polarie vs eq

rolls05 (Roland) · #1 30-10-2012, 04:59 PM

Hi all. Having posted on the polarie previously and realising how good the thing is, I still have little niggly doubts as to it's suitability. I mean is it really only a great wide field mount or does it have something else going for it. I feel the need to upgrade from standard tripod in order to get longer exposures and the polarie seems to fit the bill. But heres the thing,, why did you guys who have one,buy one when I presume most would own a eq motorised mount of some type or other. Is it just the portability or what. Will a goto eq mount do the same thing for me? An extra few hundy but I could use it for my ota as well. Food for thought. Feed back appreciated. Cheers.

CapturingTheNight (Greg) · #2 30-10-2012, 06:09 PM

Hi Rolls,
While I don't currently own a polarie I am considering getting one very soon. For me the attraction of the polarie is it's portability and it can be used in a non aligned configuration for movement in a timelapse. If all you are ever going to do in terms of photography is widefield shots (less than say 300mm focal length) then the polarie is probably all you will ever need. But if you wish to go deeper then you will need the extra precision and weight carrying ability of a good EQ mount. I have an EQ5 and an NEQ6 PRO and both will easily do what the polarie does.
Cheers
Greg

mithrandir (Andrew) · #3 30-10-2012, 07:48 PM

There are other "portable" mounts. Some IISers have Astrotracs.

I am in the Losmandy StarLapse camp. I can use it with a Sony a77 and 16-50mm on a Manfrotto 190XPROB and that is just OK. I found it wasn't solid enough with my Sigma 150-500mm and upgraded to a Manfrotto 475. It probably needs a geared head for the best control.

The polarie is definitely the most portable, but also has the lowest carrying capacity.

JB80 (Jarrod) · #4 30-10-2012, 09:35 PM

It's portability is a big plus, you could slip it in the wifes handbag no problem or any hand luggage you have and it won't take up much space at all.

Quote:

If all you are ever going to do in terms of photography is widefield shots (less than say 300mm focal length) then the polarie is probably all you will ever need.

Greg has hit the nail on the head.
It can take small widefield scopes and a PST as well but if all you ever want to use it for is a dslr then it's perfect. If you want to put anything bigger on it and still remain portable get an astrotrac.
A go to eq would be fine too and as you say you could put your OTA on it but it's not going to slip in the missus' purse as easy.

loki78 (Jon) · #5 31-10-2012, 12:10 AM

That's right, I have an EQ6pro and I bought the polarie purely for my widefield stuff with my DSLR and short lens. The whole setup is so easy to use and so portable, for that kind of thing it is brilliant. If I was going to use anything much bigger you'd hit the weight limit pretty quick as it's not designed to hold much of a load. For what I want, it is perfect.

It might end up being a bit limiting for you if you want to do a lot more with it than that.

rolls05 (Roland) · #6 31-10-2012, 06:38 PM

Thanks guys, you have filled in a couple blanks. Greg, you are right when you mention camera and 300 mm lens will about do it. I fear the day when I suddenly think I need to go just a bit deeper. You all have mentioned the portability as being it's main positive and I dont need portability so I think may be future proofing should be my goal. Would an eq3 goto be sufficient or should I get the eq5 and be done with it.. Not wanting to sound tight but finances being what they are,,,

CapturingTheNight (Greg) · #7 31-10-2012, 07:00 PM

Future proofing wise the absolute minimum would be a EQ5 (IMHO). HEQ5 Pro better. EQ6/NEQ6 Pro even better still. Anything less than a EQ5 and it just won't handle the weight of present/future OTA's well enough to get good images. Buy the best mount you can afford. Even consider holding off for a little bit longer and saving more to get a better mount (it will be worth it). Keep an eye out for second hand ones in the classifieds. You can often score some great deals.

Cheap mount + great telescope = bad images
Great mount + ordinary telescope or even just a camera and lens = good images

rolls05 (Roland) · #8 01-11-2012, 04:05 PM

Right. heq5 it is then. I can get one here from Aus. for 4 hundy less than buying from NZ. Hows that? Ridiculous. You mentioned pro Greg. Could you elaborate? cheers. Oh , and the H part of eq5. Thanks again.

CapturingTheNight (Greg) · #9 01-11-2012, 05:00 PM

The HEQ5 PRO Goto mount is basically just the next step up from the basic EQ5. Actually not sure what the H stands for. Maybe 'Heavy Duty'? Obviously more expensive than the standard EQ5 but it is able to handle bigger loads and would have better accuracy. Same with the neq6 PRO mount in relation to the EQ6. It's just a better generation. If you can stretch the budget to the HEQ5 Pro I believe (again this is just my opinion and don't take it as gospel) that you will be much happier with it in the long run, than just the EQ5.

Larryp (Laurie) · #10 01-11-2012, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rolls05

Right. heq5 it is then. I can get one here from Aus. for 4 hundy less than buying from NZ. Hows that? Ridiculous. You mentioned pro Greg. Could you elaborate? cheers. Oh , and the H part of eq5. Thanks again.

The pro versions have go-to, Rolls

rolls05 (Roland) · #11 02-11-2012, 03:28 PM

Thanks Laurie, In that case I'd want the pro and what I hearing is i want the heq5 . I'll never be able to afford all the big gear folk use ,guiders large ota's etc. or in fact really want it all. I started off thinking a polarie would be nice for my camera and 300mm lens,but thought I may like a small refractor (80ed) to go with the camera. That would mean I'd need an eq mount. But surely an eq3 goto would be sufficient if I dont intend to use more than small refractor and dslr unguided . Just trying to keep my costs down is all. Cheers.

rolls05 (Roland) · #12 02-11-2012, 03:40 PM

You know, I did not realise the price difference between the eq3 pro and the eq5 pro is only 100 dollars. Just checked on Bintel site. Well I think I just answered my own question.

Plus the 5 is good for 11 kg. I think I'd be comfy with that. Cheers.

Larryp (Laurie) · #13 02-11-2012, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rolls05

Thanks Laurie, In that case I'd want the pro and what I hearing is i want the heq5 . I'll never be able to afford all the big gear folk use ,guiders large ota's etc. or in fact really want it all. I started off thinking a polarie would be nice for my camera and 300mm lens,but thought I may like a small refractor (80ed) to go with the camera. That would mean I'd need an eq mount. But surely an eq3 goto would be sufficient if I dont intend to use more than small refractor and dslr unguided . Just trying to keep my costs down is all. Cheers.

I just have an EQ3 Pro, Rolls. I have a North Group 102mm apo for visual work and lunar/planetary photography, and the mount seems very steady with that weight on it (maybe 6Kg), and I have a Stellarview 80mm ED that I want to do some wide field deep sky imaging when I eventually get a camera for it.
Someone was posting deep sky images using an EQ3 just a few days ago, and it seemed to be working well for him-you can probably find his posts in beginner astrophotography.
I bought an Orion Miniguider and QHY5 autoguider-not much weight there. Anyway I will try it and hopefully it will be ok-if not I will buy a bigger mount-trouble is I am getting too old to lug heavy stuff around!

pluto (Hugh) · #14 02-11-2012, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rolls05

You know, I did not realise the price difference between the eq3 pro and the eq5 pro is only 100 dollars. Just checked on Bintel site. Well I think I just answered my own question.

Plus the 5 is good for 11 kg. I think I'd be comfy with that. Cheers.

I was going to buy the EQ3 but when I saw the price difference, and the difference in load capacity, I went for the EQ5.
Feels solid to me but it's my first scope/mount so I have nothing to compare it to.

Larryp (Laurie) · #15 02-11-2012, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rolls05

You know, I did not realise the price difference between the eq3 pro and the eq5 pro is only 100 dollars. Just checked on Bintel site. Well I think I just answered my own question.

Plus the 5 is good for 11 kg. I think I'd be comfy with that. Cheers.

With only $100.00 in it, I would go for the EQ5 Pro too

rolls05 (Roland) · #16 04-11-2012, 03:37 PM

I'm convinced guys. Laurie, does the 102 scope make for a reasonable viewing scope? If I get a eq5 like I say I'd like a ed80 scope for photography but the ed 100 is only a couple hundred dearer. Would your 102mm scope not do for deep sky stuff if you had a dslr?

Phil Hart · #17 04-11-2012, 03:55 PM

I concur with what's been said. Polarie is very portable and the drives quite accurate with zero backlash. Load carrying ability is higher than what they claim and I think with Astrotrac etc you don't gain much in load but you lose quite a bit in portability. Takahashi Teegull also an option for more load but I haven't used mine since I got the Polarie (but then I haven't been doing that much of anything either).

HEQ5 is a much better mount than the EQ5/Pro from what I can see and tell.

The EQ5 is basically the same mount as my Vixen GP-DX with a new paint colour scheme. The HEQ5 is a slightly scaled down version of the EQ6 and periodic error and quality of gears/backlash on the EQ6 is way better than my GP-DX (which I still love, but primarily because the SkySensor 2000 controller is so much better than the SynScan.. especially for portable imaging off batteries etc).

Phil