheap, if I like the hobby of imaging I can then look at a bigger mount (after some saving) for the backyard with perhaps narrowband or other filter to help with the artificial light in the area. the EQ3-2 could then become my mobile mount for dark skies. I read you can make an EQ3-2 Goto with an Onstep system.
I think maybe too big too early could spell doom for me.
Thanks
Again
Quote:
Originally Posted by AstroViking
Hi JA,
Welcome to the hobby. You'll find it's inspiring, thought-provoking, frustrating and (potentially) expensive - in roughly equal measures.
I can't speak for the EQ3-2, as I went straight to the HEQ5-Pro as my first mount because it's got a good payload (15kg for visual, call it 10kg for imaging) and is capable of good results.
The EQ3-2 does not appear to come with tracking motors and is certainly not a "goto" mount. So you'll need to spend more money to get the motors added and then have to learn your way around the night sky to find your targets. (I can hear lots of IIS members saying this is not such a bad thing...)
The general advice I have seen is to "go big" on the mount as it's the most critical part of the setup. You will get good images with a low-quality telescope on a good mount, but you will struggle to get good images with a good telescope on a poor mount.
Also, look to the future - what sort of telescope do you see yourself ending up with? If it's going to be too big for your mount, then you'll need to upgrade your mount as well, when the time comes.
Unless you know exactly which focuser will fit that Orion OTA, I'd be wary. You don't need the hassles of trying to find a focuser, when all you want is to be out there imaging.
To summarise my advice:
- buy a bigger mount. Even the HEQ35M (with tracking and goto) will be better than the EQ3-2
- buy a complete scope with all the bits
- be prepared to learn a lot of things really quickly
Cheers,
V.
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