Advice please on a good guiding set-up

[DarkKnight (Kev)]

After a frustrating twelve months I think I can finally see a speck of light at the end of the tunnel.

After a dud HEQ5, an EQ6 I upgraded to NEQ6 Pro specs (it was too heavy for me to consider portable as I need to travel to get clear sky) I now have a new HEQ5 Pro that seems to suit my requirements.

I'm a photographer who has developed a passion for the night sky, both wide-field and nebulae. I'm a Nikon user, currently with a D7200 which while not ideal for wide-view should be fine for nebulae.

I'll be using the very sharp Nikon 300mm f4 with a 1.4 T/C which will give me a 420mm f5.6 lens. Because of my need for portability a large 'scope is not on my radar at this stage and anyway I've seen some very acceptable shots of nebulae taken with various telephoto lens.

My intent is for long exposures with low ISO and to that end I've ordered a Losmandy Side by Side plate to mount my camera and a guide scope.

Apologies for the long lead-up but I think it helps those willing to give advice if they have some background info.

OK, the nitty gritty. I have a budget of around $500.00 for a guide scope and camera. I was looking at the ZWO 60280 60x280mm 'scope and the ZWO ASI120MC camera, and while there seems to be plenty of happy ZWO camera users, I've not been able to find any feedback on the 'scope. As an alternative 'scope I've looked at the Skywatcher 80x400mm which seems like a good option as it could give me the alternative of using it to try some imaging with the guide camera.

Any thoughts or recommendations appreciated.

[DavidLJ (David)]

Based on my experience using a f/4 Newtonian (which presumably gives a comparable fov to your proposed imaging setup) I can thoroughly recommend the Orion 50mm MiniGuider package. I realise that prices have increased since I bought mine a couple of years ago and it may now be a little over your $500 budget. But it's very light and compact. And 50mm is plenty big enough to deliver a wealth of stars in my PHD2's display even at short 2 to 3 second exposures. As importantly, its build quality is very good - it just goes on working from night to night with no fuss or bother.

[DarkKnight (Kev)]

Thanks for your suggestion David.

I've had a look at the Orion 50mm MiniGuider and agree it seems like a good package.

I guess what I'm trying to achieve is to get something that I can not only use for guiding, but also let me get my toe in the water with imaging with a 'scope and the ST 80's seem to fit the bill.

First up I'm going to see just how good the DSLR set-up is without guiding, It seems like I should be able to get up to two minute exposures with a very good polar alignment with PHD. Just need the clouds to go away.

One thing I have learnt is not to waste a clear night.

Cheers

Kev

[ZeroID (Brent)]

The SW 80 x 400 you mention I presume is an Achromatic rather than APO scope. Not the best option for imaging due to it's inherent chroma. You would need any of the similar APO scopes in which case your budget would be very strained I suspect.
You may be able to pick up a cheaper guiding option through the 'For Sales' on here. They quite often arise as others upgrade or change their setups. Then save for a better APO later, you will still need a guiding function so it won't be a waste of money.

[glend (Glen)]

I use the ZWO 60mm guide scope with an ASI130 guide camera and it works very well. I have used this setup for a couple of years on all my scopes. I use Metaguide software, which is free. I found Metaguide much easier to use than PHD. One nice feature of the ZWO guidescope is that it is lightweight, something i view as important. It may not matter with what your doing, but if you were running near the imaging weight limit for your mount it can matter.
BTW you certainly can imaging with an achromat scope, provided you stick to narrowband imaging where CA is not a factor. However that is a big learning curve from where you are now.

[DarkKnight (Kev)]

Cheers Brent.

Yep, I'm probably getting a bit ahead of myself with an imaging 'scope.

As I said below, I need to see how good my DSLR set-up is first.

Glen, it's good to hear that you are happy with the ZWO gear, in particular the 'scope. I don't see myself nudging the HEQ5's 16kg load limit any time in the foreseeable future.

[DarkKnight (Kev)]

Thanks to all who replied.

I've ordered a Williams Optics 50mm Guide Scope and a ZWO ASI120MM-S mono camera.

Next step is to wade through the various guiding programs to find one that I can get my tired old brain around.

Cheers

Kev

[Atmos (Colin)]

PHD2

[DarkKnight (Kev)]

Originally Posted by Atmos

PHD2

Thanks Colin.

Push Here Dummy sounds like just what I need.