SingAstro

Hi guys,

I'm very new to astronomy, I've just purchased a Celestron C5 scope. After reading up on mounts, I've decided to go for a AZ GoTo mount. The only problem i have is that i cant seem to find a suitable mount for my C5, I'm looking for a lightweight mount since my setup is very light. My main aim is view plantets and a little astrophotography. Can someone please recommend me what brands do i look out for and if possible where can i purchase it in Singapore.

Equipment I'm using.
Celestron C5 Finder scope
Canon DSLR 500D

Thanks in advance!! =)

Astrophotography with AZ is kind of hard. you cant do long exposure, u might want to rethink and get a EQ. Maybe the APers can help u with some more tips.

Hmm i guess i dont mind going for an EQ mount. Is there an EQ mount that is light and portable and has a GoTo feature? How does one polar align an EQ mount in singapore when i cant even find the north star polaris?

Hello and welcome!
C5 is a reasonably light scope and many Goto Alt-az mounts will handle the C5, although it'll be at the limit for some of the lighter duty ones.
Celestron's own Nexstar mounts are reasonable alternatives and I personally use a 5' Mak (similar but heavier than your C5) on a Skyprodigy which works very well indeed.
As bornfree has stated though - Alt-Az is not suitable for deep-sky astrophotography because it does not rotate with the sky - it only tracks in up/down, left/right. An equatorial mount does this and is the kind of mount recommended for long exposure astrophotography. however an alt-az can easily be used for planetary photography. This is because for planets you'll be using very short exposures (usually less than 1/10sec) and stacking all the frames (sometimes thousands!).

As for light, reasonably priced EQ mounts, they range in price and weight and it'll be worth your while to check them out. ioptron seems to have a line of decently priced, decently performing mounts. I personally use a Vixen SXD and while not as cheap, is light and carries a decent payload. Do check though that any EQ mount you decide to buy can angle down to 0 deg - because Singapore is on the equator! Most of the older designs may not allow you to adjust down to 0deg.

Forget about EQ mounts, just get a Manfrotto 410 head with any camera tripod you like. Manfrotto 055 is a decent choice, other options includes those cheap china CF tripods, or the very expensive gitzos.

Thanks guys for all the informations, I've managed to get a Nexstar SE4/5 mount from the retail at science centre. Probably in future when im more experienced like u guys, then i will consider getting an EQ just for imaging.
By the way, lets say i plan to image orion nebula, using my C5(f/6.3) on a AZ goto, what should be my exposures per picture? My DSLR supports up to 3200iso. But i guess i will be using 800iso just so i get lesser noise.

The ISO setting is simply the electronic boost given to the signal. As long as clipping (blown highlights) does not occur, it does not matter what ISO you use. The fundamental rule of thumb is to have your shutter open for as long as possible before your stars begin to trail. This is why EQ mounts are a near necessity to do decent astrophotography - equatorial mountings, in general, are mechanically superior in this sense as only one axis is turned during tracking, and at a constant speed. Of course, this should not stop you in trying your hand in doing prime focus imaging with a goto AZ mount, but you will need to be well aware of its limitations if you are intending to do deep sky imaging.

That said, this will not be a problem if you are shooting planets.

If you decide to get an EQ mount, polar alignment will be done using the drift alignment method. Essentially, after a rough compass alignment to the north, you will need to slew the telescope to two stars, one near the meridian and the other near the east or west horizon. The movement of the star in declination will be observed and compensated for by adjusting the latitude and azimuth controls on the mount. I'm pretty sure that if you decide to try your hand in this, many of the folks here will be willing to help =)

Clear skies

Thanks alot Ivan, for all the informations you provided.

I've purchased a Nexstar SE4/5 Mount. And yea, AZ mount is hard to do long exposures, I'm okay with that, as most of the time i do visual.
I have a issue with my mount tho, when i try to attach my DSLR camera to my telescope, and try to take pictures that is in zenith. The entire setup is too long that the dslr actually hits the bottom of my fork mount, so im like crippled, only able to go up to like 70 degree. Any advise on this?