Advice for a beginner on EQ / GoTo mounts

[BurndenAces]

Hi everyone, I’m just looking for some advice on EQ mounts. I’m sure questions like these have been asked many times before and can be annoying for many of the experienced astrophotographers. I have read some articles, forums, etc on EQ mounts and I’ve come to conclusion that an EQ mount with a GoTo function is definitely what I’m looking for. 

Many of the top recommended  base / beginner EQ mounts are around £600 to £1200 and completely out of my budget. Whilst I understand this can be an expensive hobby, does anyone have any recommendations of the other cheaper options for EQ mounts with GoTo? Again I appreciate that I could be being naive here expecting it for less but it’s a hobby I’ve wanted to start for years but held back by money. 

I’d be happy with something second hand on eBay too, so just any recommendations of EQ mounts with GoTo under £500 will get me on the right path. 

At the moment I’m using a standard camera tripod with basic telescope and DSLR camera so as you can imagine I’m finding it super hard to take pictures or track anything. My aim is to start smaller with moon / planets, but eventually I want to go deeper so I’d rather invest in a EQ mount with GoTo now so I’m prepped for the future and practiced. 

Thanks for advice in advance!

Edited December 1, 2023 by Cornelius Varley
Text colour corrected

[Elp]

For that budget either adapt an azgti into EQ mode fully autoguided (additional EQ wedge, DIY counterweight, guidescope, guide camera, computer controller/software), it'll be more than 500 for the lot or the equivalent all in one newer Skywatcher Star Adventurer GTI (not to be confused with the Star Adventurer star tracker) but no autoguided setup.

[malc-c]

For true EQ goto mounts (ie a mount sold with a computerised system that will locate and track objects) they will take up all of your £500 budget when purchased new.  For that you will be getting something like the Skywatcher EQ3 pro goto (£509 for firstlight optics).  Now what scope you bolt to it will depend on what you want to do with the scope.  Visual or imaging, planetary or deep sky targets, solar or night time astronomy.  If you want to use the mount as a platform for imaging the rule of thumb is to load the mount to 2/3 the max payload the mount can take.  Also if you intend to do imaging, then other options are available that provide the same functionality as a goto mount but are designed to take a digital SLR camera with telephoto lens, making them ideal for wide field or luna photography.  The closest mount that comes under your £500 budget and has a goto function is the Star Adventure stated above, which has a 5K payload capability, and is designed for use with cameras and telescopes so quite a flexible platform.  Control is via an app on a modern phone, or for an additional fee, a SynScan handset.

link here

[Carbon Brush]

Hi and welcome to SGL.

You mentioned buying from ebay. Don't unless you know what you are looking at.
There is a lot of mis-sold rubbish on their astronomy section.
On this site you will hear it referred to as fleabay. You may also find some fun links to items posted for sale.
It is possible to get a good buy from there, but you have to be savvy.

Astrobuysell.com/uk is a much better place to locate used astro kit.
You can view the seller details and some history.
Sometimes sellers link to their username on this site.

Finally. Once you have accrued enough time and posts on SGL, you will have access to the classified adverts on here.
In my opinion this is the best place in the UK to buy used equipment.

Don't forget you don't have to buy a scope & mount as a kit.
Often mounts in packages are somewhat under sized. See @malc c comments.

What sort of scopes are you using now, and intending to use? That will dermine your mount choice.
I'm also thinking you may get more enjoyment from viewing objects now, photographing later.

Keep asking the questions.

David.

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

If your budget is around £500, and you want to take photographs of deep sky objects with the minimum of fuss, order a Seestar S50. To surpass its performance using mount, telescope, camera, filters etc bought separately will cost you a great deal more.

[PhilB61]

A couple of other things to consider, how tech savvy you are, and do you like to tinker and adjust mechanical things. If neither, then as mentioned a Seestar might be the way forward or at least purchase new from a reputable dealer who is able and willing to provide assistance if you have problems, in my experience FLO are excellent in this regard. If you are happy to spend hours/days researching putting together and fine tuning a setup, buying used can be very rewarding both financially and intellectually. Again as mentioned Astrobuysell is probably better than eBay, many sellers are more than happy to provide addition info photos etc and I have always spoken in person to a seller before committing hard cash. This is how I have put most of my system together. 

[happy-kat]

Welcome

Imaging the planets is generally by video and processing the best frames with software. A static mount can be used if the whole planet is on the frame with video let it drift across the field of view. There's a member here doing this with an 8 inch telescope of a manual dobsonian mount