can I get the opinion of the esteemed members on.....

[prasadka]

http://astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=13973

Is this a good price? What do you all think of this mount with astrophotogrpahy in mind? What sort of payload can this take? Like for eg., will it take an 8 inch reflector OTA? and how good would this be for any deep sky work?

I would appreciate any advise that comes my way..

Cheers.

Prasad

[geppetto]

With astrophotography in mind I would suggest an HEQ5 at the very

minimum.

The EQ5 would be at it's limit for even visual work with an 8" OTA on top.

Sorry to be negative Prasad

[prasadka]

well on expected lines only.. if i did use a 6", then would that be ok for deep sky stuff? or would it be pushing the limit?

Cheers

Prasad

[GazOC]

If you wanted to image DSOs with the EQ5 then a ED80 would probably be a decent place to start. Aperture is king for visual work but not with imaging.

[prasadka]

thanks for the tip.. however, one more question.. pardon me if i am greedy- if i piggyback my etx90 on a 6 inch reflector, would that be asking too much of a poor eq5?

Cheers,

Prasad

[Kenny_10_Bellys]

First off it doesn't mention anything about the mount being motor driven, so using it for imaging might be a bit of a trial. I have an EQ-5 with the aftermarket motors fitted and I use it with an Orion 80mm APO, and it's well sturdy for a scope that size. The add-on motors have proven to be a pain however, the RA motor is giving me gip and I'm thinking of lobbing the thing and getting something purpose built instead if I cant fix the problem. Having said that it's a hefty mount and would be able to take a fair sized OTA, but as has been pointed out if you're imaging you need a big mount, not a big scope.