Orion Astrophotography Bundle- for a beginner?

[mojorisen279]

Hey guys. I want to start doing Astrophotography and found this bundle at Orion. Was wondering if you guys could give me your opinion on it. The mount is my biggest concern. Here are the links:

Bundle: http://www.telescope.com/mobile/catalog/product.cmd?productId=27156

Mount: http://www.telescope.com/mobile/catalog/product.cmd?productId=24709

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[baggywrinkle]

Which EQ mount with the package, it is not clear from the specs.

The OTA is good though, many people on here use the Skywatcher as well as the Orion version of this OTA for astro-p work.

You need an EQ5 or equivalent, HEQ5 with an ED80 would be even better.

[nmoushon]

In the USA the HEQ5 = Orion Sirius EQ-G. 

[mojorisen279]

Thanks for replying so quick, guys! @baggywrinkle: The mount that comes with it is the mount in the second link I sent.

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[Cornelius Varley]

The SkyView Pro is Orions' name for the Skywatcher EQ5.

[frugal]

Is there any online resource that shows which mounts are equivalent across the various manufacturers?

It seems as though each major manufacturer makes mounts that are all largely copies of each other, but for the beginner it is difficult to know if two mounts with different names are effectively the same mount. For example, the Skywatcher EQ5 seems to be about the same as the Celestron CG5, the Orion SkyView Pro and the Vixen GP2.

[mojorisen279]

@frugal: I'm wondering the same thing. That'll make my quest A LOT easier...

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[mojorisen279]

Here is a link to a great article about mounts for AP:

http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/MOUNTS.HTM

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