Gear for Astrophotography

[benklerk]

Hi all

I posted sometime ago about the gear I was getting to put into my backyard observatory. I had a lot of set backs and had to stop everything for my observatory.
As things have now settled down I'm now getting back into looking at my gear list.

What do you guys think
EQ8 mount only $4799
GSO 12" RC $3699
G4-9000 $8750
G4 7 filter wheel $780
Astrodon Gen 2 E LRGB $1225 US
Astrodon 5nm Ha $875 US
Feathertouch 3" automatic $1335 US
Astrozap 12" Shroud $69
AAG cloudwatcher $400
ZWO ASI 174mm guide camera $772
I already have a guide scope (Skywatcher 80x400)
Sequence Generator Pro $138 US
Pixinsight $230 Euro
PHD 2 Free

Have a missed anything in astro gear or paid software?

I can get the G4-16803 for $600 more but is it worth it. Has anyone found a comparison between the 2 cameras on the same object? The G4-9000 has a better QE than the other camera.
I have already done the arc pixel size and field of view
G4-9000 Arc pixel 1.01 Field of view 51.6 X 51.6 Arc min
G4-16803 Arc pixel 0.76 Field of view 51.9 X 51.9 Arc min

Ben

[Slawomir]

Hi Ben,

It is awesome that you are now in a position of putting your astro gear together.

Many far more experienced than me will surely shortly chime in, but perhaps you could consider a 3.5" FT focuser rather than just 3" one. You wont get vignetting with the 3.5" version and it has a greater lifting capacity.

Also, I would forget the Skywatcher's guide scope and get a dedicated OAG from Moravian.

What are your goals in terms of imaging the night sky?

[benklerk]

Hi Slawomir
I had a look at the 3.5" FT but they don't do the adapters I need. I need a M68 and the 3" version has one.

My goals are Deep sky objects and large mosaics, comets with long tails etc. I would like to do comet hunting and I was thinking of going to use the ZWO ASI 1600mm for it as it offers a small field of view and the price is good.

[Slawomir]

I might be wrong but 3" FT could induce some vignetting with large chips as the ones you mentioned?

Maybe at least the true 3" FT then? Also, Precise Parts can machine pretty much any adapter you need. Costly but good quality.

Any particular reason why you want 12" RC for imaging?

Downsizing the scope and camera pixels can make life easier and save you $$$. To my knowledge, with ASI 1600MM you only need about 800mm fl to reach the limit of what can be captured with typical Australian skies with long DSO exposures (not Solar/Moon/planetary).

A very good option IMO at the moment is the 16200 chip.

Anyway, just sharing some ideas :)

[benklerk]

I don't live in a city but 100km away. Also live 1000m above ground. I do get crystal clear skies with visual down to 5mag

I also help out at the local observatory who is also teaching me stuff with will include astrometrics, they have a large 24 inch at 4000fl and what they told me was this is about the longest fl you can go at this location, and what is wrong with a 12"? It has good light resolving power and a good focal length. I'm not new to astrophotography I'm upgrading my gear from a fl of 1000mm. I wanted more resolution and light power. I also spent time doing Ccd research to match up with the telescope. I should also mention at the observatory they do fwhm, on clear nights it 1.02 and most nights around 1.2 to 1.5. If I have any left over from my budget I would get a 14 inch Rc.

As the camera needs a m68 connecter 3" is the biggest I need to go.
The Kaf 16200 may be good on smaller scopes, but it's QE is very low.

I'm would like to see what other people say.

[Slawomir]

No worries. Your last post much better clarified your situation and goals.

[glend]

Looking at your list, if your not time pressured, i would wait for the next Andrews 10% off sale ( which happens several times a year). Your showing Andrews EQ8 mount head price so i assume you plan to buy from them. If i was buying the RC and that mount i would like to save $850 by waiting a bit. I doubt that any exchange rate is going to clobber that discount at this point in the cycle. Who know, spending that much, Luke may give you the discount anyway - can't hurt to ask. Your going to need a pier, how are you planning for that, its not on your list? Even if building one in concrete you will need pier top adaptors, or DIY. That saved $850 could pay for that.

Have a think about guiding that RC, at that focal length your guide scope is a bad choice. Consider guiding off the RC light path, an Off axis guider adaptor is available for that camera. With your budget i would consider one of the cameras that provide self guiding capability built in. There are a few that provide pick off prior to the filter, and other designs. But that is just my opinion i have no direct experience with these cameras.

Good luck

[benklerk]

Does anyone else have any feedback?

Few things have changed since my last up. I got a better pay rate so i've been doing some research.
I can afford to get a mesu 200 as its better than the EQ8, with a 14"RC (I could push to get a 16" RC), I will ask luke (Andrews Comms) for a discount as I have bought tons of stuff from him before. I will change to get a G4-16803 chip instead of the G4-9000 with a OAG attachment.

[lazjen]

I haven't used one personally, but I wonder if an FLI focuser (http://www.flicamera.com/focusers/) might be worthwhile for you? More expensive obviously.

Also, do you have to think about dew control at all?

Finally, make sure you have a good PC to handle the processing you need to do in PixInsight. :)