Help choosing a guide camera

[Shiinsuh]

Hi.

Im looking to get myself a guide camera but I would like to make sure what I'm looking at is best I can get for the money. I have been looking at getting at ZWO ASI120MM Mono at £229.80 (this is the USB2 one). It will be mounted to a TS-optics 80mm x 328mm guide-scope.

So my question is; Is this best you can get for the money, is there something better I could get for a little bit more or even something just as good for less?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[BillPickle]

I have no experience of any other camera other than the synguider.

I got one last week and over the past few nights had a chance to test it out. Easy setup and very easy to find a guide star.

It auto calibrates and I left it runnin for 5 mins with great results spoiled only by light pollution and the moon washing out the images.

The Stars were pin point sharp.

I used it with. Star adventurer that only has RA control.

Only thing you have to do is make sure your guide star is running parallel to the horizontal or vertical lines on the cross on the small screen on your RA and it takes care of the rest.

Ideal for a small mobile rig.

[Shiinsuh]

I have no experience of any other camera other than the synguider.

I got one last week and over the past few nights had a chance to test it out. Easy setup and very easy to find a guide star.

It auto calibrates and I left it runnin for 5 mins with great results spoiled only by light pollution and the moon washing out the images.

The Stars were pin point sharp.

I used it with. Star adventurer that only has RA control.

Only thing you have to do is make sure your guide star is running parallel to the horizontal or vertical lines on the cross on the small screen on your RA and it takes care of the rest.

Ideal for a small mobile rig.

Thanks for the comment. I originally looked at the the Celestron version of the synguider. But I don't need the stand-alone ability of it, due to having a laptop to use with anyway currently using a xbox live cam with PHD2 for guiding. So I think that, that guider you will be paying most of the money, towards the stand-alone aspects of it compared to other guide cameras which require a computer. I have also seen some where that they aren't all that good compared to an equivalent set up. How ever, depending on what others say.

Thanks for the comment!

[Shiinsuh]

Can anyone give any help?

[Joseki]

2 other options, would be the slightly cheaper QHY5-II http://qhyccd.com/en/left/page3/qhy5-ii-series/

which is apparently about the same as the ZWO.

or you could wait for a 2nd hand Starlight Xpress lodestar camera (sell for around £200-300 2nd hand, one on ebay for £300 right now).  New the X2 model is £450 (but reportedly worth the extra cost over the other two).

[Blazar]

Guess the benefit is the 120mm is a good little lunar and planetary camera as well. The lodestar is a real good guide camera though from reports. I am starting to use my 120mm-s for guiding, though not had a real chance to play with it.

[Shiinsuh]

2 other options, would be the slightly cheaper QHY5-II http://qhyccd.com/en/left/page3/qhy5-ii-series/

which is apparently about the same as the ZWO.

or you could wait for a 2nd hand Starlight Xpress lodestar camera (sell for around £200-300 2nd hand, one on ebay for £300 right now).  New the X2 model is £450 (but reportedly worth the extra cost over the other two).

I was also looking at the QHY5-II but I have not seen any comparisons between it and the ZWO 120mm

Guess the benefit is the 120mm is a good little lunar and planetary camera as well. The lodestar is a real good guide camera though from reports. I am starting to use my 120mm-s for guiding, though not had a real chance to play with it.

I have been looking at getting a second hand Lodestar, seen them about for around a similar price. But are they much better than the ZWO 120mm? and maybe worth getting the X2?

Also any one got any idea about the ZWO 130mm or even the Orion guider.

Thanks for the comments