[Davekyn (David)]

The Orion Star Shoot seems to be getting a lot of attention. The review in “Australian Sky & Telescope” makes it sound worth getting for someone only beginning in astrophotography like myself.

It seems some people are talking about the cameras ability to take photos itself, however I think I would only be interesting in using it, for guiding only, as the results for a sole imaging camera does not sound crash hot, not to mention a lot of mucking around.

Questions.
Should I worry about the Star shooters inability to use faint stars or the signal to noise ratio.?

You see, I first came across the modified Toucam Pro, with lots of nice looking videos on Google...Impressed I rang up one store, & they went on to tell me how I could use it as an auto guider, however, they did mentioned that it may suffer on guide stars that don’t shine to brightly, or something to that effect.

Is the Orion Star Shooter, just a more compatible (and expensive) version of the modified Toucam Pro, but with the same limitations in regards to tracking fainter objects?

Forgive my lack of knowledge ect...If I don’t ask I don’t learn.

Just a few more questions:

I’ve got myself an 80ED & am about to embark on the purchase of an EQ6Pro mount. Is this mount compatible with the Orion Star Shooter?

Would I be best to buy another ED80 scope and use it in a Side by Side configuration, or could I get just as good result with auto guiding using a CHEAP achro as a guide scope. (I’ve read some are using a WO66ED) I am still at a loss as to the mounting configuration and type of guide scope to use alongside my ED80. I really want to get this right from the start & enjoy being able to relax a little without having to constantly look through the eye piece. What a buzz it would be to be able to observe with my other gear and image at the same time.

I know my next purchase is an easy one...EQ6Pro with room to grow...But I really need help with the rest. I have a New Laptop and Solar Battery set-up for the mount as well...I just can’t get me head around all the choices for auto guiding and guide scope in regards to using my ED80 as the primary imaging scope at this point and time.

Arrrrgggghhhhhh..........Please Help L & thank you for checking my post out.
Dave