Posts Made By: Chris Jett

Hello All,

I've been looking at purchasing a mount from B&H due to the fact that I can save on tax and get free shipping from them. In particular I am trying to decide between the Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 Alt-Az ($2,195) and the Sky-Watcher EQ6-R ($1,649). I think B&H might even have a lower price on the AZ-EQ6 right now, which would bring them closer in price. For a few hundred dollars, I am willing to spend more on the AZ-EQ6, but I am trying to figure out if I even need it.

At this point I should mention that I am a newbie at this. From what I've read, the EQ6-R is perfectly fine for astrophotography, which is my primary intention and the AZ-EQ6 is similar and can hold a bit more weight. I have a William Optics GT81 IV and knowing me, I will eventually get a larger scope. Right now I will be attaching a Sony a6400 or a Sony a7RIV camera to the scope via an adapter, but I know that I will eventually get a CCD camera and the whole setup, which means more weight.

Before you ask, I will do some celestial viewing, rather than astrophotography, but I would say it will be 80-85% used for photography.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I want to make sure that I spend my money wisely.

Thank you in advance!

Thank you very much for your insight Greg. I am hearing that I probably should step up to the AZ-EQ6 just for the fact that I will occasionally be using it for celestial viewing, although the majority of the time I will be using it for Astrophotography. The additional price does not bother me much, because as a photographer, I understand the importance of a good tripod/mount. 

Chris

Hello All,

I am a total newbie at this and need some help. I recently purchased a GT81 IV primarily so that I could mount my Sony a6400 digital camera to it and take photos of the moon. This is my first venture in to astrophotography and the moon is my first goal. I do hope to eventually get into deep space imaging, but the moon will do for now. I have had great success using a Sony 200-400 lens, and I was hoping the GT81 IV would get me closer and give me superior images. Second to photography is to use this as a viewing telescope, although I can estimate that about 85% of the time it will be for imaging.

My first attempt at shooting the moon last night did not work well at all. No matter how much I tried to focus the scope - all the way in, or all the way out, I just got a blurry image - I could not get the moon into focus at all. From what I have read, my camera may not have been mounted correctly and as a result is not at the optimum distance.

I purchased this adapter for my camera:
https://www.highpointscientific.com/apertura-48mm-sony-e-t-ring-adapter-sony48?fbclid=IwAR34g5ap7yjAIsh1Vj7nszVNUebuzor1WrlfTuXCDwF9xZG64ukM-JPQpNw

Finding that that adapter could not just plug in to the camera, I purchased a 2” to M480.75 adapter:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QV8RNB8?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details&fbclid=IwAR0wYQqCx6xj0NMU6gsRZMTqADnVOBgeBAXuQghY--bXbtSaUKj2hcjGt-Y

Put together these two fit in the telescope just fine, but again, I could get nothing but blur.

I also have a Flat6AIII, but I think I had to remove that to get the camera adapters into the scope.

With a failed attempt at photography, I decided to try use the scope for visual imaging.

I have this diagonal to mount the eyepiece:
https://www.highpointscientific.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=APT-d2cf&fbclid=IwAR0wYQqCx6xj0NMU6gsRZMTqADnVOBgeBAXuQghY--bXbtSaUKj2hcjGt-Y

And I have this eyepiece:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1406271-REG/alpine_astronomical_hyp_zoom_hyperion_8_24_mm_click.html?fbclid=IwAR3q0-pn_hO-x8mKU1aftyXDaDUqmtDJ7QZTDEI2_hyRdpeSnwrAU9nLfkM

Here too, I could not get any image of the moon. I got absolutely no light from the moon coming through the eyepiece, and yes, I did have the lens hood removed.

The telescope did not come with an instruction manual, nor could I find one online. I’ve been trying to find simple YouTube videos, but they all start at a level beyond where I am. I just need the simplest instructions for now. Again, my goal is to be able to photograph the moon and to be able to use it for visual viewing. Once I can get past this step, I’ll buy higher end cameras and EQ mounts.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hello All,

I am a total newbie at this and need some help. I recently purchased a GT81 IV primarily so that I could mount my Sony a6400 digital camera to it and take photos of the moon. This is my first venture in to astrophotography and the moon is my first goal. I do hope to eventually get into deep space imaging, but the moon will do for now. I have had great success using a Sony 200-400 lens, and I was hoping the GT81 IV would get me closer and give me superior images. Second to photography is to use this as a viewing telescope, although I can estimate that about 85% of the time it will be for imaging.

My first attempt at shooting the moon last night did not work well at all. No matter how much I tried to focus the scope - all the way in, or all the way out, I just got a blurry image - I could not get the moon into focus at all. From what I have read, my camera may not have been mounted correctly and as a result is not at the optimum distance.

I purchased this adapter for my camera:
https://www.highpointscientific.com/apertura-48mm-sony-e-t-ring-adapter-sony48?fbclid=IwAR34g5ap7yjAIsh1Vj7nszVNUebuzor1WrlfTuXCDwF9xZG64ukM-JPQpNw

Finding that that adapter could not just plug in to the camera, I purchased a 2” to M480.75 adapter:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QV8RNB8?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details&fbclid=IwAR0wYQqCx6xj0NMU6gsRZMTqADnVOBgeBAXuQghY--bXbtSaUKj2hcjGt-Y

Put together these two fit in the telescope just fine, but again, I could get nothing but blur.

I also have a Flat6AIII, but I think I had to remove that to get the camera adapters into the scope.

With a failed attempt at photography, I decided to try use the scope for visual imaging.

I have this diagonal to mount the eyepiece:
https://www.highpointscientific.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=APT-d2cf&fbclid=IwAR0wYQqCx6xj0NMU6gsRZMTqADnVOBgeBAXuQghY--bXbtSaUKj2hcjGt-Y

And I have this eyepiece:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1406271-REG/alpine_astronomical_hyp_zoom_hyperion_8_24_mm_click.html?fbclid=IwAR3q0-pn_hO-x8mKU1aftyXDaDUqmtDJ7QZTDEI2_hyRdpeSnwrAU9nLfkM

Here too, I could not get any image of the moon. I got absolutely no light from the moon coming through the eyepiece, and yes, I did have the lens hood removed.

The telescope did not come with an instruction manual, nor could I find one online. I’ve been trying to find simple YouTube videos, but they all start at a level beyond where I am. I just need the simplest instructions for now. Again, my goal is to be able to photograph the moon and to be able to use it for visual viewing. Once I can get past this step, I’ll buy higher end cameras and EQ mounts.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.