ZWO ASI120mini system; cheap, small fits into finder bracket and works great. A step up is a guide camera with larger chip for wider field of view such as the ASI174 mini (the 174mini has much large ccd and larger which provides a wider fov and less sensitive guideing), still using the 120mini scope (30mm can see a lot of stars). Stepping up to larger aperture scopes usually means higher focal length and much smaller field of view for the guidecam, and a lot more weight. ** great video!
im not at the level of dso with longer focal length (like my edge hd 925) but I plan to use an off axis guider. I plan to use an asi 120mm as opposed to my 120mc
I use the altair astro starwave guiding bundle. I honestly did not pay attention to whether it was the best fit for my telescope, but it has worked for me so far.
Great Video! And about the right focal length for guide scope calculation... There is a section in the astronomy.tools that calculates the ratio mentioned in the video. It's under [Calculators] -> [Guidescope Suitability]. Shame that it doesn't tell you it's suitable or not, but it does tell you the ratio at least.
This video is added to my favourites . Going to need this information soon. The TS photoline first . Thanks for your reply wido .Clear skies . Stephen 👍.
Having owned both I can say for certain the Orion 60mm and Svbony 106 are exactly the same scope. However the Svbony only costs 80-90 USD. I use the svbony 106 with the ASI120MM-c (Color) for guiding an 805mm OTA in Bortle 6-7. No issues what-so-ever. Thank you for posting the videos!
As is the Astromania 60mm guide scope. They are all made in the same Chinese factory as far as I know. Just a difference in price and the brand silkscreened on the scope.
Wido, another informative and (for me) very useful video tutorial. When I save up enough $$$$$ for my EQ6-R pro mount, I’ll be looking at autoguiding for sure.
I have the ZWO F4 120mm guide scope and the ZWO ASI 174MM mini camera. This combination works really well, I have the ZWO 120MM mini but never got it to guide very well so got the 174 mono.
I have the Skywatcher EVoGuide 50ED and ZWO ASI120MM on my William Optics Zenithstar 103 ( Meade LX85 mount ) and my Ioptron 200mm Photron RC (Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro mount ). I do have the Orion 50mm and 60mm Guide scopes but was not satisfied with the image clarity. Guiding has been spot on running 5 minute subs with the Meade LX85. I haven't had enough clear sky time to drag the EQ6-R out. Maybe this week... supposed to have 3 nights of clear sky.... in a row..... Yaaaaay
Great! Did you ever try the EVO guide for imaging? I'm interested to see what kind if pictures this little scope can make, Hope you'll have those three days of CS!
Recently, I bought a used Orion 70mm multi-use finder scope from ebay. Focal 279mm, f3.9, 2-element lens Crown glass(could be ED?), little heavy; weighs 544grams. I can use 1.25" eye pieces, T2 screw threads. I'm considering an autoguiding camera in the near future. I bought this because I needed a finder with the vixen dovetail mount and it wasn't expensive. :)
@@AstroForumSpace I just checked the finder. I can confirm it does have a helical focuser; it's got the tightening finger screws, it's threaded on both ends, but without any readings. I didn't realise, what it was for! I'm still learning something new. :D
@@AstroForumSpace Also using the Orion 60mm with the ASI 120 for the Edge HD8, and it's working fine. For my ultralight setup, I use the ASI120 with ZWO guide scope. I would strongly advise against using this later guiderope: it's too small (30 mm), does not gather enough light, cannot be aligned with the main optical tube and is a nightmare to properly focus. I bought it because it was lightweight, but I now notice that it is the same weight as the Orion 50 mm, and more expansive ! I will follow your advice and buy the Orion 50 mm. Damien
Nice video Wido. I also have the ASI178 for solar imaging which will be my new guide camera. I canceled OAG and will use a guidescope for the Edge8 - either the Agena 50/160mm, ZWO 60/280mm, or Orion ST 80/400mm. - Cheers
Thanks Kurt. I'm also thinking about upgrading, perhaps to a 60/240 with my 178mc. Given my reasonable guiding results at 162mm focal length I think it should be enough. Clear skies!
Interesting info again Wido, looks like I ordered the right gear :-) Looking forward to the next video 👍. About the Primalucelab, I think it's the same as the Altair 60mm guidescope
I use an asi120mc, yes I realise the mm would be better... but so far my mc is doing a great job:) the deeper I go with deep sky, the advantage would show with the mm... im not that level yet for the really faint targets :) my telrad also helps a great deal with start up alignment
Hello Wido and the community. I will try to be brief and factual. Please correct me if I'm wrong somewhere. I have 4 scopes ranging from 600 to 1600 mm focal lengths, at F ratios 3.9, 7.5, 8 and 11.25. I have two guide scopes, both Orion 50mmand 60mm ,with 169 and 240 mm focal lengths. Two mini guide cameras zwo 120 and 290 fitted with 2x Barlows. Depending on my imaging scope/main camera ,I use the guide scope/camera combination as long as I have a imaging/guiding ratio of less than 5.
I think that's about right, but the most important question is... Are you getting round stars? If that's the case, then don't worry too much about these soft rules of thumb. Clear skies!
@@AstroForumSpace I'm still a beginner in the hobby and I do things in the...empirical way I should say. I recently did, while it was still in the French skies, the Orion nebula and it was the best image I've ever taken. Today I'm still mesmerised by this image. I would love to share it to you so that you may comment on the latter.
I am using the SvBony SV106 60mm guide scope with a Bresser GPCMOS02000KPA Toupket camera and a SvBony 205 camera. The Bresser GPCMOS02000K is a bit to work with, i still do not know how to get images displayed on my laptop but I will keep trying. Thanks for the video!
I'm was using an 90mm/500 and Bresser HD camera on my 8" Newtonian (1000fl), and a 60/280 and ASI120 on my Rasa and Edge 11s, however I will be changing the Edge 11 to OAG with ASI174.
@@AstroForumSpace I have all the gear it is at home, it arrived a few weeks ago, unfortunately I'm not I'm at work for 8 weeks! Just finished 1st week of hotel quarantine, another week to go, then 6 weeks on the platform...
Thank you a lot for explaining everything so well for Newby. I'm completely overwhelmed by the amount of information needed to only make a choice on what to buy and you really give me some confidence. If love if you make some offline learning sessions. Hello from the Netherlands as well)) and your hoody is just superb!) I want the same)))
The weight of the Skywatcher EVOGuide 50ED of .9 LBS / 0.4 kg struck me as amazing, given the fact that this looks well made, has two front lenses (being a doublet), has mounting rings, etc. etc. However, after doing some web searches, the best I can determine is that this weighs somewhere around 800 to 865 grams, or 1.76 to 1.95 lbs. If so, the weight appears to be on par with the other 50mm to 60mm guidescopes. If saving weight is your goal, I don't think you'll find that here.
Hi Claude! I checked out the weight of the EVOGUIDE myself. It states 800 grams on astroshop: bit.ly/38kKmcq and in the US at OPT it states 1.9lbs: bit.ly/3qtkJfH. Perhaps a typo was made where they took the 800 grams as .8 or .9 lbs? Anyway, still pretty lightweight if you ask me.
I replaced the finderscope that came with my Celestron Edge HD 800, after I spent 2 hours trying to fit a ZWO ASI120mm to it. I got a 70mm meoptix guidescope with 400mm focal length. last night I noticed that they sent the wrong polar alignment scope with the skywatcher mount. I see the constellation OCTANS in the scope, and I live in Colorado.......good thing I bought a qhy polemaster.
Ah, yes, Colorado is a bit more south from my latitude, but definitely not the southern hemisphere :-). The polemaster should do the job. I'm still using the polar alignment procedure in sharpcap pro. Clear skies!
Good video, Wido! Thank you fore that. I use the Orion ST80 as a guide scope on my 8" Newtonian, and sometimes I use it with my William Optics Zenithstar 61 on a side-by-side set up. For my TS86SDQ, I bought the ZWO OAG with helical focusser but at the moment I can't get this configuration to work. Probably due lack of experience with an OAG. BTW, most of the time I'm using the ZWO ASI 120MM Mini as a guide camera and sometimes the ZWO ASI 290MC.
@@AstroForumSpace, it seems that I can't to get/find a guide star. I talked about it with others in a FB-group and they say that in the beginning it is a little bit practicing to get a feeling for it. But once you know how to work with an OAG, your never going back, they say :-). So, I have to experiment some more with it when the weather permits. Unfortunately, it will be cloudy, rainy and windy here the whole week. Wishing you too "clear skies" 🙂🌌🌠
@@beatriceheinze2294 OK, thanks for your feedback. Same here, cloudy nights for the next week or two. I'm sure it will be clear again when we have the next full moon :-).
Good information as always Wido👍. I'm currently also considering a Rowan belt upgrade for my HEQ5pro. I'm using the Svbony 60mm which I think gets rebadged under many names, it's very good entry level option.
@@AstroForumSpace I hope so Wido currently the RA seems to be at around 2.5 whatever I do so might have to try this famous Rowan belt. Seems strange not to have to DIY this but this is the astro way !
I have a basic question- when using auto guiding , are corrections made to the RA axis only ? Or do I need to drive the DEC axis too , so corrections can be made there as well ? So is an auto guiding setup include a one or two axis drive Thank you
Most mounts have two axes, Ra and Dec. Autoguiding can guide using both axes, hence the two lines you'll see in guiding software like phd2. It is possible to do one axis guiding if you only have one (e.g. on most star trackers).
How are you Wido? If you look under calculators in astronomy tools, there is "guidescope suitability" chart that does the calculation for you. Just FYI. Great video as usual.
@@AstroForumSpace not in this case. The reason is constrained fov and not being able to find a suitable guide star. It works for some but I prefer the wider view for star acquisition. Personal preference.
Thanks for the nice overview. Good stuff coming from you as always. I'll be looking forward to the follow-up video. I have a simple 50mm/180mm guide scope + the ASI120MM mini. Guiding works reasonably well I would say, but my stars on on that small chip are more rectangular than round and look like someone stepped on a pizza. And yes - I have spent hours and hours to focus them. I 3D-printed 0.1mm spacer rings to aid that purpose. It is as good as it can be done without a helical focuser. So I am wondering whether the optics of the scope are that bad to produce such lousy start images. Perhaps you could say something about that in your next video. Thanks as always. Clear skies.
Strange. The mini should produce a good image of the stars, did you try to use it with your main imaging scope to see if you get round stars? Is yes, then it's the cheap guidescope that you'll be able to replace. Clear skies.
Hi Wido . Are you *really* able to do Autoguiding on your 8" EdgeHD with the 50 or 60mm Guidescope and camera ? I'm being told that this combo won't work at that long Focal Length . I'd love to see something specific from you on the Guiding with this combo . Thanks for all the work you do on your Videos ./SRK
Hi Scott click one of my live streams, you'll probably see some live guiding and raw picture results. Old school AP ers are telling us that your guidescope should be about 1/3rd the FL of your telescope, but the tiny pixel sizes of the new planetary cameras are pretty sensitive. I'm still thinking about upgrading my guide scope but I've been getting very decent results. That APOD Pacman nebula was captured with a 50mm guidescope. Cheers.
I've been doing astrophotography for 6 months. Right now I use a Nikon D500 crop sensor and a Redcat 51 250mm. My 4 minute exposures are really sharp across the whole frame with no auto guiding. My mount is a Orion Sirius EQ-G. My plan is for sometime next year to get a Orion 115mm scope which is 805mm. I first plan is to just characterizing the setup from 30 seconds to 4 minutes or until the stars aren't round anymore. Is there a equation to tell you when auto guiding is required for a certain focal length? Thank you and clear skies. Keep the good videos coming.
Thanks for all of your informational videos. I have an AT102ED and the ZWO ASIAIR Plus, I'm using a ZWO ASI 224 color and a SVBONY SV165 Mini Guide Scope 30mm F4 for guiding. My problem is that it loops and then goes into "calibration" but never starts guiding ?? What am I doing wrong ? lol.....thanks for advice you might have......Mike, Ohio
Hi! Very informative, thanks! What I don't understand: You say that simple tracking of the mount will lead to tracking errors due to inaccuracy of gear, thread or nut wear and all that. Why does autoguiding make any difference then? The commands from the software will just again result in the mount being moved by its gear and threads and belts, which you say might be responsible for tracking errors. So why don't those errors occur the same way while autoguiding by any thinkable whatsoever expensive guiding system?
Hi Wido,Im One Of Your Newer Subs,I Took 3 Months Deciding On The Evoguide 50ed For My 6se,On a Skywatcher Eqm35Pro With The Asi120Mini Guide Cam,and Shoot With Either My Asi385MC or Canon T6i,How Do I Go About Getting It Set Up,Thats What Im Having Problems Finding Videos For,Then I Can Move On To This One,lol..Thank You and Clear Skies❤️🙏🏼🔭✨🌏
Hi, I have a very old video on how to setup the Celestron AVX and a more recent one on first light with the Eq6r-pro. Or are you referring to setting up autoguiding?
Hey Wido, this was a very helpful video. I have not been happy with my guidescope, which is an "Astromania 60mm x 240mm guidescope". It's not an extremely large aperture and it's kind of a short focal length. I think it's a doublet but the stars look really bad in it. So, thank you for your video. I think this will make me very happy. Wido, I have a question for you and that is; In the "Autoguiding: Selecting a good Guidescope and Camera for Astrophotography" video, (this video), the Nebula you have in your background looks, too me, EXACTLY like a Tiger's Head and right paw, and so, would you, please, tell me what is the name/catalog number of that Nebula? I would really appreciate it. I would love to image that Nebula myself and have it blown up into a large poster so I can hang it on the wall in my new Astronomy Room. I will make it the first image I hang on my walls! Anyway, thank you, once again, for ALL of your videos. They are always very informative and I really enjoy watching them. Sincerely, Rich Williams Astor, Florida 32102 USA!
Getting ready to buy my first setup. Looks like great info on auto guiding. Would you be able to tell me if the items in my cart will be a good set of equipment?
Hi Wido :) Thanks for your great and educative channel. May i ask you about two guide cameras i am interesstes in but not able to decide. Wich on will you recomend for 480mm guide scope and 2000mm focal lenght. ZWO ASI174MM mono or the Ultrastar pro mono from Starlight express ?? Kind regards Johnny Dolve from Norway
I have a question... why not use the main scope and camera, split the data-stream with one of these camara-splitting softwares and then feed this split-data-feed to the guide software...
For deep-sky, the main imaging camera is taking long exposure pictures, so you'll need a second guide camera to take pictures every 1 or 2 seconds of a guidestar close to the target and feed that info to the mount.
@@AstroForumSpace indeed yes... seems like these splitting software used for streaming does not like it when you try to fiddle with shutter durations and whatnot... darnit, almost thought I was gona get away with it...
Useful video AGAIN =) \o/ I'm using a TS Optics Photoline 72/432 on a CEM40G. Guidescope for trial and error (cheap one/brand: goedkoopie): Svbony 50/240mm Guidecamera: zwo asi 120mm mini And an Asiair Pro /Edit: after watching the part about guidescopes: Is the Svbony the exact same guidescope as the Orion? Only a different aperture?
@@AstroForumSpace I think in China they have a secret guidescope factory. At least the helical focuser, the markings and finish of those guidescopes are all te same. And now: More clear skies please!
Ah, yes. You should be able to use that as a guide camera. I'm working on that second video where I show how to connect it all together and start autoguiding in PHD2.
If I connect my mount instead of on camera (st4 port) in PHD2, it will then send the commands directly to my mount??? If so, what's the point in the guide port? I'm new to autoguide. Great video thank you!
Using a common combo of ZWO scope and camera, the images are always weak and blurry. I have spent countless sessions trying to focus better. It seems like the gear is not capable of doing better. The ASI AiR still guides, but is my situation common?
I did bought pole master to make sure the polar alignment is accurate however I am finding difficulty to star alignment my eq 6 pro when I try to attach camera to the scope and use pc to star my Astro Imagining sessions,, any hint bro ?
Hi there, I'm not using the pole master unfortunately. I'm using Sharpcap Pro to polar align my mount through my telescope/camera. Like this (see ending): ua-cam.com/video/XqcbDC3pdG0/v-deo.html I do experience difficulty in polar alignment and it usually happens when (1) I'm too far off the north star - you need to be roughly aligned to start the procedure, or (2) seeing is pretty bad, I sometimes have to up the gain and/or exposure time to get platesolving working, or (3) at native focal length or worse (with 2x barlow) it becomes almost impossible to polar align in sharpcap, better to use a small refractor with a wider field of view. Hope this is useful! Clear skies FreeDiver.
Hi, very nice your videos. I'm looking for a guidescope that suits my mount (10" Meade LX200 GPS - FL = 2500mm, aperture 254mm, f/10, main camera ASI294MC-PRO, guide camera ASI120MC-S, f/6.3 and f/3.3 reducers) The ratio you presented in the video: ideally, the ratios between resolutions (guidescope/main telescope) should be between 3 and 4? Thanks.
Hi André, the ratios are not set in stone. I've gone all the way up to 1:10 and still got decent guiding results. Guidescope length, size and weight also play a role. Nice telescope by the way! Are you using an alt-az or eq mount with that? Is it an advanced coma free (acf) telescope?
@@AstroForumSpace Unfortunately it's not Coma-Free; It's a LX200 GPS 10", it's not the ACF version. I bought it in the first months of the year 2021 and I'm learning to solve one problem at a time kkkk. I've only been using it in the Alt-Az version, as I need to improve the guidance (one of the reasons I really liked your video!) Right after watching the video I practically gave up on buying a Guidescope: due to the FL 2500mm, I'll try to use an OAG. I bought both the equatorial wedge (ultra-edge) and also a Field Derotator from Meade (a rare accessory to find) to compare which of the two will allow good long exposures.Another step is to purchase a Coma corrector.
Yes, the seeing conditions are usually a bit better close to the seaside. The biggest issue I've ran into is the stronger winds which makes accurate tracking challenging. Good luck!
Hi Steven, if I'm correct that's a maksutov telescope at f/12. It will be extremely hard to perform deepsky with that telescope due to the low f/ratio. It's awesome for planetary imaging though.
also i dont understand on my cpc800 the finder scope is showing upside down images is this normal as i cant get use to that as the main scope is correct
@AstroForum Usb Hub can work but only for a short distance. I have to take 20-30m outdoor. the other equipment (Celestron AVX, DSLM) are connected with Wlan and works fine. Only the guiding-cam lefts. Now i have found a solution for the cam with an usb-rj45 implementer but the best way for me may a wlan guiding cam but it looks like there is nothing in the market.
I never owned one but perhaps this can help www.primalucelab.com/astronomy/computer-and-software/eagle-control-unit-for-telescopes-and-astrophotography.html
hi ya iv not long bought myself a celestron cpc800 can i use an auto guide with that? and whats the different between a Celestron NexGuide Autoguider #93713 and Celestron StarSense AutoAlign ,on my cpc it has an auto guide port?
Hi Stephen, sorry, can't help you. I do not own a CPC800. Isn't that a telescope with an fork alt-az mount? I'd advise you to buy an equatorial mount for deepsky astrophotography.
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![[UA] Team Vitality проти NAVI | IEM Cologne 2024](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wttO1zVRTC0/mqdefault.jpg)
Good info for people new in the hobby.
Thanks Chuck, I learned from the best @chucksastrophotography!
HEY, It's Chuck in the comments! Hey man!! I watch both of you dudes! Far out!!!
Thanks! Chuck is awesome.
ZWO ASI120mini system; cheap, small fits into finder bracket and works great. A step up is a guide camera with larger chip for wider field of view such as the ASI174 mini (the 174mini has much large ccd and larger which provides a wider fov and less sensitive guideing), still using the 120mini scope (30mm can see a lot of stars). Stepping up to larger aperture scopes usually means higher focal length and much smaller field of view for the guidecam, and a lot more weight.
** great video!
im not at the level of dso with longer focal length (like my edge hd 925) but I plan to use an off axis guider.
I plan to use an asi 120mm as opposed to my 120mc
I use the altair astro starwave guiding bundle. I honestly did not pay attention to whether it was the best fit for my telescope, but it has worked for me so far.
That's what matters most. As long as it works, it works. Clear skies!
bundles are a great idea, due to it being matched well
Great Video!
And about the right focal length for guide scope calculation... There is a section in the astronomy.tools that calculates the ratio mentioned in the video. It's under [Calculators] -> [Guidescope Suitability]. Shame that it doesn't tell you it's suitable or not, but it does tell you the ratio at least.
Thanks for the info!
This video is added to my favourites . Going to need this information soon. The TS photoline first . Thanks for your reply wido .Clear skies . Stephen 👍.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Having owned both I can say for certain the Orion 60mm and Svbony 106 are exactly the same scope. However the Svbony only costs 80-90 USD. I use the svbony 106 with the ASI120MM-c (Color) for guiding an 805mm OTA in Bortle 6-7. No issues what-so-ever. Thank you for posting the videos!
As is the Astromania 60mm guide scope. They are all made in the same Chinese factory as far as I know. Just a difference in price and the brand silkscreened on the scope.
I have exactly the same guide scope and cameta :)
Guidescope: Lunatico Ezg-60 60/230 f3.8
Camera: Zwo Asi 224MC
Imaging scopes:
Refractor TS 102/520
Newtonian 200/1000
This must be a sign. I've been looking at guide scope bundles all day.
Hope this info is useful!
Wido, another informative and (for me) very useful video tutorial. When I save up enough $$$$$ for my EQ6-R pro mount, I’ll be looking at autoguiding for sure.
aaah..it's a money pit for sure...
I have the ZWO F4 120mm guide scope and the ZWO ASI 174MM mini camera. This combination works really well, I have the ZWO 120MM mini but never got it to guide very well so got the 174 mono.
Skywatcher Evoguide 50 (with FF) + ASI290MM mini here. I’ve also used the former for imaging. Excellent review, thanks
Cool, thanks for the positive feedback!
I have the Skywatcher EVoGuide 50ED and ZWO ASI120MM on my William Optics Zenithstar 103 ( Meade LX85 mount ) and my Ioptron 200mm Photron RC (Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro mount ). I do have the Orion 50mm and 60mm Guide scopes but was not satisfied with the image clarity. Guiding has been spot on running 5 minute subs with the Meade LX85. I haven't had enough clear sky time to drag the EQ6-R out. Maybe this week... supposed to have 3 nights of clear sky.... in a row..... Yaaaaay
Great! Did you ever try the EVO guide for imaging? I'm interested to see what kind if pictures this little scope can make, Hope you'll have those three days of CS!
Mooi overzicht!
Heb de Evoguide en de ASI290mm mini net binnen dus ik kijk uit naar je volgende video!
Dank je Eugene!
I use the ZWO ASI120MM mini guide camera and adapted Sky-Watcher 9x50 finder scope combination.
Thanks a lot for this videos! Best video explanation I found for this so far!!!
Wido is naar de kapper geweest ;)
Mijn vrouw heeft haar best gedaan, lol
Recently, I bought a used Orion 70mm multi-use finder scope from ebay. Focal 279mm, f3.9, 2-element lens Crown glass(could be ED?), little heavy; weighs 544grams. I can use 1.25" eye pieces, T2 screw threads. I'm considering an autoguiding camera in the near future. I bought this because I needed a finder with the vixen dovetail mount and it wasn't expensive. :)
Sounds interesting. The focal length sure is big enough to guide most scopes. The issue might the lack of a (helical) focuser? Good luck!
@@AstroForumSpace I just checked the finder. I can confirm it does have a helical focuser; it's got the tightening finger screws, it's threaded on both ends, but without any readings. I didn't realise, what it was for! I'm still learning something new. :D
@@AstroForumSpace Actually, you're right. There is no helical focuser. There is threaded adjustments for some focusing headroom but not substantial.
Absolutely brilliant explanation. You save me a lot of money. :) Thanks a lot.
You're very welcome!
I’ve got my guide scope and camera on the way for my Astro setup. I’m getting the Orion 50mm with the Orion starshoot autoguider camera on the way
Nice, enjoy your new gear!
Great video and very informative. I am using an Orion 60 mm guide scope and an ASI 290 mm guide camera. Seem to work well with my 8 SCT.
Thanks for the info. I'm and also considering the 60mm Orion as a new guidescope with my 178mc. Clear skies!
@@AstroForumSpace Also using the Orion 60mm with the ASI 120 for the Edge HD8, and it's working fine. For my ultralight setup, I use the ASI120 with ZWO guide scope. I would strongly advise against using this later guiderope: it's too small (30 mm), does not gather enough light, cannot be aligned with the main optical tube and is a nightmare to properly focus. I bought it because it was lightweight, but I now notice that it is the same weight as the Orion 50 mm, and more expansive ! I will follow your advice and buy the Orion 50 mm.
Damien
Nice video Wido. I also have the ASI178 for solar imaging which will be my new guide camera. I canceled OAG and will use a guidescope for the Edge8 - either the Agena 50/160mm, ZWO 60/280mm, or Orion ST 80/400mm. - Cheers
Thanks Kurt. I'm also thinking about upgrading, perhaps to a 60/240 with my 178mc. Given my reasonable guiding results at 162mm focal length I think it should be enough. Clear skies!
I´m using a Omegon Modular Guidescope with a ZWO Asi 120MM. it suits my Evostar 72E perfectly.
Thanks Valter, sounds like a good combination.
Interesting info again Wido, looks like I ordered the right gear :-) Looking forward to the next video 👍.
About the Primalucelab, I think it's the same as the Altair 60mm guidescope
Thanks Siegfried! And yes, both guidescopes look very similar.
@@AstroForumSpace Yes they do, only difference is the color blue vs red.
Did you ever tried autoguiding with a color camera Wido ?
I use an asi120mc, yes I realise the mm would be better... but so far my mc is doing a great job:) the deeper I go with deep sky, the advantage would show with the mm... im not that level yet for the really faint targets :)
my telrad also helps a great deal with start up alignment
Hello Wido and the community. I will try to be brief and factual. Please correct me if I'm wrong somewhere. I have 4 scopes ranging from 600 to 1600 mm focal lengths, at F ratios 3.9, 7.5, 8 and 11.25. I have two guide scopes, both Orion 50mmand 60mm ,with 169 and 240 mm focal lengths. Two mini guide cameras zwo 120 and 290 fitted with 2x Barlows. Depending on my imaging scope/main camera ,I use the guide scope/camera combination as long as I have a imaging/guiding ratio of less than 5.
I think that's about right, but the most important question is... Are you getting round stars? If that's the case, then don't worry too much about these soft rules of thumb. Clear skies!
@@AstroForumSpace I'm still a beginner in the hobby and I do things in the...empirical way I should say. I recently did, while it was still in the French skies, the Orion nebula and it was the best image I've ever taken. Today I'm still mesmerised by this image. I would love to share it to you so that you may comment on the latter.
Hi Jean, please send a link or the picture to astroforumlive@gmail.com and I'll take a look at it, merci.
I am using the SvBony SV106 60mm guide scope with a Bresser GPCMOS02000KPA Toupket camera and a SvBony 205 camera. The Bresser GPCMOS02000K is a bit to work with, i still do not know how to get images displayed on my laptop but I will keep trying. Thanks for the video!
I'm was using an 90mm/500 and Bresser HD camera on my 8" Newtonian (1000fl), and a 60/280 and ASI120 on my Rasa and Edge 11s, however I will be changing the Edge 11 to OAG with ASI174.
Nice Dave, I'm happy to hear about your OAG experiences, hope it works out. Clear skies!
@@AstroForumSpace Cheers Wido, need to wait until late May to get home to it though... :-(
@@DavesAstrophotography aaah, the delays are terrible at the moment.
@@AstroForumSpace I have all the gear it is at home, it arrived a few weeks ago, unfortunately I'm not I'm at work for 8 weeks! Just finished 1st week of hotel quarantine, another week to go, then 6 weeks on the platform...
Very good video - lots of useful information.
Thank you a lot for explaining everything so well for Newby. I'm completely overwhelmed by the amount of information needed to only make a choice on what to buy and you really give me some confidence. If love if you make some offline learning sessions. Hello from the Netherlands as well)) and your hoody is just superb!) I want the same)))
Hi Maria, thanks so much for your kind world's. You can find most of my tutorials on my website astroforumspace.com 🙂. Have a nice day!
Thanks Wido! One more gear to buy in the future! 🤣 Is there a time when astrophotographers stop buying staffs?I don't think so!🤪
Im Getting At About a Stopping Point,lol..Need a Polar Scope Illuminator,Cause Im Tired Of Being a Contortionist,lol and a Digital Intervalometer
@@PafMedic Hey! Thing you are doint two hobbies at the same time! Astrophotografy and yoga! 🤣
Good question! When bank account is empty would be my guess...
The weight of the Skywatcher EVOGuide 50ED of .9 LBS / 0.4 kg struck me as amazing, given the fact that this looks well made, has two front lenses (being a doublet), has mounting rings, etc. etc. However, after doing some web searches, the best I can determine is that this weighs somewhere around 800 to 865 grams, or 1.76 to 1.95 lbs. If so, the weight appears to be on par with the other 50mm to 60mm guidescopes. If saving weight is your goal, I don't think you'll find that here.
Hi Claude! I checked out the weight of the EVOGUIDE myself. It states 800 grams on astroshop: bit.ly/38kKmcq and in the US at OPT it states 1.9lbs: bit.ly/3qtkJfH. Perhaps a typo was made where they took the 800 grams as .8 or .9 lbs? Anyway, still pretty lightweight if you ask me.
I replaced the finderscope that came with my Celestron Edge HD 800, after I spent 2 hours trying to fit a ZWO ASI120mm to it. I got a 70mm meoptix guidescope with 400mm focal length. last night I noticed that they sent the wrong polar alignment scope with the skywatcher mount. I see the constellation OCTANS in the scope, and I live in Colorado.......good thing I bought a qhy polemaster.
Ah, yes, Colorado is a bit more south from my latitude, but definitely not the southern hemisphere :-). The polemaster should do the job. I'm still using the polar alignment procedure in sharpcap pro. Clear skies!
Good video, Wido! Thank you fore that. I use the Orion ST80 as a guide scope on my 8" Newtonian, and sometimes I use it with my William Optics Zenithstar 61 on a side-by-side set up. For my TS86SDQ, I bought the ZWO OAG with helical focusser but at the moment I can't get this configuration to work. Probably due lack of experience with an OAG. BTW, most of the time I'm using the ZWO ASI 120MM Mini as a guide camera and sometimes the ZWO ASI 290MC.
Thanks for sharing Beatrice! I'm also looking into OAG, what is your issue if I may ask? Clear skies.
@@AstroForumSpace, it seems that I can't to get/find a guide star. I talked about it with others in a FB-group and they say that in the beginning it is a little bit practicing to get a feeling for it. But once you know how to work with an OAG, your never going back, they say :-). So, I have to experiment some more with it when the weather permits. Unfortunately, it will be cloudy, rainy and windy here the whole week. Wishing you too "clear skies" 🙂🌌🌠
@@beatriceheinze2294 OK, thanks for your feedback. Same here, cloudy nights for the next week or two. I'm sure it will be clear again when we have the next full moon :-).
@@AstroForumSpace hahaha...always the same with the bright moon :-D
Good information as always Wido👍. I'm currently also considering a Rowan belt upgrade for my HEQ5pro. I'm using the Svbony 60mm which I think gets rebadged under many names, it's very good entry level option.
Good choice! Ah the famous Rowan belt upgrade, hope you'll get sub-arc guiding accuracy Ollie, clear skies!
@@AstroForumSpace I hope so Wido currently the RA seems to be at around 2.5 whatever I do so might have to try this famous Rowan belt. Seems strange not to have to DIY this but this is the astro way !
Excellent
I have a basic question- when using auto guiding , are corrections made to the RA axis only ? Or do I need to drive the DEC axis too , so corrections can be made there as well ?
So is an auto guiding setup include a one or two axis drive
Thank you
Most mounts have two axes, Ra and Dec. Autoguiding can guide using both axes, hence the two lines you'll see in guiding software like phd2. It is possible to do one axis guiding if you only have one (e.g. on most star trackers).
@@AstroForumSpace thank you very much for your reply .
How are you Wido? If you look under calculators in astronomy tools, there is "guidescope suitability" chart that does the calculation for you. Just FYI. Great video as usual.
Thanks for the info!
@@AstroForumSpace You are welcome.
SVbony sv106 60mm Guide scope F/4 and the zwo asi120mm mini pretty standard gear for a bigginer level thats what i use
As long as it does the job! Guide scopes and cameras do not need to be as sophisticated anyway. Clear skies! Thanks for watching.
Orion ST-80 with a QHY 5 II mono. This gives me much greater scale with the long focal length Maksutovs I like.
Ah, 400mm focal length, sweet. Aren't you considering an off axis guider?
@@AstroForumSpace not in this case. The reason is constrained fov and not being able to find a suitable guide star. It works for some but I prefer the wider view for star acquisition. Personal preference.
Thanks for the nice overview. Good stuff coming from you as always. I'll be looking forward to the follow-up video. I have a simple 50mm/180mm guide scope + the ASI120MM mini. Guiding works reasonably well I would say, but my stars on on that small chip are more rectangular than round and look like someone stepped on a pizza. And yes - I have spent hours and hours to focus them. I 3D-printed 0.1mm spacer rings to aid that purpose. It is as good as it can be done without a helical focuser. So I am wondering whether the optics of the scope are that bad to produce such lousy start images. Perhaps you could say something about that in your next video. Thanks as always. Clear skies.
Strange. The mini should produce a good image of the stars, did you try to use it with your main imaging scope to see if you get round stars? Is yes, then it's the cheap guidescope that you'll be able to replace. Clear skies.
@@AstroForumSpace that will be my next step.
I am still manual guiding.
Hardcore, great. Do you use your finder scope?
Svbony guidescope is identical to the second option but much much cheaper. It is doublet scope
Hi Wido . Are you *really* able to do Autoguiding on your 8" EdgeHD with the 50 or 60mm Guidescope and camera ? I'm being told that this combo won't work at that long Focal Length . I'd love to see something specific from you on the Guiding with this combo . Thanks for all the work you do on your Videos ./SRK
Hi Scott click one of my live streams, you'll probably see some live guiding and raw picture results. Old school AP ers are telling us that your guidescope should be about 1/3rd the FL of your telescope, but the tiny pixel sizes of the new planetary cameras are pretty sensitive. I'm still thinking about upgrading my guide scope but I've been getting very decent results. That APOD Pacman nebula was captured with a 50mm guidescope. Cheers.
I've been doing astrophotography for 6 months. Right now I use a Nikon D500 crop sensor and a Redcat 51 250mm. My 4 minute exposures are really sharp across the whole frame with no auto guiding. My mount is a Orion Sirius EQ-G. My plan is for sometime next year to get a Orion 115mm scope which is 805mm. I first plan is to just characterizing the setup from 30 seconds to 4 minutes or until the stars aren't round anymore. Is there a equation to tell you when auto guiding is required for a certain focal length? Thank you and clear skies. Keep the good videos coming.
Hi there, I'm afraid it's trial and error. I would advise you to get guiding with a focal length of 500mm or higher. Cheers.
tried a PrimaLice Labs 60mm guider but could not get focus, so trying a William Optics Guidestar 61mm w/61A flattener🤞
Thanks for all of your informational videos. I have an AT102ED and the ZWO ASIAIR Plus, I'm using a ZWO ASI 224 color and a SVBONY SV165 Mini Guide Scope 30mm F4 for guiding. My problem is that it loops and then goes into "calibration" but never starts guiding ?? What am I doing wrong ? lol.....thanks for advice you might have......Mike, Ohio
Strange...Does your telescope mount move with each calibration step? Perhaps reinstall phd2 and see what happens?
Hi! Very informative, thanks!
What I don't understand: You say that simple tracking of the mount will lead to tracking errors due to inaccuracy of gear, thread or nut wear and all that. Why does autoguiding make any difference then? The commands from the software will just again result in the mount being moved by its gear and threads and belts, which you say might be responsible for tracking errors. So why don't those errors occur the same way while autoguiding by any thinkable whatsoever expensive guiding system?
Hi Wido,Im One Of Your Newer Subs,I Took 3 Months Deciding On The Evoguide 50ed For My 6se,On a Skywatcher Eqm35Pro With The Asi120Mini Guide Cam,and Shoot With Either My Asi385MC or Canon T6i,How Do I Go About Getting It Set Up,Thats What Im Having Problems Finding Videos For,Then I Can Move On To This One,lol..Thank You and Clear Skies❤️🙏🏼🔭✨🌏
Hi, I have a very old video on how to setup the Celestron AVX and a more recent one on first light with the Eq6r-pro. Or are you referring to setting up autoguiding?
Great video! Where did you get the shirt?
Check it out here, 😆: astroforumspace.com/shop/
Hello,
When you do your next program on autoguiding, could you please show a wiring diagram?
Thanks.
-Maurice
I'm not great at drawing but I'll try to make some drawings of different options to connect everything to a laptop/computer.
Hey Wido, this was a very helpful video. I have not been happy with my guidescope, which is an "Astromania 60mm x 240mm guidescope". It's not an extremely large aperture and it's kind of a short focal length. I think it's a doublet but the stars look really bad in it. So, thank you for your video. I think this will make me very happy.
Wido, I have a question for you and that is; In the "Autoguiding: Selecting a good Guidescope and Camera for Astrophotography" video, (this video), the Nebula you have in your background looks, too me, EXACTLY like a Tiger's Head and right paw, and so, would you, please, tell me what is the name/catalog number of that Nebula? I would really appreciate it. I would love to image that Nebula myself and have it blown up into a large poster so I can hang it on the wall in my new Astronomy Room. I will make it the first image I hang on my walls!
Anyway, thank you, once again, for ALL of your videos. They are always very informative and I really enjoy watching them.
Sincerely, Rich Williams
Astor, Florida 32102 USA!
Hi Rich, thanks! The picture in the background is the orion nebula (Messier 42 or NGC1976). Cheers!
Getting ready to buy my first setup. Looks like great info on auto guiding. Would you be able to tell me if the items in my cart will be a good set of equipment?
Yes, absolutely. My e-mail: astroforumlive@gmail.com
Skywatcher 80/400 + asi 120mc-s
Hi Wido :) Thanks for your great and educative channel. May i ask you about two guide cameras i am interesstes in but not able to decide. Wich on will you recomend for 480mm guide scope and 2000mm focal lenght. ZWO ASI174MM mono or the Ultrastar pro mono from Starlight express ?? Kind regards Johnny Dolve from Norway
I have a question... why not use the main scope and camera, split the data-stream with one of these camara-splitting softwares and then feed this split-data-feed to the guide software...
For deep-sky, the main imaging camera is taking long exposure pictures, so you'll need a second guide camera to take pictures every 1 or 2 seconds of a guidestar close to the target and feed that info to the mount.
@@AstroForumSpace indeed yes... seems like these splitting software used for streaming does not like it when you try to fiddle with shutter durations and whatnot... darnit, almost thought I was gona get away with it...
Useful video AGAIN =) \o/
I'm using a TS Optics Photoline 72/432 on a CEM40G.
Guidescope for trial and error (cheap one/brand: goedkoopie): Svbony 50/240mm
Guidecamera: zwo asi 120mm mini
And an Asiair Pro
/Edit: after watching the part about guidescopes: Is the Svbony the exact same guidescope as the Orion? Only a different aperture?
I'm not sure, but there are lots of guidescopes in the 60/240 range :-).
@@AstroForumSpace I think in China they have a secret guidescope factory.
At least the helical focuser, the markings and finish of those guidescopes are all te same.
And now: More clear skies please!
I have an old-school Orion Starshoot Auto Guider on a generic 60 mm/240 mm guide scope. I've yet to use it effectively.
Ah, yes. You should be able to use that as a guide camera. I'm working on that second video where I show how to connect it all together and start autoguiding in PHD2.
@@AstroForumSpace Cool. Looking forward to it. :)
If I connect my mount instead of on camera (st4 port) in PHD2, it will then send the commands directly to my mount??? If so, what's the point in the guide port? I'm new to autoguide. Great video thank you!
Hi, I've read that my 7" MAK /2700FL is quite good for dso's, what guide scope/ camera do you recommend for this? Thx
A mak is excellent for planets, not deepsky. F/ratio is too high
Does the guide scope/camera have to be lined up exactly with the imaging scope? how critical is it?
Hi Rich, if your polar alignment is good, then you should be fine. Rough alignment between scope/guidescope is good enough.
ASI 120 with asi 30mm f4
Using a common combo of ZWO scope and camera, the images are always weak and blurry. I have spent countless sessions trying to focus better. It seems like the gear is not capable of doing better. The ASI AiR still guides, but is my situation common?
I did bought pole master to make sure the polar alignment is accurate however I am finding difficulty to star alignment my eq 6 pro when I try to attach camera to the scope and use pc to star my Astro Imagining sessions,, any hint bro ?
Hi there, I'm not using the pole master unfortunately. I'm using Sharpcap Pro to polar align my mount through my telescope/camera. Like this (see ending): ua-cam.com/video/XqcbDC3pdG0/v-deo.html I do experience difficulty in polar alignment and it usually happens when (1) I'm too far off the north star - you need to be roughly aligned to start the procedure, or (2) seeing is pretty bad, I sometimes have to up the gain and/or exposure time to get platesolving working, or (3) at native focal length or worse (with 2x barlow) it becomes almost impossible to polar align in sharpcap, better to use a small refractor with a wider field of view. Hope this is useful! Clear skies FreeDiver.
What guidescope do you use with your 8" sct? The 160mm should be too short?
Check out my video here, you'll be surprised: ua-cam.com/video/OBjYIH3MQAA/v-deo.html
Nice., thx 😀
Hi, very nice your videos. I'm looking for a guidescope that suits my mount (10" Meade LX200 GPS - FL = 2500mm, aperture 254mm, f/10, main camera ASI294MC-PRO, guide camera ASI120MC-S, f/6.3 and f/3.3 reducers) The ratio you presented in the video: ideally, the ratios between resolutions (guidescope/main telescope) should be between 3 and 4? Thanks.
Hi André, the ratios are not set in stone. I've gone all the way up to 1:10 and still got decent guiding results. Guidescope length, size and weight also play a role. Nice telescope by the way! Are you using an alt-az or eq mount with that? Is it an advanced coma free (acf) telescope?
@@AstroForumSpace Unfortunately it's not Coma-Free; It's a LX200 GPS 10", it's not the ACF version. I bought it in the first months of the year 2021 and I'm learning to solve one problem at a time kkkk. I've only been using it in the Alt-Az version, as I need to improve the guidance (one of the reasons I really liked your video!) Right after watching the video I practically gave up on buying a Guidescope: due to the FL 2500mm, I'll try to use an OAG. I bought both the equatorial wedge (ultra-edge) and also a Field Derotator from Meade (a rare accessory to find) to compare which of the two will allow good long exposures.Another step is to purchase a Coma corrector.
I want a shirt like yours
Check: astroforumspace.com/shop/ no pressure :-)
Hi Wido, Would you recommend using a newtonian near the beach where the sky are really dark?
Yes, the seeing conditions are usually a bit better close to the seaside. The biggest issue I've ran into is the stronger winds which makes accurate tracking challenging. Good luck!
What sort of $ are those when you say "425" for the Evoguide?
Currently it can be found below $300. Was it that high a few months ago?
Hi, I was given a gift of a Meade LX85 M6. I want to know if it would be worth it to try to use it for DSO? If yes what guide scope should I get?
Hi Steven, if I'm correct that's a maksutov telescope at f/12. It will be extremely hard to perform deepsky with that telescope due to the low f/ratio. It's awesome for planetary imaging though.
Thank you so much.
also i dont understand on my cpc800 the finder scope is showing upside down images is this normal as i cant get use to that as the main scope is correct
It look that: ZWO ASI178MM is the best choice
Hi. Maybe one of you guys can help me. I search a Guiding Cam with WLAN and ST4 Port. Has anyone see something like that? (best with APT Support).
You probably want to look into solutions like the zwo asiair. Clear skies.
@@AstroForumSpace Hi. Yeah this gear works fine but only with IOS/Android but i search a solution for Windows or Mac OS.
USB hub?
@AstroForum Usb Hub can work but only for a short distance. I have to take 20-30m outdoor. the other equipment (Celestron AVX, DSLM) are connected with Wlan and works fine. Only the guiding-cam lefts. Now i have found a solution for the cam with an usb-rj45 implementer but the best way for me may a wlan guiding cam but it looks like there is nothing in the market.
I never owned one but perhaps this can help www.primalucelab.com/astronomy/computer-and-software/eagle-control-unit-for-telescopes-and-astrophotography.html
hi ya iv not long bought myself a celestron cpc800 can i use an auto guide with that? and whats the different between a Celestron NexGuide Autoguider #93713 and Celestron StarSense AutoAlign ,on my cpc it has an auto guide port?
Hi Stephen, sorry, can't help you. I do not own a CPC800. Isn't that a telescope with an fork alt-az mount? I'd advise you to buy an equatorial mount for deepsky astrophotography.