Tracking mount for dslr only

[NIGHTBOY]

About ready to give up on imaging with my 200p so I'm wondering what would be a good (or half decent) tracking mount for my dslr with a 300mm lens attached??

[JB80]

I think unless you are wanting an eq mount then the astrotrac is the perfect soloution as it will allow you to up the size of the lens without any issues if you decide to later on, you can also put smaller scopes on it and I don't think I have heard a single complaint yet from AT users.

It may be cheaper though to grab a EQ 3-2 or something unless portability is an issue.

[JB80]

Alternatively I'd happily suggest the Polarie if you would want to use 300mm or less lenses on it. You are a bit further north than I am so you should get marginally longer subs than me at 300mm but it's probably on a couple of minutes at best. The shorter the focal length the better the Polarie performs but a darker sky then becomes more crucial too.

Here is a recent pic taken with a 300mm lens and Polarie as the mount.

[Schorhr]

A barndoor :-)

These where made with up to 300mm FL, though his barndoor is more sophisticated.

http://www.j-baechli.ch/astrofotografie/Controller?action=GALLERY

Pretty amazing work IMHO.

Simple barndoor for shorter FL/exposures

http://www.astropix.com/BGDA/SAMPLE2/SAMPLE2.HTM

Type 4 barndoor for more accurate tracking

http://education.jlab.org/tracker/

There are many solutions to power them, from hand-crank to kitchen timer to servo to stepper motor...

[nicks90]

whats wrong with the mount your 200p is on?

Might be worth just putting the camera on that and selling the ota.

[NIGHTBOY]

That's an amazing photo jb.

Nick, my dob is on a stock base so no tracking.

What about the tripod/mount the tracking version of the 130p comes on??

[Schorhr]

The 130P SupaTrak ?

That is an altAz mount and over ~30s you will notice field rotation.

Also the mechanical quality is not really superb on these mounts.

Also here in germany the NexStar SLT GoTo sells for 168gbp (better value then the SupaTrak but still only an AltAz Tracking), it's okey for the price and dabbling in video astronomy for example... But for 148gbp you can get an NEQ3 plus have a bit left over for the motor kit.

Both mounts will struggle with anything larger then a 130/650 newtonian or a 5" mak though, at least for imaging. Also most 130/650 that sell with those kits don't have enough back focus, the 130pds OTA is a bit more expensive.

[JamesF]

That's an amazing photo jb.

Nick, my dob is on a stock base so no tracking.

What about the tripod/mount the tracking version of the 130p comes on??

I believe the 130P comes on an EQ2 mount.  It's feasible to use it for short focal length imaging as long as you don't want very long subs, but it doesn't have a polar scope so aligning the mount is more of a faff.

Of the Skywatcher EQ mounts I think the EQ3-2, plus motors, is the minimum you'd get away with at the focal lengths you're talking about.  I have no idea how the Polarie or Astrotrac compare so they might work out better/cheaper.  There's no reason not to try a barn door mount if you're passably competent at DIY.

If you want to get into DSO imaging however, you really should buy a copy of "Making Every Photon Count" and read that first.

James

[Alien 13]

The EQ3-2 is fine for camera and lens but not all that cheap when you add the cost of motor drives and polarscope I can get reasonable tracking up to 2 mins at 350mm FL and 4 mins at 50mm FL but that is more than enough for me the LP overexposure kicks in before that.

[JB80]

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-eq3-pro-synscan-goto.html

Plus another 32 for the polar scope still comes in uneder the AT or Polarie with accessories.

[NIGHTBOY]

I'd be happy with my 200p if I could get the focus right as I shoot in video then stack.

I bought a bahnitov and focused that but after filming Jupiter the focus was still off.

I'd of thought that once your focused at infinity that would be it????

Is it the same when focusing a dslr???

[JamesF]

I'd be happy with my 200p if I could get the focus right as I shoot in video then stack.

I bought a bahnitov and focused that but after filming Jupiter the focus was still off.

I'd of thought that once your focused at infinity that would be it????

Is it the same when focusing a dslr???

You seem to be confusing planetary imaging and DSO imaging.  They're two quite different disciplines and kit that is suited to one is rarely good for the other.

If you're trying to do planetary imaging you really won't get anywhere using a 300mm lens on a DSLR.  You think the image you're getting with the 200P is small now.  With a 300mm lens it will be three times smaller.  If you want to image DSOs then you won't be using video.

What is it you're actually trying to achieve?

James

[Leveye]

Ioptron Smart EQ Pro for just a camera and lens under 10 Ibs

[edjrgibbs]

You seem to be confusing planetary imaging and DSO imaging.  They're two quite different disciplines and kit that is suited to one is rarely good for the other.

I'd agree, a 300mm lens will not yield a decent FOV on planets. It would be a nice widefield deep sky lens though.

My two cents, I wanted a light (ish) tracking mount and looked at the IOptron Skytracker but in the end went for the SmartEQ pro as it was only £50 more expensive and I got GoTo, tracking, guiding and a decent travel mount all in one. It will also fit on a standard 3/8" photo tripod. 

Ed