60mm guide scope for an ED80 - too much?

[RugbyRene (Rene)]

Hi,

I have a SW Black Diamond ED80 and am looking at a number of guide scope options, including a 60mm Orion.

Was just wondering if a 60mm guide scope is over-kill on an ED80.

Appreciate the help.

Rene

[tvandoore (Tim)]

I'd suggest one of those 50mm mini guidescope packages. A lot simpler to pop in to where the finder goes (you don't need to think about mounting it with set of rings etc), and don't add much weight (if that's a factor).

[glend (Glen)]

No at all. I used a 60mm ZWO guide scope on my TS80 for years. You just need to have a good mounting plate for the guidescope. In my case I mounted it on top of the TS80 (The rings had screw holes on top for mounting accessories). I made a carbon fibre plate the exact size required, but there are other options. Some people mount them on side by side brackets.

[tvandoore (Tim)]

Its doable, but popping something in to the finder scope bracket is much simpler than making a mounting plate or doing side by side.

I've run the Orion 80mm guide package on top of my ES80 and it worked fine, but did add a step of complexity and more weight up high.

All options can work, it comes down to what's important to the OP and how involved they want to get.

[casstony]

This is the 50mm Skywatcher finderscope with an adapter and the guide cam on the back - it's lightweight and works well.

[glend (Glen)]

Consider differential flex. A guidescope stuck on the end of a single shoe mounted Finder scope stalk is potentially less solid than one mounted on top of the imaging scope rings bolted in two places , which are bolted to the mount dovetail.

Of course the stalk mount can work for people, especially in the mini-guidescope scenario, but imho it's not an optimal solution. Given the original question, about 60mm guide scopes on 80mm imaging scopes, i stand by my advice. But hey that is just my opinion, based on years of imaging experience with exactly that setup.