which guide scope and guide camera

[chrisg18]

hi there ive only done planetary imaging. which guide scope/camera is best for beginning dso imaging. ive got a c925 with f6.3 reducer with a zwo 174mc camera.ive been looking at the celestron 80mm scope and celestron next guide autoguider. any advice please?

[chrisg18]

its on a cgem mount

[Dave In Vermont]

I'd suggest taking a look at the venerable ST80 telescope(s). These are nice, little achromats with an F/5 400mm F.L. They also serve as very good stand-alone 'grab & go' telescope, having a very good wide-field view in their own rights. I use mine more than any of my larger beasts.

Enjoy your foray in AP -

Dave

[chrisg18]

thanks dave. im worried about the extra weight on the mount as well. something really light would fit the bill too.max weight on the cgem is 18kg. my ota is already 9 kg then  my finder scope 9x 50 etc

[rubecula]

As you are worried about the weight and with a long focus scope you might be better off going for an off-axis guider. 

[Owmuchonomy]

At those focal lengths you are going to struggle with guiding (and DSO imaging). If you wish to attempt it then an OAG is the better option but I also think your mount will struggle. I would consider other options such as a more suitable imaging set up first before spending your money.

[chrisg18]

why would my mount struggle?

[chrisg18]

what more suitable imaging set up would you suggest?

[Owmuchonomy]

As a rule of thumb an imaging set up should occupy around 50% of your mount capacity. If you are 'under mounted' You will struggle to get consistent performance.  Your imaging set up should then be chosen to ensure a FOV that covers the targets you wish to image and a workable image resolution on your camera chip. 

A common set up is an 80 or 102mm refractor with a finder guider or even ST80 guider but there are many other options. I use a 130PDS for example with an Altair Astro maxi guider package.

[chrisg18]

my mount has load capacity same as your eq6 gt so my cgem is ok? the zwo 174 camera should be ok for many dso's. take a look at Emil Kraaikamp's dso's ( auto stakkert) they are amazing.my camera has 2.3megapixels 1936x1216, pixel size 5.86. with the f6.3 reducer I should get many dso;s? obviously not things like horsehead etc but enough for me at the moment

[chrisg18]

ive also got the option of fastar f2 with my scope?

[chrisg18]

?

[piprees]

I got a second hand skywatcher (not sure which, D70 F500), off ebay. It came with rings, a big dew shield and a 90 degree eyepiece, £40 inc postage from Austria, no brainer really. Then got a QHY 5-11 from Ali express, a lot cheaper than anywhere else. This was a bit of a worry as I read pretty bad reviews about Ali express AFTER it had been ordered, doh... Shouldn't have worried, no problems at all. It's a great set up and guides all night, and that's with PHD1.