AR86

I'm currently looking at the variety of motor options for the EQ3-2, just wondered if anyone has upgraded theirs and has any feedback? I was really looking at the Skywatcher Synscan kit or the EQStarEQ3 as both seem to have GoTo functions and fairly decent slew rates. Can anyone offer any user feedback on either of these (or any others that I've totally missed!)? I guess my nagging doubt is that I might be wasting money upgrading this mount rather than selling up and picking up the EQM35 or similar. I'm planning to use it with my 130PDS for EAA and some AP and my DSLR/Lens for wide field AP - I'm not too concerned about payload capacity of the mount. Would really appreciate any feedback that anyone could share.

I took this just around sunset (4:30pm) yesterday afternoon when the moon was quite low in the sky and am pretty happy to get so much detail from my relatively budget friendly/beginner setup - 130PDS/Sony a6300. Any constructive criticism absolutely welcome as I feel it's at an awkward place in terms of exposure where I either bring out the details near the edge, or craters along the shadow but struggle to get both without making the image really flat/dull.

Ok, seems I should have googled a little harder, I have just found something that looks like it might well work. Please ignore the above post!

I currently have a T-ring for my camera and am looking for a way to use my 1.25" filters in front of it. My scope (130PDS) accepts 2" eyepieces and I have both 1.25" and 2" nosepieces for my camera adapter. My question is, is the best way to use the 1.25" nosepiece/filters just to grab something like the one of the various (OVL/Celestron/Altair) twist lock self centering adapter? I am thinking I might be missing a trick if there is something I can thread into the 2" nosepiece to step down to a 1.25" filter thread as this would stop my camera being pushed even further out from my scope/focusing tube obstructing the primary more. I just have no idea is such a thing exists? (I hope this is in the right place, if not let me know and I'll move it elsewhere)

Just gone back through my raw images, I think I'll have to wait for my barlow to arrive before attempting to crop in that close as a good few craters in my data cover a 6x6 pixel area pretty much. Image looks great though, thanks for the idea/inspiration

First of all, I don't mind at all, you've made a huge improvement to it and really given me an idea of what is achievable with that image so thank you so much. On your point about exposure, I think I might have to try stacking/blending bracketed exposures to really get the best out of it, just got to wait for a break in the clouds

Thank you, that helps loads. I really just wanted to check that I hadn't made a mistake and messed up on that side of the moon. I have to say that your image is amazing for a single frame - I would never have guessed that was taken with a phone through an eyepiece!

So after waiting for 2 weeks for a clear night, this is my first lunar image taken through my new/first setup. I'm using a 130PDS on an EQ3-2, prime focussed with a Sony A6300. I stacked the image in registax from 6 images, cropped in photoshop and am fairly happy with the result. Apart from the left side of the image, the moon seems too smooth on the side facing the sun, is this just the result of direct light not causing shadows on the surface or should I be adjusting the contrast to try and pull some detail out of it? Any other (constructive) criticism is more than welcome, very eager to learn more! Adam

Just thought I'd pitch in here too, this image was on a Pixel 4 taken last night of the Pleiades (cropped in from the full image). Taken handheld (through a skylight window - using the frame for stability) for the full 4 minutes in AP mode.

I'm in a somewhat similar position to you (I have a 130P-DS arriving tomorrow - also my first proper scope). My plan is to use it in alt-az for getting my bearings, and visually to begin with on bigger brighter targets to get the hang of the scope and especially collimating it before moving up to a full size motorised EQ mount. Obviously I don't have any words of wisdom to share but I'll hopefully have some beginner level feedback on that scope once we have some clear nights over this side of the country.

Thanks, I absolutely agree with you. I'm actually waiting on some slightly more modern glass arriving (and for a clear night) to try again as that image was taken right at the focus stop with that lens/adapter combo so the raw images are slightly out of focus. By that I mean I can't quite reach infinity focus. I have done a few milky way widefield shots on a Sigma 16mm through Siril and DSS previously so will definitely revisit them once I've got some better images in the can. Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it. A

Hi Matt, a warm welcome from Lincolnshire also! I'm still new here and trying to work out what to pick up in terms of AP setup beyond my camera/lens/tracking mount combo. Adam

Andromeda cropped widefield with a vintage lens: Absolute beginner here! So whilst I wait on stock coming into the UK for the telescope I am looking to buy/still yet to make a decision between a reflector and refractor, I've been playing about with my camera (Sony A6300) and a Star Adventurer mini to see what I can capture and practice navigating around my bortle 4(ish) night sky. This evening I decided to dig out my old film Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm f1.8 and point it in the rough direction of Andromeda. The below is the result of a stack of 18 x 120s images processed through sequator and photoshop. The lens isn't the best by quite a long way and I'm sure my focus was slightly off but as a first attempt at anything close to deep sky I was quite happy to see any kind of result, especially with just a hint of detail showing up. If nothing else it's all good practice and has definitely made me want to get a hold of a telescope sooner rather than later. (If I've posted this in the wrong sub forum let me know and I'll repost it elsewhere)