Matching Scopes to Mounts for taking Snaps

[Christopher Davenport]

I have just upgraded my mount from Alt Az to a EQ to get into taking some DSLR pictures and later guiding.

Please feel free to correct any of my advice here, because it is a bit of a mine field out there and some of my research may be incorrect.

Firstly if you are planning on going down this root, first thing you need to do is buy the book.

"Make every photon count" to help understand how all this works and what targets are good to go after.

Second thing you need to do is think about your seeing / LP conditions and if you willing to travel.

If you have light pollution you need aperture, but if you can travel to a dark sight, less can be more.

Aperture means money, for the scope and then even more for the heavy duty mount.

You will be very reluctant to often travel with a large heavy setup.

Thirdly you need to do research on what weight each mount can hold and multiply by 2/3 then less DSLR and Finderguider (+-1.5Kg) 

This value is the maximum that you can handle and will affect your exposure time if you approach / exceed it.

Using these parameters I have concluded:

1.)  Bought book and starting to apply advice. (I hope) helped me understand which objects are realistic for me to try to image.

2.)  Not badly affected by light pollution, but I am willing to travel to dark site when needed +- 45min.

      My apertures can be less than 200mm and my focal lengths can be between F5 - F8 (DSO) and F10 - F15 (Planets)

      Means I should be able to image with: (To purchase over time.)

      a.) Bright Planets, Moon and Small DSO - 127 Mak-Cass (F12 & 3.5kg) 

      b.) Large Nebula  - 80ED Frac (F7.5 & 2.5kg);

      c.) Galaxy's and all others - 150 Newt  (F5 & 6Kg);

      I can use reducers and barlows to ramp up/down the Fstops but at the cost of field of view.

3.) Mounts that can hold these scopes:

      a.) EQ3 Pro - 5kg for Imaging - Mostly right out on limit / will go over with the Newt

      b.) EQ5 Pro / CEG5 - 7.5kg for Imaging - Approaches the limit in certain case (Newt + DSLR & FinderGuider)

      c.) HEQ5 Pro / C VX - 11kg for Imaging - Clear of the limit in all cases (Could increase scope sizes)

Using this I have asked myself will I ever go bigger?  Maybe, but I don't want to put myself off due to weight and being stuck in my garden.

Am I ready for the complexity of the bigger faster newts such as the F4 200 CF Newts or the Mak-Newts (drool) 

Well lets see how good I get at this first and if I get alot better then I guess I will be willing to splash the cash.

Okay so how much can I afford? Hmmm scan e-bay and astobuysell, wait for it, negotiate and then strike.

Thanks for taking the time to read, please feel free to comment and add or criticise the process for others.