View Single Post
  #13  
Old 06-10-2010, 11:05 AM
loc46south (Geoffrey)
loc46south

loc46south is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Milton - New Zealand
Posts: 176
Hi - Just a bit of advice. Before you leap in and buy a camera decide on what you want to do - the M250 is a great imaging scope but it has it's limitations - I know - I bought one and have spent the last 4 months setting it up and getting it ready for imaging. In it's native form (f12) it's a great planetary scope but not much good for DSO imaging as it's too slow. At f12 with a SBIG ST8 it produces a realitivly flat field (Flatter than a C9.25)(I've got one of those as well) but with the larger format cameras you are going to get curvature. The new CR reducer/flattener for the Mewlons works like a dream - it gives a dead flat field and small tight stars on a ST83000 but at f10 it is still a very slow system. I have the reducer 7.2 but I am still waiting for adapters to arrive from USA so I have no definitive testing on that yet but I expect that being Takahashi it will perform to specs and is probably your best imaging solution. The biggest problem encountered is back focus (Metal back distance) - The internal focuser is not ASCOM compliant so if you intend to automate your focusing then you need an external electronic focuser. I have opted for the Mewlon 250S which uses the external rings and I have direct bolted mounting rings for a SkyWatcher ED100 (F9) which I use as a guide scope - I have replaced the S/W focuser with a Moonlite focuser to get the slop out of the system and it guides without any sign of flexure. Mount used is a G-11 Gemini - So I say again plan your imaging system carefully before buying any camera - there is a lot more you need to do and spend before you have a functional imaging set up.

Geof
Reply With Quote