In the summer of 2018, my astrophotography journey began with the purchase of a SkyWatcher 150/750 PDS telescope on a SkyWatcher EQ3 Pro mount. The package included a 2″ 26mm eyepiece, a small finder scope, a 3x Barlow lens, a compact 10mm (1¼″) eyepiece, and a few other accessories. I also picked up an adapter for compact cameras to experiment with eyepiece projection — basically holding a camera in front of the eyepiece to take a picture. The adapter helped keep the camera steady and at the right distance.
Why the SkyWatcher scope?
After some basic research, I found that Newtonian reflectors were a solid choice for beginners. With a focal length of 750mm, this scope can frame the entire Moon and still has enough reach for distant galaxies. The 6″ aperture and EQ3 Pro mount were mainly chosen for budget reasons — I found the set on a German retailer’s website for under €1000. It felt like a good, affordable entry point. The 150/750 OTA is still serving me well to this day, but the mount would soon turn out to be… problematic.
Unboxing and Assembly
Setting up the scope was a nightmare. It arrived in two large boxes filled with countless smaller boxes, plastic bags, instruction manuals, cables, and mysterious parts. I had absolutely no idea what to expect, let alone how to assemble it. After some trial and error, I finally managed to piece everything together and get a rough sense of how an equatorial mount moves. Unlike a standard camera tripod (Alt-Az), you can’t just point and shoot — there’s a whole system of counterweights and celestial alignment to understand. Still, with no experience and a lot of curiosity, I thought I was ready for my first clear night.
And so the journey began.
Cheers Chris