The right and wrong of camera orientaion.

[Bart]

Hi,

Can all you astro imagers give me your feedback in the right or wrong camera orientation relative to scope and mount?

Is there a "proper" way?

I ask because I am struggling to position my filter wheel and guide cam in positions that wont hit the pier if I run my camera with it's longest edge parallel to the ground in the home position. If I rotate the filter wheel and guide cam to observe the same orientation as the camera, then I cannot stop the prism from really screwing with one edge of my image.

Would it really matter the my long edge is parallel to the ground or the short edge?

Not explained well, might do some mud maps. :question:

[Atmos]

Although it is only minor on your setup, what can happen when you don't have all of the weight aligned on the same axis is that you get an imbalance in some parts of the skies. Having everything along the DEC axis helps mitigate this issue.

In short, your current is better from a weight distribution perspective.

[Logieberra]

You’ll be aware that some scopes come with a camera angle rotator (CAA). Others use a dedicated (electronic) rotator. That said, there is no correct setup. The position has less to do with pier strikes, and more to do with with ideal composition (centering) of a particular Astro object on your chip. Except if you are using a newtonian... are you?

[DavidS]

I always just align it to the object after I have slewed to it. I do have conservative slew limits to stop it hitting etc.

[Bart]

Thanks for the replies. I am using an FLT132 refractor. Most of the time it will be a non-issue, guess I'm thinking too hard.