Telescope Reviews: Celestron VX mount

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GTBaker
member

Reged: 02/01/13

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: Alan S]
#5667755 - 02/07/13 07:58 PM

Do I need a OTA to use a mount like this for astrophotography?

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Ben B
member

Reged: 02/03/13

Loc: GA

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: Alan S]
#5667824 - 02/07/13 08:38 PM

Quote:

Cut a .25 inch off the altitude lock screw?

Just a thought...may be easier and cleaner that messing with the existing counterweight.

I thought about that as well and may end up doing that. My only hesitation was the screw has a nice rounded end as it comes from the factory and if I cut it then it would be a flat end - I wasn't sure if the rounded end was necessary for it to hold the altitude adjustment securely. I guess as long as I found something to cap the cut screw and give it a similar rounded shape cutting would work.

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Tanchistu
member

Reged: 01/04/12

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: GTBaker]
#5667842 - 02/07/13 08:52 PM

Quote:

Do I need a OTA to use a mount like this for astrophotography?

Hmm, I guess not. Since you asked this question, you don't need "whatever your definition of OTA is".

What do you plan to use instead of an OTA?
How do you define an OTA?

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GTBaker
member

Reged: 02/01/13

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: Tanchistu]
#5667853 - 02/07/13 08:58 PM

OTA is Optical Tube/Telescope Assembly.

I plan on just using my camera with my lenses.

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Tanchistu
member

Reged: 01/04/12

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: GTBaker]
#5667886 - 02/07/13 09:22 PM

Then sure you can.

But for using just your camera and lenses, you can get a smaller, lighter and cheaper mount, like SmartEQ Pro http://www.ioptron.com/index.cfm?select=productdetails&phid=6650b0b6-9767...

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EFT
Vendor - Deep Space Products

Reged: 05/07/07

Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: Tanchistu]
#5667899 - 02/07/13 09:30 PM

Quote:

:) Then sure you can.

But for using just your camera and lenses, you can get a smaller, lighter and cheaper mount, like SmartEQ Pro http://www.ioptron.com/index.cfm?select=productdetails&phid=6650b0b6-9767...

The VX will be of better general quality and give you the room to grow as well as the ability to handle fairly large lenses if you have them.

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GTBaker
member

Reged: 02/01/13

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: EFT]
#5667920 - 02/07/13 09:46 PM

I use a Canon 5D MKII with a Canon 70-200 2.8L, 300 2.8DO and a 400 5.6L. I did get the Vixen Polarie tracker but it wasn't up to snuff. The VX mount is a bit more for a more substantial platform.

The reason I asked is I've never seen it used like I want to.

Yes I do want to get a proper scope down the road but didn't want to dive right in as such. A Edge HD 8 is on my list.

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EFT
Vendor - Deep Space Products

Reged: 05/07/07

Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: GTBaker]
#5668053 - 02/07/13 10:59 PM

Quote:

I use a Canon 5D MKII with a Canon 70-200 2.8L, 300 2.8DO and a 400 5.6L. I did get the Vixen Polarie tracker but it wasn't up to snuff. The VX mount is a bit more for a more substantial platform.

The reason I asked is I've never seen it used like I want to.

Yes I do want to get a proper scope down the road but didn't want to dive right in as such. A Edge HD 8 is on my list.

I have had a few customers use their mounts (CG-5 and CGEM) for just a camera. All you need to do it get a dovetail and attach a camera mount to it. If you are going to use a long lens that has a mounting point, then you can attach both the camera and the lense to a longer dovetail.

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R L Harris
member

Reged: 01/31/13

Loc: Tecumseh, OK

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: EFT]
#5668195 - 02/08/13 12:34 AM

think about getting 8" newtonian on this mount have seen
great astro photos done with 8" newtonian on old cg5 mount
this mount should do as well if not better?

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: Tanchistu]
#5668520 - 02/08/13 09:05 AM

Quote:

:) Then sure you can.

But for using just your camera and lenses, you can get a smaller, lighter and cheaper mount, like SmartEQ Pro http://www.ioptron.com/index.cfm?select=productdetails&phid=6650b0b6-9767...

Which will be considerably less versatile, and will have poorer tracking.

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morecoffee
member

Reged: 02/06/13

Loc: USA

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: rmollise]
#5668668 - 02/08/13 10:30 AM

Ed Thomas
Deep Space Products,

will your hypertune service be available for the VX in the future? Thanks.

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EFT
Vendor - Deep Space Products

Reged: 05/07/07

Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: morecoffee]
#5668672 - 02/08/13 10:33 AM

Quote:

Ed Thomas
Deep Space Products,

will your hypertune service be available for the VX in the future? Thanks.

Yes. As soon as I get hold of one, I will have a better idea of what might be done, but in general, it should be the same as the CG-5. I will take one at any time.

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mpgxsvcd
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 12/21/11

Loc: Raleigh, North Carolina

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: R L Harris]
#5668674 - 02/08/13 10:34 AM

Quote:

think about getting 8" newtonian on this mount have seen
great astro photos done with 8" newtonian on old cg5 mount
this mount should do as well if not better?

I use the CG5 and 800mm F4.0 8 inch scope. I specifically chose the F4.0 scope so that I could image without guiding. It works but you REALLY have to be meticulous about everything(Polar Alignment, Alignment, and Balance) for it to work without guiding. However, when I do that I can get the sky to blow out even with dark skies and a strong LP filter before tracking errors become the issue.

The nice thing is that even if you can't get tracking alone to work well with your scope and a lower end mount like this then you can always add guiding later. My personal opinion is that you should learn how to get the most out of your tracking before you add guiding into the equation.

You don't want to add an extra component in the chain if you don't have to and good tracking always helps even if you are guiding.

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mpgxsvcd
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 12/21/11

Loc: Raleigh, North Carolina

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: rmollise]
#5668676 - 02/08/13 10:37 AM

Quote:

Quote:

:) Then sure you can.

But for using just your camera and lenses, you can get a smaller, lighter and cheaper mount, like SmartEQ Pro http://www.ioptron.com/index.cfm?select=productdetails&phid=6650b0b6-9767...

Which will be considerably less versatile, and will have poorer tracking.

That mount really isn't that much less than the brand new CG-5 was when I bought it for $619 last year. A used CG-5 looks like a screaming deal now with this VX out. The VX still looks like a great bargain as well.

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R L Harris
member

Reged: 01/31/13

Loc: Tecumseh, OK

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: mpgxsvcd]
#5668946 - 02/08/13 12:43 PM

I have been into amateur astronomy for 40 yrs
and have owned several scopes in my life
some I have built-know lot about old style heavy
eq mounts also worked @ celestron in early 80's
assemabling the old orange tube c-14

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munchmeister
super member

Reged: 04/04/12

Loc: Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: GTBaker]
#5669291 - 02/08/13 03:37 PM

Quote:

I use a Canon 5D MKII with a Canon 70-200 2.8L, 300 2.8DO and a 400 5.6L. I did get the Vixen Polarie tracker but it wasn't up to snuff. The VX mount is a bit more for a more substantial platform.

The reason I asked is I've never seen it used like I want to.

Yes I do want to get a proper scope down the road but didn't want to dive right in as such. A Edge HD 8 is on my list.

As noted above, all you need is a Vixen style mounting bar with a 1/4-20 hole in it, which most have, and you can then mount any DSLR with lense in place of a telescope. What you might have problems with is getting the go-to aligned. Most alignment procedures generally rely upon a scope with one of the steps being to center the star that the alignment procedure goes to, in the center of the eyepiece. Even with live view, without some kind of finderscope, you'll have a tough time, unless you are shooting a wide field view and just want to get in the general vicinity with your framing of the subject(s). Live view is almost worthless for finding your targets, IMHO. And unless your camera has an LCD that articulates upward to let you see it, you'll have to be on your knees most of the time trying to find something. You can add a computer to the mix, sending the camera view to the computer screen. This also lets you use some of the software that aids in focusing. Or, connect your mount to an iPad or iPod Touch and Sky Safari. Haven't tried that but it might work well.

If the Polarie was not "up to snuff" you might look into the Kenko Sky Memo tracker or the Losmandy StarLapse system, which are much beefier that the Polarie or the iOptron SkyTracker, the new kid on the block. The Kenko and StarLapse should handle much more weight but finding and framing your target(s) are still somewhat of a challenge (at least for me

) YMMV.

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GTBaker
member

Reged: 02/01/13

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: munchmeister]
#5669360 - 02/08/13 04:27 PM

Thanks. That's the exact info I need on the dovetail. I don't have an issue of looking at the LCD I just use a mirror. After using the Vixen I think I'm done with those type of trackers. I think I'll order my VX mount this weekend.

So to do an alignment I can pick any 2 bright stars far apart from each other?

Here is the only shot I was kinda of happy about out of the tracker. It was from my backyard and the LP was bad.

Larger size.

Camera...............Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Exposure.............15 secs
Aperture..............f/3.5
Focal Length........200 mm
ISO Speed...........640

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mpgxsvcd
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 12/21/11

Loc: Raleigh, North Carolina

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: munchmeister]
#5669366 - 02/08/13 04:31 PM

Quote:

Even with live view, without some kind of finderscope, you'll have a tough time, unless you are shooting a wide field view and just want to get in the general vicinity with your framing of the subject(s). Live view is almost worthless for finding your targets, IMHO. And unless your camera has an LCD that articulates upward to let you see it, you'll have to be on your knees most of the time trying to find something.

You should clarify that you are specifically speaking about the Canon live view. The live view with Micro Four Thirds Cameras can allow you to select the shutter duration of the live view.

For Panasonic cameras you can select anywhere from 1/1000th of second to 8 seconds for the live view. At ISO 12,800 that is plenty to see even some of the darker objects.

With the Olympus OMD EM5 you can select a specific shutter duration up to several minutes like a Malincam. You can also select intervals where it will show you periodic updates where it shows you the integral of what it has imaged so far. That is a great way to figure out where the sky back ground begins to over expose. You can set it to show you a live view update every two seconds and just stop it when the sky begins to bloom.

I know that Canon cameras have been considered to be the only DSLR cameras worthy of doing AP for a long time. That is starting to change now. There are other options out there.

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R L Harris
member

Reged: 01/31/13

Loc: Tecumseh, OK

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: mpgxsvcd]
#5669414 - 02/08/13 04:55 PM

Astro-Tech 8" AT8IN Imaging Newtonian
How do you like this scope and is push pull on rear cell
easy to use for collimation

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Joe Bergeron
Vendor - Space Art

Reged: 11/10/03

Loc: Upstate NY

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: mpgxsvcd]
#5669555 - 02/08/13 06:21 PM

Are Micro Four Thirds cameras actually usable for astrophotography these days? I have a Pen E-PL2 which, while a nice little camera, is absolutely swamped with noise and banding at exposures of 30 seconds and longer.

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