A welcome back present...

[WheaticusRex]

Hello all,

I’ve spent the last few weeks lurking around and reading as much as I can. I’ve spent a decade looking up at the sky with either my naked eye or through a sextant (yes, up until a few years ago, on some military planes the navigators still utilized celestial navigation for back-up) and have finally realized I could do much better.

Currently I’m interested in visual viewing with some webcam or basic afocal photography of solar system bodies but I want to future proof so as I become more familiar with telescopes and the tech involved, I can move to AP, even if it means sacrificing a bit in the visual viewing.

With that said I’ve focused my research on aperture, eyepiece(s), mount, and other various accessories (in that order).

I want a manual mount for the time being, while I know my way around the planets and a few stars, deep space objects, other than the Orion Nebula, are completely unknown to me and I feel that I’ll gain a better appreciation and fuller enjoyment of what I’m viewing if I have to work for it (my personal opinion only).

I’d like to keep everything between $1000-$1250.

So far I’ve mainly focused on Orion (US) brand Newtonian scopes as the prices and general reviews have all been pretty good.

The Orion SkyView Pro 8 seems a pretty good starting place as it comes with a mount and viewfinder and leaves me enough left over to buy some decent EPs, barlow(s), and various other accessories.

I’ve also been looking at the Orion 254mm f/4.7 OTA. Aperture is king and this fits nicely within my budget. The obvious problem with the OTA is that I’ll need to get a viewfinder, mount, and accessories to make them all work together.

After contacting an Orion rep, the only mount they recommended was one of their Atlas series, of course these are GoTo and vastly more expensive than I want to spend right now on a mount.

Any advice on manual mounts (capable of handling 40lbs) or if I should consider another brand or design would be greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately I don’t have the ability to visit local stores or club events as I’m overseas presently, so I’m relying on your kindness to steer me in the right direction. I also fully understand that what works for you may not work for me and vice versa, but I’m comfortable enough with my budget that if it’s a total wash and I hate everything I’ve purchased once I get it and get back to try it out, the loss on resale will only cost me a hangover, not sleepless nights.

Weight isn’t an issue either.

v/r

Wheaticus R

[Ad Astra]

Hello Wheaticus! Welcome to SGL!

Wheat King, eh? Do I detect a Mid-Westerner??? (I'm from Illinois originally ) I very much like Orion USA, and I have quite a bit of their gear. I teach astronomy and most of my school stuff, and some of my personal kit is from there.

I like the Orion dobs a lot, but I'm not so keen on the Atlas mount, and I certainly wouldn't put a 10" scope on one - not for visual use and never ever for astrophotography. I have a 42lb refractor, and passed up the Atlas entirely for a beefier (and sadly costlier!) mount.

I think your idea of a larger aperture is fine, but with your budget, I'd leave the AP stuff alone for awhile. Astrophotography requires a whole host of skills atop basic astronomy, and it puts severe restrictions on the kind (and quality) of mount that is acceptable. Tracking and stability must be very precise (perhaps on the order of 10x better than is required for visual work) - often it is best to do photography on a mount which is carrying quite a bit less than its stated weight capacity in order to achieve this. I think your 10", 40lb scope would be straining the Atlas to its limits as it is.

Do you have an astro club nearby (within an hour or so?) If so, I would highly recommend a trip out to see them. Folks at most clubs are almost pathetically friendly, and thrilled to talk your ear off about (and show off!) their scopes. You can see folks who do wonderful astro photo work, and ask them what they like (and don't like) about their kit. With a smile and a bit of persuasion, they may even let you have a go at the eyepiece yourself!

If I wanted a scope of 10" or so that I could use manually, then later go to AP work without much upgrading, I'd consider a Celestron CGEM 800 first, then add a HyperStar Lens from Starizona.com. The whole rig is over your budget - but it would actually do what you are asking of it, and allow you to grow into photography rather painlessly... (except in the wallet, friend!). You can see that rig by clicking <HERE>.

If that's quite beyond what the checkbook will bear - stick with a nice 10" dob for now, and come back to the AP idea in a year or so. You will have a much better idea of what you want, and have a solid base of practical experience to base your decision on.

I hope that helps some. PM me if you have specific questions, I'd be happy to help.

Dan

[david o]

First up...

Welcome to SGL Wheaticus

¡ Uff ! Well, AFAIK the heaviest duty manual equatorial mount is Celestron's CG-5 (discontinued ?) and it's load capacity is about 30lbs. Anything that can carry more is into driven tracking/GoTo territory. The only Alt-Az I can think of that comes anywhere near is the Orion SkyView (Sky-Watcher SkyTee-2) with a max load capacity between 25 - 30 lbs per side.

As a suggestion, why not get an 8" Dob to learn the sky with ? You'll even be able to do some basic lunar/planetary web-cam imaging with it.

Down the line, if you want to try some DSO work, get yourself an Eq mount suitable for imaging, Orion Sirius or Atlas EQ-G (S-W HEQ-5 or NEQ-6), and mount the Dob's OTA with tube rings and a dovetail plate. Alternatively, finances permitting, you could get a short focal length semi-Apo refractor (something like this, or this) with the Eq - great for learning A-P and good at wide-field work.

Other than Orion, you might want to have a look at Sky-Watcher telescopes, made in the same Chinese factory I think. Possibly cheaper but not sure of their availability in the US.

Before making a start with astro-photography I really recommend that you read Making Every Photon Count (by SGL's very own steppenwolf). It's easy to read and full of good advice aimed at the imaging novice, including choosing the right equipment - explaining what kit you'll need and, more importantly, why. Helping you avoid poor choices and costly mistakes. There's also loads of tips 'n' tricks as well as lots of other vital stuff.

HTH

[rowan46]

there's the skywatcher /synta heq5 thats sold with just dual axis motors less than £500 which takes 18kg you can upgrade this by buying the steppers and controls as an add on later. To be honest though if you are going to image with a 250mm scope you are going to need a pretty high end mount as they are big scopes. but visually the heq5 will cope with a 250mm scope

[WheaticusRex]

Everyone,

I appreciate your guidance and recommendations. I believe that I'll end up going with an 10" dob for the time being and only use it for visual and basic webcam/afocal planetary and lunar photography. This will leave me enough to pick up some eyepieces and other things.

When I decide to jump into the AP arena I'll invest in another scope designed specifically for the task. I suppose it's lilke buying a Ford Mustang sedan and trying to pass it off as a mini-van and an Indy car. While you can pack a fair amount of stuff into it and it has the potential to haul butt, it doesn't fill either role particularly well.

I think the dob is the best course of action right now. I appreciate your help, and I'm sure I'll have more questions to pester you all with.

@Ad Astra - I'm originally from North Carolina, but until recently led a fairly nomadic life style (work), my residence is once again NC. The name is a modification of Wheatie, what my wife calls me. I kept very short hair for a number of years and told her that when the wind blew through my hair it felt like what I imagined a wheat field felt when you see the wind ripple across it. I've just morphed it over the years.