Star Adventurer sub length

[Ags]

I'm thinking of sticking a Star Adventurer on an AZ3 mount with a Canon 1100D and lenses up to 250mm. What sort of sub length could I expect? I've read everything from 30 seconds to 5 minutes...

[CraigT82]

Depends: Polar alignment, balance, wind, etc... One night you might get 3 mins then the next night you may struggle to get 1 min, even though everything is exactly the same!

I think most manage an average of around 90-120 secs with 250mm.  With a strudy tripod, spot on polar alignment (drift alignment or polemaster) and guiding in RA you may get up to 5 mins or more.

[Ags]

Thanks. 2 minutes at 200 would be a dream come true 

[CraigT82]

That should be pretty easy. I've managed 8 minutes with a 135mm, and that was on a travel tripod

[Ags]

Was that guided?

[CraigT82]

No I've never done any guiding! 

[Ags]

Ah! Good to know.

I have decided to get the Star Adventurer. I will need a travel tripod - if I may ask, what tripod did you use that scored the awesome 8 minutes @ 135mm?

[Davey-T]

Here's a test shot using 60Da and Canon 24 / 105 @24 just left it running for 17 minutes.

It can routinely do 90secs using 300mm lens

Dave

 

[CraigT82]

10 hours ago, Ags said:

Ah! Good to know.

I have decided to get the Star Adventurer. I will need a travel tripod - if I may ask, what tripod did you use that scored the awesome 8 minutes @ 135mm?

I use an Astropro 187 tripod, which I believe is quite similar to the horizon 8115. Neither are too expensive and sometimes pop up second hand if you keep an eye out

[Ags]

Thanks, it looks pretty solid. I found a snippet of a SaN review of the 8115 online:

“Extends to an impressive height…The tripod remains stable even when extended, due to a bracket that locked the legs into place…We especially liked the way in which the adaptor plate was fitted into the mount, which is held in place by a sprung locking mechanism. Camera's and Telescopes are expensive, so it’s worth making sure they are securely attached.”
BBC Sky At Night Magazine