Can iOptron GEM28 handle Celestron C8 Telescope for Long Exposure DSO Astrophotography?

I'use GEM45 for a RC8 setup of about 11 kg and in my honest opinion is not fully usable.
It is enough for a mosquito to pass within a meter of the telescope that the guide makes it worse.

Just a comment in case there is a misconception on your side: The counterweight doesn't have to match the weight of your equipment. The product of mass times distance of the centre of mass from the rotation axis has to be equal in oder to be able to balance your setup. Let's assume centre of mass of the C8 + camera with a weight of 6.5 kg is 5 inches away from axis of rotation you can balance the setup with a 4.5 kg counterweight at a distance of 5 x 6.5 / 4.5 = 7.22 inches.

You'll need very good seeing to image around 1 arcsec … 

Clear skies
Wolfgang

Kanak RT:
I intend to capture the Pillars of Creation (Eagle Nebula) using the C8 in its native focal length i.e 2032mm with an ASI294MM unlocked bin1 mode. The CCD suitability does over sample by 0.23"/second and its slightly over sampled when using a 0.63x reducer.

There is nowhere on Earth where you can get that sort of actual resolution with a 8" scope ( I mean at native FL) for deep sky targets, so give up on it and use a more sensible bin2 mode. It will still be a stretch but with more chances to bear fruits.

As for the GEM28 (which I own) let's not kid ourselves. To hope to guide with a residual error of the same order of your pixel scale you'd need far better mount than that!

This combination is pretty painfully under-mounted. At least if you're trying to push anything close to the level of detail which a C8 is capable of resolving. I have a CEM-40 (one which runs extremely well) which handles it, and my RASA-8, reasonably well. And I'm happy with that because portability is a big priority, for me. All of my imaging is on the road. But I have to make sure everything is set up meticulously and it does not tolerate even a little wind without signifiant degradation. I'd really want something like this to be on a CEM-60/70 for a more ideal pairing. (This isn't strictly about weight capacity. Imaging with such a narrow field of view, and with a telescope that has that sort of surface area for air circulation to catch—especially with dew shield—becomes correspondingly much more demanding of the mount relative to capacity.)

I think I may be a fair bit pickier than the average about sub quality, and I do my imaging under skies which tend to have good seeing conditions, so that may all be weighed into my opinion. But I *would not* deliberately pair this telescope with the GEM-28/CEM-26.

I have both a GEM28 and a GEM45, I also have an EDGE HD8 with Mono Camera, OAG and EFW…
I use the GEM28 with a Redcat 51 and need a counterweight under the dovetail at the front to balance the rig far enough back for cables and EFW to clear the mount… 
In this configuration (see photo) it guides at around 0.5 to 0.6 and works beautifully; however, it doesn’t cope well at all with the Celestron SCT on it, whereas the GEM45 handles the EDGE HD with ease…

Just the payload capability as far as I know

Marc:
Realistically, the C8, with all the kit attached, will probably weigh in at around 9-10kg (that is, camera, filterwheel, some kind of guding solution, dew shield, etc). 

So that would be a big no regarding the GEM28. If you do not want to stretch your budget any further, consider the Skywatcher EQ6-R. It's not that much more expensive and will serve you just fine for years to come. Otherwise, the CEM45 is a viable option of course.

Hello Marc! Thank you so much for giving your input. After conducting extensive research and planning, I have finalized my setup. Portability of the mount is my top priority. I have decided to pair my DSLR with Canon Lens for now (later RC51) with the iOptron SkyHunter mount initially, and later upgrade to the Celestron C8 Edge HD with the iOptron HEM27 or ZWO AM5 mount, which has a maximum payload capacity of 20 Kilos with counterweights. I have not considered the Skywatcher EQ6-R due to the unavailability of trusted dealers in Bengaluru, India. Other brands like Celestron, Meade, iOptron, ZWO, Bresser, Explore Scientifics have a good reputation here in terms of quality and service.

Another factor influencing my decision to not consider the EQ6-R is the significant increase in cost due to added taxes, which makes it less affordable compared to other options. For example, if I were to purchase the ZWO AM5 mount, which costs $1,999.00 (mount only) in the US, I would have to pay $3047 in India. Hence, I am leaning towards iOptron as it offers a more budget-friendly option for mounts considering the price difference in India for other brands.