Looking for a little advice and confirmation

[Kluson]

Hi Everyone

I am just starting to get into astrophotography.. I have been using our Celestron 6SE for a while now and it's great for Planets but not so good for DSO.  I have a star adventurer 2i and a Canon DSLR ( astro Modified). I am now taking the first plunge into a telescope for these two. I am thinking maybe the Williams Optics ZS61ii or perhaps the Rother valley Horizon 60ED.  I'm looking to start on the usual suspects - Andromeda, Orion Nebula etc. Am I looking at the right solution for this?. My thoughts were that the WO ZS 61 would allow me to grow, until the bug bites deep enough for a new mount etc. But I believe that the WOZS61 and the Star tracker with the DSLR would be a good place to start my education.?  What do you think?

Any advice would be really welcomed and appreciated

Thanks
Dave

[irtuk]

Are you proposing to mount the scope and the DSLR on the star tracker mount?

Just looking at the weights, the star tracker has a capacity of 5kg, the camera is going to be about 1 - 1.5 kg, the Williams scope is 2.2kg, you don't have a huge amount of headroom for additional kit.

Have you considered a reducer to widen the field of view on the Celestron for DSO's? have a look on astronomy.tools. I have never used one so I dont know what the impact is on exposure lengths.

What is your current setup? do you have the Canon attached to the viewer of the Celestron?

Ed.

 

[Elp]

The z61 is an excellent scope, I've used it for all sorts, planetary (small but sharp views), lunar, solar (with filters), DSO and all works excellent. I never did mount it to a SA when I had it though as I don't think it would suit it although I use it with an azgti which has the same weight capacity so who knows. If you're mounting the C6 to the SA then it should be fine. The C6 is also a very capable scope, fit the F6.3 reducer and you'll get a FL of approx 1000mm which is still kind of zoomed in, it bisects a large target such as Pleiades but just about fits something like the wizard nebula in. At such a focal length you might need an off axis guider, you will need to guide at that focal length with a small mount.

[Kluson]

Hi Ed and Elp

 

Thanks very much, my current set up is Celestron Nexstar 6SE. I have used the Canon with it, Got some nice Lunar pictures

I also have a Star Adventurer Pro pack 2i. I use that with the Canon.

My plan going forward is to keep the star adventurer to use with the Canon and my 135 Samyang F2. I saw some guys on you tube with the WO61 on the SA and thought it may be worth a try. The plan then is to get a better mount like an HEQ5 Pro etc.

Elp: The C6 is not mounted on the SA, it has its own go to mount. We love it. but more for visible, it does work beautifully for lunar photography though 🙂

 

Thanks both for your ideas

cheers

D

 

 

[Elp]

It's possible as Trevor Jones reviewed this on the ioptron equivalent:

https://astrobackyard.com/william-optics-zenithstar-61-review/

His review is actually what made me buy the scope.

I just felt the SA was built more for DSLR and didn't feel comfortable mounting the z61 to it, finding targets will take a while too if you're not familiar with the night sky and pointing on a manual EQ mount, it's much quicker to frame with a DSLR mounted on top of a ball end with the SA.

[Owmuchonomy]

Just use a FOV calculator to help you choose too.  The objects you mention have vastly different angular dimensions in the sky.  For example, my image of M31 was taken using a fixed 300mm focal length lens attached to my Canon crop sensor.  My image of M42 was taken with my (0.63 reduced) C9.25!

[Kluson]

On 05/10/2022 at 11:55, Elp said:

It's possible as Trevor Jones reviewed this on the ioptron equivalent:

https://astrobackyard.com/william-optics-zenithstar-61-review/

His review is actually what made me buy the scope.

I just felt the SA was built more for DSLR and didn't feel comfortable mounting the z61 to it, finding targets will take a while too if you're not familiar with the night sky and pointing on a manual EQ mount, it's much quicker to frame with a DSLR mounted on top of a ball end with the SA.

H

 

Thanks very much for the confirmation that's great. It will be nice to have the option, Nexstar 6se on its own mount, 300mm lens or the WO61 on the SA. I plan to upgrade the mount for the WO at a later date. If I can find a used HEQ5Pro, that would be great

Thanks again for the tips

 

Thanks also to Chris, with a very valid point. I set up the FOV in Stellarium

Thanks a lot guys

D