Hello there!
I'm DT, looking at the sky from the Netherlands and... who took the darkness away! 🤭
Well that aside, for the past year and a bit I have been taking pictures of the deep sky using the following equipment:
Telescop: TS-Optics PhotoLine 60 (FL 360mm)
Camera: Canon EOS 700D astro modified
Mount: SW Star Adventurer
Guiding:
Camera: SV305 pro
Guidescope: SV165 30mm
Programs: Sharpcap, NINA and PHD2
The above equipment has been serving me well to get into astrophotography and helped me learn about lots different aspects and challenges you can run into. But lately I have been feeling the Star Adventurer is becoming more and more a limiting factor. Guiding is not great, I have to throw away 25%-50% of my frames each night. And of course it's not a Go-To so it requires more of my time and attention, both at the start and when it runs into its limits.
So, the time has come to replace the Star Adventurer.
I have been reading a lot of user experiences both here on this forum and others about different mounts. If I had the money, I would have bought the SW EQ6-R Pro but sadly I'm not in a position to buy that mount... yet. But since I'm not enjoying the performance of the SA I kinda require something better but for less money then the EQ6-R.
At this moment I have found 2 options which fall within my budget of €800. (I know it's limited and more would be better, but this is what I can play with for the foreseeable future.)
Celestron AVX (hypertuned) which I can buy second hand within my budget.
EQ5 (non Go-To) and a motor kit with OnStep (https://www.terransindustry.com/products/skywatcher-eq5?variant=42553929826497)
I don't mind taking my equipment apart and fiddling with them, I actually enjoy doing so when it's cloudy. Always trying to find ways to maximize the performance of my equipment.
So yeah, this is the choice I have at the moment and I would like to hear what you think about my choice for a next mount. Personally I'm leaning towards the EQ5 with OnStep because of the belt drive and higher versatility of the OnStep system.
Well, I hope I will be able to make my choice with all your input, thanks in advance and clear skies!