Guiding with an 8x50mm Finder

[astro mick]

Can you really guide accurately using only an 8x50mm Finder.There seems quite a lot of people,who certainly think so,and Orion Optics(USA) are bringing out at the end of May a dedicated Finder type Guider for their Starshoot Auto guder,with a focal length of about F3.5.

To me,is there really enough light grasp to always find a guide star,because there are some regions of the sky,where deep sky objects lie,but no suitable guide stars.

Its tempting,as it would keep down the weight,i suppose you could also modify an existing Finder if you so wished.

What do you think.

Mick.

[Grandad]

I made a finder guider and have tested it a few times but it has never guided to my satisfaction.

I have no problem finding guide stars as I use a mintron camera with on chip frame intergration.

When I changed to a SW 102mm f5 the improved guiding was dramatic.

I'm no expert but I assume that it is the short focal length of the finderscope, around 210mm, that is the problem.