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Would this be a good camera setup for Stellarmate?

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My current setup is unguided, using a micro-4/3 camera with a William Optics ZS61 on an iEQ30 Pro mount. I've had some pretty good results, but walking noise is a persistent issue. So I want to take the plunge into guiding. I really want to use Stellarmate (I'm a big supporter of open source software) for mount control, especially dithering.

As per my previous thread , my camera isn't in the libgphoto2 supported camera list, so it looks like not only am I going to need to buy an autoguider, I'll need to get an imaging camera as well. I don't have a ton of money to throw at this, either, so I need to choose equipment carefully.

I'm currently thinking of getting the ToupTek GP-2000-KMA Deep Sky Mono camera for guiding, and the ZWO ASI 533 MC Pro Color for the main imaging camera. Are these cameras well supported in Indi/Ekos/Stellarmate? Will they work well together when being controlled by a Stellarmate? Are there pitfalls I should look out for in using these cameras? (Should I reconsider this combination entirely?) I'd greatly appreciate any advice you have, before I dive into this rather large expense.
Last edit: 3 years 3 months ago by Rachel K.
3 years 3 months ago #64586

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Both cameras are well supported and should work well. I have used several Toupteks with guiding before and they worked great. The ASI 533 should work fine as well (I have one)
The following user(s) said Thank You: Rachel K
3 years 3 months ago #64587

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My 2 cents:

If you want to save money, I would suggest getting the ZWO ASI120MM-S (the USB3 version, NOT the USB2 version) camera for guiding, which costs ~$100 less than the ToupTek and works unfailingly.
As for an imaging camera, I have found that the 'walking noise' (presumably you are referring to the noise that looks like driving rain in the final stacked image) is an inherent feature for one shot color cameras and difficult to get rid of completely, even with dithering. At least in my experience. It is no issue when using a mono camera, but then you obviously have to use filters. However, the mono camera also allows you to do narrowband imaging, which is invaluable for getting the most out of nebulae. In principle, you can do narrowband also with a one shot color camera, but you are losing sensitivity and resolution.

Jo


PS: I forgot to mention: Make sure that the imaging camera you are ending up buying is COOLED! That is perhaps the most important feature. Cooling will cut down the noise tremendously. Especially during summer, cooling is absolutely essential in warmer climates.
Last edit: 3 years 3 months ago by Jose Corazon.
3 years 3 months ago #64590

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Thank you! That's very good to hear.
3 years 3 months ago #64636

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That's a very interesting idea. Would it work well to have two ZWO cameras connected at the same time? If I can save that money, I definitely should.Yes, pretty sure we're talking about the same kind of noise. Walking noise is the standard name, isn't it? It's also called correlated noise, at least in the popular parlance. But "walking noise" is what I've seen people call it the vast majority of the time. And yes, I'm certain that what I'm dealing with is walking noise.

I'm not expecting to get rid of it completely, but if I could reduce it a bunch, that would be nice. Walking noise is probably my #1 concern with my images as they stand today. (Well, except for things I'm really not able to do much about at all, like the weather and light pollution.)Narrowband just isn't practical for me. I'm lucky to get a few hours of imaging a month; I don't want to start a series and only get GB with no R, or whatever. Also, I'm mostly interested in galaxies. Nebulae are great, but my real focus is galaxies. Oh, and: Narrowband would imply needing to dump a whole much more money into this than I already don't have. So, really not the direction I want to go in.The 533 is cooled. That's a big part of why I'm considering it.
3 years 3 months ago #64637

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There is no problem with having 2 ZWO cameras connected. I have been doing that for years. ZWO ASI120MM-S for guiding, ZWO ASI1600 or 183 for imaging.
This is not an issue, many other users here on the forum are using the same combination.
3 years 3 months ago #64638

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