Best Affordable Telescope Mount for Astrophotography in 2020?
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- Опубліковано 21 сер 2024
- Hi folks,
In this video I compare seven beginner-level telescope mounts for astrophotography in 2020: The SkyWatcher EQM 35, the Ioptron CEM25p, the Celestron Advanced VX (AVX) the Ioptron EQ30, the Meade LX85, the Sky-Watcher HEQ5 pro and the Orion Sirius EQ-G mount. Please understand that this is just my own personal comparison. I highly advise you to do your own research. Below, you will find affiliate links to each of the mounts to optcorp.com (a well-known astrophotography webshop in the USA) and astroshop.eu (well-known astrophotography shop in Europe).
Clear skies!
link to my blog: astroforumspac...
Affiliate links to mounts available at OPT (USA/WorldWide):
Celestron Advanced VX: bit.ly/380Y01D
Sky-Watcher HEQ5 pro: bit.ly/2VDCXzJ
Orion Sirius EQ-G (same as HEQ5!): bit.ly/2I1WZvu
Ioptron CEM26 (replaced CEM25): bit.ly/3FBe4bw
Sky-Watcher EQM-35: bit.ly/3a9rvj5
Ioptron GEM28 (replacement of iEQ30): bit.ly/2L4eRv0
Affiliate links to mounts available at Astroshop (EU/WorldWide):
Celestron Advanced VX: bit.ly/2T3xY9s
Sky-Watcher HEQ5 pro: bit.ly/3aeKWap
Orion Sirius EQ-G = same as HEQ5 pro!
Ioptron CEM26 (replaced CEM25): bit.ly/3DO8DFy
Meade LX85: bit.ly/2PwB97z
Sky-Watcher EQM-35: bit.ly/396Xgcn
Ioptron GEM28 (replacement of iEQ30): bit.ly/3E4oXCt
I'm producing FREE content about astrophotography and space. Any SUPPORT is greatly appreciated! You can support me as follows:
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2) SUBSCRIBE to my UA-cam channel: / astroforumspace
3) Visit my website: astroforumspac...
4) Buy some of my merchandise on my website: astroforumspac...
5) Use one of my affiliate links below to buy your Astrogear at your preferred shop. I get a small percentage to keep my YT channel and website going, and you pay the same price.
- Astroshop (EU): bit.ly/3ijbZVZ
- OPT (USA): bit.ly/3ikp9Sz
- Amazon (worldwide): amzn.to/3gGLWaK
Any support you can give is highly appreciated, thanks!
You can also find me here:
www.astroforum...
/ astroforum
Check out my new beginner mount video for 2021 here: ua-cam.com/video/8SNDKN_GtRA/v-deo.html
I got into Astrophotography using my literal BASIC 50mm refractor with a 300mm focal lense, and I get itty bitty dot photos, but honestly, I absolutely love it. The fact that I even HAVE photos of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Vega, and 3 of the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades just adds to my love and interest of Astrophotography
this is the most real comment i have ever seen
Meade LX85 is a shockingly good mount. It is ASCOM compatible, light weight and very stable. Purchased it as a lightweight grab and go alternative to my CGX and have been extremely happy with it. Accurate and I am consistently able to get unguided 60-90 second exposures with no star trails and have been successful up to 2 minutes with a wide field scope. Add in guiding and it's a steal at $800! Outperforms and is lighter than my Sirius mount which I decided to sell after 9 months with this mount. For what it's worth. I hope this doesn't sound like an advertisement but I am really pleasantly surprised by this mount no one talks about.
Hi Dogfish, thanks for sharing! Did your also attempt to guide the LX85? I'm really wondering about the capabilities, if the LX85 indeed lives up to what is advertised then I'll put it in my top 3 list next time.
@@AstroForumSpace yes. It guides very well in phd2. I did have a bit of backlash in the dec gears initily but a simple gear mesh adjustment was all that was needed.
Just came across your channel today and what a great amount of information you have. I just purchased my first ever setup and the Celestron AVX was what I went with. I know down the road I will have to upgrade, but this mount works well for now.
This is currently by far the most useful and clear video for beginner astrophotographers. Helps you get a perspective and estimate on pricing and what kinds of equipment one may expect to get.
Thank you so much for your kind words!
0:13 your trademark hand swipe 😊. Greatly enjoy your videos
Nice video, by the way, the HEQ5 Pro has been upgraded silently, the new one has a USB socket, dual saddle to attach both vixen and losmandy, they also changed the max payload, before used to be 11kg for imaging, and 15kg for visual, now they are saying it's 13.5kg for either imaging and visual.
Thanks for creating another good video. Not many people are doing Astrophotography equipment comparisons so keep up the good work. I'm just starting out on my Astrophotography journey so find these videos are really useful.
One of the mounts in this category that's caught my eye is the Explore Scientific EXOS2 GT pmc8, based upon an upgraded Bresser EXOS2 mount with better internal components (Stepper motors & belt drives) and with an open source (Open GOTO ) ASCOM driver that does away with the hand control and uses an app on a tablet for control and tracking, which also includes loads of beginner level info on the objects in the night sky.
I'd welcome your thoughts on this mount compared with those you've reviewed in this video.
P.S. I've yet to buy a mount but, did buy my 1st telescope (2nd hand) earlier today!
Congratulations 😉
Peter, I missed this mount but it indeed looks like a very decent mount. The payload capacity is more then enough for a beginner setup. I also saw some results on astrobin indicating that the exos 2 is able to track for multiple minutes, so definitely worth considering!
@@AstroForumSpace For interest you may want to check out explore scientific USA website and search of exos2. explorescientificusa.com/products/es-exos2gtpmct3-00
There's a short video where the guy's from Explore Scientific max out the load on the exos2, it's worth a watch.
Clear skies & keep up the good work.
Your videos are informative and answer many questions I have. You understand the need to describe and discuss the various topics in a way a beginner might be thinking. Thank you.
Thanks James!
I went in January for the iOptron CEM25p. I am very happy with it. Together with the ASIAIR it does what it suppose to do. The only tricky point with the CEM system is to get it into 3D balance. The DEC axis is a bit sensitive to being unbalanced. Nothing which can't be solved. I optimised my setup now so getting ready to photograph takes me 5-10min including polar alignment (not a fixed setup). Thanks for the video!
Thanks! Have fun with the CEM25p :-)
A very informative video. One thing to consider in future videos is when you have a chart up please try not to obscure some of the fields with your in video head shot (perhaps you can move the in video up when you reach the fields in question?). Other than that I find you videos well worth watching and think you are a very good presenter.
Thanks Andy! will take your feedback about the camera into account in my next videos. Clear skies.
My EQM-35 has managed my F/9 100ED apo extremely well, I am very pleased at its performance and stability at super high powers.
Highly recommended.
I got a good deal on an HEQ5 as my first mount. Works great, no issues with it. Just done the belt drive modification on it, usually get < 1" guiding accuracy. Having used it for a year now with an 80mm refractor I want to upgrade to an 8" newtonian, but these weigh just a bit too much. In hindsight an EQ6R PRO would have been better, but would have cost substantially more. As you pointed out at the beginning when you get into this hobby you don't know if you're really go to stick with it, so I think the HEQ5 was the right choice at the time.
Thanks for your feedback Richard. I also started with a similar mount, the Celestron AVX. It makes perfect sense to me to start with a decent, affordable mount and upgrade later to an intermediate or Pro mount once you'll decide to stick with the hobby.
Great video! This will be very useful for someone picking their first Astro equipment! And thank you for the mention in the new subs list! 😊
Thanks Urban Astronomer, I appreciate that!
I love it!! Right now I’m using the Orion Astroview EQ3 which has been beautiful for me when learning how to do ap. It was nice to really develop a love in the craft without having my head spin with all the different features of the mounts you’ve listed. There are lots of limitations with my mount and I will be using your video in the process of finding my next mount. Thank you!!
Thanks for watching and the positive feedback
Thank you for sharing this! It was really helpful! Now, I'm hoping you have a similar video for Telescopes also!
Thanks! Here's my video on telescopes: ua-cam.com/video/LmX0OkXHoSY/v-deo.html
Very informative. Just to made a bit of justice, lx85 is a excellent value for money, ascom , no problems, capacity to carrying equipment, good, solid mount, 1 arc/sec, etc, I love it.
I've had users of the lx85 who informed me a couple of months ago that the ascom driver was problematic. Would love to hear whether these issues are resolved.
Well, that is true, but new bascom driver compatible was developed and already working very good. I can do 1, 3, 5 or more minutes exposure guiding and very good results. The more important key is the data that you add to phd2 in the confirmation process and remember no st4 port issued, just the hand control connector at the base of it. I am using a very old laptop, Dell 5400, running the guiding program and capture progran .Now my issue is my scope is an achromatic refractor, now, at the calibration process, choosing the right star is critical. But following at the end of the night, very happy.
Thank you for this very informative video! I started the hobby in September 2019. I didn't want to spend too much money at first, so I went with a Skywatcher Star Adventurer mount. It is not an EQ mount, but mobility is quite important for me. I have to walk 110 stair steps and drive 50 km before I am at a spot with a relatively dark sky (living in a big city...), so I did not want to carry dozens of kgs of equipment with me.
I started out with only a DSLR on the SA mount and was able to take my first pictures of Andromeda galaxy and Orion nebulae. Exposure times of 60s with 300mm without guiding are possible when you carefully do the polar alignement. I recently upgraded my gear with an autoguiding setup (the SA mount has an ST4 connection) to get longer exposure times. Even though only the RA-axis is guided, I can reach exposure times of 180s now with 300mm. I have reached the absolute load maximum with this setup on the SA (being only 5 kg and my stuff weighing in at 5.1 kg). I am going to upgrade to an EQ mount later this year, because I am absolutely hooked into the astrophotography now and your video really helped me to decide which mount I might get!
Thanks for the positive feedback Michael and good luck with your decision on what mount to buy!
You thinking about the eq 35?
Me2. I don't think I'd like it much heavier. The small battery one is cute but I'd want goto the first night. We have a goto telescope already. What helped me most so far is the free star map app.
@@mikeries8549 I still haven't decided what to buy, yet. At the moment I am tending to the iOptron CEM25P. Light, enough load capacity for the next 1-2 years and you do not need any additional equipment, because the CEM25P has everything included / inbuilt.
An excellent informative video.. Ive just about decided on the EQM35 as it's right on my budget and seems to have excellent quality for a beginner mount. Thanks and clear sky's 👍
Great! Let me know how it works out.
Thank you for a VERY thorough organized run through. I learned a few things and you affirmed my leaning toward the Celestron AVX. I had low end telescopes in College, I bought my daughter a Meade ETX 80mm (I think) and it rekindled my interest. I'm an amateur photographer with some pretty good DSLR gear so I've pretty well talked myself out of the temptation of getting a EdgeHD 9.25 (for now. Lol) and want to see if I stick with the hobby using my DSLR gear. Investing (very deliberate word there) in a solid, reasonably priced mount seems paramount and I can always add a tube later. This video solidified my thoughts. Thanks and be safe!
Hi Brent, Thanks! Yes, that's a good plan in my opinion.
Thanks for helping me out again! Keep up the great content
Hi, I think one of the most important factors to be considered are the accessories to be purchased..like for example, some mounts require power supply , some of them probably operate on batteries, etc. It would be nice to have them included as well.
Meade LX-85 has two options for cabling to PC: A #07507 RS-232 to USB and a #505 Cable. It’s important to mention the AUX port is wired back to front. Using third party AUX equipment can fry the mount. I spoke to a tech at Meade directly concerning this. They told me that the LX-85 AUX port is “unnamed”. The mount is ASCOM compliant. You’re not limited to Audio Star or Sky Safari only. Additionally there is an option for Stella. It’s a Meade device for wifi control but I’ve found the app to be difficult to locate depending on the device used. For example it is unavailable on my iPhone 10. Just putting some helpful info up regarding your video. I think your lineup very closely matches my choices. I recently purchased an LX-85 and will most likely create a video highlighting all of the connectivity options as well as any hiccups I find. Great video. Keep it up. Clear skies.
Thanks so much Genett! I really wondered about user experiences for the Meade LX85, thanks for sharing. Do you also have some info on guiding accuracy? And I guess the RS232 cable can be connected to the hand controller? Cheers.
AstroForum That’s correct. There’s a jack in the controller. I’ll get back to you on guide accuracy. I just got it a few days before I had to fly out of State.I’ll record what I find with it.
The Meade LX85 is a really lightweight mount. It weights only 10.5kg including tripod and head. Your weight is including the counter weights. Please keep that in mind. And i can confirm it works with their standard ASCOM-Drivers.
Thanks for your reply. I've had a couple of negative user experiences on the meade, especially the fact that it won't connect to ASCOM, so I'm curious about your experience with that.
As a newbie, it seems to me that the quality of your home location is paramount. Dark skies, good weather, the lack of obstacles in your view must be fundamental. Buying all this stuff and hauling it to the country setting it up and breaking it down for transport is frustrating if conditions in the field turn bad.
Yes, dark skies are important but many people can't change the place they live.
That was the considerations that I take in account when I bought my AVX. Great video
I've used the AVX myself for many years. I think it's a good choice to start astrophotography. Thanks and clear skies!
@@AstroForumSpace I confess that I felt relieved when I saw you video. I live in Brazil and it's very expensive to buy equipment here. The AVX for example: I paid $899 dollars plus $150 for the shipping. But the final price for me after the importing taxes was about $1950 dollars. So I can't afford myself to take wrong decisions. It's too expensive.
@@AdailAntonio thanks Adail!
Really very helpful video for the beginners and very nicely explained.
Clear Skies..!!
Glad you liked it, very nice of you!
Thanks for this comparison, really good and concise!
The first mount i bought (and the one i still use) is the Ioptron SkyGuider pro. I think i'll still be using for quite some time, since it can handle my 530mm scope without guding for 2 minutes before periodic error really starts kicking in. Guiding should allow me to take longer exposures with the mount, but if i decide to buy a larger scope I'll probably have to upgrade due to the payload already being close to maximum with my current setup.
I'm thinking of going after the Cem25P due to the light weight, quietness, and my previous experience with their mounts :)
Thanks for your positive feedback and suggestions!
Surprised to see Niko here lmao
Thanks for these wonderful, informative videos. Very detailed, you are awesome!
Thank you Justin, highly appreciated!
Older HQ mounts are very good also, find them on the used market, Ebay, CloudyNights, Astromart etc...
Look for used Vixen mounts, SP, GP, GP DX, etc..., they are high quality mounts, Made in Japan!
I own the Vixen GP D mount /w SS2K PC goto system, rated 25 LB load.
Mount's interior parts are not machined but precision ground to very close tolerances.
Insane!
The SS2K Goto system was famous for accuracy, it can even track satellites or find craters on the moon.
It's still the KING of the mounts for the same cost as these NEW, cheap Chines mounts!
I've been in astrophotography discord servers for about 2.5 years and have heard a lot of opinions from people who use most of these mounts. Generally speaking people really disliked their celestron avx mounts and had a lot of issues with them. Ioptron gets mixed reviews because it seems that they use their customers to improve their mounts (there have been many iterations of the cem25p with different model names before it that had various issues).
However I own a cem25p and I think it is superior to the heq5 pro because it is belt-driven and is more accurate. I can get 3 minute unguided images at 480mm with a nikon d5300 with a discard rate of 40%. I know several people who own the heq5 pro and they cannot get anywhere near this level of precision. Now, this isn't necessarily relevent because guiding should make them comparable.
Heq5 pro gets a lot of positive feedback, not only because it is accurate and has a high payload, but also because it can be modified to be belt driven with the rowan upgrade. Apparently skywatcher support is also top notch and they'll help you out even if your mount was bought used.
I've literally never ran across someone using a meade lx85 but general consensus is that it is more or less like an avx and they would stay away from it. It remains a bit of an unknown less tries and true option that I wouldn't go for.
The tried and tested options really are the heq5 pro, eq-g and cem25p.
I would say if you're mounting a short ish refractor go with cem25p for stellar performance and super portable, otherwise either heq5 pro or eq-g.
I don't know about the two other ioptron mounts as I have not heard any feedback on them. Cem25p has to be well balanced otherwise the motor isn't happy at all, but this isn't really an issue, just something to pay attention to while setting up. Heq5 pro can take a bit more of an unbalanced load, but I wouldn't consider that an advantage because the load should be balanced at all times anyway.
Thanks for sharing your advice William, clear skies!
Skip to 2:20 if you don't wanna hear "without further ado" several times...
lol, sorry about that. non native speaker here...will try to expand on my vocabulary :-)
@@AstroForumSpace It wasn't meant to be a cut on you. Some folks may not want to hear a phrase repeated a number of times before the content actually begins. You did a good job otherwise.
I've been shooting the Milky Way for a few years with just a mirrorlsss camera and tripod. I have decided to step up into deep sky astrophotography.. I'm going to start with a short focal length, maybe around 275 mm, and work my way up as I progress. I really want the EQ6-R, but it's expensive, not very portable, and currently on backorder 4 to 6 months. I've done a ton of research and have decided on the Celestron AVX. It satisfies all my needs as a beginner, costs less than the EQ6-R, and is also easier to carry and move to dark sky locations.
I started with the AVX too. It's a good and affordable mount, and much more portable, good choice. if you keep for focal length to about 500mm you should be fine. Clear skies!
No doubt you are a very knowledgeable dude, dude!
Thank you for the wonderful video! Made my life easier!!
I'm actually working on a new video about beginner astrophotography mounts. I'll probably post it this week, cheers!
Thank you Wido. I was only considering the Atlas ll due to the three months purchase plan with Orion. But I was wondering why there was so many reviews about skywatcher and almost nothing with Orion if they were the same mount. But your explanation clears that up. I will definitely reconsider my plan with the atlas ll mount and look at my options with skywatcher. Thank you.
Glad I could help Chatt! Orion is a solid Brand. I know several astrophotographers that use the Atlas II and they are very positive about the performance of that mount. Mainly available in the US, and SkyWatchers are pretty much the dominant mounts in Europe (both from the same Chinese factory :-)).
Thank you. I needed this in my life! I'm looking to purchase soon and was looking at the LX85 due to the weight capacity, but after watching your video, I know I'll be much happier with the Celestron Advanced VX instead. Thank you so much for saving me an expensive lesson. I can't wait to see what video you come out with next. I'm now subscribed to the channel.
Hi Greg, I'm glad my video was useful. I'm not saying the lx85' is necessarily bad, but at the time of this video I couldn't find a lot of real-life user experiences with this mount. I've bought the AVX a couple of years ago and have made a UA-cam playlist with videos about the AVX, perhaps useful to you: Celestron Advanced VX Mount Videos: ua-cam.com/play/PLrfMN3RZZNHd_ojxbrrarZCRzHhaBMo0P.html
Great video. I did the exact same analysis couple of months ago and the HEQ6 Pro was the best one for me. Still have to buy it tho. Currently using a SkyGuider Pro from iOptron
Hi Rus, good to know you have come to a similar conclusion. It's always good to take your time before making the final decision. Clear skies!
Great video, thanks for posting. I liked your format and your feature comparisons. Different end users will prioritize the features differently. With many users quickly moving to 3rd party software to control image acquisition/camera functions, the number of objects in the hand controller become less relevant. Also, many of these 3rd party software solutions have a built in polar alignment routine negating the need for a polar scope or even the need to see Polaris from your location. However, that said, the ability to connect to a laptop and ASCOM compatibility becomes more important.
Excellent video! You have a lot of knowledge in astrophotography ! Congratulations keep doinig it!.
Thank you Jes!
I picked up a EQM35 Pro last night for $683.99 delivered with 5% coupon code. My imaging rig is 7lb total so it's still 15lb under max payload
Great, hope you'll enjoy the mount!
Thanks for that video
I am happy to see astrophotographers from the Netherlands
greetings from Maastricht
My first real mount was a Celestron ASGT which was fussy and tempermental, but it worked well and I found I could get pretty consistent GoTo. I didn't do much imaging. My next mount was an Atlas EQ-G with GoTo and its still the mount I use today. I have owned Celestron CGEM, AVX, Of course the Atlas and also a CEM40. I still prefer the Atlas to all of these others.
Thanks for your feedback and sharing your thoughts. Clear skies!
Very informative! Thanks so much for the comparison of these mounts. Looking to get back into astronomy and This helped me with my decision. :)
Thank you so much and welcome back!
You're missing the Explore Scientific EXOS2-GT with the PMC-8 open source Goto computer from your review. It fulfills all of your criteria and is only US $699 right now.
Thanks for the tip Mike! I'll look into it.
Goed bezig, zeer informatief ;). Good job, very informative!
Dank je wel Bas :-).
Thanks man, awesome vid.
Please keep up.
Great content but I do not go with your take on the Meade LX85. The mount works great, it is stable and the service from Meade/Bresser in Germany is also pretty good.
Thanks for the info, will the LX85 also guide in combination with EQMOD /PHD2? There were some issues but perhaps they are solved....would love to hear about that. Clear skies.
Great video! Well organized. I currently have an older Orion Atlas ( non go to) and want to upgrade to autoguiding and also downsize to a lighter setup. Celestron AVX will likely be my choice.
I've had good experiences with the AVX:. I've a separate review on this mount: ua-cam.com/video/_3hh8o1g_nk/v-deo.html Thanks for watching!
I am considering this Celestron AVX equatorial or the SkyWatcher EQ M35 as my second choice.
Try the AVX.
AVX
Great Video... Very Helpful for a beginner looking for an affordable mount.
Thanks for the positive feedback Tim, highly appreciated!
Again another great video.
Thanks
The Ioptron CEM25p has been discontinued after a very short life on the market. Other reviews were pretty awful. I must say, I was intrigued by the lighter weight of the Ioptron, 14 pounds lighter than the Celestron AVX. I would be interested in learning what replaced the CEM25p, or what light weight Ioptrons sell in the same price range. That's hard to figure out by scanning the web.
I'm in the process of making a new video on beginner mounts. Look for ioptron gem28 / cem26. Super interesting! Cheers.
@@AstroForumSpace Great! Are you planning on trying them out just providing a comparative narrative on the specs? Either way, I'm interested. I'm especially curious with Ioptron's CEM concept and user reports on how it performs overall. BTW, your review of the Celestron Edge has cemented my choice with that OTA, and now I'm studying up on the mount choice. For my goals, having something I can easily carry to the field behind my home makes minimal total weight a priority. I look forward to your review.
I bought an Orion GoTo Mak-Cas 127mm on a Starseeker IV two years ago. Fine for observing but I should have researched and found out about German Equatorial Mounts. I think I'll go to the Orion Sirius EQ GoTo mount to get back on track and increase the payload from 13 lbs. to 30 lbs.
I'm actually thinking about buying a MAK for the upcoming oppositions of Jupiter and Saturn. Thanks for sharing your experiences. The sirius mount is indeed a good place to start I think.
Love the video and your blog about this! Super helpful and informative!
Unfortunately, it looks like, in the 9 months since you did this, iOptron has discontinued both the CEM25p and the iEQ30. I’m curious if you’ve looked at their new ones and have any thoughts on them.
Thanks for watching and thanks for informing me about the discontinuation of the CEM25P and IEQ30. I'll put it on my todo list to update this video on beginner level mounts. I didn't look at this, will do it in 2021. Happy holidays!
great video, always amazed how fresh the Dutch are, lol
Probably something in the such water, lol. Thanks for watching!
My first smart mount was the Celestron NexStar 5SE, but no matter how careful I was with the alignment process or which alignment process I choice, whenever I told it to "go to" an object it would always point about 1 degree off in one direction or another. After two months I gave up trying and now I just set the hand unit to Speed 2 and use the directional buttons to track my target. I'm currently in the market for my second mount and I'm considering buying a clock driven mount since that's essentially what I'm using now anyway. The other members of the Facebook astrophotography groups I'm in advise me to buy a GoTo mount, but I don't even use the one I have so I really don't see the point.
Thanks for watching Joe. You would need an equatorial goto mount and autoguiding for deep sky astrophotography. I've wrote a blog on this, perhaps interesting for you: astroforumspace.com/best-mount-to-start-astrophotography/ thanks for watching.
I just watched your live feed and took your recommendation for upgrading mount.. Gonna watch and I’ll see which ones I can afford.
Great Rick, I've also made a more recent video: ua-cam.com/video/8SNDKN_GtRA/v-deo.html Let me know if you have any further questions
First of all thank you for you're effort and taking the time to make these videos'! The only tip I may have to adjust your sub frame to the top right or move the graph. Because your pic cuts out a lot of the information on the graph.
Thanks for the tip!
Actually, the current version of the HEQ 5 has the possibility to mount scopes with the Vixen-style dovetail and a bigger one (probably Losmandy) like the EQ6-R does.
Thanks Michael, good to know.
Im running the star adventurer, with the MgenIII, 30mm guidescoe, a 400mm lens and apsc sensor camera. Im thinking about buying a HEQ-5 or EQ5 or EQM-35, because i would love to upgrade my gear with an apochromatic refractor of 400mm and a 2nd with ~1000mm.
Thanks Tom! Maybe the heq5 as it would also support larger/heavier refractors...? Good luck with your decision.
Great Video!
What are your thoughts on the Explore Scientific EXOS2-GT EQ mount? I was saving money for an HEQ5, but they've recently gone up in price another $200. So I've been thinking about getting the EXOS2-GT instead. It's got about the same payload capacity as the HEQ5, and the price runs around $999 USD. It's also Wifi and Bluetooth enabled.
Hi there, the EXOS2-GT is definitely a nice mount. I have a newer video where i also discuss the EXOS2 (about 19 minutes into the video), and other mounts. Check: ua-cam.com/video/8SNDKN_GtRA/v-deo.html Hope this helps! Clear skies.
I bought an Explore Scientific EXOS2_PMC8 as a lightweight alternative to my NEQ6-Pro... good mount for the money (£780 from Rother valley optics) belt driven and easily carries about 30lbs (approx 13.5kg) no handset but it is wifi and controlled from a tablet or computer
I'll take this mount into account when I do another comparison. Thanks!
Excellent, excellent video! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks so much for sharing, very helpful information. Great channel, I’ve got plenty of questions about picking out the best gear to get into starting Astrophotography.
Glad it was helpful! I have a website as well with lots of blogs and videos, perhaps useful: www.astroforumspace.com Clear skies!
Great Video for Astrophotography!
Very nice video. You are very thorough and cover a lot of what I was wondering about 😊
But one question concidering this. I have a small star tracker for my DSLR, and that works well for wide angle lenses, but for deep space, it’s not accurate enough. So lately I’ve been thinking more and more about purchacing a telescope, but my budget can’t affird both a telescope mount and a telescope at the same time. Do I get the telescope first to take short time frame images, or do I get the mount first, and for now use it as a star tracker/mount for my DSLR?
If I needed to make that choice I would buy a mount first. There's nothing that beats accurate tracking. Good luck, clear skies!
My setup. Im a beginner. Redcat 51, skywatcher Eq 35 mount. Canon rebel T7i dslr. My mount shows up in 3 days. gathering all info i can. Ty fur great videos.
Sounds good especially with your widefield setup. Let me know how it turns out. Thanks and clear skies!
I'm thinking about getting the celestron VX advanced mount for astrophotography
Nice video, lots of info.....thanks. However, this stuff seems a bit expensive for a beginner. My gear is fully manual (although I do have a motor drive). It was very affordable (tip #5). I have been using it for a few years and I am ready to move up to a mount such as what you are describing, so again thanks for the info.
But, if I were faced with these prices at the beginning, I would never have gotten into it. I wish you would give more info on beginner gear that doesn't break the bank. :-)
Show me a mount with which you can take a good quality deepsky astrophotography picture through your telescope that costs less and I'll review it :-). I don't want people to get the impression that low cost mounts will get them great photos of deepsky objects, especially the dimmer nebulae require multi minute tracking...
Thank you for the valuable information. I am getting into visual with an old 114mm newt (I plan on building a small dob mount as the tripod is very shaky) and I am considering what my next step might be. I am still considering SCT or maybe a triple - but I think in any case I will spend a fair amount on the mount. Maybe an AVX or HEQ5 or possibly a CGEM-II or HEQ6 - so I can upgrade / add a larger scope later and not have to re-invest in a mount. In any case, your videos are very informative!
Thank you and very informative. My decision is between the Celestron AVX mount and the SW HEQ5 Pro. What is also very key for me, but you didn't so much cover it here, is the software side. How does Celestron's Skyportal goto app compare to SW's Skyscan app? How easy do the apps make it to do star alignment and polar alignment? And how easy is it to do software/firmware updates for both mounts and hand controllers etc? (eg have heard Celestron's equipment is a nightmare to update). Any pointers or any links you can share on this? Thanks!
Very well crafted video, worth a sub I reckon :)
Thanks "Do it Yourself" Astro :-)
I just started and I found an ed72 skywatcher and I’m just lookin for a good mount to go with
The HEQ5 Pro has USB type B now on the handset. The same with the EQM35 and the new EQ6 r has it right on the mount itself. This was true going back to at least last year.
Hi there. I'm very new to astronomy. Can I mount my Sky-watcher optical tube (a Sky-Watcher 8" Flextube 200P Collapsible) on any brand of equatorial mount (I'm considering the Meade LX85), or can it only go on a Skywatcher EQ mount?
Hi Kevin, if I'm correct you have a dobsonian mount...in that case I think you would need some tube rings and a dovetail, and an EQ mount ofcourse :-).
@@AstroForumSpace Thank you!
Best go to computerized mount I can do everything from inside for less than $800 used
ew also best website to buy gear
Let's hope things get more standardized. I get headaches searching for compatible mounts and those that will support the extra weight of a camera and guiding system.
Thanks for watching Derbezace. This overview is the best I could come up with :-). What's your total weight? I have a blog on intermediate mounts that can carry a higher payload capacity, perhaps useful: astroforumspace.com/best-advanced-telescope-mount-for-astrophotography-in-2020/ good luck!
I only got an one Celestron 102mm Omni XLT OTA order which weight about 9.5lbs. I have already figured on an Orion Astroview with the 20lbs max addon weight or the Skip to the beginning of the images gallery
Celestron Omni CG-4 German Equatorial Mount with the same stats. I wear glasses, my left eye being my clearer and stronger eye so I take off my glasses to avoid any dark wobbles using high power lower relief eyepieces. I am look at many how-to astronomy videos on UA-cam, for example Ed Ting's Channel and Astobiscuit's channel. Thank you.
I love the patina on your guide scope ;) Matches the patina on my dovetail
Hi again. Another stupid question possibly, I'm considering buying the equatorial wedge for my Nexstar6 as I'm very aware of the limitations caused by the mount being AltAz only, would I be better putting the money towards a complete mount or does the addition of the wedge make an acceptable mount? I'm very happy with it's goto performance and it appears to track quite accurately.
Hi Alan, I'm on the fence about this myself....I would advise you to buy a good quality EQ mount if you'll be able to spend some time on learning how to set it up, autoguide, and so on. I completely understand your urge to buy a wedge, alt-az mounts are so nice and easy to setup. But the EQ mount will probably beat it in terms of guiding accuracy, and you can use it in combination with a guidescope to improve the tracking even further. Good luck making a decision.
I just ordered the iEXOS-100 PMC-8 for a grab and go setup.
Have fun!
Awesome information....can you please also review ioptron GEM 28..its a new launch and cannt find any videos on it...please compare it with orion sirius eq-g mount
Hi Manish, I could take a look at the specs, thanks for informing me about this new option.
@@AstroForumSpace thanks for reply mate
Here is the link :- www.ioptron.com/product-p/g281a3.htm
I am struggling to purchase Orion Sirius in India because of custom issues and it's out of stock. Please advise if this would be a compariable consideration.
You said the rule of thumb for payload was 50-60%. But then your recommendation mounts are all about 100% or advertised payload. It seems you have to sacrifice stability for price but you didn't mention this point.
Hi Wido, I remember seeing a video of you with an upgraded Skywatcher mount.. maybe EQ6 pro? Anyhow my question is do you set up and dismantle your set up at end of each session or do you keep your mount outside?
If you do keep it as a permanent set up.. how do you protect the mount and tripod?
Yes, I do dismantle my gear after every session. If it's dry you can cover your telescope with a sun cover bag or similar for a couple of days. Hope this helps!
@@AstroForumSpace I'd be worried about the latches rusting on the Tripod legs.. I saw a video of one guy putting a dustbin over the mount first. His was on a pedestal though. So the legs do you cover them too?
@@AstroForumSpace Before I pay out for a mono camera I have been trying to stack multiple days data together using my OSC camera looking at M101.
Combining two sessions data was not that successful.
Wido, as you promote using a mono camera how do you sucessfully stack multiple nights data? Your weather is as unpredicatable as here in UK so was wondering how you manage getting all the filters done, before clouds roll in?
Hi, thank you for your video! This is Miguel, observing from Eindhoven. I´m using an Advanced VX and I´m very happy using it for planetary tracking, but for deep sky I´m having some trouble (consider I use 2000mm focal, so a bit high magnification). Tracking overall is good, but the image keeps oscillating back and forth in the field of view. From what you say, an autoguider should help on that. Do you really get about 1 arc second of accuracy while tracking with your AVX? That is really small!
Hi there, yes, a guide scope with an extra camera will definitely help to improve your tracking accuracy. You can use PHD2 software. Keep in mind that the max payload capacity of the AVX is 10kg, and for Astrophotography it's generally
@@AstroForumSpace Thanks! Very useful. The Schmidt Cassegrain on the AVX is pretty good for planets. For DSO, indeed, either upgrade the mount... or get a lighter telescope! ;)
I love your videos. Recently I have got a Bresser EXOS-2 Goto mount. I believe it is with the same specs as Skywatcher EQ5. What is your review on it?
I have a question: from my balcony I see only the south sky (although I am at the northern hemisphere) so I can't do polar alignment. Can I still take a mulitple-minutes exposure photos using guiding? From what I understand guiding is tracking based on my specific star and it has nothing to do with Polaris. Right?
Yes and no. The better your polar alignment is, the less your mount has to correct for alignment errors. What you can do is perform a rough polar alignment by using a compass and putting your mount to the correct latitude position. After that, slew to your first target and use the alt/az screws on your mount if possible to get the target in view. Another option is to perform a drift alignment procedure. Good luck!
Nice video!
You can go a long way with good results with a more simple and cheaper equipment, for starting you don’t really need goto functionality or autoguiding; less investment simpler to set up and make everything work…in my opinion
I have a Celestron CG4, which is the equivalent to the EQ3-2 of Synta. Would you recomend to buy the RA/Dec Motor drive? Or is it better to get a AVX for a 150/750 Newtonian?
Hi Daniel, I'm not familiar with the RA/DEC motor drive. I heard that the EQ3-2 can guide a lightweight setup < 5 kg. If you are planning to buy a heavier telescope/camera/guidescope combination, I would go for the AVX or HEQ5....or when you are willing to spend a bit more, the EQ6R pro or other related mounts. Those mounts are also heavier and less portable (see: ua-cam.com/video/hlOn9rDVPes/v-deo.html). Good luck!
First mount celestron advance GT mount works great for years but started to have problems with the slewing had to replace the motors .but I don't really use it now I use HEQ5 Pro
Advance GT, interesting. Was this a predesessor of the AVX?
@@AstroForumSpace yes the AVX is the upgrade .but I wouldn't tell anyone to buy a advance GT now because I think they are discontinued
Just starting, have a 114mm go-to telescope, no camera just visual/eyes
Great way to start,I had a similar setup at first. Let me know when you're ready for astrophotography and need some info :-). Clear skies!
super leuke videos!!
ik wil graag starten met de evostar 80 ed maar twijfel tussen skwywatcher eq 35m en de eq5.. tips?
Hoi Kees, dank je. Ik wil je niet op kosten jagen, maar ik zou voor een AVX. Of HEQ5 gaan als je serieus aan astrografie wil gaan doen. Misschien kan het ook met de eqm 35 pro... Punt is dat je volgmontering redelijk wat gewicht moet kunnen dragen en de sterren precies genoeg moet volgen voor een deepsky foto met lange sluitertijd. Anders krijg je ovale sterren en onscherpe foto's. Voor visueel kijken en planetaire foto's zijn de door jou genoemde monteringen zeker voldoende. Succes met de keuze!
Can I ask you about the lowest budget mounts? I want to start only with a camera with tele photo lens. What is your opinion about trackers like the skywatcher sky adventurer? It cost 400€, but tracks only the dec axis. Worth it to buy the Skywatcher EQ3 Pro SyncScan Goto (575€)?
Hi there, you may want to ask yourself if - at some point in time - you want to upgrade to a telescope. If that is the case, it may be worth it to spend a bit more money to buy a beginner level astrophotography mount that is able to carry telescopes. You can find my blog and video on beginner level mounts here: astroforumspace.com/best-affordable-telescope-to-start-astrophotography-in-2020/ The Skywatcher Star Adventurer is a good choice if you're not looking for such an upgrade in the future and just want to engage in widefield astrophotography. There are some good deals at OPT (USA): bit.ly/2EJJna3 and Astroshop (EU): bit.ly/32JXuoa. Good luck, let me know what you decide :-).
Currently I have Skywatcher Star Adventurer Pro 2i.
My main subject of interest is solar imaging, but I would also like to expand into deep sky.
Is there a mount which you would recommend?
Hi Sai, what's your budget? I have this v/blog where I discuss beginner ap mounts: astroforumspace.com/best-telescope-mount-to-start-astrophotography-in-2021/
@@AstroForumSpace Probably around $1500. Also, if I was only going to image the sun using lucky imaging, would that mean an AZ mount would be suffient?
I started with a skywatcher EQ5 with dual axis motors. So no Goto.
I had al lot of fun with it learning the night sky visually but then i started trying astrophotography with 30 second exposures.
because i got frustrated after a while for dumping to much frames I eventually bought a HEQ5.
in hindsight i should have invested in a HEQ5 from the start as i knew is was going to hook up a camera to it at some time and it has more capabilities to upgrade later on, such as autoguiding which I now got it into a few months ago.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Remco and have fun with the HEQ5. Clear skies (we need it desperately in NL)
@@AstroForumSpace indeed. I have not been imaging since january. :(
Setting it up on the roof during lockdown is too risky?
; )
@@mikeries8549 my roof is almost at the inclination of my latitude. So An Alt AZ mount would do right? ;)
Skies have cleared op the last month.
CS, Remco
Just a correction. Smith Cass.... s.b. Schmidt Cass...
Yes,my apologies!
good job, very helpful, thanks !!!
For me, the real question will be between the CEM26p and the EQM35, which one will provide the best tracking accuracy
If you have any information on this, I would appreciate
Skywatcher Eq 35 mount i ordered and will be getting in a couple days.For my redcat 51. From what ive gathered its a good mount.
I'm tempted to say the ioptron has an advantage here as it is can carry a higher payload... But check with other cem26p users to be sure. In general, I think the mount will be able to track within 1-2 arcseconds when also using pec and autoguiding
@@AstroForumSpace Thanks! I have finally purchased the CEM25P based on this. It is noted it is found 100 cheaper on UK astroshops as the Pound just took a sharp drop
got an old lx200 10" from my grandpa then i started to realize that this scope isnt very beginner friendly xD i went for a used EQ6 mount that i can use the 10" OTAwhen i get better right now im imaging wit a 130 PDS which is like nothing for the EQ6
the LX200 is interesting for planets though :-)
Hi I was looking at getting the Celestron cgx mount with a Celestron 9.25 edge hd scope. This is my first telescope purchase it's maybe overkill I'm not sure but I'd appreciate your advice on the matter. I'd also like something that I won't outgrow quickly and that is a good unit in case I don't use it much it will have good resale value.
Hi Grahm, sure. The CGX is a high end mount and the 925 edge hd is one of the most versatile telescopes I know. They have a good deal at optcorp: bit.ly/38AI5Lo. Take into consideration that the CGX is heavy, but if you're going to use it in the backyard it's not that big of an issue. It's a very reliable mount that tracks objects in the sky with great precision. The edge hd can be used for planetary imaging, and when you buy the 0.7 reducer it's also a good telescope for deep sky imaging. You can even turn it into a superfast F/2 with a hyperstar system. If this is your first scope, you'll probably need to go through several leaning curves, but hey, that makes it also challenging and fun. The edge hd telescopes are of good quality. I just bought the 8" Celestron edge HD 2 weeks ago. Didn't need any collimation or maintenance. I put it on my mount and got razorsharp images...I generally recommend people who start to buy a widefield apochromatic refractor. They produce widefield images and are easy to use. However, if you also want to do decent planetary imaging, and if you have the money, go for it.