Quote:
Originally Posted by monoxide
stop tempting me with self guiding ccd's!!  
seriously tho if i had a choice between upgrading to a G11 and keeping my current imaging gear or sticking with the HEQ5 and spending the same amount on a new camera id definately take the camera.
back on topic though i think ill check out the orion OAG, its less cash to outay, looks a bit more user friendly and if i dont really like it then its not a big loss. |
I have been sitting watching this thread with interest since it began.
On topic, I have had a lumicon OAG and found i to be a real pain in the backside to use. A small guide scope is my choice when it comes to guiding.
Off Topic but in reply to the above quote, The most usefull item of any astrophotography set up is the mount. To forego a good mount for a camera is a sure fire recipe for disaster. The HEQ5 while a reasonable mount is really not up to the specs required for imaging with anything bigger than an ED80 and a light weight DSLR.
The other term which seems to be bandied about is the word real estate with regards to CCD imaging. The realestate spoken about must be taken in context of the imaging system used. It must be realised that every camera smaller than a full frame CCD suffers from a crop factor, the smaller the CCD the larger the crop factor and the narrower the apparent field of view you can image. In todays CCD market the ST10 has a quite small CCD and when used with long focal length scopes produces quite a narrow field of view.
When trying to image nebulas this can be quite restrictive even with some quite short focal length scopes.
I understand the QE of the ST10 to be brilliant but QE isn't everything extended exposure can and does help to pad out somewhat lower QE.
Just something to think about when looking at cameras, mounts and imaging systems in general. Nothing is clear cut and easy. Spend the time before spending the money.