Ratlet

10 hours ago, powerlord said:

1. thats how I started. first az, then setup in eq mode. no guiding, computers, etc. I could get 3-4 mins subs ok with my 200mm. As others have said, key is good PA. The way to get this is to go around the loop several times:

1. setup azgti and align. then pa align.

2. now turn it off/on, and clear calibaration, and do it all again (be quicker this time, and you'll get closer to PA alighment)

3. do it about 3 times should get you really close, and then start your imaging.

balance is the main thing for heavy loads, if it's all balanced, and you have a bit of weight on the screw, 6+kg is possible.

 

3-4 minute subs unguided?  Wowzer.  Thanks for posting your method too.  Very helpful

1 hour ago, RayWUK said:

Out again tonight, although guiding not quite up to last nights effort. 1-2RMS. I did tweek some settings which i thought may have improved it over last nights 0.8-1.5 guiding but it didn't pay off. It's a bit breezy tonight so that might account for it. Anyway here's my first attempt at the Orion Nebula from last night. Although its getting a bit low in the sky now i'm quite pleased with the result. 60x120sec subs. Still a lot to learn especially with processing.

 

That's really nice.  I really like the pink shades in nebula rather than the blood red.

Guys,

Thabnks so much for replying.

The info in this thread is great (I spent most of last night going through it all).  I'm pretty much sold on the mount given the feedback.

I've basically assigned myself a budget for an initial outlay (10 year anniversary so the wife is being generous) so I can scale down some things and scale up others (less lenses and guidescope for example).

But this thread is at least let me nail down the mount.

Not an AZ-GTI owner yet, but very interested as it ticks a lot of boxes for what I'm looking for.  Could I ask a couple questions to you owners?

1.  Are any of you running it unguided in eq mode for astrophotography?  I was looking to do unguided with a 200mm focal length and crop DSLR and wanted to know the art of experience you have.  Possibility I might want to increase to 300mm down the road.

2.  What sort of payload are you getting for astrophotography unguided/guided?  Seems some people are getting good images from pretty heavy loads which on the face goes against the perceived wisdom of half the rated loading for imaging.

3.  Have any of you used a star adventurer or similar?  How would you compare the experience of it Vs the GTi?

Thanks for the great thread hugely helpful!

9 hours ago, Elp said:

If you learn drift alignment (darv method) you won't need anything else.

To start you can use a manual compass with an East West scale on it to get the tripod/mount to point roughly to true north, and a digital inclinometer to get the altitude pretty accurate to your location, then finish using drift alignment.

Good Lord.  I had a look at Drift alignment a couple weeks ago and couldn't really understand.  I Must have been tired.  I did a google and it looks pretty straightforward.

It also has the benefit of being a 'learning the ropes' challenge rather than a 'how do I make this camera speak to this computer and control it from my phone' challenge, which seems much more appealing.

I'm trying to be practical with dipping my toe in and planning this out.  I don't want to go down a route where I getting equipment that I'll need to replace because there is a better fit for my anticipated goals.  Drift alignment seems perfect because even if I do get a guide scope, polar scope and a top of the line mount, drift alignment will still remain useful.  Perfect.

I'm hoping someone here might be able to help.

I'm doing some research before I get out and start doing some astrophotography.  I've been reading up on FOV and searched astrobin and forums and I think I'm pretty dialed in for what to expect and I'm going to go down the DSLR/lens route (35mm/200mm vintage and a more modern 14mm).

In terms of mounts I think a star tracker would be the best option due to the portability of the system (if I decide to use heavier equipment, then I'll need to get a proper mount, but I'll still be able to use the tracker as a portable setup).

I've been looking at the Sky Watcher AZ-GTi in equatorial mode and it looks very flexible due to the goto and portability.  My only concern is that it doesn't have a polar alignment scope.  I see that polar aignment is possible, however it seems to be largely a guidescope based solution or require a laptop.

Is it possible to do polar align a AZGTI without a guidescope, using the DSLR?  Ideally (to keep it portable) through a phone app or similar.  I've seen the ASAIR plus, but that looks very expensive.  I've also seen the Astropi which looks like it might work through the DSLR.  If anyone has experience with these options, or even just getting a good polar alignment in the field with it without a lot of equipment I'd be grateful.

Many thanks,

Graham

Just did a quick Google and there are a couple European shops advertising it.  Apparently delivery in May.  €600 price with no tripod.

Looks funky.