Advice / tips, please, for an equatorial mount novice - Celestron AVX

[StarGazingSiouxsie]

Hello everybody,

I am seeking the fruits of your experience please and would welcome any tips or advice you have for me please in using my first ever equatorial mount, a Celestron AVX. I have only had alt az mounts up to this point. I will be setting it up this weekend, it arrived a few days back. 

The reason for getting the AVX is to enable to (hopefully) broaden my astrophotography horizons - up until now I have only managed to get 10 second exposures before star trailing with my alt az mounts.

I am planning to do appx 70% photography and 30% visual. I will be mounting my Celestron 8" Edge SCT to the AVX. 

I have ordered a second counterweight, I saw some people in the past advise this. I might also use my .7 foocal reducer. I also have a flip mirror which has been very handy acquiring my targets for photography. 

I have a Canon DSLR camera running Backyard EOS to my laptop. I also have a Celestron Focus Motor installed, which I like very much.  

I have never Polar Aligned before but am planning to use Star Sense All Star Polar Alignment routine.

I have never used an autoguider before, either - will I need one?

Any tips / help / advice / thoughts or cautions would be very gratefully received, thank you.

Stay safe and happy and may you do so under Clear Skies!!

 

Siouxsie 

 

 

 

Edited October 9, 2021 by StarGazingSiouxsie

[PeterCPC]

Your set up will be good for planetary imaging and you will not need to Polar Align to do that. The flip mirror will aid planetary imaging but I would not use the reducer. BYE is a good capture programme for the Canon but for planetary you really need a high frame rate camera like an ASI224. You can use the Canon and it will give you nice widefield shots of Jupiter say that will include the moons.

If you are planning on DSO AP then the C8 might not be the best for that - I would consider getting a small refractor like an ED80. You will of course need to guide to take long exposures.

I have been using my AVX to take 120 sec exposures unguided whilst imaging with my Samyang 135mm and it works well.

[StarGazingSiouxsie]

On 09/10/2021 at 02:48, PeterCPC said:

Your set up will be good for planetary imaging and you will not need to Polar Align to do that. The flip mirror will aid planetary imaging but I would not use the reducer. BYE is a good capture programme for the Canon but for planetary you really need a high frame rate camera like an ASI224. You can use the Canon and it will give you nice widefield shots of Jupiter say that will include the moons.

If you are planning on DSO AP then the C8 might not be the best for that - I would consider getting a small refractor like an ED80. You will of course need to guide to take long exposures.

I have been using my AVX to take 120 sec exposures unguided whilst imaging with my Samyang 135mm and it works well.

Thanks, Peter, I appreciate your insights. 

What is your overall impression of your AVX, if you don't mind sharing? Would you buy one again? Have you had any issues with the dec & RA clutches which - even to my relatively inexeperienced EQ self - seem to be overly stiff/ Thanks

[PeterCPC]

I love my AVX and would buy another. There is some "stiction" for sure but it has never been an issue for me. I did have to reposition the RA and Dec knobs so that I could tighten them more which I do with a small piece of 1/2" copper pipe which fits over the ends nicely.