ZWO ASI 290MM Mini USB 2.0 Mono Camera as guidecam

[blinky]

Hi,

 

I currently have an original Lodestar as my guidecam but am wondering if its time to upgrade - my reasons are that I think there are more sensitive cameras available nowadays and also the Lodestar has big pixels, especially compared to my imaging camera, the ASI1600.  I use an OAG and image at either 400 or 800mm focal length and am also looking to try and get better guiding from my recently belt modded EQ6 and think smaller pixels gives PHD2 more pixels covered with a given star so should make it easier for PHD to work out the centre of the star.  For these reasons as well as cost.... Im thinking of the ZWO ASI 290MM Mini USB 2.0 Mono Camera - is this more sensitive than the Lodestar I currently have?

[fireballxl5]

Hi @blinky 

Following the failure of my Mk1 Lodestar after 13 years of solid service I finally had a good reason to upgrade my guidecam. After checking my guidecam vs imaging pixel scales using an OAG, I realised that I really needed a higher resolution camera for some of my imaging activities and went for the ASI290MM mini.

From my experience, though without measurement, I'd say that the 290 is noticeably more sensitive and gives smaller guides stars. I really like it😀

When imaging in the winter at 1.7 as/pix there isn't so much benefit, but now that I've reconfigured my rig for imaging at 0.7as/pix, I'm finding guiding is much tighter than before and more reliably so. I'd put this improvement down to the guidecam's higher resolution.

+1 for the ASI290mm mini from me

HTH, Andy

[blinky]

Cheers, gonna order the 290 on Tuesday!

[Gina]

I'm using an ASI120MC-S camera for guiding but not OAG as yet - a 200mm f3.5 lens.  I'm getting under 1" (arcsec) RMS error using the Ekos guide system.  This is the cheapest ZWO camera AFAIK.