Need some advice

I was wondering if anybody could give me some advice on mounts capable of being used for imaging.

With a scope 31 inches long and that weighs with accessories about 15 lbs would any of these mounts be adequate:

Celestron CG5-ASGT

Meade lxd 75

Orion Skyview pro with GOTO?

Thanks for any input on this.

Gary

Are we talking Planetary or Deep Sky Imaging?

For Deepsky, I would not recommend any of these... you'll need a beefier/steadier mount, like a GM8, Atlas or G11.
For Planetary, sure, they should be fine, as you'll be shooting hundreds/thousands of frames of a fraction of a second.

Hello.


I’ve used the LXD-75 for about 2.5 years now and I can say all my experiences with it have been very positive. GOTOs are always in the FOV, with many dead center (when properly polar aligned), and tracking is very good too. I’ve used a variety of scopes on it visually such as an Intes M703 @ 20 lbs with accessories, APM-130 CNC II at about 23 lbs with accessories, and my 80mm Super APO which is a rock solid combination. For visual the APM-130 was acceptable with about 1.5~2 seconds of vibration when focusing or touching the scope, but if did a good job overall. The mount would not do a good job imaging with the APM-130 as it’s just too heavy.

As for imaging, I’ve used the mount countless times with my SAPO and the results have always been satisfying. I was able to shoot just over 1 minute without guiding. With guiding I’m sure it would be capable of longer durations, but I’ve not attempted this.

You will need to do a very good job at programming the PEC as the mount does have noticeable errors. This is the single, most significant enhancement you can easily make so take you time and do the best you can. I'm sure the other mounts you've noted will require the same.

Remember, I am shooting with an 80mm F6 (480mm) at prime focus, so the FOV is very wide and very forgiving. With my Canon 300D the image scale is 3.18 arc-seconds per pixel, very forgiving. If you plan to shoot at a much lower image scale any errors will be magnified, or if using a heavier telescope it may introduce unwanted vibration.

Also, I recommend that you keep the total weight down to about 50~60% of the mounts capacity when imaging.

Overall, the mount is a solid performer, and considering it’s price, it’s a great bargain, but like any mount you need to stay within its limits.

Hope this helps.

R,

Joe