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Hi from cloudy Croydon


RedTara

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Hi all,

This post is to say hello and introduce myself. I've been interested in all things space since I watched live, may years ago, the first men landing and walking on the moon.

I was given a very cheap telescope some while later by a family friend but it soon got resigned to the loft as I could see a better view of the night sky with my eyes than I ever did with the plastic scope with wooden tripod.

For my 18th birthday Mum & Dad gave me a good pair of second hand binos and this really started my love of looking skyward. These did me well for many years and gave me many great views and taught me the basics of finding my way around the night sky.

Two years ago I took the plunge a bought myself a SkyMax 127 and have never looked back. For me its been a proper telescope and one that has been used on many many occasions since. I've tried adding my SLR and webcam and have dipped my toe into Astro-photography and want now to learn to get better images.

My, original Skywatcher mount (Azimuth syn scan) has a broken leg screw that I've bodged to keep working but it is time to get a better mount for astro-photo work and so I find myself here to get some help and advice.

I have two in mind HEQ5 Pro and its larger sibling the EQ6 Pro but not 100% sure of the best option.

Tomorrow I'll be visiting a local telescope dealer and hope to get some advice from them to help me in my dilemma.

Hoping you folks can help me on my way.

Neil

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Hi Neil and welcome to the forum. If astrophotography is going to be your ultimate goal then I would certainly recommend that you get hold of a copy of Steve Richards "Making Every Photon Count" (FLO £19.95) which you can view here. It is a comprehensive guide on what kit to buy and why you need it to take good consistent images. It will also provide you with the necessary overview to help you decide on how deep you want to go. In simple terms imaging can be divided into two camps, imaging solar system objects (Moon and planets) using a simple webcam on basically any scope, or imaging deep sky objects (DSO's) such as galaxies and nebulae (which is probably the one that most people feel drawn to) which requires amongst many things an very accurate mount. The minimum is the first that you state (the HEQ5) with it's bigger sibling (NEQ6) having a greater payload capacity and one which might help future proof your initial investment when you might later upgrade to larger heavier scopes in the future.

The above book will explain what I have mention in a lot more detail and it will certainly get you up and running on how astrophotography works which will also help you decide on a realistic budget. Hope that helps.

Clear skies and enjoy the forum

James

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HI and welcome.

From seeing your interest in the HEQ-5 and NEQ-6 I assumed that astrophotography is your prime focus.

These are both fine mounts and while the NEQ-6 is clearly the stronger and more capable one, the HEQ-5 is actually a very strong contender if you think you'll be using it at dark sites away from home.

However before you make ANY purchase, you should read Steve Richards book "Making Every Photon Count". It's a good guidebook to saving both money, time and frustration when breaking into AP.

Good to have you on board! Enjoy SGL.

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