More info on the EQ7.

[robz (Robert)]

Spoke face to face to a SkyWatcher dealer on Saturday just gone and the discussion turned to the EQ8.

Now, here's the interesting part : believe it or not, fact or fiction, is the truth out there?............bla, bla, bla............

I was ''CONFIDENTLY'' informed that the EQ8 was due in Ausrtralia in February next year. As the the discussion continued, that became March/April............????

Despite my efforts to challenge this ''release date'', there was no question in HIS mind of the soon to be EQ8 arrival date..............what ever.........

Oh.....................and the price?.................... believed to be under the $4,000 mark.................yeah......o.k. .....

Just thought I'd share this with you all as maybe he has really had some definitive information on this...........who knows?

[davewaldo]

All good news if its true

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

I think the EQ8 will arrive on our doorsteps on the 20th of December, 2012, just in time for the end of the world....

[Barrykgerdes]

So What

I got a lottery ticket for my birthday so when I collect my 1st prize I will get a Paramount. The odds of an EQ8 appearing before 2012 are about the same as winning the lottery .

Barry

[tlgerdes (Trevor)]

The question remains, do you want to spend $4k, $6k, $8k etc on being the first to get an unproven mount? when there are plenty of others with track record.

In that scale of mount, sure it will be the cheapest, but when you are carrying 30kg+ of high precison equipment do you really want the cheapest?

It's a bit like saying Hyundai are releasing a supercar to rival Porsche and Ferrari.

[TrevorW]

Peoples pockets will dictate the market, look how well the EQ6 has done, a heavy duty Chinese mount under $5000, I say bring it on !!!

[TheDecepticon]

Originally Posted by tlgerdes

It's a bit like saying Hyundai are releasing a supercar to rival Porsche and Ferrari.

Hyundai make high quality products that rival some of the best vehicle manufacturers in the world, and have been awarded by their peers for such. I believe, from current trends, that it is entirely possible for them to produce a vehicle of said enormity.

[robz (Robert)]

Well, let's face it...............the EQ6 has been and is a brilliant mount for the price.It can carry a fully loaded 12 inch, F5 Newtonian, guide scope, cameras etc. and still produce the goods year after year.

Will the EQ8 turn out to have the same freaky ability and value for money?

I have this gut feeling though that the EQ8 will be aimed for the high end market as some have already suspected.

This worries me some what as I think it's going to be struggling to be the mount that can actually compete with the big boys at lower cost??

I am not confident in my own mind that's it's going to be all that cheap and there lies the problem........

[RobF (Rob)]

You only have to look at the exponentially increasing number of pics posted in the Deep Space forum here to see the interest in astrophotography continues to grow spurred by modern cameras and software. The niche for a strong, stable low PE mount that's still somewhat portable and cost effective must continue to grow too. If someone can pull that off well at under $5000 they should be able to move quite a few.

Its such a great time to be in the hobby. Just think how far things have come in the last 5-10years on the imaging and eyepiece front. Bring it on I say!!

[marki]

Making highly accurate worms and coupling them to high res encoders is expensive let alone the cost of developing decent software to go with it. This mount will either be cheap and cheerful or expensive and accurate. It will never be cheap and accurate. If it looks too good to be true then it probably is and you will do better looking elsewhere.

Mark

[pmrid (Peter)]

Originally Posted by RobF

. The niche for a strong, stable low PE mount that's still somewhat portable and cost effective must continue to grow too. If someone can pull that off well at under $5000 they should be able to move quite a few.

Sounds like a G-11 with Gemini 2 to me - currently US$3200 plus frieght (say US$350) and A$GST (say A$350) that's under A$4 grand. Of course you can also buy locally and pay another A1500 or so to if you want to local warranty/support etc and still be in the $5 grand target range.

Peter

[RobF (Rob)]

True Peter, although I can afford to wait and see what the next developments will be, as my current budget for upgrades is pretty well zilch

I was digging around in a 2nd hand bookstore today, and came upon an old astrophotography text. The author was very pleased with his 6" reflector on an alt az mount/wedge, with film camera of course....

[robz (Robert)]

Originally Posted by RobF

True Peter, although I can afford to wait and see what the next developments will be, as my current budget for upgrades is pretty well zilch

I was digging around in a 2nd hand bookstore today, and came upon an old astrophotography text. The author was very pleased with his 6" reflector on an alt az mount/wedge, with film camera of course....

Hey Rob, ................I've still got some of those vintage books and marvel at what was being done in astrophotography, spectroscopy and solar viewing in those days.

I remember once seeing a book in our state reference library with heaps of photos of advanced film astrophotography set ups.
It was mind boggling!!!
Astro cameras made from Zeiss, Schneider lenses, Schmidt cameras..........you name it!............all piggy backed to the blazes on scopes of varying sizes and types.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh............the good ol' days...........

[tlgerdes (Trevor)]

Originally Posted by TheDecepticon

Hyundai make high quality products that rival some of the best vehicle manufacturers in the world, and have been awarded by their peers for such. I believe, from current trends, that it is entirely possible for them to produce a vehicle of said enormity.

I wasnt saying Hyundai cant make a good./great car, I said could they make a car to rival Porsche or Ferrari? Nissan have a fantastic car in the GTR, but is it a Porsche or Ferrari?

Likewise Synta will make a good mount with their next iteration, but I believe it will be a Holden Caprice rather than an S-Class Mercedes. Great value for money, and suitable a large chunk of peoples requirements, but when Top Gear put them head to head, then the deficiencies will show.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by tlgerdes

I wasnt saying Hyundai cant make a good./great car.

Hey enough with the Hyundai bashing. I have two. They work a treat. The only problem is that roos are attracted to them. Buggers.

[tlgerdes (Trevor)]

Originally Posted by multiweb

Hey enough with the Hyundai bashing. I have two. They work a treat. The only problem is that roos are attracted to them. Buggers.

Not bash'n Hyundai's, just put'n them in d'ere place.

[RobF (Rob)]

Originally Posted by robz

Hey Rob, ................I've still got some of those vintage books and marvel at what was being done in astrophotography, spectroscopy and solar viewing in those days.

I remember once seeing a book in our state reference library with heaps of photos of advanced film astrophotography set ups.
It was mind boggling!!!
Astro cameras made from Zeiss, Schneider lenses, Schmidt cameras..........you name it!............all piggy backed to the blazes on scopes of varying sizes and types.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh............the good ol' days...........

I still get a wide smile on my face on the first slew of every night when my HEQ purrs toward the first object. No Mercedes, but I feel so privledged to have it all under electronic control, CCD sensitivity, digital processing. Sure beats my Tasco 'EQ 0.5' mount from 1979.Someone may have already mentioned on IIS, but there's a monster thread on CN's about the Ioptron EQ45:http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthrea...l/fpart/1/vc/1

[tlgerdes (Trevor)]

Originally Posted by RobF

I still get a wide smile on my face on the first slew of every night when my HEQ purrs toward the first object. No Mercedes,

I think everyone gets that smile when things just work.

I hope the EQ8 works just as well when it arrives. Nothing worng with a Holden Caprice. I think modern CAD/CAM takes most of the guess work out of manufacture nowadays.

I am sure that there will be an EQ8-2 or HEQ8 about 12-18 months out from initial release that will "correct" initial issues. How many revisions of the EQ6 have there been since it has been released?

Look at Losmandy's G11, I think we are on the 5th or so release. Compare a unit from 10 years ago to now.

[robz (Robert)]

I guess it's a bit like computers????

Forget that your mount is obsolete a few months after you bought it due to a ''new upgraded version'' that's better, more accurate, now does this or that etc.

I was once in to ''Home Theatre P.C's'' and fell in to that trap of B.S ........spending money on top of money to keep up.

A good mount is a good mount...............there are better ones........sure...........but do you really need to spend so much to obtain so little benefit ?(scope size/weight unchanged)

[mill (Martin)]

Originally Posted by robz

I guess it's a bit like computers????

Forget that your mount is obsolete a few months after you bought it due to a ''new upgraded version'' that's better, more accurate, now does this or that etc.

I was once in to ''Home Theatre P.C's'' and fell in to that trap of B.S ........spending money on top of money to keep up.

A good mount is a good mount...............there are better ones........sure...........but do you really need to spend so much to obtain so little benefit ?(scope size/weight unchanged)

I dont think so Rob, computers are totally different from mounts and mounts normally only get upgraded (firmware in hand controller) when required.
Most mounts have: Goto/non goto - old style hand paddle/new style and for the rest some upgrades on the mount itself or firmware in the hand paddle.
You cant compare mounts with computers, because computers and pheripherals are updated at an alarming rate.

At the moment most people have an EQ5/pro - EQ6/pro or Losmandi G8 or G11 etc and they are kept for years or for lifetime.

Computers are upgraded because programmers write large programs and then memory has to be upgraded or the cpu is too slow or the graphics card cant handle it.

Mounts only get upgraded when someone wants it to handle a heavier telescope or to be sure it will handle a heavier scope later on.