If I wanted to get a Star-tracker setup for my M4/3 camera is there an outright best option?

[moggi1964]

I sued to do some imaging with my WO110 and Tak mount and a small SBIG camera. These days I don't have any imaging equipment and am not looking to go back to the 'good stuff'.

 

I do have an Olympus M4/3 camera and would mind doing some planetary and wide field stuff on a lower budget than the Astro mount type setup.

 

I've seen a few different options on the market and had a browse through the threads here but is there a preferred option?

 

Here's my first ever nebula shot.

[wesdon1]

8 minutes ago, moggi1964 said:

I sued to do some imaging with my WO110 and Tak mount and a small SBIG camera. These days I don't have any imaging equipment and am not looking to go back to the 'good stuff'.

 

I do have an Olympus M4/3 camera and would mind doing some planetary and wide field stuff on a lower budget than the Astro mount type setup.

 

I've seen a few different options on the market and had a browse through the threads here but is there a preferred option?

 

Here's my first ever nebula shot.

@moggi1964 Hi Moggi. have you seen those mechanical star trackers? They look great for DSLR and lens astro imaging. If you go for a electric powered star tracker then i'd suggest an older second hand one from skywatcher. They'll be cheap and they'll do a great job. 

BTW that nebula image is awesome for your very first attempt! 

[moggi1964]

26 minutes ago, wesdon1 said:

@moggi1964 Hi Moggi. have you seen those mechanical star trackers? They look great for DSLR and lens astro imaging. If you go for a electric powered star tracker then i'd suggest an older second hand one from skywatcher. They'll be cheap and they'll do a great job. 

BTW that nebula image is awesome for your very first attempt! 

Thanks! I had a good education from a few talented astroimagers.

I hadn't considered the mechanical variety and I'll certainly take a look at the Skywatchers. A friend of mine used a small iOptron for wide field so I'll probably have a look there as well.

I feel like the tech has probably moved in some since my imaging days back in and around 2010-2013.

[wesdon1]

2 minutes ago, moggi1964 said:

Thanks! I had a good education from a few talented astroimagers.

I hadn't considered the mechanical variety and I'll certainly take a look at the Skywatchers. A friend of mine used a small iOptron for wide field so I'll probably have a look there as well.

I feel like the tech has probably moved in some since my imaging days back in and around 2010-2013.

@moggi1964 Yes the tech nowadays is amazing. The only issue ( atleast for me personally ) is the tech can be really difficult to master. I'm only roughly 11 months into my astro imaging journey, after years of just visual astro, and i've had a terribly hard time learning how to use astro software, and other astro imaging related processes. 

Yes the Iopton trackers look great too. As you will well know, there's tons of videos on YouTube showing all the star trackers in operation. Best of luck with your searching n research.

Clear Skies!

[moggi1964]

5 minutes ago, wesdon1 said:

@moggi1964 Yes the tech nowadays is amazing. The only issue ( atleast for me personally ) is the tech can be really difficult to master. I'm only roughly 11 months into my astro imaging journey, after years of just visual astro, and i've had a terribly hard time learning how to use astro software, and other astro imaging related processes. 

Yes the Iopton trackers look great too. As you will well know, there's tons of videos on YouTube showing all the star trackers in operation. Best of luck with your searching n research.

Clear Skies!

Thanks. I have toi say I found the software part of imaging to be the real challenge despite having access to some of the people who wrote the damn things. I think in the end I just tired of the time involved.

It's the same with my photography, I do a bit of contrast, white balance and a little tweak here and there. If it isn't how I want it in ten minutes then I just move on.

Once I sell my visual Astro gear I'll invest in a tracker and maybe an old converted DSLR. I have a lot of reading and research to do.

Thanks again for your thoughts and insight.