Motorized mount for widefield photography

[Sam Bo]

Hi all

Haven't posted for years due to family life taking over astrophotography etc. Sold my CG5 mount due to money issues but would like to do widefield astrophotography on a budget. I have a Bresser Skylux reflector an an EQ2 mount but has no motors...

So without going into details, can anyone suggest a good mount/tripod with motors for under £100 for attaching a DSLR for widefield AP. Can good results be achieved with a cheap tripod/mount/motor? I am aware of the EQ3 but also considering the EQ2 secondhand with motors although haven't seen any secondhand?... 

Has anyone used the Celestron Astromaster 130EQ with motor  for DSLR only imaging (i.e. use the Newt for observing only)? 

Any other suggestions for increasing exposure times for widefield AP on a serious budget....?

Cheers

Sam

[Bonnylad]

Hi, Sam. I'm researching same as you for effectively a dual-purpose tripod/mount. But cheap won't cut it.

The tripod must be rock solid. Tracking or guiding won't compensate for a shaky mount. Lots said on here about a major portion of the investment must be into the tripod/mount. Anything else defeats the object.

I'll be watching this thread with interest.

[happy-kat]

Astroboot sometimes have just motors and cheap tripods.

I've seen an eq1 and motor used with just a dslr and short fl lenses though they didn't post after images. If you don't extend tripod legs tripods are a lot steadier.

You could make a motorised barn door tracker for under your budget.

[Alien 13]

For widefield you realy need a Star Adventurer or an EQ3-2 but if you stick to 50 mm FL or below you can get good results with a normal static tripod.

Alan

P.S. as Happy Kat has mentioned you can do a DIY barn door tracker but for best results you are still stuck to sub 50 mm FL.

[happy-kat]

This is a great blog from a member on here.

http://www.nightofmanywords.com/articles/category/astrophotography

My manual barn door I can get 15 seconds using my 85mm lens and over 2 minutes with my 50mm. Where you point in the sky does greatly influence length of exposure. A static tripod can yeild useable results too. DSS helps here a lot boosting the final image.

I couldn't find the other post I was after and I don't have the bookmark on this disc.

 

[happy-kat]

I think I would wait and see if I could bag an eq3-2 second hand. If couldn't wait I'd build a barn door like this one perhaps.