Roy Foreman

I feel your pain.  Endless rubbish weather.  Even when its clear it isn't really and image quality suffers.  Like you I make the effort, then when I see the results I wonder why I didn't just stay in bed.

Don't throw your kit away, you'll only regret it one day.  I speak from past experience.

Not a bad image considering what you were up against.

Great image. I have the 130mm version of that scope and it performs excellently.

I can so relate to the comments being made in this thread. Lack of decent weather,  ever growing urban sprawl and light pollution, health problems etc.  Two rounds of covid has reduced me to about an hours worth of energy each day !  When you spend 30 to 40 minutes setting up only to have clouds roll in it is so depressing.  Anything to reduce this time can help.  I have an EQ6 permanently set up on its tripod and polar aligned. All I have to do is mount the scope and electrics.  Covered in a good quality tarpaulin it has been outside for years and still going strong. Every little helps as they say.

Great set of images with plenty of detail. We'll done.

Nice image with well recorded dust and subtle colours.

Excellent image, great detail and colours.

Good to see the flame nebula displaying its true colour.  So many images don't capture the subtle yellows, particularly when filters are used.  Like you I always revisit the old favourites each year, but Orion is a bit too far east for my location at the moment.

On 06/03/2023 at 19:43, SteveA said:

Thanks for your review and I look forward to hearing more as you get this mount outside and test under some clear skies.

I’m on the verge of upgrading from my 15 year  old EQ6 Pro, which I’ve seriously struggled with when loaded with a 250mm Quattro. On paper the EQ6 should cope with Quattro, but cameras, paraphernalia and it’s 1000m physical focal length have been a significant challenge in the guiding department😞. 
My finances just stretch to an EQ8, but clearly at £1k less the CQ350 clearly appeals. My gut says EQ8 which would easily cope with my setup, but if I could save a grand I would be seriously happy. I await your subsequent review…and thanks again.

Steve

Hi Steve,

Once again I have to apologise for the late response due to my not getting notifications on this thread !

I have a 10" Quattro which I used very successfully on an EQ6, but is was the AZ-EQ version which will carry significantly more load than the EQ6-R and has better clutches, alt-az adjustments, tracking accuracy and is quieter.  I have both of these mounts so I am speaking from experience.  I can put a 20Kg RASA 11 on the AZ-EQ6 and it will work adequately, but I wouldn't dare try this with the EQ6-R.

So, the AZ-EQ6 might be a suitable upgrade for you, but the CQ350 is way more solid, much less bulky than an EQ8 and cheaper, but please read my earlier responses for details of it's shortcomings - mainly due to it being a center balanced mount. If it was a conventional GEM it would be perfect.

Cheers

Roy

On 24/01/2023 at 13:40, Tomvictor said:

Any news regarding tracking and use?

Sorry for the long delay in reply, for some weird reason I am not getting notifications on this thread.

The CQ350 tracks and guides really well - 0.25rms is regularly achievable.  I get nice round stars at 3m focal length.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I would not buy a center balanced mount again as the scope sits too low, and I am having real problems with camera gear hanging off the end of an SCT nearly crashing into tripod legs.  I cannot use my 150mm refractor with this mount at all, and I plan to make some 150mm raising block to get the scope further out from the mount - which defeats the point of center balanced in the first place !

Other than this it is a lovely mount and will hold 20-25Kg of equipment rock solid without even breaking a sweat.

Two other problems - the mount doesn't track very far past the meridian which makes imaging objects at culmination a bit awkward.  And the inbuilt USB and power outlets are in totally the wrong place causing me a few trashed cables !

On 06/01/2023 at 10:54, HizerKite said:

Hi, I have the same mount and tripod.  Not used it yet (due to the usual British weather).  I really like the clutches as they lock completely.  However, I did wonder what would happen if the scope accidentally hit the tripod leg - would the clutch somehow slip or would the motor keep trying to move?

 

Interested to hear your thoughts.

 

Regards

Richard

Hi Richard and sorry for the very late response - for some odd reason I am not getting notifications on this one !

As you may have discovered by now, when the scope hits the tripod leg the motor just keeps on going until the resistance gets so great the worm lifts away from the gear under spring pressure and makes a horrible clicking noise. Long before this happens equipment gets damaged - I have several trashed cables and extension tube to prove this !

Although this is a great mount, I would never buy a center balanced mount again as the scope sits too low.  An SCT with imaging train at the back runs a real risk of the camera hitting the tripod legs, and my 6" refractor just cannot be used with this mount as it is too long !!!  I plan to make some rising blocks to try an compensate.

Hope you are having fun with your mount.

Nice rendition of the Sadr region.  Agree with you on the weather.  Here in west Somerset I've only had one decent clear night since June, and it's now mid October !

1 hour ago, simmo39 said:

Thank you, I only posted the image as I was getting withdrawal symptoms.

I know that feeling extremely well!

Good image considering the conditions.

Love it, particularly the rich but subtle colours.

That blue reflection nebula just makes the image. And nessie too of course. Nice work.

Excellent image and nice exposure balance between Jupiter and it's moons.  I too am starting to branch out into planetary imaging, but as yet my results are mediocre at best.  Your shot gives me a benchmark to aim for !

40 hrs in 3 weeks. I don't get that much clear sky in an entire year ! Hence I have to grab as much data as possible in a couple of hours.

Nice work and an excellent result. Well done.

I second that. Nice result and well worth the effort.

Just be aware that imaging at focal lengths of 2-3m is very challenging and puts greater demands on every aspect of the process. The easier everything is the easier it is to get good results and easier to keep inspired.

Good luck with your eventual choice and glad to like my website.

Two good alternatives are the 180 mak and C9.25 both of which I own and will give the CC a run for its money and are much less expensive and will fit on your HEQ5. However neither has the field coverage of the CC, unless you get the edge version of the Celestron.

Both the C9.25 and CC are good on brighter DSOs but the Mak is a bit too slow. I've used both to image M57, M27 and many globular as can been seen in my earlier posts from a few weeks ago.

The plot just gets thicker and thicker  doesn't it. We've all been there !

Hi Jon, I have no experience with an RC but I imagine its characteristics are similar to the CC, except for F/8 as opposed to F/12.

I can vouch for my 10" CC. Nice and sharp across all but the extreme corners of a full frame sensor. And being an all mirror system it has good colour rendition and purity.

However, it's a beast. Very bulky and heavy. An EQ6 AZ will carry it but it is at its limits. The EQ6 R definately will not. Mine is on CQ350 which holds it so solidly that manual focussing is a breeze with no image wobble.

I found collimation no more difficult than an SCT or Newt. Just don't use a collimator made for CC/RC. Use an ordinary laser for the focusser and secondary, and visual on a star for primary.

The 10" is a true 10", but the 8 is only 7.3. Not sure about the 6 though.

Lots to consider and think about. Good luck.

Taken last night with my Stella Lyra 10" Classical Cassegrain while I was waiting for Saturn and Jupiter to be better placed.

I've tried imaging this star many times but this is my best rendition to date.

12 x 8 sec at 3045mm F/12 and gain 400

ZWO ASI 6200 MC Pro

Processed in DSS and Photoshop.

Clear skies to all.

It's only by experimenting that we learn what works and what doesn't.  Nice set of images for an experiment. 

Excellent.

3 hours ago, JonHigh said:

Hi. Just seen this. That’s something you don’t see often at all! Thank you. 

That's why I post images, in the hope that someone will enjoy them. Glad that you do, and thank you.