telescope mount

[spartan2007]

hi guys just wanting about the celestron advanced vx mount,i would like any pros and cons would be fitted with 925 edge hd and dslr for astrophotography as i am looking for new rig .,i have checked weight limits and i am under ,any feedback would be great.

[Mad Taff]

I'm very tempted to get one of these mounts too. It's really between this one and a HEQ5. I will be really interested to see what others have to say about the Celestron mount which is a bit cheaper than the HEQ5.

[VigdisVZ]

Hi

The weight capacity is usually overstated. You're putting a very expensive scope on top of a cheap mount and pairing it with a cheap camera. For instance the NEQ-6 is rated for almost 20kg, but thats mostly for visual use, most guys would probably try to put on half of that for photography. Besides you need to factor in stuff like guide-tubes, heaters and cameras. The mount is rated for 30lbs, and IIRC the 925 is 20lbs. And thats without the extras. And if you try and use the 925 without the extras youre wasting its potential. If your're going for such a fine scope as the Edge HD, I'd put a proper CCD on it instead of a DSLR.

So basicly, upgrade the mount to atleast a CGEM, or downgrade the scope to something lighter like a good quality frac, or a lighter non-HD SCT if you want the higher focal length. It will also be extra hard with a high power scope like the 925 just because of the high focal length. You can usually get away with underpowered mount on lower focal lengths, but each vibration due to instability, wind and periodic error is quanitifed, even an autoguider might not be able to keep up consistently.

Even if it will work in theory, in practice it might be a bit of a struggle to get consistent results, and if you're ready to pay that much, don't settle for a rig that "could work in theory" but settle for one that wont give you a headache. And overloading a smaller mount is never recommended.

So to sum up: You always need a more sturdy mount, but can usually get away with a cheaper scope if the mount is solid.

[Owmuchonomy]

I'm very tempted to get one of these mounts too. It's really between this one and a HEQ5. I will be really interested to see what others have to say about the Celestron mount which is a bit cheaper than the HEQ5.

That scope in imaging set up is too big for an HEQ5 mount.  I have the standard 9.25" XLT and that is right at the 11kg limit for imaging with all the peripherals attached.

[spartan2007]

Thanks guys looks like I'll be looking at a cgem mount with a 925 edge hd