Any suggestion for telescope and mount? - Forums

Topic starter

Sep 24, 2023

Hi everyone!

I am planning to buy a relatively beginner friendly astrophotography mount and telescope (ota) to start my astrophotography journey. I bought a 10"/1200mm skywatcher dobsonian telescope in January 2023 and got a astromodified canon 40d and would like to buy a 6" newtonian (under ca.700€) and a suitable mount for such a telescope because I want to start astrophotography. I have about 1800-2000€ to spend and as for the mount I would like it to have a heavy enough payload, GoTo and a port for future auto-guiding would be great.

First of all the mount i looked at the heq5 pro with the rowan belt mod which some shops offer already built in for about 1200€. The second mount I found was the iOptron gem28 but I have some doubts regarding the tracking accuracy with such a high payload (6" newtonian + dslr + auto-guiding etc). The heq5 pro on the other side looks a lot more robust. Does anybody have any expierience with either of them?

As for the telescope I mainly found skywatcher telescopes like the skywatcher quattro 150p photo-newton. But with this one the focuser seems to be not really good. Of course there are other telescopes too but I haven't really searched for them yet. Most of my research time went into the mount.
What telescope would you recommend and why?
What do you think about the mounts I have mentioned or do you have any recommendations for a mount I haven't mentioned?

Thanks in advance!
Lukas

andrea tasselli

Frequent contributor

Sep 24, 2023 · Edited: Sep 24, 2023

Lukas,

The GEM28 is perfectly capable of supporting a 6" f/4 newton and imaging/guiding equipment (mine is around 8.5 kg). I use Photon f/4 (TS) as it was pretty cheap and of reasonable quality including the focuser.

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Marco Grisolia

Sep 24, 2023

Hi Luke,

As I read through your post I saw my self as I was one year ago… (just with a little more to spend ^^)
The options you mentioned are all great and valuable, but I would like to give you a little advice from my personal experience: wait enough to have a great mount!
The combination between the heq5 and the 150p it's fantastic but if I would be in your position, as I was before, I would wait to take a better mount that open the doors to waay larger options. I am talking about considering a skywatcher eq6-r or similar mounts that handle 20kg (consider 13/15 if you want to do astrophotography) and eventually wait to get a great scope too 200p/250p or great refractors…
In my personal experience I waited long enough to have a CQ350 and a 300P on top from skywatcher and this summer, after all this time, I can say that all the wait was worth it!
If this is urgent for you I'm sure that many of other people here will advice you better than me

Marco

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Sean Mc

Sep 24, 2023

Can’t help with the scope unfortunately. On the mount, I feel like an extra $1000 is more than double the usefulness. I started with a mount in that class and things were challenging. I eventually upgraded to an am5 (or you could do an heq6 or similar). The extra payload and stability make a world of difference.

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average_pluto_enjoyer

Sep 24, 2023

Depends on your budget really. HEQ5 or Celestron AVX or both more than adequate. I have the AVX for my 8" (total payload is about12lbs i think) and it works like a treat. Of course more expensive mounts such as EQ6R Pro are better if you have the money but don't let people fool you into thinking you have to get one. However if you have the money id recommend it as you'll have less issues with stability, etc.

Also don't forget to skimp on guiding equipment. A bad mount can be made a lot better with good guiding and visa versa.

Telescope wise, skywatcher Newtonians are the best way to go for a beginner. Easy to use, low maintenance and can deliver very good quality. Id recommend an 8" or 10". Get a cheap laser collimator too, it'll make your life a lot easier.

I used an astro-modded dslr for over a year before getting a proper astro camera, and while the astrocam is far better, you can get some seriously great results with a dslr and it's much nicer as an intro to the hobby just because of how easy a dslr is to use. However id recommend planning to get a ZWO osc camera as your first upgrade after the dslr.

Don't rush in with the expensive stuff too soon, its almost always harder to use and will put you off. The cheaper stuff may not get you as great results, but its a lot easier to use and is a great intro to the hobby!

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Jim Raskett

Sep 24, 2023

Hi Lukas,

I have only owned two mounts, a Celestron AVX and my present Skywatcher HEQ5.
I use both a Sharpstar 61 EDPHII and a Explore Scientific ED102 (both refractors) and probably won't get a larger scope. The ED102 with camera, FF/FR, autofocus motor, guide scope and guide camera weigh in the range of 17-18 lbs (7-8 kg).

I started with the AVX and ED102 and had a great time with that combination. My AVX had a ton of DEC backlash (13000ms). I tried adjusting the worm to reduce the backlash, but was unsuccessful. My stars weren't perfect, but they were good enough for me. Guiding was okay (~1.2-1.5 arcsec/px) and usually at or just below my image scale.
Overall, I enjoyed using the mount and dealt/learned by its challenges. Also to note, I know several other folks that do very well with their AVX and I have read that there are "good" copies and "not-so-good copies.

I replaced it with an HEQ5. I know that some folks would say that I made a lateral replacement, but I don't find that to be the case.
The HEQ5 was out of the box a bit better than the AVX. Guiding was closer to 1-1.2 arcsec/px and DEC backlash was in the 6000ms range. But, with the Rowan kit added and carefully tweaking the DEX worm, the mount usually guides in the 0.6-0.7 arcsec/px range and DEC backlash is about 150ms. Also, I don't need the hand controller in the mix like I did with the AVX. I can connect directly from the PC to the mount.
So, in my limited experience with only two mounts, I have found the HEQ5 much easier to use, easier to tweak, easier to use, and performs much better.
Again, just my very limited experience.

Jim

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Lukas Bauer

Topic starter

Oct 10, 2023

Hi everyone,

First of all, thank you for all the optinions. I am really tending towards buying a rowan belt modded heq5 (seems like the best option so far and it is also very easy to find tutorials if something isn't working correctly) and a 6" telescope because I don't get enough money to buy something better until summer next year. And because I prefer not to wait for a year before buying anything I think my money would be better spent starting with a simpler setup and maybe upgrade to a astrocam, guiding etc. after earning money again next summer.
Please leave a comment!

Thanks!
Luke

Ed Litoborski

Oct 10, 2023

Lots of good suggestions here, but may I suggest googling your area for a amateur astronomy club and join. There you can meet new like minded friends, test drive all kinds of equipment at their star parties, all the while asking 100's of questions .

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NeilM

Oct 11, 2023

I have an unmodified HEQ5 with a cheap guide scope and camera (SVBONY guide scope and ZWO120mm guide camera). I consistently get 0.4 - 0.7" rms guiding. I know that I just might be lucky, but I wanted to mention this because it might be worth getting a stock HEQ5 (if it's substantially cheaper) and then do the belt mod yourself later if you need it.

Neil

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Richard Carande

Oct 11, 2023

Just my $0.02 but unless your dead set on a Newtonian (in which case go that way – it will work and you'll be happy), I would recommend a small refractor. Much easier to use for AP and easy to maintain. I'm glad that's how I started. Something like the Askar FRA400 (f/5.6), but there are a lot of similar high quality choices out there. With the optional reducer on there you can get a pretty speedy telescope at f/3.9. I know Newtonians have a reputation as providing more bang for the buck, but I 'd still suggest a small refractor to start. As aperture fever takes over and you get more in to the hobby, you'll get that big Newtonian, or an SCT, but you'll never get rid of that refractor. Easier to set up, balance and transport, never (typically) needs collimation.

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Kristof Vandebeek

Oct 11, 2023

I have a GEM28 and I image with a Skywatcher 130PDS (with EFW, camera, EAF…) and guide with a 70mm F/6 (420mm FL) scope on top of it. Guiding gives around 0.60” to 0.80” RMS ‘accuracy’ in calm nights, sometimes up to 1.00” in windier nights - it also depends on the seeing, but usually the seeing is fairly good here.

Out of the box the GEM28’s accuracy wasn’t really great but iOptron have a few good guides available that can run you through optimizing your mount. It’ll also help you understand how a mount works.

I agree wih @Richard Carande’s advice to start with a small refractor.

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