Is there a good guide/planetary camera <£500

[BarnMiguel]

Hi there,

I'm new to this forum and to astrophotography I've been doing some DSO imaging with my first setup:

Skywatcher Explorer 200PDS, EQ5-Pro and an unmodded 1100d.

I know I'm pretty much at the maximum workable load for my mount so I was looking at getting an Altair Astro 60mm Finder/Guidescope to replace the Skywatcher 50mm I already have and a suitable guidecamera. I also would like to try my hand at planetary imaging and so wondered what would be a suitable guide/planetary camera. I've read the QHY5 is a good guider but I also have looked at the Starlight Superstar. Would this be good for planetary imaging as well as guiding? Would anyone be able to recommend it?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Michael

[Sammyb]

You can guide using a £30 phillips SPC900NC. The D*K cameras from imaging source are very good planetary cameras and I also think you might be bale to use them to guide with.

[BarnMiguel]

I've seen your images Sam and they are fantastic, especially as you are using the same setup as me. With those results to aspire to I think I will do a similar thing and get the D*F cameras and use a similar guiding method too. Do you use the original finderscope?

Do you think its worth getting the DFK or DMK? Filters would mean more expense but they would be useful later on when I try DSO CCD imaging.

[Sammyb]

Hello Michael - just to be clear the planetary/solar/lunar images were taken unguided using a DFK. I chose DFK as I didn't want to have to use the filter wheel.

For the few images of DSOs/clusters etc I used an Atik Titan OSC (which I have now sold) and guided using the original finderscope and the SPC900 - with PHD, Cartes du Ciel and EQMOD/ASCOM etc. I struggled with this set up to get good consistent results - due to drift in the guiding - and I've not really gone back to it yet.

As regards DSOs with a DFK or DMK - I think is technically possible and I've seen some very good DSO images with these cameras but I don't think they would be the camera of choice due to chip size and no cooling ability. Your canon 1100d would be far better.

I hope this helps.