Prospective kit for imaging

[Hitesh]

Hi guys i was hoping to pick a few brains and get second opinions on the possible kit i am looking to get

Skywatcher AZ EQ6-GT GEQ & Alt-Az Mount Price: £1,349.00

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-az-eq6-mount.html

Skywatcher Evostar 120ED DS-Pro Outfit Price: £1,055.00

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/pro-series/skywatcher-evostar-120ed-ds-pro-outfit.html

Skywatcher Focal Reducers Price: £160.00

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reducersflatteners/skywatcher-focal-reducers.html

FeatherTouch 2" Crayford Focuser for Skywatcher ED Price: £375.00

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/starlight-instruments-feathertouch/feathertouch-crayford-focuser-for-skywatcher-ed80-ed100-ed120.html

Skywatcher DSLR-M48 Ring Adapter Price: £15.00

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/adaptors/skywatcher-dslr-m48-ring-adapter.html

T Rings Price: £21.00

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/adaptors/t-rings.html

FLO 2-inch T mount camera adapter Price: £22.00

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/adaptors/flo-2-inch-t-mount-camera-adapter.html

Skywatcher Startravel 80 OTA Price: £97.00

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/skywatcher-startravel-80-ota.html

Skywatcher Guidescope Mount Price: £118.00

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/guide-cameras/skywatcher-guidescope-mount.html

FLO Adapter for Skywatcher Guidescope Mount Price: £27.00

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/guide-cameras/flo-adapter-for-skywatcher-guidescope-mount.html

Starlight Xpress Lodestar Autoguider Price: £385.00

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/guide-cameras/starlight-xpress-lodestar-autoguider.html

HitecAstro EQDIR adapter Price: £27.95

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/astronomy-cables-leads-accessories/hitecastro-eqdir-adapter.html

Hutech IDAS P2 Light Pollution Suppression Filter Price: £155.00

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/light-pollution-reduction-imaging/hutech-idas-p2-light-pollution-suppression-filter.html

StarSharp Bahtinov Focus Masks Price: £15.95

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/bahtinov-focus-masks/starsharp-bahtinov-focus-masks.html

Thoughts on guidescope vs finder guider and lodestar vs synguider

Thanks in advance

[ronin]

Jumping in fairly deep.

Ask about the light pollution filter, they are/were produced for the narrow wavelengths emitted by sodium lights, If this is to be used in London environs then it will be of some use but much of the lighting will in effect be "white" and they do nothing for that. Just wondering if a £155 filter will prove worth the cost.

Assume you have a DSLR and that you will be controlling that from a laptop, otherwise you could consider a remote timer from Amazon, cost about the £25 mark.

Personally I am unsure of the 120ED, nice but the focal length will be relevant, equally the guiding and the EQ6 should handel that without any real concerns, and then you have a nice scope for visual as well.

Even if new from what I have read it may be worth waiting for any warrenty to expire then overhauling the gears and motors, setting them up and replacing the standard grease (gunk) seems to be a very good exercise. Not sure if Astro Baby completed the EQ6 overhaul guide she was doing.

Mains power supplies for powering the assorted bits. That set up will need a fair power source and if away from mains I would look at building your own based on a decently sized deep cycle battery.

Gym membership for carrying it round. Have you seen the EQ6 ?

[Hitesh]

Yes i will be imaging from London hence the need for the filter.

Thing is the CFO wants me to reduce how much this will all cost so if a cheaper alternative exists for the kit i have chosen please do tell, right now i'm not sure whether to go for a finder guider setup with synguider or get the ST80 and Lodestar autoguider. If i go for the finder guider setup i wont need guidescope, guide mount or the adaptor, saving quiet a fair bit of change but would this have me wanting a guidescope etc later on? I really am tryin to future proof the kit for as long as possible so don't mind spending on quality if that means i don't need to spend again for a long long time

[steppenwolf]

You gave a pretty comprehensive list there but I have a couple of observations to make if I may.

1. Although the ED120 is a fine instrument, I feel that a shorter focal length version would give you more flexibility in object choice and put less demands on tracking ability.

2. The Lodestar (or other separate guide camera) would be a much better choice than the SynGuider and easier to set up. You are aiming at having a PC outside with you so why not use it to guide?

3. A finder-guider is an excellent choice as it reduces weight, is closely coupled to the image telescope so *should* minimize differential flexure and has a nice wide field of view for guide star selection.

[Hitesh]

Yeah Olly told me about the focal length of the telescope being neither here nor there but i did also want to use it visually for when i really cant be bothered to image anything.

So would you suggest that forget about the guidescope, guide mount and adaptor in favour of the finder guider setup?

Also is the lodestar really worth it? can't i get away with using say QHY5 instead, it does seem to be quite popular with SGL users

[swag72]

Having had a 120ED I have to say that it was a wrong move for me and I wonder if it really is the right scope for you. I can understand wanting to have the best of both worlds, some focal length, being able to combine the one scope for imaging and visual, but I don't think that the 120ED is that versatile.

For imaging it is slow and coupled with a DSLR you'd be much better off getting a scope that is a fast as possible. To that end, I think an 80ED is a far better choice.

The focal length is neither here nor there, as you will find out. It's too big for the larger nebula's and really no where near enough for galaxy work (except a couple of exceptions) - If you want to maximise your focal length for that then you will be working without the reducer and it's slow, slow, slow and coupled with that, you'll get bad corners without the focal reducer and a DSLR.

I made a costly mistake buying my 120ED - I knew nothing about AP at the time and was guided by a retailer before I'd ever found this site. I wish I'd found SGL before and listened to people's suggestions before buying.

Also, have you considered getting stuff second hand? There's quite a saving to be made, that could be put towards a CCD camera instead for example. Just a thought!

Steve and Olly really do know what they are talking about - You'd do well to take on board their experience. Also, have you purchased Steve's book 'Making Every Photon Count'? An excellent book that will help you a lot along the way.

[orion69]

I would change guidescope for OAG and buy mono CCD camera with FW instead of DSLR.

[steppenwolf]

So would you suggest that forget about the guidescope, guide mount and adaptor in favour of the finder guider setup?

Also is the lodestar really worth it? can't i get away with using say QHY5 instead, it does seem to be quite popular with SGL users

I have used both an ST80 and a finder-guider and results were similar but the former runs a higher risk of differential flexure which, as you may discover in the future, can be a major issue in long exposure imaging. You could also consider an off axis guider but your choices will be limited if you are using a field flattener with a DSLR camera AND YOU DO WANT TO USE A FIELD FLATTENER!

The Lodestar is a stunningly good guide camera. The QHY5 and Orion guide cameras also work well but the Lodestar is the camera of choice unless you already have a Starlight Xpress imaging CCD (which you don't!) and then the SXV guide head is hard to beat for value for money. If you only want to buy once, buy the Lodestar.

[Hitesh]

Ok thanks for that steve i think the lodestar is a definate along with finder guider setup. Now the scope and mount need consideration, If i opt for a 80ED instead of the 120ED would the AZ EQ6 GT mount be a bit of overkill, could i not just get away with the HEQ5 pro?

[Hitesh]

Also is there any alternatives to the 80ED that you would recommend, again just trying to future proof myself.......................dont know why but i feel like i need something bigger in aperture than my current 90mm MAK

[swag72]

Yes you can easily get away with the HEQ5 and an 80ED - I use an HEQ5 and it punches well above it's weight, pulling in 30 minute subs with little or no problems. The only thing is being future proofed. If you want a larger scope in the future you may find that you'll also be needing to factor another mount into the equation.

Of course if you went for an HEQ5 - much cheaper and the 80ED, you could afford a CCD camera - a great asset.

If you are happy with the 80ED aperture I'd definitely consider a quality doublet, such as a TV. Way, way better than a Skywatcher and you won't need to buy a new focuser (more ££'s saved for the new camera!!)

[orion69]

1377344876' post='2024207']

For imaging it is slow and coupled with a DSLR you'd be much better off getting a scope that is a fast as possible. To that end, I think an 80ED is a far better choice.

Both scopes are f/7.5 so same photographic speed...

[swag72]

An Equinox is the faster one. personally though, wouldn't touch a Skywatcher, especially with the budget the OP has. There are far better quality scopes out there

[orion69]

You're right, Equinox 80 is faster, also TS 80/480 triplet is even faster. Many 80mm scopes out there.

What was wrong with Skywatcher 120ED? If I'm not mistaken optics are same as Equinox 120ED, but I could be wrong.

From personal experience Equinox 120ED performs very well for AP. All my images except last one are made with Equinox 120ED+FF/FR 0.85x

[Hitesh]

Well i've been told by both Steve and Olly that tracking a bigger aperature scope is difficult and the 120ED i was looking at has a focal length thats neither here nor there, so was looking for a new scope, the 80ED was the most popular choice for most beginners and rightly so. However I feel the want for a bigger aperture so that it actually feels like an upgrade to my 90mm MAK. I don't mind spending extra if it can be justified as i really want to future proof myself as much as possible

[dmahon]

If you want to save a bit:

Get an Equinox 80 with TRF-2008 reducer

Forget the feathertouch (for now)

Finderguider rather than ST80

If you really must, consider QHY5 instead of lodestar.

If you won't use Alt/Az, get an NEQ6

[steppenwolf]

Well i've been told by both Steve and Olly that tracking a bigger aperature scope is difficult and the 120ED

Not wishing to be pedantic here but it is the focal length, not the aperture that is the potential impediment to tracking.

As Sara has said, the HEQ5 is fine for 80 ED but you lack future proofing whereas the AZ EQ6 GT for most purposes is all the mount you are likely to need.

You are starting on a slippery slope (as do most astro-photographers including me!!). Yes, you could save money on the mount and put it towards a CCD camera - and you WILL want a CCD camera in the future if AP floats your boat but unless you have an unlimited budget, you need to aim for a system that will get you some good results early on and within your budget. I am assuming for now that you already have a DSLR camera? If not then you need to sit down and carefully consider buying a CCD camera rather than a DSLR BUT ..........

...... if you go for a CCD camera, do you save money and buy a one shot colour version pay the same for the camera but buy a mono CCD camera and have the extra expense of a filter wheel and filters? A slippery slope ......

My own experience of SkyWatcher 80ED telescopes has been very positive and you may like to visit my website to see what sort of results you can expect to achieve whilst using one. Sara's experience with SkyWatchers not been so positive so make friends with Google to get a spread of opinion!

[Hitesh]

Well i've made up my mind and its going to be the AZ EQ6 mount with the 80ED, purely because i want semi decent cracks at taking some good images without getting too frustrated using a bigger scope. I already have a 650D canon which i was planning on using so unfortunatley the missus won't let me get a CCD just yet, and rightly so OSC or mono is a debate for another day.

Guys big thank you, without your advice I probably would have spent an additional £1000 and at the end of it be put off AP because i wasn't getting the results i wanted.

Final Kit will be:

AZ EQ6 mount

SW 80ED

SW 0.85FR

Feathertouch Focuser

Lodestar autoguider

HitechAstro EQDIR adaptor

Hutech IDAS P2 Light Pollution Suppression Filter

Starsharp Bahtinov Mask

M48 ring

T ring

T Adaptor

If you think i am missing something please let me know!!!!

if not then FLO here i come!!!!!

[Gib007]

There is nothing wrong with jumping in the deep end, head first. I don't see the point in buying cheap, simple equipment to learn and then gradually spend more to get better equipment. Just go for it, it isn't all that hard once you get into it anyway. Ask questions for anything you might have doubts about and helpful people will help you!

Your list of equipment sounds good but like many people replying before me, I think the 80ED is a great idea. With the 0.85x focal reducer, you'll get a speedier telescope for imaging and an even slightly wider FOV. Good choice on the FeatherTouch focuser and it looks like you've got your guiding scope sorted out. I had to get an extra Vixen dovetail bar to screw on to the top of the 80ED and then clamp on a Vixen saddle to mount a finderscope-sized guidescope (Orion Mini 50mm Guidescope). It's unfortunate the FeatherTouch focusers don't have the finderscope saddles like the MoonLite focusers do.

Excellent choice of equipment in my honest opinion. Just make sure you get a decent battery to run that and please do not spend money on a Skywatcher/Celestron one. I'd buy a Marine Deep Cycle 12V battery and be done with it. I bought an 85Ah one for about £90 here in Gibraltar whilst Skywatcher's 17Ah one costs about £120!!

If in the future you move into a CCD camera, go for Monochrome, it's what it's all about!

Just be weary about having to buy LRGB filters as it's obviously extra.

[Gib007]

By the way, I wish I had such a good idea of what to do for astrophotography as you obviously do (given your choice of equipment). My initial order assumed eyepiece projection was a good idea and I even ordered a beastly 12" Newtonian Reflector telescope for it all. I'm much, much happier nowadays though!

[dmahon]

If you're getting the feather touch, I think you'll need the FLO 2" adapter for the reducer.

Personally I'd get the faster Equinox (which has a better focuser) with the faster trf2008 reducer (which has a T thread rather the M48). I'd hold off the feather touch but keep the money on one side in case you decide you need it.

[steppenwolf]

Nearly complete list but no finder-guider?

[Hitesh]

What finder Guider would you recommend?

[Hitesh]

Bear in mind I'll have a feather touch focused too

[steppenwolf]

I have a Feathertouch focuser on my FLT98 but it is a rack and pinion type not a Crayford - my R & P version had tapped holes for mounting a guide 'scope.

I bought an Altair Astro 60mm mini-guider and had to make a modified mounting base for it to match the holes in the Feathertouch focuser. I have also heard good things about the Orion 50mm mini-guider.