Telescope mount

[fizzy123]

Hmmm...... does tat mean I would either hav to use a focal reducer or use those series of wide angle plossl or even super wide angles? :idea:

[weixing]

Hi,
As what I mention above, you'll be able to see most object using standard plossl eyepiece. Don't spend your money on those expensive eyepiece first. Get a 50mm finder for finding DSO, a few plossl and a 2x barlow to give you a range of magnification and also a UHC filter to enhance the contrast of nebula. Once you have enough experience and save enough money, then go for those expensive eyepiece.

By the way, you should be able to get true FOV wider than 1.1 degree if you can find a suitable focal reducer, but you may introduce optical aberrations (such as coma) and also the image brightness may suffer a bit due to the extra lenses.

Have a nice day.

[MooEy]

i do not know much about slik tripods, but prolly any slik tripod lesser than $100, u can forget about those for a telescope, unless it's a toy scope.

most tripods above $150, exclusive of the head, should work fine. the manfrotto 055 which i am talking about weights roughly 2.4kg and is rated to carry a max load of 6.5kg. it would not bend under the weight of the scope, unlike ur most likely cheapo slik that can take maybe 50 grams the most.

the entire line of slik tripod comes with a pan tilt head, usually of poor quality, barely enough for photography use. for astronomy use, throw that as far as u can, dun let me see them.

a proper head would be the manfrotto 410. skip any other heads, this is the only head that actually works for astronomy. with proper slow motion control, and ability to hold the scope STILL.

if ur ready to jump into the manfrotto 410 + 055, be prepared to fork out about $400 and wait for 1-2 months for delivery. otherwise, the eq3 mount should be a gd choice. at only $250, hard to resist.

~MooEy~

[weixing]

Hi,
Wow! Your requirement is too high lah I quite like my SLIK PRO 400DX Tripod which is rate at 6kg.

Anyway, I personally don't like the manfrotto 410 head (that is why I use an EQ mount) because of three reason:
1) The "step" of the "slow motion control" is too large,
2) I need to hold the OTA while I engage the quick release (I can't get used to it), and
3) It can't be motorise to track objects (same as most AZ mount).

The above is just my personal preference, many people like to use the manfrotto 410 head and had been using it without any problems.

By the way, I think EQ3-2 mount is a better choice if you can handle the weight of it.

Have a nice day.

PS: This mount thing is highly depend on your personal preference... some people like EQ mount, AZ mount or manfrotto 410 head + tripod. If you can, try both type of mount and choose the one that you prefer and can handle it.