Are there any decent mounts under $1K for astrophotography

[Bassnut (Fred)]

Originally Posted by Davros

Everyone looks down on the Heq5 but i love mine. Many people have started out in astrophotography with a Heq5 and had many happy years of taking images. I would not hesitate buying a Heq5 unless you were going to be loading the bejesus out of it.

Originally Posted by RobF

+1
But you don't really want to go over 10kg load for astrophotography. I couldn't justify an EQ6 rig for my first "serious" astro purchase. Know I'm addicted and half-way down the event horizon for the imaging black hole things are different. I now know what I'd like to buy, but still can't justify/afford it

And what part of this advice do you think is remotely usefull or appropriate for long exposure imaging at 2m F8?.I could not think of a faster way to be get totally peed off altogether and give up. Or you skipped over the 2m f8 bit?.

[Davros (Lauren)]

Originally Posted by Bassnut

And what part of this advice do you think is remotely usefull or appropriate for long exposure imaging at 2m F8?.I could not think of a faster way to be get totally peed off altogether and give up. Or you skipped over the 2m f8 bit?.

I didnt read 2m f8 anywhere and on a second reading of the thread i still do not see it. I see a guy asking about mounts under 1K for photography????????????????????

[DavidU (Dave)]

He has a C8 he wants to use.

Originally Posted by Davros

I didnt read 2m f8 anywhere and on a second reading of the thread i still do not see it. I see a guy asking about mounts under 1K for photography????????????????????

[RobF (Rob)]

Originally Posted by Bassnut

And what part of this advice do you think is remotely usefull or appropriate for long exposure imaging at 2m F8?.I could not think of a faster way to be get totally peed off altogether and give up. Or you skipped over the 2m f8 bit?.

I guess what Fred's saying in Fred-speak is F8 and 2m FL isn't a fun place to be starting out. I did ask about OTAs and weight earlier. FL under 1m (say ED80) would be far more civilised.

[Davros (Lauren)]

Ah i see, i didnt know a C8 was equivalent to that. Guess i deserved the slap down :p

[Gem (Grant)]

Minor maths corrections....
C8 = 200mm aperture. If it is 2m focal length, it must be f10 not f8. Or alternatively 1.6m if f8.
A quick check of celestron site: its f10.

Sorry... couldn't help it...

[Poita (Peter)]

I would love to purchase an ED80 when funds become available, but can use the mount to get more joy out of my C8 so I figure I'll save up for the mount first.

[rcheshire (Rowland)]

If you are prepared to think outside the usual band of off-the-shelf-tools, there are other manufacturers and other devices on the market. 1K is a bit low for decent performance. iOptron sell a range that look promising for around 1.5 - 1.6k. A good second hand mount is better than a new low price version.

[Poita (Peter)]

Originally Posted by rcheshire

If you are prepared to think outside the usual band of off-the-shelf-tools, there are other manufacturers and other devices on the market. 1K is a bit low for decent performance. iOptron sell a range that look promising for around 1.5 - 1.6k. A good second hand mount is better than a new low price version.

What is the iOptron advantage? I agree, if I can find a mount second hand, I'll be all over it.

The EQ6 is currently $1499 at andrews and the HEQ5Pro I can get for $1099.
The $1,100 iOptron seems about the same spec as the HEQ5Pro, and is about the same money. I have no idea which is actually the better mount.

[RobF (Rob)]

Originally Posted by Poita

I would love to purchase an ED80 when funds become available, but can use the mount to get more joy out of my C8 so I figure I'll save up for the mount first.

Trouble is you'll be setting yourself up for trials more than tribulations Peter - this is what Fred was getting at - to succeed at F10 imaging you potentially need to spend $5-10 on a mount rather than $1k. Suggest you investigate what sorts of pics people produce with C8s, what cameras and adaptors in use and most of all what mount was used. Realise the C8 is all you have, but you'd really be doing yourself a favour not to get carried away about imaging if your FL > 0.8m starting out. All depends on what you'd be guiding with too. That's another $$$ story of course.

[Poita (Peter)]

Thanks for the advice, I think I didn't explain my thinking properly. The idea is to buy the eq6 as I will get pleasure out of using my C8 visually, and piggybacking my DSLR to play with imaging whilst I save up for something like an ED 80. I'll get to mess around with my toucam and play with planetary stuff, get to learn about stacking and alignment and setting up etc. Then by the time I can afford a decent scope and camera for imaging, I'll at least have a decent mount ready to use, and be familiar with it and the whole process and be more informed to make a choice re camera and scope. That mount will mean I have more options at that point, and if I find I don't like it, it seems to hold it's value well.

[Poita (Peter)]

Just an update, I did pick up a second hand York Optical ED80 with rings etc. second hand from a member here. I took it out last night, just on a tripod and it gives lovely sharp views. I also picked up a neximage camera for $20 so I have something to play with now, Just looking for a mount.