SW 80ed

[Anthony1979]

I was going to order a skywatcher evostar 80ed on tuesday but i have now got confused..

My current setup is a Skywatcher explorer 150p  upgraded with the crayford dual focuser, EQ-5 with the skywatcher Enhanced dual axis motors, Canon 450d and a nikon D3500 both unmodded, skywatcher evoguide 50ed guide scope but havent got the camera for it yet...

So would i still be able to image with this scope without autoguiding until i can afford to but a guide camera...

I only have 400 pounds thats is why i was going to get the scope first and then get the cam and flattener at a later date but is it possible or would i be wasting 400 quid

[Adam1234]

You should be able to, I've got the same scope and got some images before I started guiding.

You just probably won't be able to get much longer than 30s exposures without noticeable star trailing

Edited May 24, 2020 by Adam1234

[Owmuchonomy]

Can you get focus with a DSLR on a 150p? Worth checking elsewhere on this forum first. Someone may chip in. For example the 130ps is specifically set up for imaging.

[Anthony1979]

13 minutes ago, Owmuchonomy said:

Can you get focus with a DSLR on a 150p? Worth checking elsewhere on this forum first. Someone may chip in. For example the 130ps is specifically set up for imaging.

Yes i can get focus with 150p and dlsr 

[alacant]

Hi

How about a coma corrector for your 150 instead? That way you could get a guide camera and make a more serious start.

The 80ed will take you quite a bit longer to get images of similar brighness and detail. Of the two alternatives, my choice would be the reflector anyway.

Just my €0.02 but HTH

 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by alacant

[Anthony1979]

1 hour ago, alacant said:

Hi

How about a coma corrector for your 150 instead? That way you could get a guide camera and make a more serious start.

The 80ed will take you quite a bit longer to get images of similar brighness and detail. Of the two alternatives, my choice would be the reflector anyway.

Just my €0.02 but HTH

 

 

I was thinking that but when i fit the guide scope i have problems with balance thats why i was looking into a lighter scope plus i think im pushing it a bit with weight on the EQ-5 and i cant afford another mount

[Erling G-P]

Why not make a test with the equipment you already have, before deciding how to spend your money ?

I imaged unguided for over a year when I started, with a 200 PDS on a HEQ5.  Was limited to 30-sec exposures, if I didn't want to throw away too many subs due to tracking errors.  While guiding (and a belt mod) has improved my images, I still got plenty I was happy about as a beginner, when shooting unguided.  It was also possible to gain experience with processing, even if the images weren't as good as they might have been with guiding.

The most you could lose is some time while trying, but I would think it was time well spent.

As Alacant says, you'll need a coma corrector for best results, but if you go for smaller targets which don't require the entire field, you can probably still make a useful test without one.

Btw, for balancing issues, I put an extra finder shoe for my guide scope in the middle of the 200 PDS, and in the rear of my 130 PDS, as both are nose heavy with an 1100g DSLR.

[Anthony1979]

5 hours ago, Erling G-P said:

Why not make a test with the equipment you already have, before deciding how to spend your money ?

I imaged unguided for over a year when I started, with a 200 PDS on a HEQ5.  Was limited to 30-sec exposures, if I didn't want to throw away too many subs due to tracking errors.  While guiding (and a belt mod) has improved my images, I still got plenty I was happy about as a beginner, when shooting unguided.  It was also possible to gain experience with processing, even if the images weren't as good as they might have been with guiding.

The most you could lose is some time while trying, but I would think it was time well spent.

As Alacant says, you'll need a coma corrector for best results, but if you go for smaller targets which don't require the entire field, you can probably still make a useful test without one.

Btw, for balancing issues, I put an extra finder shoe for my guide scope in the middle of the 200 PDS, and in the rear of my 130 PDS, as both are nose heavy with an 1100g DSLR.

I was out with it tonight just to have a play around with it... And i am sticking with the 150p because i no its a good scope... So i will be getting the coma corrector and a guide camera.. But not really sure what the best ones are

[alacant]

6 hours ago, Anthony1979 said:

coma corrector

Hi

This one is very good. This one is ok but may not allow focus with your 150. Both the former have the edge (!) over this one. There are a few others but I've not had experience of them. These are my -hands on- opinions only. YMMV of course.

We use 120mm, 120mm-mini and t7m guide cameras. All work fine.

HTH

 

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by alacant

[Anthony1979]

4 hours ago, alacant said:

Hi

This one is very good. This one is ok but may not allow focus with your 150. Both the former have the edge (!) over this one. There are a few others but I've not had experience of them. These are my -hands on- opinions only. YMMV of course.

We use 120mm, 120mm-mini and t7m guide cameras. All work fine.

HTH

 

 

Does the camera have to be mono for guiding or could i get the colour version 

[Anthony1979]

This is the one i was looking at

[alacant]

48 minutes ago, Anthony1979 said:

Does the camera have to be mono

Hi

Monochrome is preferred, but if you have other uses in mind, colour will work fine with your 50mm guide telescope.

HTH

[Anthony1979]

I was intending using for imaging moon and probably other things aswell

Edited May 25, 2020 by Anthony1979

[mcbarrett]

FLO sells the ZWO ASI 120MM Mini USB 2.0 Mono Camera with your guide scope as a kit.

I have just ordered one.