Deciding where to put my money

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Hello.

I am going to upgrade my AP-setup abit.

Currently I have a nexstar 102 refractor and a QHY5.

I do some planetary imaging but will focus on brighter DSOs.

(M31, M42, M57, M51 etc etc)

My problem is that I don't know where my money at the moment will be best of use. New scope or camera.

My choices are:

A CCD camera (Thinking of either Meade DSI 3 mono or ATIK 314E/ATIK 314EC)

or a new scope. TS Optics 80 Triplet FPL53 probably.

Been thinking of this scope since I need a lightweight one.

(Since I dont have a car I need to carry it, even on busses/trains).

My big problem here is that I do not know what kind of images these produce. What I read is "Widefield". But if that means images where M31 fits, or M31 is "smallish", I do not know.

I also need some kind of lightweight mount then.

Thinking of NEQ3 (perhaps NEQ5).

I suppose you need GoTo for guidescopes?

Or can you use a guidescope with Dual-Axis motors?

Something like: http://www.astroshop.eu/drive-motors-without-goto/skywatcher-r-a--driving-motor-for-eq-3-mounts/p,1499

I don't have that much to spend on this, so I am taking babysteps to a OK-preforming setup, but also want to put my money where it counts.

Is there anyone who can give me some advice. Would really appriciate that.

CHeers all!

[swag72]

Have a look here - http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fov.htm in order to give you an idea of field of view. You can put in cameras and scopes to get a real feel for how wide is wide.

Regarding where to put your money - The general feeling with AP is that the mount is the absolute most essential part to get right - With a poor mount, you'll get nowhere. The HEQ5 will usually get cited as the minimum required, although people have done AP with less. I am all for making it as easy as possible from the start, so an HEQ5 it was for me. AP is hard enough as it is, without battling against the equipment.

[dmahon]

Been thinking of this scope since I need a lightweight one.

(Since I dont have a car I need to carry it, even on busses/trains).

Have you considered an Astrotrac - most serious mounts are heavy. An iOptron may be doable.

[sgazer]

astro-photography, guiding, cheap and portable don't tend to mix, but if your after a cheap, portable wide-field setup, howabout a DSLR, lens and SLT mount.

Anything else won't be portable on a bus and a CCD camera will need a laptop. If you don't need portable, then something else like a proper EQ mount (HEQ5), CCD and scope will be better.