Celestron C8 + CG5 - Astrophotography Weight Woes

[Kowspot]

Hey all!

Recently I have been offered a great deal on a used Celestron C8 SCT. I would be using this for a little visual use but mostly for long-exposure astrophotography. I have a Celestron CG-5 mount and I know the rule of thumb is to stick to half of the mounts carrying capacity (in this case it would be 15lbs Max)

After adding up all of my equipment plus the 12lb OTA I came to a total of 16-17lbs. I'm wondering if this would still be acceptable, and if anyone else has a C8 and CG5 and uses it for astrophotography? I was set on getting the C6 SCT since it is 2 lbs lighter but I would love the extra aperture and longer Focal Length the C8 has to offer, especially at this price.

[hemihaggis]

would you not be looking for a shorter focal lenght (faster scope ) for astrophotography ??

[RikM]

I agree. Shorter focal length and faster f ratio would give you a much easier time if you want to do long exposure AP.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have a C8 on a fairly similar mount, but I got an APM 80mm F/6 for future astrophotography. I have done a little bit on my C8 (manually guided on 1600 ASA Fujichrome in about 1996), but that is not a fun experience. For planets the setup is fine, but for DSO it is not.