Just wondering if anyone here has built from scratch or modified a commercially available newt for primary focus imaging. I wonder only from a balance and collimation perspective. Would it not be easier to collimate? Aim the camera at the center of the primary then the primary straight back at the camera? Also from a balance point of view I always find newts clunky with large portion of its weight hanging out the side of the tube.. Even if you aim it straight down when in the parked position it ends up on strange angles. Couple that with a small newt and a large imaging train and all of a sudden you have a really difficult system to balance. I find myself having to balance the scope for the declination I intend to image for the night.
With a qhy8L/pro or qhy9c qhy10 etc which would create minimal obsobstruction, a helical focuser and an mpcc I wonder if it wouldn't be better..
I've done it a few times but only for planetary imaging. I like looking though my scopes too so it became a hassle. You only gain if your secondary is of poor quality as you don't need to use it. With a good secondary and secondary holder I can't notice any improvement.
I looked into it as a project idea but one drawback is the need to run cable(s) to the camera. A QHY 5 is just a 1.25" diameter tube so smaller than most secondary's but still needs a spider and then a USB connection...
Nice to be able to check visually as well
