Difference between NEQ6 Goto and AZ-EQ6 Goto

[jjz (Joe)]

Hi All, proud owner of a Bintel 10 inch Dob, looking at dipping my toes a little further into Astrophotography.

My idea is to initially get the best mount I can afford and just use it with my Canon DSLR and then look at adding a scope to it in a couple of months (probably an ED 100) when I am comfortable with EQ mounts etc...

I have read on this forum that the EQ6's are good option and something I wont grow out of for a few years at least, but I am not sure what the benifits are with the AZ version if any in my situation.

Was hoping someone out there might be able to give me some advise of the merits of one model over the other.


thanks
Joe

[Amaranthus (Barry)]

Some points:

The AZ-EQ6 can be used in alt-az mode, which makes it easier for visual viewing (faster setup, eyepiece in a more comfortable position, and the possibility of fitting two scopes at once).

The AZ-EQ6 has a belt driven encoder that is quieter, smoother and has a more accurate slewing motion that traditional gears.

There are probably others - but I've never owned a NEQ6.

[glend (Glen)]

The NEQ6 will be cheaper. I just bought one. You can buy belt drive conversion kits for the NEQ6 if you ever feel you need it. My new NEQ6 is not noisy in my opinion, certainly much more quiet than some of the fork mount CPCs and others that I have l setup near in the past.