[naskies (Dave)]

Originally Posted by torsion

There is an interesting thread on CN Detailed Lodestar vs. QHY5L-ii study worth reading. Initial performance seems to favour the QHY5L-ii.

One important point made by the author is that although the QHY5L-ii is more sensitive than the Lodestar per unit area, the Lodestar can often be more sensitive overall due to its substantially larger pixels. Interestingly, the QHYL-ii apparently can't do on-chip binning (as a CMOS sensor) therefore I assume that its smaller pixels may make it a better guide camera for short focal length imaging (better star sampling)?

Originally Posted by Star Hunter

With the Lodestar, will it work just as good on its own with PHD or does it work better with say the SXVR M25C (which I have on order from AEC).

I use my Lodestar with an SBIG camera (and an SX AO unit) - works great.

BTW, do you know of anyone who has used or is using, the SBIG guider? I know its expensive but SBIG never fault on their products. Will call you tonight.

I have an SBIG ST-i that came with my camera, currently in use as an over-priced finder. The Lodestar has a larger chip (6.2x4.9 mm on the Lodestar vs 4.8x3.6 mm for the ST-i) and therefore larger field of view.

One *big* plus for the ST-i is the mechanical shutter - automatic dark frames at the ambient temperature means that the images are usually cleaner. My Lodestar doesn't have a shutter, but I use a dark library that works pretty well most of the time.