Total City-Based Beginner

[Lung]

5 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

That’s a camera for daytime use with a spotting scope. I can’t see the specs for it but I highly doubt it would compete with an astro camera.

You're correct, it's was just the first example I could find, although the "test certificate" they have an image of lists it as an Astronomy camera https://www.svbony.com/sc001-wifi-spotting-scope-camera/#&gid=1&pid=5

[Bivanus]

Well, don't laugh (too hard) but here's some pictures with my Not So Dark site , the Orion Constelation & Nebula and Jupiter. Manual AZ6 mount , SW72ED , Canon EOE T2i , no filters , no Barlow - just got out and took them. A bit corected on gamma and a false color for the nebula because I like how it loks 😄 

@Lung is your pollution greater than this ? I don't even bother with Bortle , I just count how many light streets are , and it's still ok because are sodium lamps 😅

Edited December 29, 2023 by Bivanus
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[Lung]

Here's a review of the SC001 which looks decent https://www.svbony.com/blog/sc001-camera-capturing-the-moon-and-more/

[PeterC65]

I'm sure the SC001 will work and give you images, but if you go down this route you will get better images and less stress with one of the entry level astro cameras for not much more money.

The whole "which camera" story is a whole other ball game though.

 

[Lung]

9 minutes ago, PeterC65 said:

I'm sure the SC001 will work and give you images, but if you go down this route you will get better images and less stress with one of the entry level astro cameras for not much more money.

The whole "which camera" story is a whole other ball game though.

 

With the astro cameras you then need either a laptop plugged into it (and therefore you stood next to it) or a mini PC/Pi strapped to the setup with all the extra bits that entails too. Svbony also do the SC311 which is an astro-focused wifi camera, and a quick google suggests many other options too. Thinking a bit more suggests you'd also need some way to run the focuser remotely, adding yet more complexity and cost.

As is usual for me, i tend to go down rabbitholes when looking into new subjects to the point i forget why I started looking in the first place. Time to park the EAA for now i think.

[PeterC65]

2 minutes ago, Lung said:

With the astro cameras you then need either a laptop plugged into it (and therefore you stood next to it) or a mini PC/Pi strapped to the setup with all the extra bits that entails too. Svbony also do the SC311 which is an astro-focused wifi camera, and a quick google suggests many other options too. Thinking a bit more suggests you'd also need some way to run the focuser remotely, adding yet more complexity and cost.

As is usual for me, i tend to go down rabbitholes when looking into new subjects to the point i forget why I started looking in the first place. Time to park the EAA for now i think.

You're quite correct. EAA (and AP) opens up a whole load of new questions, and things to buy! That's why the smart scopes are proving so popular.

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

10 minutes ago, Lung said:

With the astro cameras you then need either a laptop plugged into it (and therefore you stood next to it) or a mini PC/Pi strapped to the setup with all the extra bits that entails too. Svbony also do the SC311 which is an astro-focused wifi camera, and a quick google suggests many other options too. Thinking a bit more suggests you'd also need some way to run the focuser remotely, adding yet more complexity and cost.

As is usual for me, i tend to go down rabbitholes when looking into new subjects to the point i forget why I started looking in the first place. Time to park the EAA for now i think.

You're right.  It's not simple to set up a remote controlled telescope, which needs a GoTo mount, probably a remote controlled focus, a remote controlled filter wheel, plate-solving, a widefield camera, and a control box local to the mount. 

 I checked the review of the SVbony camera in your link, and was not impressed. My Seestar S50 takes better pictures than that.

[Bivanus]

1 hour ago, PeterC65 said:

EAA (and AP) opens up a whole load of new questions, and things to buy!

And that area is also better started with a refractor , even smaller than the 102 mm , I would say an 80 mm should give you an equilibrium between a bit of visual and a bit of EAA. and as some people from here and CN also told me : thread carefully , is a slippery slope 🤑 Alas...I was young and foolish and did not listen...😁

[PeterC65]

13 minutes ago, Bivanus said:

And that area is also better started with a refractor , even smaller than the 102 mm , I would say an 80 mm should give you an equilibrium between a bit of visual and a bit of EAA. and as some people from here and CN also told me : thread carefully , is a slippery slope 🤑 Alas...I was young and foolish and did not listen...😁

Yep, a refractor is the most used scope for EAA, and a Mak is the least used (they are way too slow).

 

[Lung]

I'm back to deciding which Mak to buy. It feels like the main options are:

Celestron Astro Fi 127 at £300

Skymax 127 EQ3-2 at £440

Skymax 127 AZ GTI at £550

I'm including the EQ3-2 mount because if I do want to go down the photography route it will need an EQ mount, so either adding a wedge and counterweight to the AZGTI or the GTI to the EQ3-2. The price ends up very close either route, but the EQ3-2 mount looks better than the adventurer wedge + weight.

The Celestron is so cheap that adding the GTI and wedge plus weights comes to the same price again, so ultimately all 3 options will ultimately end up at the same price point.

The question therefore becomes which option to go for as the entry route? The cheapest which has WiFi but zero manual option, the middle with no WiFi or altaz option but a more substantial mount, or the expensive option which has WiFi and manual control?

[PeterC65]

I think with astronomy kit there is some merit in going with the crowd, because there will be lots of people to offer you advice. The AZ GTi mount has its own long running thread on here for example, and lots of people have the Skymax 127. That's the combination I would go for out of the three options you have mentioned.

If you do get in to AP in the future you will probably want a much more stable mount than the EQ3-2, so I wouldn't make that a consideration at the moment. People do use the AZ-GTi on a wedge quite successfully with light weight AP kit.

From personal experience, if you enjoy this hobby then the £500 you will be spending on this kit will rapidly feel like a drop in the ocean!

 

[PeterStudz]

I agree with what @PeterC65 has said above. 

And although I haven’t got these telescopes I did start off with something roughly the same size. And from my journey I soon (about 7 months) wanted to upgrade the tripod. The aluminium tripods for the Skymax 127 (EQ3-2 or AZ-GTi) are adequate but they will wobble. So I splashed out on a nice robust steel tripod - no more wobbles. And that was just the start!…

[Lung]

No love for the Astro Fi at such a low price? Poor little Celestron 😆

[Mogster]

I did start out many years ago with the EQ3 and a 127 Mak. It’s a nice combo and the 127 delivers super views of the moon and planets. Viewing Saturn for the first time through the thing was like a religious experience… You can get an adapter for the rear cell so you can play around with SCT accessories, 2 inch eyepieces n’ stuff, but that’s another story.

However, for that price you’re not getting a GOTO mount. Without GOTO, and outside a decently dark site, finding anything other than the handful of very bright DSOs is going to be a very frustrating experience. Compound that with the narrow FOV with the 127 and things are even worse.

It does cross my mind that the 127Mak and one of the widefield robo EAA scopes would make a nice combo… Mak for moon, planets, and small bright DSOs. Mini robo for widefield and larger DSOs.

[Elp]

The eq3-2 is quite solid, it's one of the first I had and I even added the dual motors to it afterwards. I never imaged with it though and it sat mostly unused. I replaced it with an azgti which I've still got and use in EQ mode for imaging as well as in alt az for solar viewing.

[happy-kat]

Reading mostly through the thread. Freedom Find is totally manual the ability to loosen clutches and move the telescope by hand with no power. I have this on both mounts az-gti and virtuoso.

I use either a mobile phone running synscan to control the mounts or I also use the pc inside with wifi to control the mounts inside with a mix of synscan, ascom, sharpcap etc. and even the ZWO camera if wanted with either mobile phone or inside using a 10m USB and sharpcap live stacking 

[PeterC65]

16 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

Reading mostly through the thread. Freedom Find is totally manual the ability to loosen clutches and move the telescope by hand with no power. I have this on both mounts az-gti and virtuoso.

Does the AZ-GTi record and remember its position when the clutches have been loosened without the power being on?

My AZ-EQ5 only records and remembers its position when the power is on. If I move it without the power is on then it looses its position. Not an issue if you know that it happens and if you always align at the start of a session.

 

[happy-kat]

freedom find as in the ability to use the mount manually and is useful if in the event there is no power, right to if powered and the auxiliary coders are on and the mount aligned and tracking on then if the telescope OTA is moved then the goto can  be used again on the target and the mount will move to it. Useful when observing and the person looking moves the telescope

[Cosmic Geoff]

22 hours ago, Lung said:

No love for the Astro Fi at such a low price? Poor little Celestron 😆

For £300?  Why is it so cheap?  Looks like you would be getting the same OTA as mine, plus a free mount.   Good OTA, basically the same as the Skywatcher 127 Mak.

I seem to recall the 6" SCT astro fi being offered at such  low price that one was effectively getting the OTA + a free mount.

[Lung]

5 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

For £300?  Why is it so cheap?  Looks like you would be getting the same OTA as mine, plus a free mount.   Good OTA, basically the same as the Skywatcher 127 Mak.

I seem to recall the 6" SCT astro fi being offered at such  low price that one was effectively getting the OTA + a free mount.

No idea, it's brand new from a photography store. From what I can see it's the identical scope to the Skymax, just with a different mount and tripod and almost half the price. It's the one I'm very close to pulling the trigger on as I can buy the AZ GTI later and still be on the same total cost as the Skymax with GTI but I'll have the Astro Fi mount too.

[Mandy D]

@Lung Some of the package deals of Skymax, mount and tripod do not use the same OTA as the one that you buy separately. When they are this cheap, it is worth checking whether the telescope has the facility to be collimated, if that is important to you. Don't let it, necessarily, put you off it cannot be re-collimated as they tend to hold collimation very well. But, it is something you should know before pulling the trigger on this. Ask the question.

[Lung]

40 minutes ago, Mandy D said:

@Lung Some of the package deals of Skymax, mount and tripod do not use the same OTA as the one that you buy separately. When they are this cheap, it is worth checking whether the telescope has the facility to be collimated, if that is important to you. Don't let it, necessarily, put you off it cannot be re-collimated as they tend to hold collimation very well. But, it is something you should know before pulling the trigger on this. Ask the question.

I think the OTA varies by region. I've just checked 5 UK vendors and the OTA appears to be the same as supplied on the AZ GTI and EQ3-2 mounts at least, but i think in other markets the 127 OTA comes with 2" diagonal and eyepieces.

[Zermelo]

11 minutes ago, Lung said:

I think the OTA varies by region. I've just checked 5 UK vendors and the OTA appears to be the same as supplied on the AZ GTI and EQ3-2 mounts at least, but i think in other markets the 127 OTA comes with 2" diagonal and eyepieces.

I think @Louis Dhas commented previously on the 2" back provision in different markets.

On the bundled vs unbundled differences - yes, the provision of collimation screws, and also the finder shoe is in a different position relative to the dovetail.

[bosun21]

The finder shoe position on the non pro version is for alt/az mounts and the pro version for EQ mounts. I had to move the shoe on my 150 pro to comfortably use it with a Skytee II mount.

[Lung]

I'm having a quick look at tripod options for the Celestron Astro Fi 127, but the base of the mount seems to rule out everything. Can anyone suggest a tripod that would work with the mount, or a modification that could sort it?