Best to use as guider scope with HEQ5?

[guv]

I've recently purchased an HEQ5 as my mount and entry into astro photography and would like some advice on what's best to use (and not expensive) with it and transferable between any telescope I might use with it.

As a beginner I'd also like recommendations on what telescope to go for (bearing in mind I am a beginner!) and something that isn't going to break the bank.

I already have a nexstar for planetary stuff.

Thanks in advance.

[swag72]

If you are new into AP, may I suggest the book 'Making Every Photon Count' that is available from the FLO website in the book section. It's an excellent read and something of a bible for AP'ers. It will explain what you need, why, how it all works together and best of all it will stop you making expensive mistakes.

The first bit of good news is the HEQ5 - An excellent mount for AP as long as you have the Pro spec that has the stepper motors in for guiding?

For guiding and a guide scope, the main factor is not the mount, but the focal length of the telescope you are using. So for example with a short focal length refractor you can use a finder / guider scope whereas if you are using a longer focal length then the ST80 normally gets many votes from people.

So your next thought should perhaps be a telescope or a camera. I say or as you can use the mount successfully with a DSLR for example and a camera lens to capture images. Telescope wise, there are many choices. Perhaps you could give us an idea of budget? Also, I have made an assumption that you are interested in Deep Sky AP (galaxies, nebula's etc) as this has different requirements to solar AP (planets and the moon).

Camera wise, what are you looking at using? There is a choice of DSLR's or specific astro CCD camera's. The choice is frankly baffling. If you have a look on the imaging section you will see what pictures are being taken with, and also with what scope and that will give you a good idea of good combinations.

There's some field of view calculators such as http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fov.htm that you can use to get an idea of the field of view you are going to get with a scope and camera combo.

It's also worth considering the time and processing requirements after the images have been taken. For example, god imagers on here take many hours worth of data and then spend many more hours processing the data to get a good image. There are programmes out there for free (DeepSkyStacker and Gimp) that you can use to help in the processing stage. If you already have Photoshop that will be good.

I guess what I am saying is that if you want to produce good images, then it's a big time commitment and also quite draining on the bank account!

Hope all of this makes sense. Get the book first and go from there.

[dmahon]

Easiest to transfer - that would be an OAG. I'd pair it with a lodestar. Wouldn't bother with a DSLR though as the spacing makes it very difficult.

Once set up, just transfer everything en masse from one scope to another.

[guv]

Hi swag and thanks for taking the time to reply.

The HEQ5 is the pro version and does have the guide port. (something I was advised to get so took the advice!)

I am hoping for dark sky objects and hope eventually to set my sights to very long exposures, but I am trying to be realistic for the moment and learn as much as I can and not get myself frustrated with failure! (It's tempting to run before you can walk, but not a good idea.)

I do have an nexImage 5 (5 megapixel CCD) for planetary stuff. For DSO, I currently have a canon 550D which I will use, but will eventually buy either a modded high pixel DSLR or think about a CCD, but I'm frightened to even ask the costs here!

So with that in mind, hopefully that's given the info to your questions? Delve deeper if I missed anything!

[swag72]

So with that in mind, hopefully that's given the info to your questions? Delve deeper if I missed anything!

I hope that I answered your questions!! AP is a really rewarding hobby, I love it. But ..... at time's its as frustrating as hell!! If you've got any more questions then ask away.

[guv]

I hope that I answered your questions!! AP is a really rewarding hobby, I love it. But ..... at time's its as frustrating as hell!! If you've got any more questions then ask away.

Thanks Sara, though I am still confused with respect of the guider. I am looking at a refractor, from a 66 - 80 ED APO

[swag72]

.....I am still confused with respect of the guider.

Guiding can be done if a few ways. I use a separate scope (a 10x60 finder scope in essence) and a separate camera. This runs through the laptop with a specific guiding programme. This will enable long exposures as the programme identifies a guide star, calibrates the mount and then uses that calibration info to keep the guide star in the same place for the entire imaging run. In theory anyway!!

You can use something like a standalone synguider. You will still need a separate camera, but this in effect acts as your PC in the above example, finds a guide star and tells the mount how much to move to keep a guide star in the same place.

An OAG (Off Axis guider) actually fits into the imaging train. You still need a camera and a PC and this picks up guide stars within the field of view of the camera. Good for the longer focal length scopes.

[lensman57]

I've recently purchased an HEQ5 as my mount and entry into astro photography and would like some advice on what's best to use (and not expensive) with it and transferable between any telescope I might use with it.

As a beginner I'd also like recommendations on what telescope to go for (bearing in mind I am a beginner!) and something that isn't going to break the bank.

I already have a nexstar for planetary stuff.

Thanks in advance.

Hi,

HEQ5 is a very good mount, do you have any other equipment, telescope, finder scope, etc? What do you use your Nexstar with? Do you want to image the planets or the DSOs, just a few pointers as what you have in mind to do?

A.G

A.G

[ollypenrice]

Personally I'd just guide with an ST80 or finder-guider but I'd stay away from standalone autoguide cameras. If they work for you they are great but if they don't (and plenty of members report difficulties) then they are much harder to trouble shoot because you only have the in-camera software. With PC based guiding you can try a different guiding software and have more control over how it is working. I would not skimp on the guide camera. The Lodestar is excellent (bar its exasperating cables which are too small and too close together) or the QHY5. When you browse the suppliers' sites you'll often see adustable guide rings for guide scopes. These used to be necessary but the sensitivity of modern guide cameras has made them superflous. Assuming a decent gude camera, just bolt the guidescope down hard you'll have stars to guide on.

Olly

http://ollypenrice.smugmug.com/Other/Best-of-Les-Granges/22435624_WLMPTM#!i=2277139556&k=FGgG233