What is recommended for the ZWO294MC Pro

[beamer3.6m]

Sk I am thinking about moving to a dedicated asteo camera and I have seen the ZWP294MC PRO which caught my eye.

 

Now I have a 130pds scope... would this be a marriage made in heaven or a divorce waiting to happen?.

My intended targets would be the usual deepsky fare... m31, m15, plaides, m42 etc etc.

If the 130pds would not work what is recommended... I want to keep it very simple and as low cost as possible.

At the current time I use my 1100d with a simple lens (cannot be bothered to faff with the 130pds).

[gerardsheldon]

I am in a similar position to you.  I have recently got the cooled 294MC colour camera to replace my canon 1000D for my 130pds.  My main challenges have been software.  I can only get live view with SharpCap.  So i currently using that, and then switching to NINA (or APT).    For deep sky objects, I was advised the cooling is very important, so get the cooled version if you can.   The 294MC requires its own power supply and cable to the laptop.   The software gives you options that cools the camera and warms it (I understand that it is best not to warm it too quickly).

I also got a un/ir filter and a coma corrector.  I got a The focus position for the 294MC is much further back and I don't know why.  I have asked why this is on another thread.   Balancing the telescope on the mount (HEQ5) is trickier.  Apart from the two normal ways of balancing the telescope, I also rotate the telescope in the tube so it does not go horizontal.

Edited September 18, 2022 by gerardsheldon

[vlaiv]

1 hour ago, beamer3.6m said:

marriage made in heaven

Almost this one

I say almost because I have high expectations for system described that way, and no, it won't be all sunshine and roses - but it's pretty close

There are few issues that you might want to deal with:

1. make sure you have good and working flats. Some people experience issues with ASI294mc and flats, mostly when using duo band filters - so try without such filters first.

2. 130PDS will require some work - in form of mirror clip mask and focuser protruding into light path. You don't need to deal with this if you are not bothered by strange diffraction effects on bright stars that look like this:

Left is stock 130pds - right is fixed with mirror clip mask, in fact - read about it here:

3. Choose good coma corrector for 130pds and try to avoid tilt - or at least be prepared to deal with it in order to get best field definition.

 

[beamer3.6m]

2 hours ago, gerardsheldon said:

I am in a similar position to you.  I have recently got the cooled 294MC colour camera to replace my canon 1000D for my 130pds.  My main challenges have been software.  I can only get live view with SharpCap.  So i currently using that, and then switching to NINA (or APT).    For deep sky objects, I was advised the cooling is very important, so get the cooled version if you can.   The 294MC requires its own power supply and cable to the laptop.   The software gives you options that cools the camera and warms it (I understand that it is best not to warm it too quickly).

I also got a un/ir filter and a coma corrector.  I got a The focus position for the 294MC is much further back and I don't know why.  I have asked why this is on another thread.   Balancing the telescope on the mount (HEQ5) is trickier.  Apart from the two normal ways of balancing the telescope, I also rotate the telescope in the tube so it does not go horizontal.

Does the camera reach focus on the 130pds without a coma corrector and if so does it do so out of the box?

 

[gerardsheldon]

I have only tried it without the coma corrector and it works.  I needed to use the extenders/adapters that come with the 294MC

[beamer3.6m]

Do you have any sample images you've taken?

[gerardsheldon]

no pictures yet.  Waiting for the next clear night.