Is the Skywatcher Explorer 130P capable?

[Dom1961]

I am thinking of getting the skywatcher explorer 130P on eq2 mount, will this be capable of holding a dslr using a t ring? If not do you guys recommend any other scope <£200 bearing in mind im a teenager and its my first scope, thanks!

[Twiggles]

The 130P is a nice scope, but I don't think the EQ2 mount is going to be great for imaging. I dabble in a little planetary imaging using the motorised EQ2 mount and its ok for that as a webcam is of course much lighter than a DSLR. The mount itself is prone to vibration and as I understand it for DSLR imaging your really want a very stable mount. Ideally you also want it to track, yes you can get motors for the mount which will help, but they aren't as accurate as more expensive mounts.

At under £200 I don't think you would get a real astrophotography setup. My advice however would be to go for the 130 setup and just give it a go. I imagine that to start with you would have to keep exposures to small lengths, say maximum of 30 seconds depending on target, and then use software to stack everything. At the very least it will give you an introduction to it all and something to learn on until you can save for a more stable mount.

As I say though, I haven't tried DSLR so I'm sure someone else will be along who is more qualified to advise you! There is a thread here on DSLR photography on the 130:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/210593-imaging-with-the-130pds/

[YKSE]

The answer is definely NO, it will not work. I had 130P on EQ2 mount, The mount  worked just barely as visual setup with eyepieces not much bigger than the stock eyepieces. There's no chance it can work with a camera.

[cuivenion]

Also the 130p doesn't reach prime focus with a DSLR. You have to make some mods for it to work. The 130PDS is a different model and that gets a lot of good reviews for imaging,

[DaveS]

Yes, you need the 130 PDS for imaging, and with a DSLR you want a coma corrector (Don't bother with the Skywatcher one, you need the Baader MPCC III).

As for mounts, the absolute minimum for any kind of AP is the EQ 3-2 plus motors, and that only with a basic DSLR and lens. For the 130 PDS I'd be looking at the HEQ5.

Sorry, but worthwhile AP isn't a cheap hobby.

[D4N]

If you only want to do astro photography with the DSLR you might be better looking at just a mount. A skywatcher star adventurer is within your price range and will allow you to mount your DSLR with its own lens and take long exposure images.

If you want a telescope I'm afraid it will be quite expensive to get a setup that will work with a DSLR.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[jimbo747]

If you're happy just to image planets, moon and sun really well and some brighter dso's without much detail then I'd argue that you can use an alt az tracking Mount. Have seen celestron SLT mounts with hand controller go for £80 on eBay, and it will take a small 130mm newt or 127mak quite happily. 102slt refractors and mount go for under £200 too and will take a DSLR (although for planets a webcam will do a good job too). Use it for a while and save up for a better mount, by the time you sell it you might even get your money back.

[happy-kat]

Or keep it as a portable setup for quick sessions.

[tingting44]

 (Don't bother with the Skywatcher one, you need the Baader MPCC III).

why is this? I use the SW CC and I like it and the results, also gives me a touch faster scope, all my images on flikr have been taking with the SW CC and I cant really fault it

[bendiddley]

£200 won't get you very far however I bought a second hand EQ3-2 mount for £90 and an RA motor for £75 new. I've been doing wide-field DSLR only imaging with this set up which has been going well. I also needed to buy a polar scope, a dovetail plate to connect the camera to the mount and a remote shutter release, with everything combined I've spent about £215 on my set-up (excluding my DSLR). So for that amount you can get going, but you'll need to dig deeper if you want to image with a scope as others have pointed out.