
Azgti, az-gtix, star adventurer
#1
Posted 05 February 2025 - 12:55 AM
I want the following fast and easy to use. I want it to track objects and also to be able to take a picture with my smartphone and smartphone holder of planets and some DSOs once in a while. I also have a svbony SC311 camera lying around that I would like to use. Both the svbony camera and smartphone holder work with the smartphone. Can I then still operate the azgti or gtix? Would like some tips and opinions? Don't have a telescope over 5kg.
#2
Posted 05 February 2025 - 02:31 AM
You can take halfway decent pictures of the Moon that way.
Planets, less so, because they are tiny and really need a large telescope.
DSO, less so, because they are REALLY dim. To get enough signal from the camera you need to track them VERY precisely over a long exposure. The inexpensive mounts you're talking about won't do that very well unless you add an autoguiding system to correct mount errors.
Imaging DSOs is many things. It's complicated. It's unintuitive, you really need to study how to do it.
It's about as far from fast and easy (and cheap) as it gets.
Two things can come to the rescue.
First. As they say, "there's an app for that". People now sell smart telescopes, which contain a computer that does most of the work. The Seestar50, $500, is very popular.
https://www.seestar.com/
Second. You can make things a lot easier if you use a short camera lens instead of a telescope. That 102 will just make your life difficult. Using a short camera lens, a camera, and a camera tracker, simplifies things a lot. Below is a picture of the setup, and a picture I took of some DSOs using a setup much like it. Many people have started out in DSO imaging that way. But it's nowhere near as easy as using a smart telescope.


Edited by bobzeq25, 05 February 2025 - 02:33 AM.
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#3
Posted 05 February 2025 - 03:08 AM
#4
Posted 05 February 2025 - 11:04 AM
... That's mainly my question here about the azgti or gtix. Does it follow the object? ....
I have the Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi. The AZ-GTe & AZ-GTix are supposed to work the same way.
I use it (almost) exclusively visually for the Sun and the "alignment" is trivial and the tracking is OK. The accuracy seems to depend on how well you level the mount and if the GPS (from your phone) has a good position. Basically you level the mount, point at the Sun manually, and then tell the mount you are pointing at the Sun and to track. My results vary, I assume due to accuracy of leveling, and it will keep the Sun in the field from 15 minutes to a couple hours.
There are more sophisticated and accurate alignment procedures (e.g. multi-star), but I haven't learned them because they aren't needed for my use.
What the AZ-GTi models don't do is plate-solve to figure out where they are pointed. For all its hassles SSE's plate-solving is an (almost) unique feature you would be giving up if you decide to rely on a tracking mount's goto. (Though I could see them being complementary if you use both.)
#5
Posted 05 February 2025 - 01:13 PM
synscan pro the app from sywatcher mounts like can be used with the az-gti, does now plate solve, synmatrix autoalign, have a read with that perhaps it might work with your existing sybony camera or smart phone
Edited by happy-kat, 05 February 2025 - 01:19 PM.
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#6
Posted 05 February 2025 - 02:21 PM
It is mainly still visual that I observe. Even if it is once a picture of the moon or the orion that I take through the eyepiece. That's mainly my question here about the azgti or gtix. Does it follow the object? Already I'm looking at jupiter. Does the mount then keep tracking nicely? A photo with smartphone works perfectly to capture the orion or a comet.
I appreciate you enthusiasm, but to be honest you are setting yourself up for failure.
Lots of people show up here with the same questions and the same expectations.
We do our level best to warn and educate them. Some listen and unfortunately some don't.
As I see it (and trust me when I say I have been right where you are now..) the "telescope" you have is about one step above being a toy. I made a similar mistake when I bought a Galileo "Bird-Jones" newtonian on a "tracking" mount. Some of the worst money I ever spent. Then came a used Meade 2080SCT in an LX5 fork mount with an equatorial wedge and a massive field tripod. Wonderful optics, but the mount only "tracked" in Right Ascension so any form of photography was very difficult. So being dumb and arrogant I bought a used LXD75 German Equatorial mount. Talk about an exercise in futility. I learned too late why that mount was so inexpensive. The net result was I wasted almost 2 years and I spent more money that I should have.
A couple of years ago I had an unexpected financial windfall and I bought a brand new rig with a nice refractor, a hefty mount, cameras, filter wheel, guide scope and a mount control computer. This time I got it right..
Edited by Cliff Hipsher, 05 February 2025 - 02:23 PM.
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#7
Posted 05 February 2025 - 02:46 PM
I have 2 AZ Gti mounts and one Gte. They are used with up to 92mm refractors and up to a C6 SCT.
These mounts work very nicely in Alt/Az and can be configured to equatorial mode.
#8
Posted 05 February 2025 - 02:59 PM
looks like your sbony camera might use the IMX662 chip, have a look at the EAA forum on here you might find it useful and help with expectations.
your telescope is quite long whether it is suitable for the az-gti I don't know, maybe check out the az-gtiX
Edited by happy-kat, 05 February 2025 - 03:06 PM.
#9
Posted 05 February 2025 - 03:08 PM
I appreciate you enthusiasm, but to be honest you are setting yourself up for failure.
Lots of people show up here with the same questions and the same expectations.
We do our level best to warn and educate them. Some listen and unfortunately some don't.
As I see it (and trust me when I say I have been right where you are now..) the "telescope" you have is about one step above being a toy. I made a similar mistake when I bought a Galileo "Bird-Jones" newtonian on a "tracking" mount. Some of the worst money I ever spent. Then came a used Meade 2080SCT in an LX5 fork mount with an equatorial wedge and a massive field tripod. Wonderful optics, but the mount only "tracked" in Right Ascension so any form of photography was very difficult. So being dumb and arrogant I bought a used LXD75 German Equatorial mount. Talk about an exercise in futility. I learned too late why that mount was so inexpensive. The net result was I wasted almost 2 years and I spent more money that I should have.
A couple of years ago I had an unexpected financial windfall and I bought a brand new rig with a nice refractor, a hefty mount, cameras, filter wheel, guide scope and a mount control computer. This time I got it right..
First Image.jpg
Apart from taking pictures. Surely it should be a good solution to find objects like my starsense does? No despair of finding nothing.
#10
Posted 05 February 2025 - 08:29 PM
Yes, it will do that. And take pictures of the Moon.Apart from taking pictures. Surely it should be a good solution to find objects like my starsense does? No despair of finding nothing.
Beyond that (planetary pictures, DSO pictures), you need very different equipment. It's unintuitive, but true.
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#11
Posted Yesterday, 12:31 AM
Yes, it will do that. And take pictures of the Moon.
Beyond that (planetary pictures, DSO pictures), you need very different equipment. It's unintuitive, but true.
Here's what I want it to do. Finding objects. Like my Celestron starsense DX did. I have a Celestron nexyz adaptor. Is nice to take a picture of the sun, the moon once even the orion succeeds. But its definitely not for working out photography. I want a good, simple goto tracking system for visual purposes. Hereby my question was if the Skywatcher az-gtix does this job well 😉.