Scope for SW star adventurer mount

[Kenboy]

Hello all! 

Complete beginner here  

Looking for any advice on a picking a scope for the SW Star adventurer mount? 

I'm hoping to get closer pictures of DSO, rather than wide field AP - so therefore thinking a scope + DSLR combination, rather than a lens (which are so expensive!) 

At what payload does the star adventurer still provide good accurate tracking?

is there a budget telescope available for this? (<£300)

would i be able to add a 76AZ scope (which i already have) onto this mount? 

 

thanks !

 

[Tomatobro]

I am waiting for a dovetail saddle to be delivered and then will try my Skywatcher ED72 plus camera and see how it goes.

[Kenboy]

10 hours ago, Tomatobro said:

I am waiting for a dovetail saddle to be delivered and then will try my Skywatcher ED72 plus camera and see how it goes.

yeah the star adventurer mount + ED72 scope looks like a good shout. What is a DSLR option for this?

you just need the DSLR body right? 
 

thanks

[Tomatobro]

you will need an adapter to screw on the focuser and adapt the camera body accordingly.  I will have a play with a Canon 40D. Until I try it I do not know if there will be enough back focus but perhaps someone who has tried this can confirm.

[fozzybear]

maybe this might help sw72ed

Edited June 2, 2020 by fozzybear

[Chefgage]

With my canon 200d connected direct to the focuser via an adapter the camera needs to be about 30mm further out with the focuser wound right in. So I do think you need some sort of extension tube between the focuser and camera to be able to achieve focus. This is where the field flattener comes into play obviously.

[Waldemar]

11 hours ago, Tomatobro said:

you will need an adapter to screw on the focuser and adapt the camera body accordingly.  I will have a play with a Canon 40D. Until I try it I do not know if there will be enough back focus but perhaps someone who has tried this can confirm.

Keep in mind that the Canon 40D is a big, heavy camera... Beter choice would be the 750D for example.

[Gfamily]

4 hours ago, Waldemar said:

Keep in mind that the Canon 40D is a big, heavy camera... Beter choice would be the 750D for example.

Better than both might be a mirrorless camera.  

I recently picked up a second hand Sony A5000 body, and that has the advantage of being almost half the weight of my Canon 1000 ds body and 1/3rd the weight of my Pentax K5. 

However, I wouldn't recommend the A5000 for a few reasons - I would say check out any camera you are considering for these.... 

• it doesn't have a Live View option, so you can't check the focus etc on a big screen before taking the image
• It forces a Noise Reduction 'dark frame' in many cases (possibly all) which isn't optimal as it doubles the time to take each image. 
• If you choose RAW image format, you lose some of the functionality (such as on-screen focus check) 

Particularly for a lightweight mount like the Star Adventurer, managing the weight on the mount is important if you want to get decent long exposures, and if you can reduce the weight hanging off the back of the scope it can make a real difference. 

Hope this helps - and if anyone knows of a mirrorless camera that is recommended, please chip in... 

[Waldemar]

I agree with you, Gfamily. Before I bought the 750D (for astro holidays), I was checking out the Canon M3, which seems to be a fantastic alternative for a DSLR.
Got everything,APSc sensor with 24,2 Mp, big turnable screen, the works... For reasons  not very clear to me anymore, I was advised to stay with a DSLR.

To be honest, I regret listening, I should just have taken the chance and followed my instincts...

[Gfamily]

On 03/06/2020 at 15:35, Gfamily said:

Better than both might be a mirrorless camera.  

I recently picked up a second hand Sony A5000 body, and that has the advantage of being almost half the weight of my Canon 1000 ds body and 1/3rd the weight of my Pentax K5. 

However, I wouldn't recommend the A5000 for a few reasons - I would say check out any camera you are considering for these.... 

• it doesn't have a Live View option, so you can't check the focus etc on a big screen before taking the image
• It forces a Noise Reduction 'dark frame' in many cases (possibly all) which isn't optimal as it doubles the time to take each image. 
• If you choose RAW image format, you lose some of the functionality (such as on-screen focus check) 

Particularly for a lightweight mount like the Star Adventurer, managing the weight on the mount is important if you want to get decent long exposures, and if you can reduce the weight hanging off the back of the scope it can make a real difference. 

Hope this helps - and if anyone knows of a mirrorless camera that is recommended, please chip in... 

Just a quick update for anyone who does a search on the A5000 camera.

I found out today, that if you choose any of the 'Continuous' shoot modes, then the camera doesn't apply the Noise Reduction.

The best mode to use is the Continuous Bracket mode - as this allows the use of Bulb mode for longer exposures than 30". If used on Bulb it doesn't actually do any Bracketing, it just takes the one exposure.