EQ5 for Imaging?

[Peart]

Hi All,

So im looking to get a mount to do some long exposure astrophotography i have a limited budget and feel like a HEQ5 will be to expensive, is a EQ5 good enough to get good images. 

[catburglar]

You can get good images with an EQ5 mount- particularly if you have a lightweight/ short focal length setup. It’s likely to have a bit more backlash in the gears and a little more periodic error than the HEq5, but it’s still doable.  

[almcl]

It rather depends on what scope/weight you want to use?

I use my belt modified EQ5 with a 200mm Canon lens on my Canon 700D and it does fine.  Of late, the average tracking errors (as reported by PHD2) have been around one and a bit arc seconds.  As the rig is imaging at 4.5 arc secs per pixel, I am quite happy with this.  But if I were using my SW200p (0.85" pp)  quite a few subs would have elongated or 'smeared out' stars.

[Scott]

I've imaged with an eq5. It's hard work and although it's possible to get reasonable results on brighter nebulae, I'd seriously consider waiting until I could afford the Heq5. A.P. is hard enough with the right gear. making things harder for yourself is just plain masochistic.

[Olli]

Can't remember the price for a new eq5 at the top of my head but you can always get a heq5 pro for around £500 or so used.

[adyj1]

It all relates to budget and OTA. As @catburglarsays, you *can* achieve what I would consider an acceptable level of long exposures with an EQ5. I get 120s unguided. 

If you can afford a bigger mount, of course you'd upgrade that first, but if finding an extra £200+ means waiting for longer than you'd like, then go for the EQ5 now. 

A decent EQ5 will sell when you finally get the funds/win the lottery and can upgrade, so it isn't exactly wasting your money... 

As @almclposted@almclposted, don't overload it, though. I use a 150pds and am happy, but can't use the st80 guide scope setup. That will have to wait until I upgrade... 

 

Ady 

[ollypenrice]

Honestly, don't buy twice. You will if you buy the EQ5. Surely you'll find a good second hand HEQ5? People upgrade because they need more payload.

Olly

[spillage]

If you really want to get into AP then you need not rush into anything. Its not an overnight hobby even if you have bags of cash. Take you time buy right, buy once (or at least buy to last a good while).

Do not dismiss the second hand market as most people look after their kit (as its bloody expensive).

I think by the time you start to autoguide maybe a dedicated camera, filter wheel...you will need to be able to carry the weight. The eq5 pro is a great grab and go and yes you will get good results but will quickly want better. I started with the eq5 pro as it was second hand and cheap, I quickly moved to a eq6 but should of held onto the 5 as my grab and go.

 

cheers,

[adyj1]

4 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

Honestly, don't buy twice. You will if you buy the EQ5. Surely you'll find a good second hand HEQ5? People upgrade because they need more payload.

Olly

@ollypenrice

Olly, if people buy an EQ5 in the full knowledge that it isn't as good as a HEQ5, it is because they can't afford it. 

The advice so far has been to get an HEQ5 if you can at all afford it, but if not go with the EQ5. You're telling the OP not to bother with AP if he can't afford the more expensive mount, which I find very elitist. 

I value your expert advice on many things, but I respectfully but strongly disagree this time. 

Ady

(with an EQ5 if that isn't already obvious. I've had it for two years, and am quite happy with the level of AP I have achieved) 

 

 

[Thalestris24]

Hi

I have a variety of mounts but I'd rate my Heqs as best, especially as it has a belt mod. However, I also have an Eq3 Synscan Pro (on an heq5 tripod - the supplied aluminium tripod is rubbish!) which is much more lightweight than an heq5. Sure, it doesn't have the imaging payload but is fine with an 80mm APO, finder guider and, currently, a qhy8l osc. What none of my setups give me is clear skies, and neither takes away the light pollution. I'm lucky if I get one evening a month that's good enough for imaging. So it's worth bearing in mind your local conditions before contemplating parting with any money. As I say, an eq3 pro with guiding is fine for a small scope, or even just a dslr and decent lens (you don't need a scope at all to take very nice images - you'd be surprised what a camera and lens can see that the eye can't). An eq5 pro should do at least as well as an eq3 pro and can take a slightly bigger payload. Even if you outgrow it, a smallish mount can remain quite useful as a second, or grab and go, setup .

Louise

[ollypenrice]

8 hours ago, adyj1 said:

@ollypenrice

Olly, if people buy an EQ5 in the full knowledge that it isn't as good as a HEQ5, it is because they can't afford it. 

The advice so far has been to get an HEQ5 if you can at all afford it, but if not go with the EQ5. You're telling the OP not to bother with AP if he can't afford the more expensive mount, which I find very elitist. 

I value your expert advice on many things, but I respectfully but strongly disagree this time. 

Ady

(with an EQ5 if that isn't already obvious. I've had it for two years, and am quite happy with the level of AP I have achieved) 

 

 

I think you're putting words in my mouth, here!  FLO list the EQ5 at £539 and the HEQ5 at £775, meaning that it should not be difficult to find a used HEQ5 for less than the price of a new EQ5. To repeat what I said in my original post,  'Surely you'll find a good second hand HEQ5? People upgrade because they need more payload.'  (My emphasis.) So I'm not saying don't do AP, I'm saying don't buy twice if you can buy a used HEQ5 on budget once. 

 Erm, to clarify a couple of other things I'm not saying in my original post:

- Mug an old lady to make up the difference.

- Sell you children to make up the difference.

Olly

[AngryDonkey]

11 hours ago, spillage said:

Its not an overnight hobby

What!?!?!? I've been doing something wrong.... ?

52 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

- Sell you children to make up the difference.

Olly, from your experience would one be enough to get the Mesu and the TEC140 or would I have to part with both? Any bonus for twins? Thanks for you help!

To add a small amount of value to the thread I can only echo some of the above advice. Have a good think on what your goals are for the medium future and what kind of mount would support it. If the more expensive one is completely out of reach then the decision is made but if the choice is waiting a few months to get a mount that will better suite what you want to do, then I would opt for that. This will give you good time to find a good second hand one.

[ollypenrice]

1 hour ago, AngryDonkey said:

 

Olly, from your experience would one be enough to get the Mesu and the TEC140 or would I have to part with both? Any bonus for twins? Thanks for you help!

It has been established under European law that the ownership of a Mesu and a TEC do not constitute prima facie evidence of child trafficking provided both items were purchased second hand. So there! I'm innocent. (Or might be... ?)

Olly

 

[Davey-T]

14 hours ago, spillage said:

Its not an overnight hobby

Awarded pun of the week Mark 

Dave

[Peart]

Hi All,

Thanks for all the comments I think taking it all into consideration I will hold out on buying and see if I can grab a second hand HEQ5. Again thanks for all the comments and hope the child fetches a good price. lol 

[adyj1]

@ollypenrice, we're both in agreement then. If there's any way you can afford to buy  an heq5, then get one. If all you can afford is a second-hand eq5 then buy that - even though that will mean you'll end up "buying twice" if you are lucky enough to find the extra money in years to come. 

2nd-hand HEQ5 prices are proportionally higher than EQ5 2nd-hand prices because of this very reason - and when HEQ5s do come on the market that are quickly snapped up. (ironically another good reason to get an HEQ5!), so finding a 2nd hand HEQ5 at the right price a bit of a challenge. 

I intended my post to say 'buy an EQ5 if that's all you can afford". I can see I never explicitly said 2nd-hand EQ5, and I suppose in my mind (small as it is) this was obvious,as that is that is the' limited budget' world in which many of us live. 

Your post with more words makes more sense ? - don't buy twice if you can avoid it. 

I apologise for overreacting - I should have asked for clarification before replying, it's just that I see the sort of 'don't bother of you can't afford the good stuff' message keep cropping up (which you've clarified you never said). 

Yours humbly

Ady

 

 

 

[ollypenrice]

13 minutes ago, adyj1 said:

@ollypenrice, we're both in agreement then. If there's any way you can afford to buy  an heq5, then get one. If all you can afford is a second-hand eq5 then buy that - even though that will mean you'll end up "buying twice" if you are lucky enough to find the extra money in years to come. 

2nd-hand HEQ5 prices are proportionally higher than EQ5 2nd-hand prices because of this very reason - and when HEQ5s do come on the market that are quickly snapped up. (ironically another good reason to get an HEQ5!), so finding a 2nd hand HEQ5 at the right price a bit of a challenge. 

I intended my post to say 'buy an EQ5 if that's all you can afford". I can see I never explicitly said 2nd-hand EQ5, and I suppose in my mind (small as it is) this was obvious,as that is that is the' limited budget' world in which many of us live. 

Your post with more words makes more sense ? - don't buy twice if you can avoid it. 

I apologise for overreacting - I should have asked for clarification before replying, it's just that I see the sort of 'don't bother of you can't afford the good stuff' message keep cropping up (which you've clarified you never said). 

Yours humbly

Ady

 

 

 

All good then. I certainly never said, 'Don't bother if you can't afford the good stuff,' and never do say that. My standard advice (like many other people's) for a very tight budget is to bring down the focal length (or more precisely the resolution) and do wider field astrophotgraphy using second hand budget, old-style prime lenses.

Olly

[carastro]

I do agree with the HEQ5 being better than the EQ5, and the don't buy twice policy.

Having said that, I started off with a CG5GT which I believe is basically an EQ5.  This stood me in good stead imaging for a couple of years.  If the original poster is not planning to buy a big telescope at a later date it could well suffice.   But if you do get a chance to buy a 2nd hand HEQ5 that would certainly be a better bet.  

Carole 

[johnturley]

I was planning to get a portable GOTO mount for my ES 127 mm Refractor, which is currently mounted piggyback on my 14in Newtonian, and was looking at the EQ5 and the HEQ5, but it sounds like from what I've read, that the HEQ5 is well worth the extra, would observers also recommend having the Rowan Belt modification fiited.

I could actually if pushed stretch to the EQ6, but suspect that this would be too heavy to be portable.

John

[david_taurus83]

Hi. To add to this, I started out with an EQ5. I was imaging with a 200p plus all the gear weighing in at 12kg!! Way OTT for such a small mount. I did have success mind. Not without the struggle to get there. My biggest issues, apart from the payload, was getting good polar alignment and the backlash in the declination axis. I had to drift align to get polar alignment as good as I could get and it was a constant wrestle with guiding. Ironically, it was the fact that I was so over loaded that aided guiding as it kept the gears meshed as I was always slightly out of balance.

 

Since then, I have bought an EQ6 mount, a small short refractor and a Polemaster camera for polar alignment. Having said that, I reckon if I'd kept the EQ5 and set up with the Polemaster and put the short refractor on it, I could have got it to work better...

 

EQ5 can and will work fine but you need to consider what weight you will put on it and be prepared to put the effort, frustration and tears into it! For what it's worth, the same effort, frustration and tears also come with the HEQ5 up to the AZEQ6 as well! But it's all part of the 'fun'!