astro imaging with camera on skyseeker iv mount

Regardless of what you prefer to call it, these encoders allow you to move the scope manually without ruining the GoTo alignment. Orion simply refers to them as dual optical encoders, but Sky-Watcher brands them with the flashier name of “FreedomFind technology”. However, the StarSeeker IV mount adds a notable improvement with its dual optical encoders. The StarSeeker IV mount is fairly standard as far as cheap altazimuth GoTo mounts these days go – internals with gears that may or may not be plastic, simple motors, an 8-AA battery power pack, and stainless steel legs.

It attaches to the optical tube with a standard Vixen/Synta-style shoe, so most finderscopes can be installed in its place should you find the need to do so. The scope also includes a standard red-dot finder for aligning the SynScan GoTo system. However, the scope would certainly benefit from real Plossl or wide-angle eyepieces, and are kind of a letdown for a $600+ telescope. Surprisingly, they actually work really well (particularly the 23mm) and are actually a cut above the cheap Kellners or plastic Plossls supplied with many entry-level scopes. These eyepieces use two glass lens elements and an aspheric plastic lens element. The StarSeeker IV scopes all come with 23mm and 10mm aspheric eyepieces with a 62-degree apparent field of view, providing 33x and 75x respectively. The StarSeeker IV 150mm Reflector optical tube attaches to the StarSeeker IV mount with a short Vixen-style dovetail. Replacing it with a quality Crayford focuser requires some comfort with making modifications to the telescope and removing the optics, but can be done relatively easily. It works acceptably, though it will present some wiggle if you attach a heavy camera or eyepiece. The focuser on the StarSeeker IV 150mm Reflector is a 1.25” unit, made almost if not entirely of plastic. If I didn’t know about the odd secondary spider and primary cell and was looking through it I’d probably tell you there was nothing unusual about the optics. It seems that the scope does a decent job holding collimation, but buyer beware.ĭespite all this, the views are pretty good – no different from any other mass-produced 6” f/5 Newtonian. There are some DIY solutions to fix the collimation using the screws holding the cell to the tube walls, but these will only work for minor tweaking and are not convenient in the field. This means that if your scope is out of collimation, there is really nothing that can be done about it. But more seriously, there are no collimation adjustments of any kind. The primary mirror cell of the StarSeeker IV 150mm is made entirely of plastic, and has a closed back so the mirror cannot cool down as quickly as a regular, open cell.

Astro imaging with camera on skyseeker iv mount