Scope advice...

[StarStuff (Ian)]

Hi all... nice place you have here...

although i have been a part of our universe for quite some time i am relatively new to astronomy as a hobby...

i purchased a Saxon 4.5" Newtonian about a year ago which has been a lot of fun... but i'm pretty sure that the eq1 mount is probably not worth its weight in bottle tops...

i am particularly interested in astrophotography and am looking for a scope that will suit this purpose, and also something that i wont be needing to upgrade for a while...

i am happy with the Saxon scope... but i have limited experience and nothing to compare it to... i'd be interested to hear how they rate against other brands with a similar price tag... optics quality etc...

after some research and a count of the piggy-bank i am looking towards the Saxon F2001 GOTOEQ5 which i can get for a little under $1500...

http://www.saxon.com.au/products/pro...roductid=10900

this one states that it comes with aluminum tripod... whereas the particular scope im looking at has the same specs but comes with a heavy duty steel tripod...

sorry for asking yet another 'which scope' question, but i really don't want to spend that sort of money and regret it soon after...

Ian...

[The Mekon (John Briggs)]

Not quite sure what you are asking.
Saxon is yet another Chinese brand of variable quality.
Owners of these scopes usually have to "improve" them.

IMHO - Forget astrophotography in any decent way with this scope. You could use the mount for piggy back telephoto up to 200mm, but not much more.

[NorthernLight (Max)]

Hi Ian,

and welcome to IIS!


this telescope/mount combo looks pretty capable for visual explorations of the night sky.

It may or not suit for astrophotography (AP). That will depend on what you gonna attach to it as a camera etc. Main issues here are the focuser and the mirror quality.

The mount is definetly not the best choice for AP. It doesn`t have a ST4 port for autoguiding and lacks rigidity because of the alu-legs. I also suspect that periodic error is something no one considered when designing this mount.

Many people make 2 common mistakes when it comes to AP:

1. Telescope: you don`t need a telescope for AP, a Camera lens will be much better esp. for extended objects like constellations, large nebulae or milky way widefields - shots below 24mm focal lenght can be as long as 30sec without guiding!

2. long exposure shots (30sec+), necessary for basically everything apart from solar system bodies, with a quality that would make (at least)you print it and love it- will cost you at least 3Grand worth of (new) equipment (provided you already have the DSLR or CCD) and more than half a year learning curve, if you use every dark night and read continously - and no other hobbies than digital image processing (you need Potoshop).

Look for something like a Sky Watcher HEQ5 (min), an 80mm ED refractor, a 70mm (guide) refractor, a guidecam, a DSLR and all the bits and pieces to screw it together

OR

re-think the whole matter and check the forum what people suggest for a beginners set up in AP. You may also check the signatures of the members that discuss their problems in the AP section (not the beginners) and google the prices for their gear - which doesn`t mean that expensive gear creates great images but you can get a feeling for the black whole that AP creates in your wallet.

Cheers

[dannat (Daniel)]

a 8" newt is pushing the limits of the eq5 -you will see more but it will struggle with the weight of the 200mm tube. A heq5 would be a better choice - i would look at purchasing second-hand - you should save a few $..

[StarStuff (Ian)]

thanks for the replies and welcome...

i'm going to take your advice Max and go with the mount as my first serious purchase... i've spotted a SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro Go To mount thats within my budget...

after looking at some images taken with 80mm ED refractor i'm pretty impressed... once i refill the piggy bank i think i will head in that direction...

i'm in no immediate hurry and realise that it will probably take a year or two to acquire the equipment and know how required...
my time is fairly limited... i work 5 - 6 nights a week so i have 1 or 2 nights a week, weather permitting to indulge...

for now i will strap my 4.5" newtonian to the mount... i already have a laptop, modified toucam, a full version of starry nights and photoshop... so at the very least i will have a go at some moon imaging in the near future...

thanks again...

Ian

[eyes]

Hi all,

What a great sight full of good information.
I have just purchased a Celestrion 925 cpc.
Can anyone tell me how good they are and what i will be able to see with it.
Is it going to be any good for astro photography.

Thanks all ...Eyes

[NorthernLight (Max)]

HI Ian,

on a side note: Sky Watcher has announced a new mount called EQ-7. It may be the case that once this one is available the prices for the NEQ-6PRO come down and you may be able to pick one for what you would pay now for a HEQ5 (the smaller brother of the EQ6Pro (or NEQ6Pro or Orion Atlas - all the same mount). Be prepared that you will keep on buying scopes with increased weight.
I look forward to seeing your first picture!

Cheers

[OzRob (Rob)]

Originally Posted by NorthernLight

HI Ian,

on a side note: Sky Watcher has announced a new mount called EQ-7. It may be the case that once this one is available the prices for the NEQ-6PRO come down and you may be able to pick one for what you would pay now for a HEQ5 (the smaller brother of the EQ6Pro (or NEQ6Pro or Orion Atlas - all the same mount). Be prepared that you will keep on buying scopes with increased weight.
I look forward to seeing your first picture!

Cheers

According to another thread the EQ7 project has been canned. Even if that is not true the mount was not slated to be released until at least the end of next year.

You can get a EQ6Pro from Andrews for $1549 with shipping being another $50. Here is a link and you can find the mounts towards the bottom of the page.

[StarStuff (Ian)]

Hi Max...

i took the plunge and ordered the HEQ5 Pro on monday... it, along with a few bits and pieces arrived in Adelaide from Bintels Melbourne store yesterday (wednesday)... impressive...

incidently i had to strick a deal with the missus which involved buying her a new iPhone... we believe in equality... so i'm told...
considering that i already have an iPhone i can live with that... i also managed to get permission for the demolition and removal of the seldom used hills hoist, which some bright spark stuck right in the middle of the yard...

i have 9 nights off work starting saturday so i will be hoping for some clear skies... perhaps you could all put your telescopes away and take up cloud photography??? it might improve my chances somewhat...

planning on spending a couple of nights at home getting familiar with the mount... introduce it to my laptop etc... and all things going well, spend a night or two out in the field under darker skies...

hopefully that 'first pic' shouldnt be too far away...

cheers...

[NorthernLight (Max)]

Hi Ian,

I think the HEQ5 comes with a polfinder scope similar to the EQ6Pro. If you run into any hurdles gettig reasonable polalignment (provided you have clear view to south) sent me a private message and I tell you how it works best - the sky is full of signs that point at anything you want.

I haven`t been able to use the GOTO on my mount for almost a year as couldn`t see Octans, so I never really managed to polalign and it took me a while to recognise the constellation part when I finally had visual access. It now takes me less than 3 minutes (without Scheiner-process) and I have to admit: learning from a book where all the nebulae and galaxies are is one thing but learning it from a push of a button is just awesome - and saves so much time in AP for finding and framing.
All the best weatherwise for your upcoming 9 free nights!

PS: hooking it the laptop makes actually much more difficult to use (esp. during the align-process, framing), unless you have a wireless gamepad. I did it once via EQDIR - never again, the handcontroller has it all.