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CG5-GT and Equinox 120 for imaging ?

philming

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Revs

Revs

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The general opinion is that the HEQ5 is the minimum for serious imaging. The main reason for this is that this mount has over 9,000,000 steps per 360* revolution, which means more accurate tracking. It also has a guide port as standard ;)

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Glider

Glider

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Revs, do you have the comparative figures for both the HEQ5 and the CG5-GT to hand, I'd be interested to see them as I've got both mounts. Both have a guide port. One maybe better than the other on paper but my experience is that the final images from either are identical to my eye.

The 1/2 load capacity figure is a good rule of thumb for imaging but lots of people exceed it and get results that they are perfectly happy with. If you were to apply it rigorously then I don't think anyone would be imaging with anything except an EQ6:eek:.

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philming

philming

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Sorry, I'm tlaking about the overall weight of the gear. Not about carrying things outside... ;-)

The 120ED is around 6,5Kg + 1,5kg of guidescope + let's say 2 kg for everything else (EOS, dew bands, flattener, Synguider, double plate). So that's all about 9 kg. Let's say 10. I'm way over the 12/2 but well... Is it a stupid idea ?

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Cornelius Varley

Cornelius Varley

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Well i have an ST4 as well. And it seems to me the CG5-GT is very similar to the HEQ5, so i should be OK ? It's more of a question about the overall weigjht actually...

The two mounts are completely different. The CG5-GT is the same as the EQ5 but with better bearings that give it a better payload. (12.5kg) The HEQ5 is a scaled down EQ6 and has a payload capacity of 18kg.

Peter

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Revs

Revs

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Revs, do you have the comparative figures for both the HEQ5 and the CG5-GT to hand

HEQ5/EQ6:

Microstep driven 1.8 stepper motors

Resolution: 0.144 arc sec (or 9,024,000 steps/rev.)

CG5-GT/EQ5 SynScan:

DC stepper motors with 1.8º angle

Resolution: 0.288 arc second

AFAIK that's correct ;)

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Glider

Glider

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Chhers, now that's interesting. I'm going to have a bit more experimentation with my PHD settings bearing those figures in mind and see if something that has been niggling me makes some more sense when switching between the 2 mounts.

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Whippy

Whippy

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So I guess I'll be going for the 120 then. Is it a good astro-imaging scope ? I have a 80ED but I feel like the FOV is really big. Since I like to shoot galaxies and dont like C8s...

I have one and I think it's a great scope for the money both for visual and imaging. It's not a small scope either and quite long too, I've used mine on a CG5 for visual and it's fine but I'd go with a HEQ5/EQ6 for imaging.

Tony..

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philming

philming

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Just wondering. Can an OAG work with a Synguider and a 120ED ? Because if i want to keep the costs a little lower it might be a good option...

Best regards,

Edit. I'd rather ask "can a Synguider work on an OAG with a 120ED?"

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astroimpulse

astroimpulse

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So I guess I'll be going for the 120 then. Is it a good astro-imaging scope ? I have a 80ED but I feel like the FOV is really big. Since I like to shoot galaxies and dont like C8s...

I love mine and it gathers light really well. Great on Galaxies too ;)

When I say I love mine...I'm not kidding ;)

Strictly platonic though :eek:

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old_eyes

old_eyes

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So I guess I'll be going for the 120 then. Is it a good astro-imaging scope ? I have a 80ED but I feel like the FOV is really big. Since I like to shoot galaxies and dont like C8s...

Equinox 120ED is 900mm FL vs 500mm for the 80ED. So smaller FOV, but you are not going to fill the chip on a Canon 450D with the typical galaxy.

You can get a very useful view of what you will see for different objects using the FOV calculator here

calcuated factors for your combination are:

F ratio:f7.5

Focal Length: 900mm

Field of view: 1.41° x 0.94°

Resolution: 1.19 "/pixel

The Equinox is a good scope and I love my 80ED.

old_eyes

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dave_galera

dave_galera

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HEQ5/EQ6:

Microstep driven 1.8 stepper motors

Resolution: 0.144 arc sec (or 9,024,000 steps/rev.)

CG5-GT/EQ5 SynScan:

DC stepper motors with 1.8º angle

Resolution: 0.288 arc second

AFAIK that's correct :)

I think the CG-5 has DC servo motors not stepper motors which is supposed to give smoother operation.

Dave

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