Astrophotography Telescope €1500 max

vixdname

Hi there,

Ive been using a pair of 10 X 50 Binos on a tripod and attached my. S10 plus to get some images of the Millyway and the Moon.

I had an old Meade 70 ETX which broken on me a few days ago also and Im now ij the market for a deepspace photography enabled scope with a EQ mount.

I was looking at an Celestron Evostar 6SE but then saw it didnt have an EQ mount and was more for planets than nebulae and galaxies.

Im now completely void of ideas for a scope up to a max price of €1500 with an EQ mount included.

If anyone can please recommend a scope for my use with the EQ mount Id be forever grateful !

Popoutman

If serious about astrophotography, realise that it's likely to be a money sink, filled with frustration in Irish weather, punctuated with lovely highlights of a half-successful image.

Some golden rules:
Absolute minimum: get the absolute best mount you can afford.
Then think about a scope.

Start with something like this for a mount: https://ktectelescopes.ie/Mounts/Skywatcher-Mounts/Skywatcher-HEQ5-PRO-SynScan.html
Anything smaller/lighter will without doubt cause you more frustration. Yes, others have gotten good results from lower quality mounts, but they either persevered with the frustrations, or have high skill levels from lots of experience working with the like. That's ~€950

Then something moderately basic like this for a scope:
https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p7169_TS-Optics-ED-APO-80-mm-f-7-Refractor-with-2-5--R-P-focuser.html at about ~450

Then you've got to think about guiding (unless you have a well aligned €10,000 mount you'll need to autoguide):
This setup will get you guiding well enough: https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p10291_TS-Optics-Guiding-Set-50-mm-Guide-Scope-and-ASI120MM-Mini-guiding-camera.html at ~€270

And then you can think about the imaging device, you can use an SLR and take 30 second frames, and get decent results; or get a dedicated sensor device and they go from €500 to €lots.

At least the basic image processing software is free (deepskystacker, Gimp, paint.net)

With the above you'll have a significant head start on the version of you that gets a substandard mount and having problems with guiding, flexure, dew, slipping clutches etc. (Do I sound a little bitter If I went back, I'd start with the above first.)

Also don't be afraid to look up the classifieds, (examples here: http://astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?minprice=0&maxprice=10E15&cur_page=0&sort=id+DESC) as there's generally setups similar to the above available secondhand that would suit your beginnings in that part of the hobby.

I don't mean to sound as though I'm overcomplicating things, but it is an endeavour that can give huge reward at the cost of huge frustrations at times, and going in eyes-open is better than being surprised.

Also check this Youtube channel for more advice: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn3npsPixgoi_xLdCg9J-LQ/videos

raf2020

Hey mate,

After ~2 months of researches I have decided for SW Evostar 80 ED + HEQ5 Pro. Unfortunately is almost impossible to buy it new now so you might need look for 2nd hand. Good idea is to check frequently ABS (like Popoutman has advised) and SGL.

If you want I can provide you link where I have bought new heq5 pro but price is awful. ~1,1k. Still I have preferred to overpay a bit and have this advantage that I know it is new and has 2 years of warranty. Regarding the mount I was afraid a bit to buy it 2nd hand. People usually look after their equipment well but a lot of them keep their rigs in highly humid garages/arbors etc. Another indicator was that no one knows when heq5 will be available again in popular shops and what will be the price when it will arrive.

Thing is that is only a half of your expenses if you haven't nothing yet. It is good to get full frame DSLR or decent dedicated astro camera. Another expenses will be things like guide cam, light pollution filter (if you live in highly light polluted area), tons of cables and about 10 other minor things.

It is reasonable also to consider SWSA mount, DSLR + small apo scope or good lens. It will give you a mobility advantage if you need and should be cheaper. Not so precise like HEQ5 but still nice to start with.

I had a plan similar to yours. Not to spend more than 1,5k. I have finished with ~3k while almost a half of my rig is 2nd hand and I still buying something minor.

If you are ok to wait 3-4 weeks, you can also get some minor parts on aliexpress, but always check opinions about shops there first.

Cheers!