Equinox 80 questions

[dmahon]

Sorry, yet more questions:

I'm still considering which scope to get (Equinox 80 and ED80 Pro are likely suspects).

The Equinox 80 only has a small L shaped mounting bracket on the bottom to attach to a mount (the other Equinox scopes and all of the ED PRO series have rings and a dovetail). If I attach a camera to the Equinox 80, will I be able to ballance it, or do I need to extend the foot of the L somehow (the description says "Standard ¼-20 Tripod Bush (will accept Sky-Watcher dovetail bars)" - what should I order with the scope).

Does the Equinox 80 have an attachment for a finderscope - and what would be most useful given that it would be used for astrophotography (red dot, finder scope, etc)?

[Ben Ritchie]

For imaging I think you need to buy tube rings of some form for the Equinox 80, the L-shaped mounting bracket isn't rigid enough.

[Dave]

I do imaging with my Equinox 80.

The dovetail it comes with seems to be rigid enough for what I do (at the moment). There is a shoe attached to the side of the tube which takes a standard Skywatcher finder, (you can get straight through ones as well but FLO didn't seem to have one) which I prefer. For imaging you will also need a Focus Extender (the 50mm one will do) and to take away the coma towards the edge of the field a field flattener. Although the latter isn't essential as pleasing images can be taken without it.

[dmahon]

Although the L is rigid enough to hold it, is it long enough to balance properly if you attach a DSLR on a 50mm extension tube to the rear of the scope (or is there a lot of tension on it)?

[Euan]

Although the L is rigid enough to hold it, is it long enough to balance properly if you attach a DSLR on a 50mm extension tube to the rear of the scope (or is there a lot of tension on it)?

Because it is quite short, it's pretty limited in terms of balancing

With a set of 90mm rings, you have a bit more play, but it's really dependent on how you mount them on a bar, the further apart the less space you have to slide the scope up and down

If you load it all up and balance it on the end of your finger (close to the ground!), you will see whether or not the dovetail is within the range

IMHO the rings are the only way to go if you are doing long exposures

[SplintUK]

if balance is a problem, you could always attach a longer dovetail to the foot via a whitworth bolt (camera tripod bolt). That would give you the forward / backl movement for balancing a camera without the need for tube rings. It's what I intend to try with my new EQ80 when I get the chance... Not sure how rigid it will be, but it has to be worth a try.

[nmoushon]

I have an equinox ED80 and I use it with my DSLR attached and have no problems with balance. I only you the attached L-shaped bracket also. I do have an EQ-G mount so the mounting space is a bit bigger than smaller mounts but I think its fine. I dont use guiding atm and can usually get 90-120 subs depending on how good polar alignment is and if I forgot to balance my tripod or not lol.

[nightfisher]

I have this problem with my WO zenithstar 70, so i am waiting for a section of 5mm ali plate to mount it to then onto a dove tail bar