Jump to content

NLCbanner2024.jpg.2478be509670e60c2d6efd04834b8b47.jpg

200p - EQ5 - SynScan Pro - Please help.

Spacehead

Recommended Posts

Spacehead

Spacehead

Posted
Posted

Hi All - I am going round and round in circles and am not buying anything probably being too cautious.

I wanted to emulate QM's set up but Tom isnt making the guide box at the moment.

I have a raw EQ5 - no motors - nothing.  With a 200p on it.

If I get a SynScan Pro 

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/synscan-pro-goto-version-3-upgrade-kit-for-eq5.html

Will I - to put it in very basic terms for my understanding - be able to take longer exposures for DSOs and planets which I can then stack?

I read here that tracking is not a function of the synscan pro - but when I read up - it mentions tracking at FLO.

I have a 400d canon and a modded xbox cam to get me going.

Please can anyone help?

Just want to buy something to try and move on!!!

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 33
  • Created
  • Last Reply
ronin

ronin

Posted
Posted

You will be able to track, that is part of the purpose.

The accuracy of tracking will depend on a few factors, main being how good the polar alignment is.

What the Synscan Pro cannot do on it's own is guide.

To do this you need a guide camera and guide scope or OAG.

There is often a mix up between track and guide.

Exposures should go up to around 60 seconds with decent polar alignment - I say this on the basis that you can get 20-25 second exposures just by standing a camera on a fixed tripod. So I would expect 60 seconds from a half decently polar aligned EQ mount with motors. You may get more.

I will say that if you are going imaging then the 200P on an EQ5 is pushing your luck, the mention of a guide box would imply more weight and area to catch and breeze/wind. Imaging tends to use a small scope not a big visual one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spacehead

Spacehead

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Ronin - theres a bloke on here who has captured stunning images on an eq5 with a 200p - so it can be done.  

Youve confused me with one thing there Ronin - the 20-25 second exposure you refer to there - surely everything would be blurred!!!

I mean - taking mars the other night - 1 second exposures are blurred!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lensman57

lensman57

Posted
Posted

Hi All - I am going round and round in circles and am not buying anything probably being too cautious.

I wanted to emulate QM's set up but Tom isnt making the guide box at the moment.

I have a raw EQ5 - no motors - nothing.  With a 200p on it.

If I get a SynScan Pro 

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/synscan-pro-goto-version-3-upgrade-kit-for-eq5.html

Will I - to put it in very basic terms for my understanding - be able to take longer exposures for DSOs and planets which I can then stack?

I read here that tracking is not a function of the synscan pro - but when I read up - it mentions tracking at FLO.

I have a 400d canon and a modded xbox cam to get me going.

Please can anyone help?

Just want to buy something to try and move on!!!

Cheers

If I may just make one suggestion, save the £300.00 for the upgrade kit, and start saving for NEQ6 Pro or atleast an HEQ5 pro. A 200p is not going to behave itself as far as tracking or guiding is concerned on an EQ5. The shear bulk of the scope and the camera will cause all sorts of problems for you. You make the decision .

Regards,

A.G

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DaveS

DaveS

Posted
Posted

Yes, people *have* managed to get stunning images with a 200mm newt on an EQ5...

BUT

These are people with years of experience who have fine-tuned everything to a nicety. If you want to image with a 200PDS then do yourself a huge favour and save for a NEQ6. It'll take the load and guide it without having to faff and fettle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spacehead

Spacehead

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Im trying to go by the numbers here, 

SW200p = 10KG with rail and rings.

Canon 400d = .5KG

so 10.5 on a HEQ5 with a load capacity of 18kg isnt halfway there.

I would guess a guidescope would be around 5kg max (please suggest one for me)

Taking me to 15.5

That would be close but still 2.5 below max load.

Is this OK?

What would be a good guide scope, and how heavy would it be?

Am I on the right tracks?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lensman57

lensman57

Posted
Posted

It will carry the 200p and will be fine for visual but if you were going to do imaging then I would be careful, I have an SW Quattro 8s which is probably the same weight as your 200p but quite a bit shorter, I find that it is right at the limit of stabilty and acceptable guiding performance with my belt modded HEQ5 Pro, I am not saying that it is not going to be fine but it is a push once all the imaging gear is loaded on the top. if you are comfortable with buying used gear the NEQ6 Pros turn up regularly on ABS UK for about £600~650.00, I feel that these might serve you better.

Regards,

A.G

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spacehead

Spacehead

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Lensman - theres hardly anything worth looking at "visual" wise I find.  The moon is great - but beyond that, the planets are just little circles with largely zero or very few features, galaxies are simply small blurrs and stars are just stars.

This is with the 2x barlow with a 10mm EP.

There is just nothing to look at beyond the moon.  So AP is the way to go for me.

It often confuses me when people say "visual" as there is so little to actually see.   :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lensman57

lensman57

Posted
Posted

I noticed you are south manc.  Im stockport.

Yep about 15 minutes away. I guess both of us suffer from the lovely airport lighting, atleast we have had a couple of clear nights so far. Had we been licky to have true dark skies i'd think that visual would be quite rewarding but you do need a light bucket for that.

A.G

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DaveS

DaveS

Posted
Posted

18 kg on an HEQ5 is for visual. FLO quote 11 kg for imaging, and that's for a much more compact rig.

If you really want to image with a 200PDS (Note, NOT the 200P, the PDS 'scopes are set up for imaging) then save yourself a lot of grief and go for a NEQ6 or the more advanced AZ-EQ6.

Oh, and there is quite a lot worth looking at through the eyepiece, it just takes some practice. If, eg, Jupiter is just showing a blob then there's something wrong somewhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spacehead

Spacehead

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Jupiter through the scope shows the moons, and a ball with two stripes on it - taking up about 10% of the view - its sharp - but not worth looking at more than 7 nights I wouldnt say.  Justs gets boring - even though I am, and always have been, heavily into the cosmos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spacehead

Spacehead

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Sorry I already have the 200p - and its fine for images for a beginner - ive seen the photos which can be produced with it.  Granted - its not quite a c11 or even a 9.25 - but the images a 200p can produce are more than worth their weight in gold.  I can not be told otherwise.  The images are fantastic with effort, skill and dedication.  There is just no need to spend a fortune.

I am tempted by the HEQ5 - A 6 is out of my price range, so really (and maybe sadly) this is where Im at.

This hobby is like driving a sports car - I will do my best to enjoy what I can afford - and build over the coming years - but I will stretch my budget to the absolute limit at any give time - and around 600 pounds for a mount is where I am at at the mo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Helite

Helite

Posted
Posted

If you cant find a second hand EQ6 for around your budget why not get an HEQ5 syntrek, you don't have the GOTO function on it but it can be added and controlled by a computer, means you get a brand new HEQ5 with warranty for 630 quid. http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-heq5-syntrek.html Use a lightweight finder- guider with your 200p and that should keep weight to a minimum.

I really wouldn't advise putting the PRO synscan upgrade onto the EQ5, your better off keeping the 300 and saving for a larger mount.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
proflight2000

proflight2000

Posted
Posted

I would question the statement that there is really nothing to see, there is a lot to see, Double stars, triple stars, where people go wrong IMHO is that they (not saying you) want everything there and then. I would seriously point any scope towards a reasonable part of the sky and spend an hour or more looking, the more you dark your eyes and the longer you leave it in place the more you will see. AP is a great skill, far beyond what I would ever be capable of as I just do not have the patience and I know that those who take it seriously have spent more than a few years mastering a skill and I commend them totally for the brilliant pictures they produce, but be ready seriously for some real headbanging at times, it can become very very frustrating. I would also do the waiting game and go for the heavier mount, if this is the line you want to tread then you may as well start with enough to keep you satisfied rather than find an issue later after you have upgraded.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DaveS

DaveS

Posted
Posted

OK, the 200P is f/5 (I had to look it up on FLO, as I'm more a refractor man). For a 'scope that fast you'll need eyepieces a lot better than the freebies supplied by the manufacturer. You don't need to spend hundreds, but you do need something better. Post on the eyepieces thread or give FLO a bell.

For imaging you may also want to look ta a coma corrector, as on a DSLR the edges will show coma.

It would also help others give meaningful advice if you put your kit in your sig.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spacehead

Spacehead

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi Proflight - no worries - i'm patient enough by far for AP and look at the challenge it presents as an ongoing one - which I will get to grips with over years and years.

I work in IT as a programmer - so I am well and truly used to technical headbanging hair pulling frustration - i've had 20 years of it!!

I am certain AP will give me just as much frustration time and time again!  No worries - I can see it coming.

Hi DaveS do you think better EP's will enable me to see more of a galaxy through the scope?

Its really difficult to descibe what I can see in words, but I can show a shot of what I was looking at the other night and this is pretty much exactly what I see through the viewfinder with 2x Barlow and 10mm EP.  The darkness also is portrays a fair shot of the proportion that mars takes up in the view.

Im genuinely not being funny - but I can only look at that for a few nights before getting to the stage where I say - well - seen it and its just that blob again.

Its actually a bit sharper than the pic shows - but even so - the white areas are still barely discernible even when looking throught the scope.

It focus's on the moon fantastic - very sharp - I couldnt wish for more - and its true to say the planets are sharp - but just plain really.

Also shown below is a jupiter pic which is pretty much what I see through the scope.  Although I would also say the blobs look brighter through the scope.

The moon seems fine though.  Really bright - sharp - craters - shadows - totally stunning infact with all lens combos I have.

So would better EP's help given the pics below?

marsup.jpg

jpup.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tingting44

tingting44

Posted
Posted

how come this is so cheap? has anyone ordered from these? FLO are selling this for £749

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-heq5-pro-synscan.html

the price of £485 seems to good to be true...

EDIT< dont worry just seen its ex display...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DaveS

DaveS

Posted
Posted

I'm not sure about galaxies, how dark is it where you are? Light pollution can wipe out the faint details very quickly. But even for DSOs a good high-contrast EP will work wonders.

The moon is a very high contrast object, so it is relatively kind to inferior EPs but the planets are another matter. They really need the best you can afford, especially with a fast 'scope as you've got. The ones you get with the 'scope will show you an image but beyond that..... The same goes for Barlows and Powermates, get the best you can afford. This presupposes you want to spend money on visual. I quite understand if you want to get into imaging, but it is a steep learning curve, as well as being a potential money-pit. 

Just a thought....When the moon's up unless you go narrow-band imaging has to take a back seat, so worth having lunar / planetary visual as a back up.

On a technical matter, have you checked the collimation? Again with a fast 'scope it is hair-splittingly critical. One reason why I'll be looking at a big apo 'fract shortly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lensman57

lensman57

Posted
Posted

how come this is so cheap? has anyone ordered from these? FLO are selling this for £749

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-heq5-pro-synscan.html

the price of £485 seems to good to be true...

It is an ex shop display itemnnot a brand new one. Technically it should sell for just over half the current retail price.

A.G

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.