Back in the Game – My New Mount!
This post talks about upgrading from a Celestron CG-5 astrophotography mount to the Sky-Watcher HEQ5. I have been using the Sky-Watcher mount ever since with over 5 years of successful deep sky imaging under its belt!
My New Mount
Sky-Watcher Astrophotography Mount
NGC 7000: Imaged Monday, June 3, 2013.
32 subs 5 Minutes Each totoaling 2 Hours 40 Minutes
The above image was taken using my old mount last Monday. After fighting with it for over an hour (mount shutting off, restarting, re-aligning 3 times!) I finally got it to work for one more night!
I am officially back in the saddle again! My Celestron CG-5 issues had me a tad depressed about missing imaging time through the absolute best time of year. After the CG-5 was fixed in April, it quickly began acting up again, and shutting off in the middle of in the middle of my imaging sessions. I realized that I had to replace my aging “starter mount” fast!
After doing hours of research online (forums, vendor sites, blogs) I decided I was going to spring for an Orion Sirus EQ-G. It is a modest mount, but still quite expensive for my limited astro-budget. But before I put the order in, I checked Astrobuysell.ca. Wouldn’t you know it, there was a Skywatcher HEQ-5 Pro Synscan GPS for sale in my area!
The HEQ-5 has a stellar reputation in the astrophotography community. Everything I have read about this mount has been positive. The mount is rated to carry a 40lb payload! It is so much heavier and solid than my Celestron. I can’t wait to bring it to my dark sky site and spend a night imaging with it!
View my current deep sky astrophotography equipment.
You can also have a look at the Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro Synscan with my refractor telescope mounted to it in the following video. This should give you a better idea of whats involved with a typical deep sky astrophotography telescope setup.
