Which Mount for Christmas

[John1980]

My little boy wanted a telescope this year and so I bought him a celestron nexstar 127 mak. We have had great fun however now I am hooked. I love our little scope and we had attached pur canon 550d which we already had up to it and have got some good shots of the moon and some poor shots of jupiter and saturn however now I want to do more.

Wish list is;

I would like to start imaging deep sky objects

I would like to get much better images of the planets

Needs to be realitely portable as we live in a city.

I would therefore like to get myself a new mount for christmas, the scope (scopes) can come later. So basically I would like to get a good mount that will not hold me back and is a good all rounder. I have been looking at a heq5 pro as it has been mentioned however I am open and would like other suggestions and or advise.

Money is obviously an object however ultimately upto £1000 is ok however I would like it to be the last mount I ever buy. I do not want in 6 months to be wishing I had got the next model up.

[laser_jock99]

EQ5 or EQ6. The EQ6 is capable of holding up to a 12" scope (should you ever wish to go there.......)

[swag72]

Here's a couple of thoughts from me based on your wish list!

1) DSO's require a good tracking mount. Imaging DSO's will often benefit from long exposures. The scope can generally be short and so placing minimal stress on the mount. - For this the HEQ5 is often touted as being the minimal recommended mount.

2) Planetary will require a different scope to DSO's - Much larger and one that will place more requirements on the mount. The larger scopes will often act as sails on smaller mounts.

3) HEQ5 is totally portable.

So I guess there's a possible compromise somewhere. A future proofed EQ6 or the newer Alt/EQ6 would be a good choice covering a couple of your bases, but I'm not sure how portable you would find it. 

[bobmoss]

I'd go for either the HEQ5 or the NEQ6. I was in a similar position and went for a second hand NEQ6 as its more future proof. However, if portability is an issue I'd lean towards the HEQ5.

[sbooder]

As said above, scope size will dictate the most.  If it is the last mount you will buy and you want it to take whatever scope you get in the future I would go EQ6 but If you are not going to go above an 8" Newt or a 3-4" Apo, I would go HEQ5?

[nmoushon]

I would go HEQ5. If you look at my kit in my sig I can have all of it mounted and ready to image and put it all together in doors then lift it all at once and carry it out side. Im fit but definately not muscular. So I find it very portable. So for DSO imaging I think it would be a great mount for you.

As for planetary imaging, Sara is right, that you will want a much larger scope and it would act as a sail in the wind. BUT planetary/lunar imaging requires very very short exposures and actually is better achieved with shooting video than single images. So even though that mount might not hold a big scope that could do both DSO and Planetary imaging it will do great if you focus on one.

Now Im not saying you couldnt find a compromise in the middle and have a medium scope that would do decent for both DSOs and Planetary and the mount would do just fine. You just have to find a happy medium of where you want to be and how much the mount can handle.

Overall I think you would be very happy with a HEQ5 and it will give you lots of options for scope no matter what you choose to image.

[John1980]

Cheers for all the replies. I will deffo be going down the route of getting two scopes.

One for planetary with good apature and long focal length And a second fast scope for dso's. I do not think I will be going much over 8" for my planetary scope something like a celestron c8.

If you all feel a heq5 is capable of tracking well enough for a short fast scope to image dsos and is strong/stable enough to take a c8 for planetary then I think I will go for a heq5 over eq6.

Couple of random questions though.

Can I set it up low enough for my 6 year old to see?

Why does everyone not set their mounts up as low as possible surely there is less flex, less wind and less vibration?

[hobsey]

One for planetary with good apature and long focal length.

Don't under estimate the 127mak for planetary with a dedicated imaging cam until you've tried it.

The 127mak can produce some superb images, so give it ago before splashing out as you may decide you want to keep it for a while.

[CodnorPaul]

Neq6 all the way for me - I find it portable but everyone is different. If you plan on doing DSO imaging you will appreciate all the stability you can find, and once you start you may want to load up guidescopes etc.

[Davey-T]

First steps down the slippery astro imaging slope, never mind the weight of the mount, you'll need a team of bearers to carry all the other stuff. 

Dave

[nmoushon]

Cheers for all the replies. I will deffo be going down the route of getting two scopes.

One for planetary with good apature and long focal length And a second fast scope for dso's. I do not think I will be going much over 8" for my planetary scope something like a celestron c8.

If you all feel a heq5 is capable of tracking well enough for a short fast scope to image dsos and is strong/stable enough to take a c8 for planetary then I think I will go for a heq5 over eq6.

Couple of random questions though.

Can I set it up low enough for my 6 year old to see?

Why does everyone not set their mounts up as low as possible surely there is less flex, less wind and less vibration?

Firstly Im glad you are willing to get 2 scopes. This will really improve the quality and enjoyment of both. Technically the HEQ5 has a 15kg capacity so you could even put a C11 on there and be perfectly fine for lunar and planetary imaging and use it for observing. Now I don't know if you want  to spend that much or have that large of a scope BUT this mount could handle it. Now it wouldnt be good to try DSO imaging with the C11 (just a disclaimer). So you could put the C8, C9.25, C11 on the HEQ5. So you could start small and upgrade later or just go big from the start.

With DSO imaging I would suggest a refractor in the 70-100mm range for this mount. I was imaging with my ED80 and was able to do 2min subs unguided, which is pretty good for unguided and only taking 5min to polar align. If you do guiding, and I would suggest you at least look into for maybe down the road, you can easy do 15-20min subs.

I never extend the legs on my mount, which is the UA version of the HEQ5, and the mount head is in the middle of my chest. I'm 5'-10. I don't know how tall your son is but at 6 yo will might need a small step stool to view from any scope on this mount.  Maybe if its pointed near the zenith he might not but I would be taking one with you if you plan on observing. It better than trying to hold him up or him trying to stretch to reach it and maybe fall over onto the mount and scope. I'm sure in he'll grow fast enough that you wont need it in a year or two.

[JamesF]

I really wouldn't describe the NEQ6 as "portable", personally.  Sure, it's possible to travel with it, but it's still a heavy lump.  The HEQ5 is considerably easier from a portability point of view.

I'd say the HEQ5 should give you a good start in astrophotography, too.  It may not be the last mount you ever buy, especially if the bug bites harder still, but it's absolutely capable of carrying a suitable OTA for DSO imaging plus the necessary extras.  What it won't do is carry something like an MN190 if you wanted to do some DSO imaging at a longer focal length.

As regards planetary imaging, the HEQ5 will carry a C9.25, but I was never happy with the stability of it.  I'd suggest that it's better to stop at something like the C8.  However, it will take the 127 Mak easily and as has already been said, the little Mak is a very capable planetary imaging scope for what it is so don't discount it.  The other thing I like about the Mak from an imaging point of view is that with a DSLR on the back it will produce full disc lunar and solar images that fill the sensor very nicely (and making a white light filter for solar imaging for a scope that size is no big deal).  It's also sufficiently compact that it's easy to take with you in the car pretty much anywhere.  Mine always comes with us when we drive over to France (and by sticking the counterweights and power supply etc. under the seats I can fit the HEQ5 in, too).

I also never extend the legs on my mounts when I'm imaging.  There seems no good reason to do so.

James

[John1980]

Thanks again eveyone. Lots of people have mentioned exactly what I was planning on getting. It is just really good for people to confirm you are making reasonably good decisions before you spend a fortune.

So

1. HEQ5

First purchase is the mount I can then use my little mak for observing, plantery imaging and with a focal reducer have a little go at dso imaging.

2. Imaging scope

Prob small refractor will do a lot more research first though.

3. Plantery imaging scope

Prob a celestron c8 but again more research yet

Then the most expensive of all the divorce when my wife finds out how much I have spent.

Also pleaee dont get my wrong about my little mak. We have spent quite a bit of time together and I absolutely love it. I have got no where near its potential out of it yet and intend to spend a lot more tome with it on the HEQ5 before I purchase other scopes. The best way to put it os that my little mak os a much better scope than I am an astronomer.

[ollypenrice]

You asked why people don't set up their mounts as low as possible? In the main they do just that. Seeing over nearby obstacles or observatory walls comes into it though. As for you son, it might be easier to raise him than to lower the scope at a certain point! Ironing stools ar a popular choice and many feel that you see more when sitting down. You're more stable.

I think you've got a good setup in the making. Don't overlook autoguiding. While you can get started without it autoguiding really is just a fact of imaging life and isn't that daunting.

Olly

http://ollypenrice.smugmug.com/Other/Best-of-Les-Granges/22435624_WLMPTM#!i=2266922474&k=Sc3kgzc