I'm considering getting an iOptron tower to do some imaging with but thought I'd get some comments before I take the plunge as there is not a lot of info around on them that I can see. I have a Canon 450D DSLR, a Meade 4" SCT (an old 80's model) and I'm planning to get a gstar for general work too that I'm thinking of using on it, plus look into getting an 80mm shorttube refractor for deep sky imaging.
Any downsides/cons that aren't obvious?
What kind of accessories are needed that don't come with them? (eg extra dovetail bars?)
What do they run off - batteries? What kind?
Who is selling them in Australia currently? Despite several businesses listing them I can only see them at My Astro Shop (whom I'm happy to deal with if thats the case).
Is there an expected product upgrade due out soon that is worth waiting for?
That's all I can think of at the moment. Looking forward to your responses.
Hi Jacquie,
While you can do astrophotography with the Tower, you'll be limited to only short subs using your DSLR because it's an Alt Azi mount. It will work perfectly fine with the Gstar though.
If you wish to use the mount in EQ mode so you can take longer exposures with the DSLR, you will need to purchase a wedge. They're available from www.trapeziumtelescopes.com in the US. (the site is offline at the moment, but I was just chatting to Steven, they haven't closed down or anything)
They cost $379US plus delivery.
I'm going to buy one of these once I have enough money saved.
You can run the Tower from 8AA batteries or from Mains power.
I had to buy a plug adaptor for the power lead. I don't know if the ones being shipped out to Australia will have our sort of plug or not. In any case, they're cheap as chips to buy from Retravision, Woolies etc.
All my lastest astro pics were taken using this mount. I'm very happy with what can be done with it.
I used battery power for the very first time the other weekend. The session was for around 4-5 hrs with a fair bit of slewing. The batteries were starting to show the strain by the end of the night.
But I've kept them in because they're a good back up in case the cat/dog accidentally dislodge the power lead. (it's happened before, bless 'em) Saves having to realign the scope.
Here's some images I took using the Mini Tower and ED80 and a Canon 20d.
During my time on the iOptron forum, and as an owner of 2 iOptron mounts, the Cube and an MT, I've come to the conclusion that most of the problems encountered are due to operator error/inexperience. Not balancing the scope, not leveling correctly and not performing a proper alignment are the most common causes for problems. All easily corrected with a little guidance.
Last edited by jjjnettie; 17-07-2009 at 05:54 PM.
Reason: wrong photo
Hi Franz,
Welcome to IIS.
I've not used a cube pro, but it's my understanding that it's a sturdier version of the Cube.
If you're seriously considering buying one, I'd take your ota to one of the iOptron dealers and try one out.
Gilman at Northgroup from China can supply these mounts and has quoted $565USD for the mini-tower and $280USD for the smaller cube.
This is the same group that is selling the ED127 triplets that a few people on these forums have purchased. I am not sure if anyone has purchased the minotower from Northgroup, love to hear some feedback on it.
I've been busy the last few days but I had a look over in the Cloudy Nights forums for comments on the mini-Towers and the people seem to be split 50/50 on them. Half love them, the other half have experienced problems (loose wires, typical quality control issues that are seen in some of the Chinese made items). One thing I liked that was the Mini-Tower supports an 8" SCT easily. On the other, I would hate to get a faulty one as Perth is about as far as you can get from the service lines and shipping gear back and forth across the country to get fixed isn't cheap. I tend to agree with the criticism that you shouldn't have to fix something that comes off the shelf, it should work perfectly first off. I also had a good look at the Trapesium Telescope site and they may be the way to go, offering a servicing/upgrade to the Towers before shipping to guarantee it works. I still like the idea of them. I wont be able to buy for a couple of months that that gives me time to monitor any developments and do some more comparisons.
Jacquie,
Here's a link to the iOptron Users Group. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ioptron/
I'm a great believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
How many of the "problems" with these mounts were caused be compulsive tinkerers?
I've never opened the case of either of my mounts, so I don't know if anything seems loose, or had trouble putting things back in, trying to work out where they belong. As for firmware upgrades, I've never done one of them either. Again, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
It's a small vocal minority who've had problems, the many thousands of happy customers are out having a great time with their new mounts.
lol Jeanette, you should be a salesperson for iOptron! Yes, people who feel ripped-off are often the more vocal and get heard more often. Thanks for the Users Group site, I'll have a good look at it later. I can see where user-error is amking an impact in the comments. Some of the alignment issues are common across brands, imo. The alignment proceedure, to me, is no different that for a Meade, and I know from experience there how much familiarity with the mount makes a difference in accuracy. But I'm not looking at buying this for the accuracy. What I am attracted to is the flexibility of it - a perfectly working Mini-Tower would meet most of my current needs from a bit of wide-field imaging to occultation work (which is why I was pleased to see it would handle an 8" SCT) I'm not a hard-core imager, so using it for serious deep sky imaging is not the intention. I've dabbled enough in imaging to know that I would need something much more substantial for that.
I've never been a big fan of gotos, probably because I was around when they first entered the market and I've never really thought that they've lived up to the advertising claims, plus seen too many people struggle with them, and then had my own encounters with them, so I tend to approach gotos with a degree of skepticism and dont expect them to work perfectly.
The other point that came up was that if I was to buy a wedge to go with it, I would have to by an upgraded unit from Trapezium Telescopes anyway, as they found the factory bearings weren't up to the job on a tilt.
Dont worry, its still at the top of my list at the moment, something I could get without having to save another years worth to get it! It would get me going sooner rather than later. I've been putting things off long enough!
