Mounting Quandry

[Coriorda]

I’m very new to AP having only dabbled in stacking numerous very short exposure images (1s) as I do not have any form of tracking mount. So the question is about what step should I take next... do I learn the craft first with a portable easy to use star tracker type ( Skyguider / star adventurer) or since I keep hearing that the mount is the single most important aspect, do I instead jump straight in with a full eq mount like the HEQ5 ? Is there value in small steps .... thank you 

[wimvb]

I think that this depends on your budget and personal situation. How much can you spend? where do you live (small apartment in a city or large property away from neighbours)? Do you have to travel to a dark site? How much time can you spend on this hobby? Once these questions are answered, you’ll be in a better position to choose the best gear.

Edited November 14, 2020 by wimvb

[Stuf1978]

I guess it depends on what you are wanting to photograph and your budget? For widefield milkyway pics then  a star tracker is the way to go. I started with a star adventurer and it is possible to photograph deep sky objects but to be honest it comes with a lot of faff and frustration. I moved on to a SW HEQ5 Pro and it's way easier to use after you initially get your head round setting it up. It's much more stable and a goto mount saves you loads of time. I found finding and framing objects with the star adventurer a pain plus I was constantly worried about knocking it and ruining my polar alignment. 

[Skipper Billy]

I think the answer to that depends upon what you want to achieve in the longer run.

If you will only ever want to use a DSLR with a wide to medium lens that a Star Adventurer might be just the job.

If you want to do some more serious deep space or planetary imaging them the HEQ5 seems to be the sweet spot between price, performance and portability.

Something like a HEQ5 gives you the ability to hook it up to a laptop which opens up the worlds of GOTO and platesolving etc.

Personally I would jump straight in with a HEQ5 or similar.

 

[Coriorda]

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. To answer some of your queries,

I live in a fairly rural dark site, with large garden so transportability isn’t really a concern, nor fortunately is cost. I love the images of DSOs that I see and long term aim is to get somewhere close to them. Currently I’m just targeting the large beginner targets, andromeda, Pleiades, Orion  with wide field (300mm lens soon to be ZS61) etc as they are easy to target because I can see them. Once I get into more advanced targets I imagine just finding / framing them is half the battle. 
What I love at present is seeing a clear patch of sky and I can be out imaging in about 15 mins from scratch, but know my set up is only short term hence the question about the next step. 
Thank you so much for your thoughts 

[Stuf1978]

9 minutes ago, Coriorda said:

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. To answer some of your queries,

I live in a fairly rural dark site, with large garden so transportability isn’t really a concern, nor fortunately is cost. I love the images of DSOs that I see and long term aim is to get somewhere close to them. Currently I’m just targeting the large beginner targets, andromeda, Pleiades, Orion  with wide field (300mm lens soon to be ZS61) etc as they are easy to target because I can see them. Once I get into more advanced targets I imagine just finding / framing them is half the battle. 
What I love at present is seeing a clear patch of sky and I can be out imaging in about 15 mins from scratch, but know my set up is only short term hence the question about the next step. 
Thank you so much for your thoughts 

Something like the HEQ5 is still pretty quick to set up, in fact I've found that its actually quicker to get it all set up and running (and I have to strip it down every night) compared to the star tracker once you've took finding and framing your target into consideration

 

[Coriorda]

Yes, I guess with GOTO functionality, the targeting is far quicker post PA - that’s a good point , thank you 

[wimvb]

In a dark, rural area, and with some money to spend, if you really get bitten by the AP bug, you’ll be looking for a permanent setup within a few years. But to get your feet wet, the heq5 with a medium size scope is a good way to get started. For a scope, stay clear from long focal length (more than a meter) to begin with, unless you want to specialize on planets allready. A newtonian such as the 130pds or the 150pds, or a refractor such as a 80ed or 100ed (dare I mention an esprit 80?), will give you a lot of fun and good quality images. Newtonians need collimation, but for the two models mentioned, that’s not a problem. And all these items are popular, so should be easy to sell if you want something beefier later on.

btw, make this your first investment

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

[Coriorda]

5 hours ago, wimvb said:

In a dark, rural area, and with some money to spend, if you really get bitten by the AP bug, you’ll be looking for a permanent setup within a few years. But to get your feet wet, the heq5 with a medium size scope is a good way to get started. For a scope, stay clear from long focal length (more than a meter) to begin with, unless you want to specialize on planets allready. A newtonian such as the 130pds or the 150pds, or a refractor such as a 80ed or 100ed (dare I mention an esprit 80?), will give you a lot of fun and good quality images. Newtonians need collimation, but for the two models mentioned, that’s not a problem. And all these items are popular, so should be easy to sell if you want something beefier later on.

btw, make this your first investment

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

The book is ordered thank you, I’ve seen so many recommendations for this I know I must be missing out. I agree shorter focal lengths will be my first port of call. I have been thinking of the 360mm ZS61, although you have now put the esprit 80 firmly in mind. I tend to think of Newtonian as more visual scopes, indeed this was my route into astronomy many ( many) years ago. Thank you so much for you insight and expertise it is much appreciated