Lodestar: Are they worth it?

[Star Hunter]

Can anyone pleases tell me if this camera is worth getting as an AG and imaging camera?

Has anyone used this camera as a stand-alone AG or do you use it only with a SX camera?

Thanks,

James

[Merlin66]

JaBar,
The Lodestar is not a stand alone guide system. It's just "another" CCD camera....
I use one with PHD to guide my C11 on the NEQ6pro mount.
It is very sensitive and has never let me down. I've never really tried it as a formal imaging camera - I use an ATiK314L for that.

[Poita]

No matter what my target, the lodestar always gets a guide star and hangs onto it. I have tried a myriad of other cameras, but the lodestar always works.
As Ken said though, it is just a camera, you will need an OAG or guidescope to use it with. I use the SX Off Axis Guider, it is super slim and the lodestar screws straight in. Well worth the investment for trouble feee guiding night after night.

[Star Hunter]

Thanks, Ken for your input. This guider is now in my sights.

[Star Hunter]

Thanks Pete. Both you and Ken have nailed it for me. It's now in my sights. Just gotta break it to the other half. Maybe I should buy it for the wife's b/day. I can just see her face when it arrives....:eyepop:

[RickS]

I'm sure she'll like the Lodestar, James. They are very cute :thumbsup:

I'm using one as a guide cam with SX, SBIG and Apogee cameras. It works very well when used with full calibration. Since it is uncooled you'll get some hot pixels and a bit of glow down one edge if uncalibrated.

The only other comparable guide cam is probably the SBIG ST-i.

Cheers,
Rick.

[multiweb]

+1 for the lodestar. What they said. :)

[Geoff45]

+2

[Strawb]

Moravian G1-300 works for me - cooled too

[allan gould]

I had a lodestar but found the ZWO ASI120MM to be a far better guide camera with PHDguiding and to be an excellent planetary camera. The last point is that it's half the price of the lodestar and I feel a bit more sensitive.
Just my 2c

[Poita]

I also have a ASI120MM and find it to be about the same as the Lodestar in sensitivity, but it is heavier and over twice as wide, and doesn't screw nicely into my OAG. It is a good option but will depend on your setup and mounting requirements etc.

[allan gould]

May be twice as wide but the ZWO is 1/4 the length. It fits perfectly on my QSI583wsg.
Allan

[h0ughy]

2 x loadstars and 2 x asi 120mm's. always good to have a spare

[torsion]

The QHY5L-ii uses the same sensor as the ASI120MM, but has a similar form factor as the lodestar (see QHY5-ii series (http://qhyccd.com/en/left/page3/qhy5-ii-series/)).

There is an interesting thread on CN Detailed Lodestar vs. QHY5L-ii study (http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/5969048/page/2/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1) worth reading. Initial performance seems to favour the QHY5L-ii.

Saving up for a QHY5L-ii (~A$350 @gamaelectronics, I know not 'too' much but over here deals need to be made:))

cheers,
Bram

[Paul Haese]

Jimbo, first I can imagine your wifes expression now. Ah memories.

The Loadstar is the camera. I would have got one had I not committed to the ST-I cameras. Both are essentially the same. They both have shutters and that will mean something when you go fully automated. My ST-i's do their dark prior to the first calibration image and then away it goes. The Loadstar is most likely very similar and I have heard nothing but good things about it.

[allan gould]

Just a note for those with a qsi583wsg camera. The ZWO ASI120mm camera just screws down onto the imager as far as it will go and it's perfectly in focus with the main camera. How good is that.
Allan

[Star Hunter]

Mate, your and I go way back and we both had a great time during the start-up SEQAS. You were my star Astrophotography student!!! Ahhh.. the times we and other members had at the Manly Obs. near Wynnum, shooting film left, right and centre... Remember Dave Larkin? Davo is still vertical and send his regards.

Anyway, will the Lodestar work 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've got my Starizona C14 Hyperstar (tapered model) up for grabs on Gumtree so if I can sell that off, it will pay for the Lodestar. I'm also looking at setting up a robotic telescope center at home here with three, LX200 GPS 14's with Hyperstar optics and SXVR M25C cameras.

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.

Jimbo

[Paul Haese]

Ah yes those were the days, falling asleep at the guider EP. Things have changed a lot in the interim. Say hello to Dave for me.

Do I know someone using an SBIG guider ? Yep me. I have two of them and each works really well and connects perfectly. It takes darks automatically and that improves its ability to pick a guide star.

I can't help with the loadstar but as I understand it they are very similar to the SBIG ST-I (almost carbon copies), based on what I have experienced with the SBIG I would say the Loadstar would be a good buy too.

Give me a call tonight.

[naskies]

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)?



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



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.

[johnnyt123]

I need a guide cam.
So which is the better one?

ASI120MM, SBIG STi, qhy5l-ii or lodestar???

Decisions decisions.......

[avandonk]

I use a Lodestar as a guider. I bin it x2 as recommended. The guide optic is a Tal finder with a FL of 187mm.

The RMS error is typically about 0.05 pixels or less. This equates to an error in guiding of less than one second of arc.

I use about a two second exposure to minimise the chasing of seeing.

End of story!


Bert