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Orion Atlas aka EQ6 vs CGE or GM-11

Started by entatty, 08/09/2006 05:17PM
Posted 08/09/2006 05:17PM Opening Post
What am I giving up if I get a goto version of the EQ6 from Orion versus the GM-11 or CGE or other mounts costing more than $1500 and less than $4000. Saving $1500 is very appealing.

I have a C9.25 and DSLR so I'm going to try some astrophotography, but not real difficult stuff and also use it visually and for star parties.

Entatty, my first post
Posted 08/09/2006 05:44PM #1
Everyone always wants to scrimp on the mounting and put most of their money into the optics. For astrophotography, the mount is the single most important item. If you shoot with a long focus SCT like your C9.25, you will want a mount with smooth periodic error. Otherwise you will not be able to make use of the resolution capabilities of the scope.

When I say smooth, I don't necessarily mean low. Smooth means a mount where the peiodic error does not vary rapidly over a short time period, i.e. 5 - 10 arc sec or more error over a period of 10 - 30 seconds. These kind of errors are virtually impossible to compensate with PEC, and they really affect autoguiding. With the C9.25 you will capture errors on the order of 1-2 arc seconds, so your mount should be able to track smoothly for short periods of time to that accuracy.

Rolando
Posted 08/09/2006 06:11PM | Edited 08/09/2006 06:23PM #2
Andrew, if you can afford the G-11, go with it... it is a PROVEN imaging platform, while the others are not... (or at least NOT popular)

The CGE is also very nice, but I have NOT seen much from it, specially for astrophotography... so I cannot vouch for it. (hopefully others will chime in)

Maybe a GM-8 would also be a good option, if you don't want to get too serious, but still have some decent capabilities, compared to other "lower-priced" mounts.

All the others will be fine for visual, or some very casual shooting, but nothing really serious...

As Roland said... the mount is THE MOST important part of the imaging system... 8)

Ivan Gastaldo 8)
Coconut Creek, FL

Ivan's Observatory
Lat 26N 16' 48" Long 80W 10' 48"
[COLOR="Red"]Personal Website:[/COLOR] http://www.ivangastaldo.com

CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky - Moderator
I like to complain about everything - Moderator
Posted 08/13/2006 01:47AM #3
I've tried the CG-5, CGE and now have a G11. I know the Atlas is comparable to the CG-5, but haven't seen one in operation.

Each mount and I mean EACH MOUNT has its issues. The CG-5 can't hold much weight and in my opinion, is best used for visual. I know, those using it for imaging are saying bull.

There is a forum for the CGE where all have gone to great lengths to replace the gears in the motors for better tracking. I was going to go this way, but after trying a CGE for a day and night, I realized the fit and finish of this fine mount may not hold up over years of normal use. I didn't want to have to baby it and be oh so careful to not dink the paint. Again, others will say bull, my normal disclaimer these days.

I settled for the G11. I still stop and look at the mount before a session because I love the machine work and the plating. I'm a journeyman machinist and this means allot to me. However, the mount also suffers from some stupid issues for PEC and the worm bearing block bores are not very round clinking the bearings and this has to be fixed for serious astrophotography. This is much easier to do than changing gears in the CGE. Many just buy a reamer for this and make the hole round. I'll be making new blocks out of stainless with a means of aligning them square to each other so they don't bind.

Ok, I'm still just a visual guy. My co-astronomer buddie is an astrophotographer. He has the same G11 mount that I have. He's done all of the improvements and his tracking is now in the noise. If you get the GOTO version, you get the precision worm and servo motors.

I agree with Roland. The mount is the most important purchase for those wishing to do astrophotography. Might as well buck up once. I feel your pain. I plan on doing astrophotography when I win the Lotto and can afford an SBIG camera.

Right now I'm just enjoying the stars, Mano e Mano or however it's spelled.

Money is always a factor with any hobby and some can't get to where they wish to be. I do know that the Meade mount LXD75 has a broad following and many fixes to get you where you may want to be for your first go around with this. I spent allot of time looking at this mount before I went the more spendy route. We have a CG-5 at work for field tests and I can't say I would endorse this item for your purposes.