StuartT

Apologies for diverting. Entirely my fault. Just that this may be a Eureka moment for me! (I'll take it offline)

Now this is very interesting! It may even be a game changer. It may explain why I get quite a lot of 'lost star' beeps in PHD2. I have the filter screwed into the back of the telescope focuser. I just dismantled mine and it seems to have a M54 15mm spacer in there which I assume is to produce the correct back focus distance. So perhaps I could replace that with a filter drawer of the same thickness? Thanks for this!!

That's fighting talk, sir! And you know it. (but someone had to say it 🤣)

Not in my setup. The Esprit has the filter screwed into the focuser, then OAG then the camera. In fact, I'm not sure how it could be otherwise as the OAG is actually mounted on to the camera. Again, I am not sure how it could be otherwise with an OAG? (see photo) Where would the filter go if not in front of the OAG? As for the image circle the Duo requires, I make this 41.5mm which is fine for my Esprit at full FL which has 44mm

What a great idea! How come no other camera manufacturers thought if this? I'm slightly puzzled by all the comments like "but will this guide through narrowband filters?" - How is that any different from using an OAG? I use an OAG on the back of my 2600MC Pro for almost all my imaging and I generally use an L Extreme filter. My guiding is just fine, so I can't really see why there would be a problem with this new Duo. A larger concern for me would be the image circle, as the guide chip looks a little further from the centre than my prism is. Need to check that.

This chap seems to like it too

No. You're not missing anything. It was me who was missing something! 🤣

Cool! I just checked astroshop.de and they are significantly more expensive, so when VAT is deducted it would def be cheaper to order from the UK (even with import duty). Thanks guys!

why would there be no VAT?

Just occurred to me that ordering this lot from FLO (or another UK supplier) for delivery to Italy would incur import duty. Anyone know of any good EU suppliers as reliable (and well stocked) as FLO?

Thank you all so much for this advice. SUPER helpful! apols. I missed out this important info, you are quite right. He is on a mountain, 1000m up in northern Italy. Frequent very clear nights. It doesn't need to be portable, I would think he will leave it set up for quite long periods under a Telegizmos, or similar. He's also super fit and an active, outdoors kind of a guy who is used to heavy labour.

thanks for this. I like the idea of the HEQ5 (as that has GOTO, unlike the EQ5, correct?). Is the HEQ5 accurate enough for imaging? Which camera would you recommend?

A friend of mine wants to start doing astrophotography (mostly DSOs and a little lunar perhaps). He currently has no equipment but he is technically competent and a very practical guy. Would you be able to suggest a setup for him costing up to €2000? I imagine that a newt and an OSC is going to be the most affordable option, but can a decent mount be fitted into that budget too? Thanks so much

Got four hours on this last night with the Esprit. My guiding was particularly good (0.38"), so I got tight, round stars 🙂 Going to add some more data to this when I can.

Yes, I have the dew heater on now. Sorry, I should have said my scope lives outside, so it wasn't a question of bringing a cold optic into a warm house.