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Mounts for video

johnno

By johnno
in EEVA - Reports

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johnno

johnno

Posted
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Didn't know if I should put this here or in the mounts section, so if the mods want to move it, its ok

I only do visual or video and at the moment I've only got a sw az goto mount but I want to upgrade to a better mount with goto.

question is do I really need a eq mount for video and its got to be lightweight-ish as I've got to hump it up and down stairs.

The one mount that seems to tick all the boxes is the ioptron mini tower pro. except for the price. I like the fact you can stick 2 scopes on it

I've no interest in DSLR, but if I did I could always stick a wedge on it, what do you think?

http://www.altairastro.com/product.php?productid=16226&cat=280&page=1

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Macavity

Macavity

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I have video imaged with an Ioptron minitower - Worked just fine re. the imaging part. But the Mk.I version of this mount proved a dead loss. Continual "overload" errors until a motor finally broke... and with nothing like the rated load. But I believe the Mk.II mounts are OK. Checkout the Yahoo support group re. the current wisdom on this?

For video imaging, an alt-azimuth mount seems fine (easier). The GoTo facility was spot on, with no polar alignment hassles. Essentially, the mount only has to track for the maximum integration time - 10s or so. The will be frame rotation, over a multi-frame avi sesson. But certain stacking programs (Deep Sky Stacker) correct for this. I'm afraid my HEQ5 - Equatorial mounts generally, have never tempted me to indulge in visual (sic) astronomy. :p

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johnno

johnno

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@ Carl, I still pass out when I look at the price :eek: . I'll just have to tell the other half a little white lie and miss out the 0 in it :evil:

@ Chris, I've been on the forums and some say the MK1 is better. But its like anything else, doesn't matter what manufacturer you buy from there will be always someone that has a fault/ problem with it and that's with any type of goods. I had a look at the skyTee but it doesn't come with goto but someone has fitted the goto kit to it and its alot cheaper. Just cant make my mind up which to go for [ I keep looking at the phone, shall I or shouldn't I] :rolleyes:

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shirva

shirva

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I don't have and haven't used the az goto .. on the fence opinion wise for its use In video capture only because of the exposure/intregation. .using a eq mount polar aligned and motor tracking to me is the way to go...you can see how fast the moon moves and with clouds coming and going I prefer to let it track for five minutes and pick out the best frames for stacking. ..only a opinion and they may be ideal for video , I have a etx80 and used to use a webcam on it and had no bad imaging wae it but it went for a wee wander at times and lost a lot of capture frames. ...the bigger Meade scopes use wedges to use on ap.

Davy

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DoctorD

DoctorD

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Hi

I upgraded from a Skywatcher AZ to iOptron Minitower 2 earlier this year and am very pleased with the setup - I can now use my C8 with the video camera.

If you follow a few basic rules when setting up the mount, I pretty much always get the target in the field of view using my C8 and F3.3 reducer with the SDC435.

Did you get your mount fixed Chris - motors are easy to replace.

There's mixed views about whether or not the Mk 2 is better than the MK1 - MK1 is easier to modify as it uses standard easy to obtain bearings - swapping for high quality bearings is said to improve the mounts tacking ability. There has been some questions about iOptrons reliability, however they offer a 2 year warranty and the UK dealer is very responsive.

Dual set up for visual is also great - I have the C8 on one side and the INED70 on the other both with 8-24mm zooms (Hyperion and a Seben).

Takes me about 10 minutes to set up - leveling the tripod and the mount is key to goto accuracy.

Would I buy another if something happened to this one - yes I would, although the EQ6AZ looks interesting as it would allow me to try EQ mode, however I do not have the patience for long exposures so the AZ works fine for me (especially given my home location which suffers from significant light pollution and Sky glow).

AZ if fine at 10 second integration times - field rotation can be eliminated in DSS - have a look at my gallery to see what I've been able to acheive.

Hope this helps

Paul

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johnno

johnno

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Thanks Paul for the info. For the last 2 weeks I've been searching the net for info about all the az mounts out there, but the iOptron seems come out on top for my needs. At one stage I was leaning towards the Meade LX80 mount till I read the reviews and some angry customers and then I found out it weighed at ton. So the pro its going to be. I'm like you, cant be bothered with dslr only use it for solar and lunar and the pro as come down in price a bit ....John

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johnno

johnno

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Carl your spot on, she'll hang me up by the town halls if she finds out how much it is. Its her birthday in the next couple of months and she's been giving me earache to take her to the Maldives....No chance now.. :grin:

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Macavity

Macavity

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Did you get your mount fixed Chris - motors are easy to replace.
I find merely looking at the thing frustrating / depressing. <G> Perhaps when I've finished the more positive stuff I'm doing at the moment? But still "Fifty Bucks" to fix it. I haven't researched the availability of motor units for the Mk.I version. I think I actually found a source for the motors themselves - Retailed at $9 - $7 if you bought a few thousand! I shall have to read the Yahoo digests, I receive. I sense "Team America - World Mount Fixers" can be a bit abrupt with those not "up to speed" on the topic? :D [teasing]

Still a thing with immense potential, with NO real competitors? If I could find a genuine,

open-eyed enthusiast, for such things, I would probably let mine go for a modest sum... :p

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johnno

johnno

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Well I've gone and done it, should be here tues / wed . the first thing that came out of her mouth when I got back from the shop was '' how much was it ''

I had to tell her a little white lie. I missed the £47 off the end of it.. :evil:

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DoctorD

DoctorD

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Hi Johnno

Congrats on the new mount - I suggest you practice levelling it, best to level the tripod before putting the mount on, otherwise, the locking screw can upset the level when you tighten it.

It's also a good idea to balance it in both axes - loosen the clutches and see if it stay put - you'll need to drop one leg a little to check the azimuth balance.

Hope you enjoy using the Minitower as much as I do!

Clear skies

Paul

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johnno

johnno

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 Davy, it can handle a combined weight of 19.5 kilo's or 43 pounds. seen some guys using 2 C8's side by side or a C11 and a refractor  and it still has a couple of kgs to spare..  mines a 127 and ed80 combined weight about 11.5kgs fully loaded.

@ Karl, looks like we're in for a long wait looking at the forecast.

Paul, I've never had to do any balancing before with my other setup. so this is going to be fun trying to fathom it out. just looking at your post where you said '' to see if it stays put'' I done it wrong. I set it so the scope stays horizontal i.e if I put the scope vertical and let go of it , it goes to the horizontal position when its settled down, so I guess I've been doing it wrong?. The manual doesn't seem to explain it to well [ not for me anyway]

and another thing I don't understand is which way to point the scope.

it says in the manual you face the arrow on the mount to the south and you have the scope in the vertical position, but which way should the scope be facing if it was horizontal. i.e if you look at the photo I've got the mount facing south towards the desk and the scope is vertical if I was to put the scope horizontal that would be facing south too, is that correct....

john

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