Now that I am starting to get a bit of money, im thinking of upgrading from my 130mm reflector to a 10" GO-TO Dobsonian (http://www.ozscopes.com.au/skywatche...telescope.html)
Either that, or i will save up for some collimation equipment and a decent deep sky camera. suggestions are welcome
I would consider a non-GOTO 12" Dob ~ $800-new (andrews comms)
a 13mm Ethos $700- (bintel) and you would have $220- left over, compared to the 10" Skywatcher GOTO
or perhaps the 17mm Ethos with $100- to spare
The views will blow you away
Investing in quality eyepieces is important.
Because you will keep these, while you change/add to your scopes
That's my 5 cents worth!
Last edited by Max Vondel; 24-05-2013 at 11:03 AM.
I would go for something like that, but i am into Deep sky photography, and dont want star trailing. Also i love the GO-TO system as i currently own a 130mm reflector with the GO-TO system and think its very good.
I would go for something like that, but i am into Deep sky photography, and dont want star trailing. Also i love the GO-TO system as i currently own a 130mm reflector with the GO-TO system and think its very good.
Sean, you will need an equatorial mount if you do not want star trailing. A dobsonian will not allow you to track the sky.
What about GO-TO dobsonians? I just found one on andrews comms.
12", 300mm X 1500mm, for $1300. Surely Dobsonians can track the sky
They are an alt-azimuth scope and do not track the sky in equatorial (R.A and Dec.) mode, which is required for long exposure photography.
You could certainly do some lunar, planetary and solar photography with a dob.
They'll track well enough for visual use but for amateur AP there's no substitute for a good EQ.
Even if you got the tracking dead-on you'll get field rotation because of the difference between ALT/AZ and EQ systems.
Or would it be good to buy an 200mm OTA for my current mount? because i tend to get some nice images from my current set-up. Or would a 200mm OTA be too heavy for a skywatcher GO-TO mount?
Would a good upgrade be from the 130mm to a 200mm X 1000mm on an EQ5 mount be good? also does an EQ5 mount have tracking functions?
Yes and Yes. Some EQ5 mounts have tracking and some don't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAstroChannel
Or would it be good to buy an 200mm OTA for my current mount? because i tend to get some nice images from my current set-up. Or would a 200mm OTA be too heavy for a skywatcher GO-TO mount?
No your current mount would not be able to handle it and it's an AZ mount not an EQ mount.
Ok, i have decided. First i will buy myself a cheap EQ3PRO Synscan "Go-To" equatorial mount and tripod for $800 then i will buy a Skywatcher Black Diamond 200 x 1000P OTA for $400. I think this should do for me, im excited already! Should take me about 4 months to save up!
Ok, i have decided. First i will buy myself a cheap EQ3PRO Synscan "Go-To" equatorial mount and tripod for $800 then i will buy a Skywatcher Black Diamond 200 x 1000P OTA for $400. I think this should do for me, im excited already! Should take me about 4 months to save up!
Hi Sean,
If your going to get a Skywatcher Black Diamond 200 x 1000 (which is an 8") your going to need at least an EQ5 to handle the payload.
Sean, if it were me, I'd stick with your 130mm OTA. In some ways, the OTA is the *least* important part of the imaging rig. Your 130mm f/5 scope will be just fine to catch a whole lot of nebulae and cluster images if it's on the right mount.
The mount is the *most* important part. You'll want an equatorial mount that is capable of being autoguided. The link Paula gave you is a good one, except that I reckon you could use your existing OTA, just buy the EQ5 (or HEQ5 if you want GOTO) and spend the $400 you save on an autoguider package like this one: http://www.bintel.com.au/Astrophotog...oductview.aspx
so would i be able to image fainter nebula if i kept my current OTA, which by the way, i cant see much through it, just very faint patches of M42, M20, Centauras A and Omega centauri. Because i really really want to get further with my Deep sky photography.
You know what, i actually think i am going to need a Deep Sky camera, instead of a new telescope and mount, because at the moment, the longest exposure i can do is 15 seconds. My mount is fine, telescope just needs a little collimating, all i think i need is a decent camera now
If you want to get some reasonable and later on, quite good photos, you will need to spend about $1500 on a rig like I have, the 8" reflector on the HEQ5Pro. It is almost at the comfortable limit of the payload capacity of the mount, but if you check my deep sky shots with this rig and firstly a DSLR (unmodded Canon 1000D) and now the Atik 314L+ ($1499 for this camera), plus the guidescope, guidecamera etc etc, you will see what it's capable of.
Now, if you look at what I have spent, its well over $3,000 to get the photos I have recently posted since Xmas last year.....
I have added the first few that I took with just the DSLR on the mount, when it was unguided, but these were only 30 sec shots, stacked (10 of them) to get the photos and the bug to make me want more and better results......
You could start with a basic mount like an EQ3, but you will find it will be struggling to cope with longer exposures without blobby stars if you dont have exceptional polar alignment, so the Heq5Pro is much more forgiving if it is lightly loaded, or well set up.
Have a think about it, if you see some of my history by searching here for posts I have started in the beginner's astrophotography and then later in the deep space forums, you will be able to see what, how much and why I spent my money on to get to this point as well as some of the frustrations along the way.
I am not trying to discourage you, just simply wanting to make sure you don't buy something and find it isnt going to suit the purpose.
I hope this helps
edit: I have added my latest (and best) Trifid with the Atik as a comparison to shot #2, which I took with the dslr just after I got the scope in 2011.
Thanks a lot Chris! i think I'm going to have to save up to around $1700, and during that time, I think I'll be able to figure out what i need. At the moment, my thoughts are: What if i buy a deep sky camera for my current 130mm reflector? Will i be better off upgrading instead of buying a new camera? Should i just buy a new mount? It's very annoying, but that helps a lot so thank you Chris
Thanks a lot Chris! i think I'm going to have to save up to around $1700, and during that time, I think I'll be able to figure out what i need. At the moment, my thoughts are: What if i buy a deep sky camera for my current 130mm reflector? Will i be better off upgrading instead of buying a new camera? Should i just buy a new mount? It's very annoying, but that helps a lot so thank you Chris
Absolutely! For example, Peter.M is using a 6" scope on a HEQ5 and his images are embarrassingly good, comparing his results to mine (8" on an EQ6).
[Opinion]
In my humble opinion, blow all of your money on a solid mount. Don't be tempted by 'gimmicks' (I, personally, don't like "goto". It feels like cheating.), something with a good payload rating so you can upgrade your OTA later on, most EQ mounts have RA tracking these days, but an autoguide port will let you expand in the future. And deep space objects really come alive after 60 seconds, you'll need a mount capable of remaining steady over that period of time, a camera capable of relibably recording all that data and a scope capable of capturing it. It's not a cheap hobby, but if you prioritize and learn from the mistakes of others it doesn't need to be exorbitant.
[/Opinion]
Last edited by LAW; 24-05-2013 at 11:24 PM.
Reason: Red Wine
Should take me about 4 months to save up!
