Which Guidescope and guide cam?

[smr]

Hi all,

I'd like to start taking 2 or 3 minute exposures with my Star Adventurer and therefore would like to buy a guidescope and guidecam. Any recommendations as to what to get would be greatly welcome. 

[Redscouse]

I suppose the correct answer would be whatever you can afford.

For me, I use a Skywatcher Startravel 80 and a Toup camera. I was going to buy a bundle from FLO (same scope, different camera) however the Toup cam came up on this forum really cheap so I bought it and then the scope separately. They work fine for me and I'm no expert in any way whatsoever. If you can hang on until April, FLO will have another shipment of a new guide scope from Skywatcher that everyone seems to be raving about. Check out FLO's website and their bundles. (link at top right corner of the SGL forums. ) Edit: tell a lie, I was thinking of clear outside website. 
The address is firstlightoptics.com

Hope this helps.
Pete. 

[almcl]

Depends how much you want to spend.

I started guiding with a £14 webcam,  spare finder scope (free) and PHD (also free).  It worked but couldn't always find a guide star.  So upgraded to a Skywatcher ST80 from Ebay (£70) and a QHY5L ii mono camera (£150, although they are sometimes cheaper at the Astro show at Stoneleigh).  This camera is amazingly sensitive and always provides a choice of guide stars.  I do occasionally use the finder scope with the QHY camera (it comes with an adapter which screws straight in)  and the results from this are OK as well.

[Thalestris24]

Hi

With the SA you want a small/light guide scope e.g. qhy mini guider or orion miniguider. Guide camera could be a qhyl-ii mono or zwo equivalent or altair astro equivalent or toupcam equivalent. Remember you can only guide in RA and using ST4 so you aren't getting the best from the guide hardware. Personally, I'd upgrade to an eq3-pro (made much better by an heq5 tripod if you can get one).

Louise

[smr]

Do you think the Evoguide 50ED would not be suitable for the SA then?

[Thalestris24]

5 minutes ago, smr said:

Do you think the Evoguide 50ED would not be suitable for the SA then?

I think that would be ok so long as the weight of it doesn't cause a problem, you can balance ok, and you have a suitable side-by-side mounting setup.

[smr]

2 minutes ago, Thalestris24 said:

I think that would be ok so long as the weight of it doesn't cause a problem, you can balance ok, and you have a suitable side-by-side mounting setup.

I actually might upgrade to the HEQ5Pro and buy a telescope for imaging purposes, it'd be a lot easier just putting the guidescope on top of the telescope too wouldn't it. But for portability I'd still want to use the SA so if the ED50 is ok weight wise for that then I'll buy one of them when they're back in stock.