Dipping my toe into imaging

[Skinnypuppy71]

Hi guys 

I need a wee bit of help 

A year or so ago I bought myself a skywatcher explorer 150pds and a skywatcher star discovery mount...yes the mount wasn't quite upto the weight of the 150...anyway due to financial constraints I had to sell both and accessories last summer...I now am ready to take some baby steps to getting back into this fantastic hobby...I am first and foremost a keen amateur landscape  photographer but I also want to view and do a bit of light imaging of the night sky....yes I know it's a rabbit hole.I have at the moment a pair of 20x80 Opticron Oregon  bins, Sony a7 mirrorless camera, 16-35mm f4, 85mm f1.8 and a 28-70 kit lens..a giottos carbon tripod with a vanguard b-100 head...I'm not too fussy about getting a new scope at the moment as I can use the bins....but would like to know the best way forward for a mount that will track the stars for the camera with the option of a scope in the future.(for visual observing)as I don't really want to go down the guidscope and a endless money pit that scope imaging enters us into.I would rather buy the correct item from the off as I know the pitfalls of buying the incorrect gear only having to upgrade further down the road and spending unnecessary amounts of money...I would be quite happy with the 150 pds again (in the future)or similar as a guide for what the mount would be partenerd with at a later time....hope this makes sense to you guy's . thanks for any help.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Skinnypuppy71

[MarkAR]

You can make a start with your photographic equipment using a SW Star Adventurer or iOptron SkyGuider. This though won't be suitable for anything much more that a small refractor.

[Skinnypuppy71]

Yeah..thanks.I'm aware of those products but was thinking along the lines of killing two birds with one stone so  to speak...a mount for imaging with the camera that would also double as my mount for observing when the time comes.

[miguel87]

I think the problem is that  most telescope mounts will be overkill for a camera and many camera mounts will not support a telescope.

Entirely depends how big your scope will be because the mount needs to handle it.

Any decent EQ telescope mount will manage you camera like it was a feather.

[Skinnypuppy71]

I was thinking possibly eq3 pro goto or eq5 goto....so they would both do tracking for my camera without issue...I just wasn't sure that the eq goto mounts tracked the same as the skywatcher star adventurer...in that case I might just get the eq3 goto along with the 150pds . that's about within budget.Thanks folks.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Skinnypuppy71

[tomato]

Sound advice already posted, if you get a mount which is adequate for your imaging scope, it wont mind piggybacking a DSLR on it. 

But if you want to avoid diving down the  rabbit hole and getting a dedicated AP camera, wont your DSLR be on the end of the scope? 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I got myself a second-hand EQ3-2, and it works very nicely with camera+ 200mm telephoto )

or with an 80mm scope

 

[spillage]

If you can find a second hand eq5 pro at the right price you may find it suitable for your needs. I would consider the 130pds over the 150pds though. like others have mentioned a mount for your camera will not really hold a telescope. A mount that will hold the 130/150 will be much more than maybe you want to spend. I do see a few heq5 mounts come up second hand, it just depends on how portable you want to be.

[MarkAR]

There's no such thing as overkill when it comes to mounts, the higher the weight capacity for AP the better and also the more accurate the mechanics of the mount the better especially with larger scopes. Don't worry about a DSLR and wide angle lens looking daft on a big mount. The downside is how mobile you want your set up, maybe the HEQ5. The AZ EQ6 I have is a bit much to cart around to dark sites.

[miguel87]

28 minutes ago, MarkAR said:

There's no such thing as overkill when it comes to mounts.

Mounting an entry level DSLR on an EQ8-Rh would be overkill.

[MarkAR]

5 minutes ago, miguel87 said:

Mounting an entry level DSLR on an EQ8-Rh would be overkill.

Not with a 1000mm lens and a 2X converter 😉

[miguel87]

Just now, MarkAR said:

Not with a 1000mm lens and a 2X converter 😉

Entry level DSLR's dont come with 1000mm lenses.

[bomberbaz]

I don't know the weight of the 150 pds so maybe the mount I use to do what you are planning isn't enough. I am using the skywatcher wifi gti with the star adventurer  wedge on it and I have upgraded the tripod to the steel tripod for extra stability.

The mount has been flashed to work in EQ mode with the wedge and I have had a little imaging success so far with it. 

It is really ubiquitous and the mount/tripod combo are currently used for the following:

• Solar White light viewing with a 90mm celestron frac (this pushes the mount to its limit, mainly due to length)
• Solar HA viewing with my lunt ls35
• star viewing (doubles, globulars etc) with my mak
• Wide angle imaging with my sony camera
• EEVA with a small frac and zwo 224 colour camera.

As you can tell I really do like it and is by far my most used purchase for astronomy. 

Steve

[MarkAR]

Well FLO sell the 150P-DS with the EQ5 so that should be sufficient but I would be tempted to put it on the HEQ5 or an EQ6 of some sort.

[miguel87]

12 minutes ago, MarkAR said:

Well FLO sell the 150P-DS with the EQ5 so that should be sufficient but I would be tempted to put it on the HEQ5 or an EQ6 of some sort.

I dont think the OP is mounting the 150pds. Just a camera at the moment.

Also I use the 200p on just an eq5 and for visual its absolutely great. Many people use this combo with no issues. The tracking motors will do the trick for a piggyback DSLR too.

Edited May 14, 2020 by miguel87

[bomberbaz]

11 minutes ago, MarkAR said:

Well FLO sell the 150P-DS with the EQ5 so that should be sufficient but I would be tempted to put it on the HEQ5 or an EQ6 of some sort.

Why the extra up on the mount when he isn't going into imaging though?

[Skinnypuppy71]

Thanks for all the response guy's....I think I'm a contradiction to myself.....I was just going to use my camera and the 85mm f1.8 to see how it got on before trying to use a scope and camera for prime focus....it's actually all the dark frames,light frames,bias frames etc that's kind of putting me off...I hate spending shed loads of times post processing and that's what a lot of imaging is I guess...just really wanted to open the shutter..let the mount track and let it run for a minute or whatever I can get away with...lol...imho lazy.

[happy-kat]

I use a 85mm f1.8 lens, the canon my one is best at t4.

 

[Skinnypuppy71]

OK a little bit more digging and thinking a skywatcher eqm-35 pro moduler mount with either the 130/150 pds or something totally different a Celestron nextar 5se in the same kind of area budget wise....but I'm sure probably two very different setups...never used a schmidt cassegrain before.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Skinnypuppy71

[happy-kat]

That's the lighter duty SE mount plus it is altaz and not sure how effective a wedge is on the 5SE flavour.

[miguel87]

If tracking is a priority go with an eq mount. They are not as difficult as everybody makes out.

[Skinnypuppy71]

According to flo the skywatcher eqm-35 pro goto mount is a eq mount.https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-eqm-35-pro-synscan-goto-modular-mount.html

Edited May 14, 2020 by Skinnypuppy71

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

On 14/05/2020 at 23:49, Skinnypuppy71 said:

According to flo the skywatcher eqm-35 pro goto mount is a eq mount.https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-eqm-35-pro-synscan-goto-modular-mount.html

That mount is a definite step up from the EQ3-2 I used for the images posted earlier. I would probably stick with a scope no larger than the 130DPS, given the difficulties I have had getting a 6" F/5 scope tracking reliably on the much beefier Vixen GP-DX mount. For telephotos and telescopes up to about 400-500mm it should be fine.

[Skinnypuppy71]

So A eq5 would be better still....although I do like the idea of the eqm-35 being able to convert to what is essentially a skywatcher star adventurer...I think my plan is to mount a reflector for visual observing, then when I'm competent with the eq mount and a bit more experienced in navigation of the sky...Maybe get a small apo refractor...along the lines of the Williams zenithstar 73 ii apo...expensive I know...but I know if I buy budget..I'll only sell later to get the better model, which means losing money in the long run..I've done it so many times with hi-fi gear, camera gear in the past.....oh damn what was that I was saying about a rabbit hole..lol...as I said I'm a contradiction to myself.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Skinnypuppy71

[Skinnypuppy71]

Oh well..so much for dipping my toe in..I've just ordered this little lot for the beginning  of an extension to my love for photography and enter into the world of astrophotography....I know I'm going to need some more bits n bobs....but is there anything major I've missed here you most helpful people for getting started....just planning to do some unguided tracking for now until I get some useful time with this setup.thanks in advance for any help.