Skywatcher Star Adventurer Pro + Evostar 72ED

[RustyShackleford]

Hello there. Hoping for a bit advice.

I've recently got the atro bug having bought a 8" dob for xmas. Im having fun learning and have tried a few astro shots with my DSLR with moderate success.

Ive been reading about the Skywatcher Star Adventurer Pro and I think I'm going to take the plunge so I can try some more astro shots. Can you tell me if Ive got this setup correct, if Ive missed anything and if it seems a decent starter setup?

Tripod = (existing) Neewer Carbon 65" with ball head removed to attach mount direct.
Skywatcher Star Adventurer Pro
Skywatcher Evostar 72ED DS Pro
Skywtacher 0.85x Reducer for Evostar 72ED
T-Mount for DSLR
DSLR = (existing) Nikon D3400

I'm not planning on using it for visual so I dont think I need the diagonal but I'm not sure if I should get the guidescope? I probably need a light polution filter since I live in a highly polluted area but I think I'll add this later on.

Appreciate any help/advice

 

Thanks.

[8472]

Your mount is on the small side for that scope.

[RustyShackleford]

thanks, like I say, totally new to this so thanks for the heads up.  Im probably missing something but the scope weight is 2kg and my camera is 0.5kg and the mount says payload of 5kg so I assumed I had plenty spare. What have I missed?

 

Cheers.

[Victor Boesen]

20 minutes ago, RustyShackleford said:

thanks, like I say, totally new to this so thanks for the heads up.  Im probably missing something but the scope weight is 2kg and my camera is 0.5kg and the mount says payload of 5kg so I assumed I had plenty spare. What have I missed?

 

Cheers.

I currently use that scope with a star adventurer and I use it on a manfrotto xpro 055 with none of the legs extended. I've found that in windy conditions it mostly depends on the tripod and not so much on the star adventurer. I previously used the star adventurer and DSLR on a Velbon videomate 638 and I saw a huge improvement when upgrading. The star adventurer is a very capable mount especially when mounted on a proper tripod with proper polar alignment;)

EDIT: I noticed you added the skywatcher 0.85X FF. I got the OVL field flattener instead and saw great performance, compared to using the scope without any FF, for under half the price:)

EDIT number 2: Welcome to the forum!!!

Feel free to ask me more questions regarding the setup since I've used it for over 6 months now and don't regret buying the evostar 72!

Victor

Edited February 5, 2020 by Victor Boesen
Forgot to welcome topic-starer to the forum

[RustyShackleford]

Thanks Victor. Thats good to hear

So the mount should be fine with the scope and dslr but depending how my tripod copes I may need to upgrade that. I can live with that.

if you dont mind me asking, what dslr are you using and do you have any pictures from using this setup?

one more question, do you recommend getting a finderscope for this setup?

 

Thanks.

[Sunshine]

An intervalometer, you'll need one to control camera shutter intervals, they're inexpensive and very handy, i notice you are in the UK, i have included an amazon link but, if you want one soon i'm sure most camera shops have them.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shutter-Release-Intervalometer-Control-Digital-Black/dp/B078SPD9Z1/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=intervalometer+canon&qid=1580934477&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFGMDdWN08zQzNNUVcmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA1ODg4NzAxM0ZGWFcxUEM4QUFJJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTEwMzIzMDEzVlg4QkU5OTBHV0oxJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

[RustyShackleford]

I didnt think of an intervalometer. Thanks for the heads up.

[Victor Boesen]

1 minute ago, RustyShackleford said:

Thanks Victor. Thats good to hear

So the mount should be fine with the scope and dslr but depending how my tripod copes I may need to upgrade that. I can live with that.

if you dont mind me asking, what dslr are you using and do you have any pictures from using this setup?

one more question, do you recommend getting a finderscope for this setup?

 

Thanks.

Yes I think you'd be fine starting with your suggested tripod.

I'm actually using the Nikon D3300 the camera one year older than yours so your camera should be fine since I've been using mine for over three(maybe even four I don't remember haha) years. These are some pictures taken from home at a Bortle 7-8 location without a light pollution filter. The Bortle scale is a scale tha goes from 1-9 where 9 is the worst(I live in copenhagen, the capital of Denmark):

And these are taken from my granparents' Bortle 4 location with the OVL field flattener. Keep in mind the orion nebula is only 2 mins of exposure in total since I had some weather problems... I'm visiting them next week so I hope the weather allows me to improve on my current result:

I don't use a finderscope at the moment and I don't actually find it useful since I've been doing astronomy for 5 years now and I've learned where most things are located on the sky. And by the way I also don't do guiding and I don't have any intentions to do so since I like the portability and ease of setup with the star adventurer.

Hope I answered your question;)

Victor

[RustyShackleford]

Thats awesome Victor. If I can get pictures half as good as those I'll be happy

 

[Victor Boesen]

3 minutes ago, RustyShackleford said:

Thats awesome Victor. If I can get pictures half as good as those I'll be happy

 

You will definitely be able to do so;) But if you are like any other getting into astrophotography you'll will quickly want to capture images that are better than half as good, and the star adventurer doesn't limit you to do so. I haven't taken full advantage of my setup yet so result way better than the ones I get is not impossible in any way.

[daemon]

Here is my ED72 and Nikon D5300 with Star Adventurer. I sit this on the tripod of my EQ6R Pro (North peg removed) and it is very stable. You can pick up these tripods individually but of course they are not exactly cheap, and I had to fashion a new centre screw to secure the SA. I have a guide scope mounted on the end of the counterweight bar. Guides well in RA. DEC stays stable if I get well polar aligned.

Daemon

[RustyShackleford]

NIce! newbie question but how does the guidscope work or what does it do?

[daemon]

Well, guiding is a whole dark art that I won't go into too much detail on here. There is plenty of info around the forums.

In short, guiding allows for longer exposures by tracking a guide star through a guide scope and small guide camera (usually CCD). This is hooked up to software (such as the popular PHD2) to track a star near to your imaging target so that your mount closely follows the target better than basic tracking.

But beware, the Star adventurer only accepts guide pulses for the Right Ascension axis (not Declination). 

I wouldn't bother investing in this sort of setup just for the SA, but I already have a guide scope and cam for my bigger rig.

[RustyShackleford]

got it. thanks. I think thats a bit further down the line for me then but good to know.