Nexstar 4se or SW mak127 AZ GTi......or

[MARS1960]

Hi all,

I had all but given up astronomy/astrophotography but decided I need it in my life.

Gone are the days of the EQ mount, accessories and snakes of wires, software woes, aching joints and frustration.

My plan is a simple alt/az mount that tracks well (£500 ish) to view and image the moon and planets and also swap in my dslr and 135mm lens to feed the still present DSO imaging sessions for a good 90 secs.

I will also be wanting to add a 2" back to continue using my 2" accessories and wonder if both scopes accept an adapter for these?

I see the SW for £499 new or £325 for just the mount/tripod or a used 4se for around £375.

Are either of the above suitable (especially tracking ability of 90secs) or are there better alternatives.

I guess around 70% imaging large DSO's with dslr/lens and 30% planetary/moon obs/imaging.

TIA.

 

[Adam J]

Oh the 127 on the AZ GTI for me without any doubt. That mount is just so flexible. 

[Cosmic Geoff]

The bigger scope would be better for planetary imaging.  The 4SE has a potentially useful built-in flip mirror and a mount and tripod that should be more stable than those in a lot of the entry level outfits.  For planetary imaging, a dedicated planetary video camera would work better than a DSLR.

You want to attach the DSLR camera and lens to the mount in place of the telescope? I don't know how well that would work.  You would have to construct some sort of adapter incorporating a dovetail bar.

I don't know how long an exposure you could usefully use with this setup. I know that a 102mm f5 achromat + ASI224MC camera + alt-az GoTo mount is good for a 5 second exposure.

[MARS1960]

9 minutes ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

The bigger scope would be better for planetary imaging.  The 4SE has a potentially useful built-in flip mirror and a mount and tripod that should be more stable than those in a lot of the entry level outfits.  For planetary imaging, a dedicated planetary video camera would work better than a DSLR.

You want to attach the DSLR camera and lens to the mount in place of the telescope? I don't know how well that would work.  You would have to construct some sort of adapter incorporating a dovetail bar.

I don't know how long an exposure you could usefully use with this setup. I know that a 102mm f5 achromat + ASI224MC camera + alt-az GoTo mount is good for a 5 second exposure.

Hi Geoff,

I kept a lot of bits inc a WO dovetail that will attach to the camera, I may need to add some kind of extension.

I also kept the ZWO in my sig, which is fine for moon/planets.

My concern is really image time (only 5secs you say) I did manage 25secs with an EVO6 I had with a .63 reducer so I was really hoping these alt/az mounts would be good for 90secs with focal lengths under 400mm, (I know the EVO is somewhat improved over the standard mounts by the use of worm gears) I should have tried when I had the EVO6 but hey ho.

What alt/az mount could you only manage 5secs? Or did I dream of reading 90secs on alt/az was easily achievable under 400mm, I hope not as I see this as my only option to continue the hobby, thanks.

@Adam J, Thanks, Is the tripod on SW really as flimsy as it looks in the pics? It looks no bigger than my manfrotto 190 but thats probably not the case.

The 4se looks more substantial.

TBF that is the only concern if the motor drives on both mounts are equally as good for 90sec tracking purposes at short focal lengths.

Would you say it would be easier to mount the DSLR on the AZ GTi? It looks flatter if you see what I mean.

Thanks guys.

 

 

 

[Adam J]

7 minutes ago, MARS1960 said:

Hi Geoff,

I kept a lot of bits inc a WO dovetail that will attach to the camera, I may need to add some kind of extension.

I also kept the ZWO in my sig, which is fine for moon/planets.

My concern is really image time (only 5secs you say) I did manage 25secs with an EVO6 I had with a .63 reducer so I was really hoping these alt/az mounts would be good for 90secs with focal lengths under 400mm, (I know the EVO is somewhat improved over the standard mounts by the use of worm gears) I should have tried when I had the EVO6 but hey ho.

What alt/az mount could you only manage 5secs? Or did I dream of reading 90secs on alt/az was easily achievable under 400mm, I hope not as I see this as my only option to continue the hobby, thanks.

@Adam J, Thanks, Is the tripod on SW really as flimsy as it looks in the pics? It looks no bigger than my manfrotto 190 but thats probably not the case.

The 4se looks more substantial.

TBF that is the only concern if the motor drives on both mounts are equally as good for 90sec tracking purposes at short focal lengths.

Would you say it would be easier to mount the DSLR on the AZ GTi? It looks flatter if you see what I mean.

Thanks guys.

 

 

 

I have the AZ GTI and it's great. But I do not use that tripod I use the I option 1.5 inch steel one and it's great. 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ioptron-mount-accessories/ioptron-3-8-stainless-steel-1-5-inch-field-tripod.html

 

[MARS1960]

3 minutes ago, Adam J said:

I have the AZ GTI and it's great. But I do not use that tripod I use the I option 1.5 inch steel one and it's great. 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ioptron-mount-accessories/ioptron-3-8-stainless-steel-1-5-inch-field-tripod.html

 

Ah I see, I had the lite roc 1.75 with my CEM26, even had its own anti vibration pads, great tripod as you say, I have some thinking to do.

I assume I could just buy the mount alone, I'll have a look.

Have you used the mount to image? Thanks.

[Cosmic Geoff]

1 hour ago, MARS1960 said:

What alt/az mount could you only manage 5secs? Or did I dream of reading 90secs on alt/az was easily achievable under 400mm, I hope not as I see this as my only option to continue the hobby, thanks.

I can only speak for my own particular setup and sky. The ASI224MC is so sensitive that an exposure of a few seconds either gets a result or starts recording the bright sky background. I have not actually seen any field rotation. (This is with the Celestron SLT mount.)

[MARS1960]

12 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

I can only speak for my own particular setup and sky. The ASI224MC is so sensitive that an exposure of a few seconds either gets a result or starts recording the bright sky background. I have not actually seen any field rotation. (This is with the Celestron SLT mount.)

Ok thanks Geoff. that makes sense with that camera.

I imagine alt/az mounts at my price point will perform similarly well when tracking. 

[Adam J]

14 hours ago, MARS1960 said:

Ah I see, I had the lite roc 1.75 with my CEM26, even had its own anti vibration pads, great tripod as you say, I have some thinking to do.

I assume I could just buy the mount alone, I'll have a look.

Have you used the mount to image? Thanks.

Yes, I re-greased it and get crazy good guiding from it. 0.8 arcseconds RMS often.