dd999

The AZ Gti can only take the weight (also called payload) of 5kg - a 130ps is 4kg, so gives you an idea. The Astro Fi mount you mentioned looks to only take a weight of 3.6kg. There may be other WiFi based options that will give you the ability to carry heavier scopes (not that I have seen but others here may know) but if there were these would be a lot more expensive.

If for though you wanted a bigger scope, and say for example you wanted to move from the 130ps to the bigger 150pds - then you'll need a bigger mount. A bigger mount means more money. A 150pds on a EQ5 mount (bigger and more stable than a grab and go) and with a goto (hand controlled not WiFi through an app) will set you back around £750-£800 - so a lot more.

If though you wanted to try your hand at astrophotography - you'll probably need an even bigger mount, the HEQ5. Then a 150pds, with HEQ5 and goto, brand new will cost close to £1,000 (and that's without the camera!). Even on the second hand market you'll often pay around 70% or more of retail prices (depending on the condition) but bargains pop up from time to time.

Just some comparison's to show you how money chomping this little hobby is

Not all unfortunately - there is another version that comes with a backpack and a crappy tripod.

I can get this pretty cheap atm (cheaper than the ota with rings), as I wanted a travel scope rather than trying to carry around my 130p - but wanted to see if I needed to buy the rings too (which still works out cheaper than the OTA with rings). 

Thanks!

Hi - a real noob question!

Can I simply attach a Star Travel 80 (or Star Travel 70) scope to a AZ GTi mount using a dovetail bar attached directly to the scope ....................... or do I need to also buy 90mm rings, and attach these to the dovetail bar, to attach to the mount?

Not embarrassing - these are just product names, which you may have seen when you Googled. 

The AZ part, I assume, stands for Alt-Azimuth (which is how the mount is moved, on two axis - horizontal and vertical). 

Another assumption is the GTi and GTe are product names rather than abbreviations for anything specific to astronomy - but I could be wrong. 

Yes gotos can be manually controlled. The AZ Gti (or AZ GTe) mentioned above can be controlled by up, down, left, right arrow buttons on the phone or tablet app - or you can select an object and hit goto to take you there. 

Or you can go old school and manually move the telescope by hand to choose an object. 

If you do look at these mounts one piece of advice (from someone who has just bought one) if you feel you may want to move the telescope by hand as well as using the app in the same night - the AZ GTi may be a better choice. 

This is simply because the AZ GTi remembers its position. So if you align, start using the app to manually control or goto - but then decide to move it by hand to quickly point the telescope to something interesting you see - it'll remember where it was and you can pick up via the app from where you left off. So no need to do the realignment again. 

The AZ GTe doesn't remember where it was so if you do this you need to start the alignment again (about a 5-10min job) if you want to go back to goto mode. 

A lot of detail I know - but someone pointed this out on here before I bought, and was enough to convince me of the AZ GTi over the AZ GTe. 

I'll leave it to the dob experts for the other question. 

I'm just wondering whether a Star Travel 80 could be used as a guide scope for the Evostar 72ed?

Or is it just too big, in comparison to the 72ed, for this purpose? 

You mentioned that the star alignment seemed to work - so have you done the two star alignment - which means you have manually pointed to the first star, and the AZ GTe goes off and correctly finds star number 2?

Not quite sure what you mean by 'they' are not being accepted - do you mean after choosing to find an object to goto? 

Is the mount and telescope responding at all - I assume you are controlling through the Synscan app? 

Could you see your daughter spending the time to learn, or do you think she may get bored if things become time consuming and a little frustrating (and they can!)?

I'm thinking of my own here. If it were me I would be looking a goto with tracking. If she is smartphone savvy (like most children) there are even wifi controlled telescopes through your phone or tablet. This means everything becomes very instant and dynamic.

Personally I'd also recommend one of Steve's suggestions with the AZ GTi goto. It's relatively low cost, and a great beginner idea to cut out some of the learning frustrations - especially where kids are concerned. I don't think it spoils the fun of discovery, actually quite the opposite. Especially if you pair it with a planeterium app such as SkySafari. You can literaly view the night sky on your phone or tablet, select a star, nebula, galaxy or planet and with the press of a button tell the scope to go there. 

You will lose a bit on aperture but if this were me, this would be the way I would go. The AZ GTi (or AZ GTe - similar thing really) with the Sky Watcher 130ps scope may be a good starter scope too. Brand new these are £350 so close to your budget.

20 minutes ago, Nerf_Caching said:

I took this using my 72ED and it is indeed a fine scope for the money. It is quite small and light so I can put it on top of my star adventurer mount. The only pet peeve for me is the dovetail which should ideally be replaced with a longer one as declination balance cannot be properly achieved especially with a camera on the end. 

Nice shot!

28 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

I would go for 130PDS except for intended mount - it is rather limited.

In my view 130PDS has edge in AP and visual. Only advantage 72ED has is portability and small size. It is wide field and travel scope.

130PDS has 4Kg without any accessories. Add CC and 600d and you'll be pushing your mount quite a bit. You also need to think mount precision regardless of the weight. AZ-GTI is wide field imaging mount, so wide field scope is really only suitable option (next to of course imaging with lens - which are inherently wider field since they are shorter FL than almost any scope out there).

Thanks and yes that does make sense - although I have only just bought the AZ GTi. I have the same reservations about the size of the 130pds. I know I'll be pushing the payload to 5kg with a dslr - and I really should only be maxing out at 3.5kg.

Unfortunately I probably will need to go with a scope that meets the mounts needs. I will though have a 130p to try on before I need to upgrade (which should be the same size). I can look at how it tracks fully loaded,

I'm trying to fine-tune my new equipment and narrow the list of possibilities. I've done lots of research, and found lots of good advice already on here.

I've picked up the AZ GTi mount with Manfrotto 055 xprob tripod - and awaiting the EQ wedge, bar and counter weights. I've also awaiting the delivery of a Canon 600d with t ring and adapter. So I feel I'm slowly getting there.

I currently have a 130p (which the AZ GTi handles well) which I know is going to be a nightmare for AP, so am looking to sell this - and through my research (and budget) I have narrowed the choices down to either a SW 130pds or a Evostar 72ed. This is also to do with weight as well as budget, as the AZ GTi has a max payload of 5kg. Perhaps in the future whichever scope I don't get now, I will do later.

I know there isn't necessarily a scope that will do it all, so I guess it may be helpful to know my main goals will be DSO AP - I know this may be tricky with the mount but I've seen some great examples of what can be achieved so I'm happy putting the time in to learn as I go - I just don't want to lose the ability of visual too. 

From what I've seen so far the 72ed may be better at AP than the 130pds, but the 130pds quite an all-rounder but better for visual - but it's possible with both scopes to do both activities. Local travel with the scope would be useful which again puts the 72ed slightly in front.

I've read about them individually but would love to hear anyone's thoughts or comparisons between the two.

The M31 Andromeda galaxy is one of those galaxies that captivates many. I've had a rather obsessive fascination of this galaxy for years. 

I've travelled to some very dark sky places across Wales, Colorado, Teide of Tenerife and the Rocky Mountains of Canada but nothing will beat the naked eye view I managed to get of M31 in the Australian outback. So much so I had to double take and replot my view of the sky from Pegasus across to the North West - and down from Cassiopia - but there it was, hanging overhead, like a huge whispy but immensely brilliantly bright cloud. Breathtaking.

Anyway on with the post, I also have the 130p and I'm afraid you'll see it as no more than a whispy faint cloud. Averting your view to either side of the galaxy - rather than direct at it - will help. 

I had a 150p a few years back (slightly bigger) , and a pair of 80 20 binos, and tbh I got almost identical views of clarity.

A whispy cloud is still an amazing sight to me of our nearest 'big' galaxy - but I'm afraid it won't look much like photos or those planetarium views without capturing it through your own dslr (although attaching a dslr to a 130p is very troublesome). 

As Andromeda is considered to be the furthest thing we can see with our naked eye, all other galaxies will be by default even fainter.

Don't let this put you off. The wonders of the sky, the stories and the vast distances are enough to keep us all looking skywards - but to achieve those clearer jaw dropping views you will need to venture in to the more expensive world of astrophotography. 

Appreciate your help - tbh the focuser movement alone has swayed me to look in to selling the 130p and upgrade the scope to a 130pds (which I haven't seen anyone mention a focuser movement issue with dslr), or even a SW 72 ED

I'm also a lover of the 130p though, such a versatile little scope

1 hour ago, Eddie Jones said:

Hi,

Love the 130P it's where I started !
There are 3 problems with DSLR astro-photography with the 130p.

1/ Cant get focuser in far enough - standard solution is use barlow. (I also moved my primary mirror inwards a few mm using the collimation bolts)
2/ No focus lock - weight of the DSLR can easily move the focuser - solution rotate the OTA in the tube to keep focuser horizontal (see pic)
3/ If you've followed '2' the weight of the DSLR and barlow is now acting on the plastic focuser and bending it slightly downwards. this can lead to some weird coma type effects.

Using a (not too heavy) astro cam should alleviate all of theses problems and is what I would recommend.

I'm not saying don't try it  ( I learned a huge amount with mine) just be aware that its always going to be a compromised starting point.
best of luck & clear Skies
 

Thank you! - this is really helpful!

Knowing that even with a barlow (and mirror move you did) still then creates the problem of not having a focuser lock and movement there - I can see it's a hassle already. Is this not also a problem on the 130pds, does that have a focus lock?

I'm a little new to this, so when you say an astro cam can achieve focus in a 130p, (I assume like a mobile phone can) do you mean a astro webcam or something like a ZWO imaging camera ( https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-cameras/zwo-asi120mc-s-usb-3-colour-camera.html ) ?

If the dslr is astro modified - does that reduce its quality for normal day to day photography? 

Once you astro mod a dslr, it can really only be used for AP? 

2 hours ago, alacant said:

Hi again. There are many different solutions to get a DSLR in focus on a 130p. The Barlow is among them.

Only you can decide what's acceptable and no amount of reading or research online is going to join the dots you need.

My advice would be go along to an astro club and let them show you first hand the results you'd get with a DSLR, Barlow and your 130. Armed with that experience, you can then make an informed decision on DSLR purchase or otherwise...

Cheers

I appreciate the reply and it does make sense, I guess I just wanted to find out if it were at least possible - which you've helped answer the question

Thanks - although I specifically read it was a problem with the 130p which is unable to be used with a dslr (which is why SW brought out the 130pds) - but a potential way around was with a Barlow. 

I have a 1.25 inch 2x Barlow already but about to invest in a dslr. I guess I didn't want to unless I knew I could use with the 130p (and Barlow) otherwise I'd have to change the scope too! 

I'm trying to join some dots on some research Ive been doing, and wonder if someone can help me confirm my assumption. 

I have a SW 130p (not the pds version) and wanted to try my hand on some AP. 

I've read that a dslr can't achieve focus on a 130p - but can using a Barlow. 

Would a simple 2 inch Barlow be enough for a dslr to achieve focus on a 130p?

I just had a helpful reply from OVL on my question as to any possible way - no matter how crazy, how outside of the box and even if it came at an additional cost  - to change the goto slew speeds - their response:

'No'

I've removed the slight token fluffyness of the email, but this is the general gist. Something I guess we all knew, but always nice to get the confirmation 

5 hours ago, david_taurus83 said:

Out of the 4 goto mounts I've had, EQ5 + Pro, AZEQ6, AZGTi and current CEM25P, the EQ5 was the noisiest. (In contrast, the iOptron is literally whisper quiet) I was concerned when I checked out some YouTube videos of the AZGti but was a bit relieved when I tried it out in person. That said, I did take it apart and added a bit more grease to where I thought it was lacking and smoothed out a rough spot it had when I turned it by hand. I used mine in EQ mode and got decent results at 350mm focal length. Guided 5 minute subs were easily achievable with good polar alignment and balancing. Dec backlash was a bit of a pain but if guided in North or South only it was fine. Average 1.5" RMS. And that was with 5kg of kit with 2kg of counterweight. Very capable little mount. Best picture I've took (imo) was on that mount.

 

Really great shot! - it certainly adds to the motivation and optimism I have of this little mount.

Is the CEM25P a lot quieter than the AZ GTi?

16 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Love them! i had no idea you could capture DSO's with a phone.

Thanks. I didnt either. I was using an az mount, so exposure time had to be limited to 1.3 secs. 

The mount is az but have ordered the kit to turn in to an EQ mount.

Once it arrives I'm going to give the DSOs another go, using a mobile, but this time with a longer exposure time - hopefully it'll produce a slightly clearer result. 

29 minutes ago, Scooot said:

Nice images. I presume Jupiter & Moons is a combination, I was imaging it the other evening & couldn’t expose for both in the same image? 

Yes exactly. Low ISO for Jupiter, then high for the moons - and combine them. 

You could probably just about do it in one, but the moons will be feint and Jupiter will more than likely be very washed out 

Haha I had an equally questionable thought about trying to sound proof this someway. Came up with all types of wacky thoughts. 

I'm game and frustrated enough to try at least. 

No idea about a belt mod. Not heard anyone talk about it. 

Some recent photos - all taken with a smartphone (Hauwei P20 Pro or P30 Pro) and either with a SW 130p on an untracked mount or a basic camera tripod

First attempt at a DSO - Not too bad for a phone with a 1 sec exposure on an az mount - but I think I will wait for my DSLR!