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Hello, I'm switching from manual guiding equipment and methods to AUTO. It feels like I'm the only person left on the planet doing it this way  .So, I'm looking for some opinions on guide cameras and scopes, or OAG's. My imaging camera is a Canon mirrorless M50 (APS-C). My main scope is an 8"f/6 newt (1200mm FL), and I have a 90mm f/7.3 (660mm FL) refractor running with 2x barlow. For manual guiding this made sense, 1200mm imaging FL with 1320mm guiding FL. For autoguiding, would the 660mm FL of this scope work OK for guiding this 8"f/6 setup? Guide Scope or OAG: I've read up on the autoguiding best practices, so I know enough to be dangerous I guess. As I understand it, a wider FOV guide scope may be better than my refractor to increases available guide stars. In addition to the 8"f/6, I plan to add both long FL (RC10 maybe) and wide FOV imaging (RASA 8 maybe). I assume I'll be better off with an OAG for the long stuff. For the RASA, OAG is not an option and a small guide scope would be used I assume or no guiding at all depending on exposure time. Guide Camera: Feel free to set me straight on the guide scope stuff, but where I really need help is in selecting a guide camera. My first thought was to invest in a guide camera that I can also use for imaging, but not sure if that makes sense and anyway I would then need to get another camera for guiding, or try to get some ASCOM setup working with my M50. Anyway, not even sure where to start when it comes to the guide camera. Appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks Trace |
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Well, I decided to pull the trigger fast on the camera. After further reading tonight and checking what some of you are using, the ZWO ASI290MM Mini seemed a good choice and the price was reasonable. Please do let me know what you think, good or bad. Trace |
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Trace, you are not the only person on the planet still autoguiding. I have been doing astrophotography for 9 years now and am still manually guiding up to 330 seconds but see no problem getting even longer subs if necessary. I must admit that I am a bit of a minimalist but I really enjoy the challenge of manual guiding and it feels more rewarding when I am able to get something that I am proud of. I started out with an 8 inch SCT which is very unforgiving for tracking errors and now that I have a 130 Apo the manual guiding seems pretty simple to me. I have no intentions of switching to auto guiding, I am enjoying it too much. Fred |
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Very good Fred, I just had not heard of others doing it. People are surprised that l manually guide, so I figured it was a lost art. I too like it, but it's a little awkward with my long newt and long guide scope sometimes and is pretty much unbearable in the winter. Glad to hear you'll be sticking with it. Trace |
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Trace: Hi Trace, Since the tracking accuracy of my aging mount is deteriorating, I recently switched to autoguiding, although being a minimalist and a friend of portability. My AG camera choice is the ASI290MM (not Mini) because it has USB3 and is superb for lunar and planetary imaging (two birds with a single stone). If the sole purpose is for autoguiding, then the Mini is a great choice. The ASI290MM (and Mini) has small pixels which help increase guiding accuracy. Since I prefer light weight and small size I choose the ZWO 30mm F4 as the guide scope. This setup is so far working perfectly both with my 6-inch F5 Newtonian for planetary and 450mm F6.3 APO for DSOs. I dropped the idea of OAG, too much fumbling. Please enjoy! Cheers Robert |
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Thanks Robert, very much. I see the cost is not much more. The order had not yet shipped, so I was able to cancel, and will check out the 290MM. Cheers & CS Trace |
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Robert, and others, I do plan to do OAG at some point. Does anyone have experience using the standard size ASI 290MM with OAG? I'm thinking the larger size might be a problem, and the mini might be a better choice for me. Trace |
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| I use the 290MM mini not the larger size and have found it to be quite good as an OAG camera. Of course, I use it at 480mm focal length, so cannot comment on longer focal lengths. The only field where it had a problem finding a Star was when I was imaging the Virgo cluster. Before switching to OAG, I used it with a 60mm f/4 guide scope and of course it did well there. Nice camera, easy to focus. I did find that it stopped working when I was imaging in very cold - like 0 degrees Fahrenheit- conditions, but does fine when it warms up slightly. I’ve had no issues above, say 10 degrees F. |
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| Thanks Arun. I'm just not sure that the size of the non-mini will be too large or heavy for OAG. |
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A CGX mount will serve you well. for guide scope, you have many possibilities. try not to under invest in your mount. Tracking and guiding are most important for data aquisition and it starts with a good mount. sorry, my post is off topic as you want info on camera and guide scope. i use the Orion 80mm scope and orion ssag, but i don't recommend it due to flexure and other issues. clear skies. |
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No problem Rich, I'm ramping my knowledge on all fronts. Thanks for your comments. As you saw the pic in my bin, I've just received a new CEM120 on Tripier 360  .I purchased a ZWO ASI290MM for guide camera. It's hopefully not too big for use with Orion Thin OAG on my Newt. I guess as long as it clears my Canon M50 camera body it should work. Trace |
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You are set to go! keep looking up and clear skies! |
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Trace: I haven't read all the reply's here, But what I'm using on my setup is the Skywatcher EvoGuide 50mm Guide scope and a QHY5II-L camera. This setup has worked great for me with my gear. Skywatcher Esprit 120ED, Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro, using PHD2, EQMod and SGP. |
