Is it possible to use an EQ mount later?

[Perene]

If I purchase this exact model:

https://www.amazon.com/SkyWatcher-S11620-Traditional-Dobsonian-10-Inch/dp/B00Z4G3CW8/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1471229037&sr=8-3-fkmr0&keywords=Collapsible+telescope+dobsonian+254

Will it be possible to remove the tube and use any Equatorial mount I want later? Or is the AZ mount my only choice on the matter?

BTW, assuming it's possible to buy an EQ mount and use in it, what kind of accessories will I need to do astrophotography? Are they the same I am going to need to use a GO-TO feature?

[cuivenion]

I can't see why you wouldn't be able to fit the ota to an EQ mount, but the mount that would be able to carry that tube would be quite expensive I imagine.

[Putaendo Patrick]

In theory, yes. You should be able to buy appropriate sized tube rings and a dovetail. As an idea, see: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/tube-rings/skywatcher-telescope-tube-rings.html

In practice, putting a 10" Newtonian on an EQ mount is not so obvious. It's a pretty large tube and will be very susceptible to wind. You might want to think about a fixed pier in some sort of protected observatory. Even then, it might not be the ideal telescope for astrophotography where aperture tends to be less important than for visual observing.

[Stu]

As Patrick says, a 10" newt is not a good choice to start out doing astrophotography with. You would be much better off buying a good mount and a different scope such as a small Apo refractor to do AP with. Much easier to guide reliably.

[ronin]

You would need a very substantial mount to hold with the degree of stability required a 10" newtonian, at least NEQ6 and I would actually suspect the EQ8.

A 10" dobsonian falls into the catagory of a good manual visual scope, the problem is that this does not mean it automatically translate to a good imaging scope. Oddly the 2 requirements diverge somewhat. The "easy" way to look at it is that a visual setup requires a big scope and a smallish mount, for AP you really need a small scope and a big mount.

An "extreme" case is that people buy the William Optics Star 71 for imaging, simply because it is a very good although somewaht dedicated imaging scope.. WO are bringing out a mk2 of the scope and people are waitng for it to arrive for imaging.

One additional factor is the simple mechanics - the dobsonian tube was very likely not intended to have a set of rings around it and these could well deform the tube a little - they are likely to have to simply to grip the OTA sufficently. There is then the flex of the tube. You will have to grip the tube and then put it on a dovetail, the weight of the mirror will cause some bending. The glass will be around 6.5Kg and there is the addtional mirror cell and other bits, so I guess 8 to 10 Kg.

In terms of cost it may be that buying say an iOptron CEM25 (Goto with GPS) and and ES Alu Essential 80mm (Triplet apo) will be less cost then a mount big enough for the 10" newtonian. Also when the imaging rig is obtaining images you can use the dobsonian to observe through. Sitting there for 3 hours while the imaging rig obtains images can be boring, and then comes the temptation to poke around the imaging rig and so lose images.

 

[D4N]

You should also be aware that you may need to replace the focuser to be able to bring a camera to focus.  Newtonian scopes that are not designed with astrophotography in mind tend not to have sufficient focuser travel to fit cameras, coma cor rectors and filters.