jfrijhoff

PS: To confirm, you tracked on the stars?

I hope to get a clear night to try and image the comet (first time ever for me). I was also planning on 30sec subs, and I just have the Samyang 135mm, so hopefully star trails in the comet-aligned image won't be too bad. I'll be using Siril to stack, and there seem to be directions on their website to do it (https://siril.org/tutorials/comet/), maybe it also helps in your setting.

Looks great! I'm one step behind you. I've been using almost the exact same setup (EOS 550D astro-modified), and am also looking to get my first steps into guiding with NINA to get decent subs longer than 30sec, eventually with a mini-PC. Which one are you using? Did you power the equipment (guide camera, dew heaters, ...?) via the mini-PC? Also interested to hear if you did any specific checks and tryouts before heading outside?

To the mini-PC users, how are they holding up for you out in the (freezing) cold and/or humidity?

That looks awesome with the Samyang! I've got the exact same, 550D (astromodified), samyang 135mm and star adventurer. It's been very frustrating to wait for a clear night, but so good to see that the setup can work for the comet! Hope it'll clear up soon.

The Polar Scope Align Pro is a useful tool. Which mount are you using? I use a star tracker only, but the polar scope may be very similar and aligning it as well. Perhaps this is useful: https://nightskypix.com/skywatcher-star-adventurer-pro-setup-and-user-guide/

There are the 'newer' versions of the lower focal length skywatcher scopes, like the Evolux 62ED (and 82ED), but they would need the additional field flatteners for astrophotography. Same for William Optics Zenithstar 61II, and it's corresponding field flattener. I don't have experience with these, but these were the ones I came across as interesting as a next purchase. I'm currently mainly using the Rokinon/Samyang 135mm lens with good results on a start tracker without guiding.

Since you're budget is restricted, work with what you have. If you've already got the 500D, then use it by all means! I first used a point-and-shoot (with good focal ratio though), to try out if I could capture anything at all, and I was really surprised at what I could get. Now I'm using a 550D, astromodified, that I could get cheaply, with a good 135mm lens. It's great for the larger deep sky stuff, but indeed, planets won't be very good. I do use a star tracker though. You should also keep in mind that your shutter lifespan will deteriorate quickly if you need to take many shorter exposures vs fewer longer exposures with a star tracker.

Thanks for confirming!