ASIAIR plus vs Laptop with manual dob

[Astro_Nic]

Hi

Hopefully this is in the correct section.  So I have a manual Orion Optics 14 inch dobsonian.  FL 1600 (1860 with Parracor), aperture 350mm.  I am planning on buying an ASI678MC for planetary imaging and a 2x barlow.  I know a dob isn't the best for imaging, but that's what I've got so going to give it a go.  Love the visual and don't want to give that up, but would be good to get some pics at the end of a session to show the boss!

So the question is, which is the best way to get the image focused and photos taken with a manual dob - using an ASIAIR or a laptop?  So, I don't own an ASIAIR and I don't own a laptop or a tablet (although my wife owns a tablet).  I have an iphone 14 pro max.

So whatever route I take I will have to buy.  Which will be the easiest route for a beginner?  or would both work?  I really don't know how the ASIAIR works!  I kinda want a gaming laptop but realistically I don't need one and if I can get into astrophotography without dropping £2.5k on a laptop I would rather not!  Is an ASIAIR and an iphone a good substitute? or would I need a tablet?  Or do I really need a laptop?

I have a decent desktop with 55 inch 4k screen for any editing.

Thanks for your help as always!

Nic

Edited September 30, 2022 by Cornelius Varley
Text colour removed

[Clarkey]

I would say for planetary a laptop. You can use it for the capture and processing using standard windows software. It would not need to be anything too fancy as long as it has an SSD drive with USB 3 for high frame rates. A reasonable second hand one would be fine. I use a Lenovo S340 pentium and it is fine.

The benefit of the ASIAIR is when you want to power/guide/capture in a single package. Then it would be worth considering.

[Elp]

If you're in it for the long term and DSO AP I would say the asiair as it's one of my "essentials". However it is not really suited to planetary work though not impossible, the UI could do with an overhaul in this respect, as you need to be able to change exposure and focus quickly whilst looking at a large live view at the same time so you can see the minute surface detail. The asiair mitigates this somewhat by using the video mode (gen 2 and 3 only), but for me it needs to support very fast image capture rather than video (maybe it does but I haven't used it for planetary). For DSO AP it's great.

As a go between I use a raspberry pi with astroberry loaded onto it, this will do it all too but it's UI is not so good to use on a mobile device unlike the asiair, it also requires a deep dive into learning the nooks and crannies, the asiair from the outset is straightforward to understand.

As you already have access to a phone/tablet one of these two options should be okay but only if you're really going to go into the whole autoguiding/automation route later on which is why a lot of people invest into them. With an old laptop you just need the software for the camera and are good to go.

[Astro_Nic]

Thanks but I’m not just going to buy a basic laptop - it’s just me! I’d buy one that I could use for gaming when on holiday as well.  So my decision is £2,500 for a laptop or £350 Asiair.  
 

I just don’t understand what am Asiair can do.  If it’s overkill, then great, but if the laptop makes it easier (I’m a noob!) then I’ll want the laptop.

 

thanks

 

nic

[ONIKKINEN]

There is another option, which is superior in every way except convenience of use but this is a very minor point in my opinion and only the toolest of tools will not be able to figure it out.

The better option is to have the best of both worlds, a small mini-pc running windows and whatever software you want to use for capturing. This way you will not need to babysit a laptop which can be cumbersome in the field, you will also not need to figure out a desk/chair situation to use the laptop. You will need a mobile device to control the mini-pc though, and a tablet is preferable here since phones have tiny screens and you will hate the process squinting at the little display. The mini-pc will be cheaper than the asiair, will not be locked behind ZWO products (Asiair will never accept another brand of camera!) and you have ultimate freedom of software to use.

Will not be a gaming machine for you though.

[Elp]

Asiair essentially presents all the essential functions and automated control needs required (via zwo products of course, some models of DSLRs are supposed) in an easy to use interface which is mobile phone friendly.

So it includes the likes of: focusing routine, polar alignment routine, previewing, goto control function, plate solving, a basic (very very basic) stellarium, imaging capture plan management, video capture, live stacking (for eea). If you have all the respective additional automated equipment you can control where your scope is pointing, what filters you're using, your focusing without even physically touching the scope.

This is of course is also possible via a raspberry pi (which the asiair hardware is a modified version of), portable pc or laptop/computer, the latter two being more capable due to the software and hardware available to them.

It depends on your usage scenario. I didn't want to have to use a laptop outside (it's another thing to carry and power separately if it runs low, a workaround is using it wirelessly or via longer cables), I wanted to control my rig wirelessly on my small mobile phone screen and also for the unit to power my other equipment (I use the 12v outs on the asiair to power my mount and camera cooling), so the asiair suited my needs. I've got the RPI for when I want to do planetary/solar and as an extreme backup I can use a laptop though I wouldn't want to.

The topic of a suitable gaming laptop for its intended purpose is a topic in itself.

[Astro_Nic]

Thanks all….looks like I might be forced down the laptop route. Don’t want to make it more difficult than it needs to be.