Newbie rig

Help me out here, please - I have a C-11 (still on the CG-5) and a recently-acquired Orion Starshoot camera. I understand that I need a guiding solution, but I don't know whether to go with the inexpensive guidescope and imager or an even less expensive off-axis guider / imager. I read something that indicated that an off-axis guider was preferable in cats to a guidescope for a reason too technical for me to understand without more caffeine.

And what guider should I use? Can a lowly solar-system model like the Orion for $99 do the trick?

Thank you!!

Hello Bennett! 8)

IMHO, you should concentrate on upgrading your mount before anything else... as you are UNDERMOUNTED...

If you add a guidescope to your existing setup, the weight is going to be even higher than what you have now, and that's NOT GOOD...

The guidescope combination is the best for what you want to do, but we must do "first things first"...

Sorry, I simply don't want to steer you the wrong way, or recommend other things before you get your MAIN PROBLEM fixed, as the MOUNT is THE most important part of an Imaging Setup...


Clear skies!

Why don’t you take the C-11 off the CG-5 mount and save it for visual use only (for the time being). It’s much too long a focal length for imaging except with the very best of mounts. Get yourself a small APO refractor. Something in the 70mm to 80mm range and mount it on your CG-5. At these short focal lengths you should get pretty good results without needing to guide if you can get a good polar alignment. Later on when you get a better mount you can use the APO as a guide scope.