A dumb question I know, but I am now having a go at astro photography after 20 yearsof star gazing. I've got this ZWO imaging camera, see, and have just downloaded PHD2 software. Having realised that I need a PhD in order to understand the software, it seems that I need a laptop to run the programme at the scope - just to get good guiding.......Then I will have to connect the main camera (guess what - another ZWO) and that camera will also need special software (DSS?) running on another computer - won't it? I can't do both guiding AND shooting from the one camera with one computer ....can I?
I must be missing something , or be incredibly stupid.
I have a Bintel 200 f4 on a HEQ5 pro mount, and the mount is ok for driving the RA, so what is the big deal with that complicated auto guiding??? I read that we can take up to about 30 sec exposures without guiding...Then stack, process, enhance, fudge, the list goes on!
I'm beginning to think that I will just use an illuminated recticle eyepiece and hand guide. Is that old fashioned now????
