KP82

Based on the usual seeing condition we have in the country, we don't have many opportunities to use super high power. So if I were you, I wouldn't worry about the 5mm + barlow being too much. Just get the 5mm for 130x. For high power planet viewing, I'd strongly recommend you get a tracking mount rather than an ultra wide angle eyepiece. The 5mm BST suggested by another member is a very good option although some purists would probably suggest an ortho. If you do end up getting a high power ortho, a tracking mount will be even more crucial because narrower fov from the eyepiece means you will need to move the mount a lot to follow the target and that means a lot of vibrations from your hands.

If the location in your profile is where you're going to image from, a LPS filter is going to help. Hutech IDAS LPS filters are quite popular. There are many different types and you should pick one based on what kind of street lights are installed in your vicinity. The P2 mentioned previously works very well against Sodium lights. If the street lamps are WLED based, you will want the D2. I used to have a D2 before my recent house move (I live in a Bortle 5 area so a LPS filter isn't generally required. But there was a closeby LED footpath lamp near my old house so I had no choice). It worked ok but did cause pretty serious colour balancing issues in broadband targets. It was quite evident in my M31 shot (link in my sig. You can compare it to the ones taken without any filters by other ppl to see the issues). BTW I'd strongly recommend getting your DSLR modded for astro-imaging. Losing out on the Ha band is a big disadvantage for many targets. My 600D was modded by astronomiser: http://www.astronomiser.co.uk/ With your 450D you should stick to ISO400 (or 800) for best dynamic range in your ap captures. You can read up the reasons behind this here: http://dslr-astrophotography.com/iso-values-canon-cameras/

The majority of the FRs/FFs on the market have either M48 (for 35mm full frame) or T2 (for APS-C or smaller) male thread at the camera end. So when you buy extension tubes for backfocus spacing, you only need to look at either M48 or T2 ones plus a M48 to T2 step-down adapter if required. However at the telescope end of the FR/FF there are so many different thread sizes. I've seen M63 (2.5"), M75 (3"), M83, etc. You will need to find out the thread size on your focuser drawtube and then get the right adapter.

In my area, BBC is more accurate than any other weather apps I've come across, CO, AccuWeather and the built-in google weathers on my android phones. For example, last night there was light shower from 20:00 until 21:00. Only BBC accurately predicted that and its weather map was also pretty accurate in terms of the amount of cloud cover. CO only predicted it was going to be cloudy. AccuWeather and Google were even worse and showed almost clear sky until 3:00. If I listened to the latter two and set up my imaging rig (new moon last night), I'd be utterly disappointed.

With an EQ3 your choices are pretty limited. If the scope is used for imaging as well as visual, I'd say go for the WO 80mm as every bit of aperture counts at this size.

Out of the four options you listed, my vote goes to the SW 150P dob. It's the easiest to use and will produce stunning views of the night sky. If you plan to upgrade to a GOTO/tracking EQ mount for a bit of imaging in the future, why not take a look at this one: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-6-inch-planetary-dobsonian.html It's another 6" f/8 newt on a dobsonian mount, but its tube rings will allow easier conversion to an EQ mount compared to the skywatcher. A 4" short focal length refractor on an alt-az mount could also be a good choice as it's a lot more portable and easier to use. But it can produce quite a bit of CA on bright objects. A 102-127mm SCT or Mak will be the most portable solution, but its use is very limited (lunar & planetary). Its aperture isn't big enough for many faint small DSOs yet its long focal length will seriously limit the fov it can produce.

If your FR/FF has a 2" nosepiece or M48 female thread at the scope end, you will install the filter there. This is the most straight forward method. If however your FR/FF is a 2.5"+ screw on type, then you will have to install the filter in a M48 extension tube. This method will require careful adjustment in the spacing between FR/FF and the camera. You may need a low-profile T-ring if you run out of backfocus distance.

For DSLR you've got two options: 1. Clip-on style that goes inside the mirror box 2. M48 (2") screw on (this is what I use)

For DSO imaging your filter choice will depend on target types. Emission nebulae: dual-band (Ha & OIII) or tri-band (Ha, Hb & OIII) filters are the best. Galaxies and reflective nebulae: none. I don't recommend any Light pollution suppression filters unless there are street lamps in close approximity to where you image. I've personally tried the IDAS LPS D2 filter while imaging M31 and M45 (I live in a Bortle 5 area). The result wasn't very good.

Pi with Astroberry if you'd like to try out ekos with a readily available solution. Or you could manually set up pi + ubuntu mate + indi + kstar + ekos. Personally I image with a canon DSLR and quite like BackyardEOS which is Windows only. So I use a win10 mini-pc with RDP for that.

I could fully understand your disappointment. The first time I looked through a telescope was when I was in Year 10. The scope, an 80mm refractor belonged to my Physics teacher. Since then I always wanted one for myself. Two years later my aunt bought me a Tasco 60/900. I enjoyed the views of Jupiter and Saturn through it. However that was about all I could see with it. Then I read up some magazines about different aspects of a scope like aperture, focal length, refractor vs reflector, etc. and started to suspect the reason I couldn't see much else with my 60mm was because of its limited aperture. So when my cousin got a 114mm newt, I immediately went to his house and asked to try it. Unfortunately there weren't much to see either. All those beautiful looking galaxies/nebulae printed on the box were either a blob of fuzzy or a grey hazy patch. I still believe these marketing materials have a lot to do with unrealistic expections among beginners like once I was. I finally started imaging a couple of years ago when I acquired my own APO refractor. The results so far have been quite satisfactory. I haven't given up on visual, but my main targets are now open clusters, doubles and planets.

The ES EXOS-2 PMC8 is a decent mount and its imaging payload capacity should easily be able to handle a 3-4" scope. So I'd start with a 80-102mm apo. These scopes coupled with aps-c cameras (your 1100d) are meant for widefield and medium to large size DSOs. For smaller galaxies you will need bigger refractors (longer FL while still being reasonably fast) which are too heavy for your mount. For really small DSOs and planetary imaging SCTs are the way to go. There are tons of options between 80 and 102mm. However if your budget is limited to the amount you can get by selling your eq5 and 200p (I'd recommend keep the 8" newt for visual), your choices will be limited to 80mm ED doublets. The SW ED80 along with the dedicated .85x FR/FF could have been the best option but due to supply issues with SW at the moment you will have to look elsewhere. TS Optics and Altair both offer 80mm ED doublets. You will also need a reducer/flattener to go with it. SW ED80: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/pro-series/skywatcher-evostar-80ed-ds-pro-ota.html Altair 80EDR: https://www.altairastro.com/starwave-80ed-r-ed-doublet-refractor-telescope-466-p.asp TS Optics 80ED: https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p8637_TS-Optics-Doublet-SD-APO-80mm-f-7---FPL-53---Lanthan-Objective.html I'd strongly recommend getting your 1100d astro-modded or buy a 2nd hand astro-modded dslr unless you plan to upgrade to a cooled OSC (or even mono + filters) camera soon. Being able to capture Ha is important for shooting nebulae. Your QHY can be used as a guide camera (or casual imaging for planets), so don't forget to pick up a 50mm guidescope when buying the main scope.

I had a 4" f/7 triplet on an AZ5 + 3/8 steel tripod two years ago. The combo worked ok. Not as stable as some other heavier duty alt-az mounts like the Altair Sabre v2 (which I sold due to lack of slow-mo) or AYOII, but definitely useable and more portable. If you can cope with slightly more weight, the Skytee2 is a good choice as it's more stable than the AZ5 while retaining the slow-mo. Personally I've switched my portable visual setup from manual alt-az to lightweight tracking eq. The main reason is less vibration with higher power EPs. The ES iEXOS-100 works very well for me.

Great review. I've got the smaller/lighter iEXOS-100 PMC8. It's very well built and has a smooth quiet belt drive. It's now part of my main portable visual setup. Very good and solid piece of kit for its price.

Tried Juan at Cheapastrophotography and Andy at Astronomiser two days ago, still no response. It looks like none of the UK based mod providers is in business anymore. So apart from the expensive service offered by Baader or TS in Germany, there is nowhere to get the camera modded or buy an existing modded camera now. Bummer!

I sent an email to cheapastrophotography using the form on their website on Saturday, so far I haven't received any response. Does anyone know if they are still in business?

No worries. I've been looking at some used 450D on ebay. They are going for around £50. Maybe I could grab one and get it modded by Juan. The overall cost would be covered by selling the 40D (intact). That's good to know. I'll drop him an email to see if he's happy to replacement LPF#2 with a baader BCF for my 40D.

Thanks for the advice. But it looks like 40D (in fact none of the x0D) isn't listed in their list of models.

You could be right, but it's just that I'm worried about ruining the camera completely by doing this myself. I've done some simple mod like fitting the rowan belt to my heq5, but this filter replacement seems to be on a completely different level of difficulty according to some youtube videos (also requires quite a few tools I don't have).

I've been contemplating astro modding my 40D for sometime now. There are 3 main types of mod, LPF#2 removal, Baader BCF and Clear glass full spectrum. The one I'm most interested in is the Baader BCF because it allows Ha and SII to passthrough without the need of an IR/UV cut filter. Instead of doing this myself, I've been looking for a skilled 3rd party to carry it out and have come across this person http://www.dslrastromod.co.uk/index.html. Has anyone used this service before?

If these mounts are simply Skywatcher rebrands, either will be fine for your setup. It's a choice of lower cost/less weight (HEQ5) or more features/higher payload (AZEQ6). The HEQ5 could be easily upgraded to belt driven should you pick it.

Thanks for the link. I've looked at the ts website but as expected they only sell spare motors for EQ6 and EQ3/5 motor upgrade kit. I'm aware that stepper motors last very long usually. But like all motors there will evetually be mechanical failures. If SW sell spares for EQ6 meaning they do expect some mounts would experience motor failure and they offer users the possibility to replace them, then I find it strange why they don't offer the same option for one of their most popular model, HEQ5.

While installing the Rowan belt kit to my HEQ5 Pro this afternoon, something came across my mind. Where can I find spare stepper motors should the current ones reach EOL? I looked up on the web but could only find spare parts for EQ6 Pro. I find it strange that SW only sell spare motors for EQ6 but not HEQ5. Or do they share the same motor and I just need to use the existing mounting bracket on it?

EQM35? Basically a EQ3 sized mount but its reinforced RA axis is equipped with a 180-teeth worm gear (same as EQ6) resulting in a slightly higher payload than EQ5.

Many ED refractors in the range between 80mm and 130mm from TS Optics, Altair, Astro-Tech and Stellavue share the same origin (e.g. 102 f/7 doublet, 115 f/7 triplet, 125 f/7.8 doublet, etc.). The only difference you may find sometimes is the focuser. If I were to pick one of these scopes, I'd buy from Altair as they are based in UK so the shipping cost and the risk of damage during transportation would be the lowest. WO scopes are mostly made by Longpern. There have been a few models with premium optics made by LZOS (FLT123) and TEC (early production FLT110), but otherwise the optical quality is comparable to the above four rebranders. I certainly wouldn't pay extra £400 for the fancy colour paint of the WO scopes when they are new. However in the used market WO are quite competitive.