Whickh would be better gear for Astrophotography?

[Poita (Peter)]

Take a look at this shot, I believe it is the same scope as yours, using a hyper star

http://www.hyperstarimaging.com/gall....php?photo=175

[Poita (Peter)]

Originally Posted by eskimo

I dont understand what you mean by "reducer"
can you explain to this beginner
those link wernt there a minute ago

http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?ProdID=358

Basically a lens that 'reduces' the focal length of your scope, making imaging more manageable, and gives you a wider view as well. It also changes the size of coverage on your CCD.

For example a 6.3 reducer reduces your scope to 1280mm from around 2000mm (you have the nexstar 8" I think??) and gives much brighter images as well.

There is a nice layman's style review here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/elec-...t_121890967172

you can often get them second hand, Meade make one as well.

[Poita (Peter)]

or is it the nexstar 6?

[eskimo]

thanks peter

its the SE 8

just came in from outside doing an anti rain/cloud dance

[Poita (Peter)]

Excellent, the 8 is big enough to get good results with Hyperstar or you may want to also consider the video astronomy route with a mallincam or similar.

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthrea.../fpart/63/vc/1

[rainwatcher (Peter)]

I will add my twopennorth. I wish I had spent all the money I had to buy a scope on a really good mount. I made my first 8" newtonian 30 years ago for about $300 and it still performs superbly on a dob. I then spent a small fortune on a C8 with a basic wedge, my missues still mentions it. Good mounts and good scopes are cheap now compared to 30 years ago, and Celestron in particular seemed to have a license to print money. Now I am retired and cannot afford a good mount I struggle with a wedge. I have great fun and i enjoy the challenge but my astro-photography suffers.

[eskimo]

Howdy guys

as above I have an SE8 and Poita has advised to get a EQ mount for AP

OPT has the

Celestron Advanced Series CG-5GT Computerized Mount on special for $615.00 plus I reckon about $470 shipping.

Then there is the iOptron SmartStar PR GoTo Equatorial Mount for $699.00 plus shipping

Then there is the LX80 Multi-Mount - EQ and AZ Combo for $799.00

Are any of these mounts suitable for what I have and want to do..some of them say suitable for AP..but you guys know more than I

ie is any of the above better than the Skywatcher HEQ5

Bintel dont mention anything about PEC on the details for for the HEQ5 whereas the Skywatcher does say it has it ..would the Bintel one have it?...and why do I need PEC ?

The CGEM Computerized Equatorial Mount [91526] at $1500.00 plus shipping is getting pricey as is the NEQ6

Why do I need PEC

What do I want in slew rates..I note the CG-5GT has only one where as the the CGEM has nine?...whats all this slew rates mean to me..until someone tells me it means absolutely nothing

is any of the above cheaper units better than say the Skywatchers HEQ5 and or the NEQ6 at Bintel

Is the NEQ6 (Bintel) the same as thee EQ6 as listed on the Skywatcher web site?

Do I really need the NEQ6 or the CGEM over the above cheaper units


If it was your money what would you get and why?

I know OPT wont sell outside of US but there are ways..
The aus $ aint going to stay up there for much longer

[Poita (Peter)]

I think andrewscom.com.au has the best prices on the HEQ5 and EQ6Pro mount.
The LX80 might be worth waiting for, it is the new kid on the block - mounts can be finicky so wait for some reviews.

The SE8 is quite a long focal length, so the sturdier the mount the better.

Out of all the others you mentioned, they aren't great for photography but are okay for visual, but I would consider them all inferior to the HEQ5.

[DJT (David)]

Hi Eskimo

I took up Astro Imaging this year and went down the Sky Watcher ED100 and HEQ5 route, from Andrews after a brief and unsuccessful daliance with a Meade AX125.

No regrets, however I had a hard time with polar alignment so went for an illuminated reticule for drift alignment which resolved 7 months of trailing stars in one evening.

In celebration I hammered brackets into my lawn around the legs to mark the spot and went off to admire pin sharp unguided 2 min subs, so for me the HEQ5 definately does the trick. I have it loaded up with the scope, an ST80 guide scope, starshoot autoguider and a half ton of Nikon D200.

Oddly though when I was packing up, I looked at the Longitude scale on the side of the mount and it was pointing at 38 degrees and I am fairly certain that sydney north shore sits around 33.47 (as per iphone compass and most web sites). If it turns out the latitude scale has been stuck on in the wrong position I am not going to be a happy bunnie.

Anyone had this issue before? or am I seriously wrong with latitude in central Sydney?

Your other comment was about PEC. This is periodic error correction, PE being caused by irregularities in the mounts worm gears. All motor driven scopes are going to have a bit of PEC but the HEQ5 and EQ6 and probably quite a few others have the functionality to compensate for this by "training" the mount. Have just got to the bit in the manual about this hence awesome knowledge. Given I now "know" how to polar align and am going guided then will want to make sure the resultant images will be as brilliant as the ones on this site and that they dont have trails caused by PE.

Road trip up North tomorrow for the holidays, astro gear in tow and hoping to get some clear skies for once...

ps, trick to new hobbies is to have accessories sneak in to the house every so often.less sticker shock for the spouse. I have a LowePro camera rugsack absolutely choca bloc with must have widgets and wotsits which apparently are crucial and are all used, including the very cheapo windows laptop purchased because none of the good astro software will run on a MAC!

Enjoy the new hobbie

[eskimo]

Thanks DJT

as per yours, Poita's and other info's advice I was thinking of the 5, leaning toward the 6 but have ordered the LX80...none in aus as yet so hopefully by the time they arrive here there will be a reviews of them so that if neccessary I can cancel order and then get the 6.

I have only been able to have a few attempts at visual gazing with the SE8 but I cant seem to get it to Sky Align. I have punched in my lat/long taken from my GPS, set the current time set the date (there's an idot's (me) story about that, that I might tell one day) then begin the alignment using venus, jupiter (those two I am sure of) and then for the third its either Archernar or Canopus...but who cares..Skyalign is not supposed to care as it asks for three bright stars...but when thats finished it does its interanal checking (scanning) but cant make an alignment..... checked all my inputs, data... time, date and current lat/long etc and tried and tried many more times while the mozzies were having a free meal to no avail...even the mozzies ended up going home

So then I tried a Solar System align and selected Venus...ok it said......this is looking good I thought...so I said lets go look at jupiter ..it slewed around towards the north went up stopped and it was off by what I reckon might be somewhere about 30minutes to an hour or is that a couple of hundred or so million miles.....


what am I not doing right?

[traveller (Bo)]

Well done Eskimo, and welcome to IIS and a fellow 8SE user. Out of couriosity, does your secondary holder say "Fastar Compatible"?
I have similar intentions of getting a (N)EQ-6 mount for the OTA for some AP work later, but for now, I am happy doing webcam planetary work, one arm bandit does a good job at tracking planets with a webcam and a 2x Barlow, even when I have a 10:1 crayford focusser on it.
Just waiting for the winds to die down and clouds to bugger off.
Cheers,
Bo (Melbourne via Adelaide)

[eskimo]

I just went and had a look...yes it does...what does that mean...i recall seeing about it somewhere on the web...off to find out what it means

oh thats the hyperstar stuff that Peter directed me too
i take it that the celestron fasstar is no longer available

[traveller (Bo)]

Congrats eskimo, you have a rare beast
Yes, Celestron stopped Fastar in mid 2000's, but Hyperstar kits are avilable as Poita/Peter said. See this thread http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthrea...0/Main/4644349
Apparently, Celestron started doing them from 2010 onwards (mine was Oct 2010, according to the first owner) they must have too many Fastar secondaries left over.
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthrea...6/Main/4048558
Let us know how you go with the NEQ6, I am still waiting for some detailed reports on the LX80 mount, as that looked the part at least.
In the meantime, I encourage you to do some webcam planetary work as they are much easier on learning curve.
PS, where abouts in Adelaide are you. I am heading there after Xmas and I can lend you a webcam if you are interested.
Bo