Guide cameras and CCD,s

[Willow127mm (Brad)]

Hi all I'm getting my EQ 6 in the morning so I'm now looking for a guide camera.
I would love some good advice on what to get and what to spend.
I'm looking at the SSAG but also thinking of getting a OK CCD that can also image.
I currently have a 600d Dslr for imaging so maybe I should just concentrate on on a guide camera for guiding.
I've seen some guide cameras for $199 but they stress they have trouble with dimmer stars.
I also looked at the Mx7c Starlight express on the classifieds but I'm not sure if they are any good for guiding.
I'm using a 70mmx500mm refractor as my guide scope if that helps.
as you can tell I'm a little confused as what to buy so would love some advice from experienced imagers.
Thanks in advance Brad

[kosh]

Hi Brad,

I personally use a QHY5L-ii mono and find it very good, except for occasional disconnects. The Zwo "asi" range is very good, and now comes with a usb3 interface, for a price.
Of course, then there is the lodestar which is about the best you can get.
So I would look at the qhy or Zwo which are very good at a modest price.


Goran.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

ZWO ASI 120mc + your 70 x 500 should do the trick. The ZWO has an ST4 output port to talk directly to the mount via the PC control of course. ( So does the QHY 5 II for that matter )
Both of those are also good planetary cameras for which you don't require guiding ( video mode ) so dual use. And supposedly they are both entry level Deep Sky Cameras with a bit of tweaking with the software.
I'm using the ZWO for planetary. My guidescope is the SW 80f5 with a Phillips SPC900 camera and a GPUSB connection. Once you figure out the right settings it works extremely well. If I ever manage to acquire a 'real' DSO camera I'll move the ZWO to fulll time guiding duty and discard the GPUSB hardware.

[Willow127mm (Brad)]

Thanks guys all helps I've been offered a free test drive of the Mx7c on the classifieds so I might see if I can guide with it if so might get a guide camera and a pretty good CCD as well.
Thanks again for all the adevice guys.

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Brad,
I had an ol' MX7c for many years. The serial connection was an issue and I'm not sure about Win7/8 handling it. It was OK under XP....
A good introduction to OSC CCD's but IMO there are better solutions for guiding.
The latest incarnation of the trusty QHY5 work well. Any camera which has a built in ST-4 guide port is worth considering.