Dobsonian on a 4se eq mount

[stressballs1]

Hi. I am looking at a Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P Flextube Dobsonian. I already have a Celestron 4se eq mount. As the Dobsonian has a rail to fix onto a mount, would the mount be strong enough to handle the tube and dslr(nikon D7000)?

[Peter Drew]

If you are going to get a 150 Flextube anyway there would be little harm in giving it a try.  It would by no means be ideal due to the extra weight and longer moment arm, the tube being a larger aperture than the 4se will place the centre of gravity further out from the mount and the extra length might foul the mount at high elevations.  A DSLR will add a fair bit more weight and restrict imaging to snapshots of the Moon and bright planets.  If you are serious about astrophotography you would be better off investing in a setup that is designed for the purpose.

Welcome to SGL.   🙂  

[stressballs1]

Would a much better eq mount help? My budget isn't too big. Also, if some decent visuals could be had with the tube, my wife would probably like a look so photo's wouldn't be the only use. 

[Ricochet]

1 hour ago, stressballs1 said:

Hi. I am looking at a Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P Flextube Dobsonian. I already have a Celestron 4se eq mount. As the Dobsonian has a rail to fix onto a mount, would the mount be strong enough to handle the tube and dslr(nikon D7000)?

Forget the mount, it's the heritage focuser (not) holding a dslr that I would be worried about. I'm sure you would be much better off buying one of the standard suggestions of a 130pds or 80ED. 

[happy-kat]

The heritage 150p is 750 long, not sure how much clearance you have on an 4DE mount to accommodate a telescope that long.

I've used occasionally a DSLR in the heritage 130p helical focuser, some sagging might have occurred but it appears no worse for wear YMMV

Edited December 27, 2022 by happy-kat