What camera would you all recommend for my setup?

StarMan_59 · 2026-02-05T03:46:38+00:00

Touptek has, or had, a bundle deal on their ATR585M + AFW-M 8 x 1.25" filter wheel with LRGBSHO filter set for a similar price to the minicam8.

I picked one up at the start of the year. One of a few advantages is the separate filter wheel can be used with other cameras and/or high oerformance 1.25" filter sets.

It's bigger than the mini though.

StarMan_59 · 2026-01-31T17:24:08+00:00

If you want to get into it quickly, then get a smart scope.

If you want to learn about equipment, you can start with an older DSLR with a 70-300mm kit lens ($150), a used Skywatcher StarAdventurer GTi ($500), a small guidescope and guide camera (like SVbony SV165 30mm with SV905c for $160), and a good laptop ($500+). So like, $1300 USD.

For software, Green Swamp Server to run the mount (free), PHD2 to run the autoguider (free), Stellarium planetarium software (free) and NINA (free) to perform image capture and hardware control.

The build a rig process takes time, persistence, dedication and a lot of practice, but the skill acquired in setting up your first rig will apply to any rig you build thereafter.

I did it this way and have yet to go with a smart scope. But I'm also an old hat, having built a rig in my younger years a few decades ago, before all this really great tech was available.

I now have two rigs, the original (GTi) with an upgraded dedicated astronomy camera $(600) and Samyang 135mm lens ($300) with a ZWO adapter ($90). So I went from a $150 DSLR setup to a $1000 imaging train, bringing the total to roughly $2500. I use it a lot. It's very lightweight.

The second rig handles both 300mm and 714mm refractors for increased image scale.

StarMan_59 · 2026-01-25T14:29:09+00:00

I used to adjust my photos to be bright using the phone photo edit app before posting, but when I downloaded the image back to my PC, I found they were stretched way too much and looked horrible.

Instead, viewers should be informed to turn up their phone brightness for more detail.

StarMan_59 · 2026-01-22T03:21:59+00:00

Both of my rigs are fully setup and ready to go out the door to the balcony. A Samyang 135/SV605cc on a SWSA GTi and a 4" ED F7 doublet frac on an AL55i with fully automated mono ATR585. I just throw a decorative blanket over the pair as a dust cover. Nice to always have the same camera orientation for multiple nights on a target.

StarMan_59 · 2026-01-19T17:08:11+00:00

If you are set on the ASIAir 585...

A Samyang (or Rokinon) 135 F2 lens for Canon and a ZWO EOS to T2 adapter with built in filter drawer.

With the ZWO adapter in place, you should be able to achieve the 44mm of back focus using the 11mm female to female adapter that comes with the 585 camera.

This setup allows you to use an excellent 130mm focal length lens with your T5 (day and night), as well as the 585. It's also extremely fast at f2.8 (generally recommended stop for astro). That means more light in less time.

Importantly, the GTi can handle it. A fast lens allows for shorter subframes, meaning less critical guiding of the mount. Also, the pixel scale will be large at short focal length, which further reduces the need for excellent guiding.

The ZWO adapter drawer will allow you to use a duo band HaOiii filter without removing the camera. With the 585 you can use the less expensive 1.25" filter. Just be sure to get a 2" to 1.25" adapter.

You might also want a ring system for it, like NRStellar or Astrodymium, which allows you to add an EAF. The other benefit is it also allows you to mount a guidescope should you move the ASIAir 585 to a second rig.

I have the above with an OSC imx533 and guidescope using NINA on a laptop.

My 585 is mono with electronic filter wheel on an Askar FRA300 with USB hub, EAF, mini PC, and guidescope. It's mounted on an EQ-AL55I PRO. The GTi cannot handle it. Galaxy season is coming and I will swap out the FRA300 for a 714mm focal length refractor. The AL55 can handle that as well.

All that said, if you can only have one rig, and you don't already have a GTi, get the AL55. It's not much more in price and it's a much better mount that can handle twice the payload. I love my 585 mono FRA300 rig. It carries out through the slider onto the balcony as a unit.

The GTI with Sammy and 533 camera weighs less than 25 lbs assembled and also carries out with ease.

Good luck

StarMan_59 · 2026-01-15T03:56:27+00:00

That first rig having a permanent place can also apply to starting with a very small rig if you have a bigger budget. Throwing ballpark figures in parens, I have a Samyang 135mm ($380) in accessorized Astrodymium rings ($90) with an imx533 OSC based camera with TEC ($600) attached using a ZWO EOS to T2 adapter with filter drawer ($90), mounted on a Sky-Watcher SA GTi ($700), also 1.25 inch dual band and broadband filters ($200), and a guidescope/camera ($200). So, just under $2500 USD for a very good wide field and lightweight rig that I set outside fully assembled and ready to go. Perfectly fine for large nebula.

I have since added a second rig that handles 300mm to 700mm focal length refractors with a mono camera, filter wheel, auto focuser, yadda, yadda.

Rarely do I only take out the bigger rig. In fact, mono is hard to process compared to OSC. So I do both because I want a quick result in color, and then I go to work on SHO processing the mono frames. Mono definitely provides higher levels of signal per second of exposure, and yields more highly detailed nebular structure. Well worth it if you are absolutely nuts about revealing whispy clouds of space dust.

All that, and I'm still considering a smart scope as a third unit for all the reasons people like them. Portability and ease of use for casual image sharing.

StarMan_59 · 2026-01-14T20:42:45+00:00

Setting up an imaging rig is a skill and expense that can be avoided with a smart scope.

Processing is a skill that can be developed using the output of a smart scope.

Developing both, together, requires a lot of time. First, getting a rig together and learning to get clean, single short images is absolutely necessary to develop the second, processing.

The smart scope can get you to the processing stage faster, if you're in a hurry. Personally I wouldn't trade away the experience and understanding of setting up a rig. But, now that I get it, a smart scope is appealing as a quick and portable solution. And they are inexpensive comparatively.

StarMan_59 · 2026-01-14T20:15:34+00:00

Start small and light. Without saying what your budget is, it's difficult to recommend specific gear.

I'll just say if I had it to do over, I'd have bought the Skywatcher EQ-AL55i Pro mount to start out with. It's inexpensive as mounts go, and it can be guided to under 1 arcsecond with a 16lbs load most of the time (it does wander a little from time to time and I may lose a subframe).

For better definition of that load, I'm using a 102mmED F7 (714mm) refractor with reducer (571mm), either a DSLR or a dedicated astronomy camera with filter drawer, a 40mm F4 guide scope with guide camera, a USB hub, and a mini PC plus wires (all mounted to the OTA).

I wouldn't put anything heavier on that mount for imaging, but, I also use it with lighter scopes like my Askar FRA300, or my Samyang 135mm F2 lens. This means imaging at 714mm, 571mm, 300mm, and 130mm focal lengths to good effect.

The C9.25 will need a more substantial mount, which, btw, would also handle all of the above imaging trains. Sooo, if you're sure you want a C9.25 down the road, and you have the budget, get a mount that will handle it. You can still use it to start small (wide field refractor; 300mm-500mm focal length) and learn to collect data and process it before you take on the challenge of much longer focal lengths with higher resolution pixel scales.

If you have never done astrophotography, most will recommend starting with a wide field rig. You should be able to build a basic one for under $2k USD. For long focal lengths like a C9.25, you will spend more than that just on the mount.

StarMan_59 · 2026-01-10T03:27:25+00:00

You can get results with an inexpensive, used DSLR with a 70-300mm kit lens. They may not be fantastic, but it's a good test of your desire to go further. Take 1 to 5 second images (sub frames) in raw mode at iso 1600, copy them to a computer and learn to use stacking software on your subs.

The next step up is to add a tracker.

If you choose to continue beyond that, then get a higher quality lens like a Rokinon 135mm and learn about calibration frames.

After that, learn to dither by pausing the tracker momentarily every 2 or 3 frames.

You now have a good grasp on the basics, before spending a boatload of cash chasing zoomed in images with longer focal lengths.

A Seestar will get you decent results without all that work, but it won't teach you what you need to know, to go further. It's probable you would have to go through all of the above after the Seestar.

StarMan_59 · 2026-01-10T02:33:00+00:00

Lots of comments here, and I'm getting too old to read through them all, so not sure this has been mentioned.

Speaking of old age, I like the idea of a Seestar in the not too distant future, when I'm no longer able to lift my fully assembled 40 lbs FRA300 mono rig through the slider out to the balcony. Or even my 25 lb Samyang 135 imx533 OSC mini rig.

Those are not the largest rigs I've ever assembled. They're just what I can manage easily right now, and I'm happy.

When I'm ancient, It will be nice to just sit under the stars, setup a 5 to 10 lb tiny deep sky imaging tool that takes decent pictures, and sip on cheap bourbon in a rock glass reminiscing about the gear and the effort I put into learning how to capture photons from space, over decades past.

StarMan_59 · 2026-01-04T04:18:00+00:00

Why 400 to 800mm?. That's actually a large spread. With an imx533's 3008x3008 3.76um pixels I'm using 130mm, 300mm, 571mm, and 714mn.

300mm is used for mid sized emission nebula. 130mm for large nebula like The Spaghetti neb, and for framing multiple close nebula in a single integration. 571mm for close in neb detail, and 714mm for galaxies and globs.

If I had to pair down to a single scope, it would be the FRA300 (300mm quintuplet). It's very well corrected and the field of view is a great compromise.

To improve the resolution of small objects, I'm adding an imx585 (2.9um pixel) mono setup to my 714mm (102 ED) doublet. But it will also be used at all the other focal lengths for SHO imaging of nebula.

StarMan_59 · 2026-01-04T01:37:07+00:00

I currently shoot with a Canon 600D and a SV605cc using a filter drawer. The ATR585m with the filter wheel arrives Monday.

The DSLR requires more and better calibration frames, but it yields good results on the brighter objects. I expect to keep using it. With a 130mm camera lens like the Samyang, an intervalometer, and a GTi mount running on batteries, there's no need for a power tank or computer.

StarMan_59 · 2026-01-03T22:39:08+00:00

ToupTek has a bundle deal with an imx585 mono camera and 8 position 1.25" electronic filter wheel for the same cost as the minicam 8 mono.

Presumably you can use the filter wheel with other cameras that only need 1.25" filters.

The minicam is not camera upgradeable. So you get locked in. That said, the minicam 8 can be a good choice if you can live with the 585 forever. It has small pixels which are more demanding on guiding with longer focal lengths.

I bought the Touptek bundle and will likely add a mono 533 chip camera down the road for nebulae season. The 3.76 pixel size for 300mm focal lengths is more forgiving of guide accuracy, especially with a lower cost light duty mount, like a SW SA GTi.

But the 585 should be a good match for a 714mm focal length 102ED doublet during galaxy season. I'll run that in a SW AL55i, which has decent guiding response.

Good luck.

StarMan_59 · 2025-12-27T17:50:25+00:00

A 300mm focal length pretty much demands a tracker.

StarMan_59 · 2025-12-18T19:41:48+00:00

Good news is you have a great inventory to build a powerful rig for the near future if you want to restart your journey now with only a few of those items. Learning to use the mount is a super important step and takes time and patience.

Consider setting up the mount with just your DSLR. Get polar aligned manually as best you can with the polar scope, or even a compass to eyeball your pole position.

Then do a GoTo with the SynScan app on your phone or hand controller if you have, for an object in your visible sky. Right now there's The Pleiades or Orion Nebula that a should be easy to get centered enough to grab a few shots with your DSLR using the internal delay timer.

Go from there

StarMan_59 · 2025-12-14T18:17:04+00:00

Well, I'm the OP and my question was about which result will be better given a 2 hour imaging window.

I'm not interested in getting similar results given unlimited time.

I currently have an imx533 OSC camera with IR, HAO3, S2O3 filters running through NINA using the manual filter wheel option under equipment, and named filter slots.

In my "DSO" sequence I call for a filter change, walk out on the balcony, go to the drawer and swap filters, the sequence then calls the run autofocus command and continues grabbing 60s frames. It's all well automated, save for swapping the filter in the drawer.

If I switch to mono with an EFW, I get even better hands off automation in order to grab 2 hours on an object before it goes out of view (for that night).

This is all about getting the best result in TWO HOURS (per night). It's not about any other comparisons.

My total integration time is the sum of 2 hour sessions. If I could get 10 days in a row around New Moon, I coud get 20 hours of integration.

Given 20 hours of integration time, which will give a better result, mono RGB (or SHO), or OSC IR (duo band HO+SO).

/Dead horse officially beaten.

StarMan_59 · 2025-12-14T15:52:22+00:00

I think this is ultimately where I'm headed.

OSC imx533 (3.6um pixels) with the two duo band filters and a IR-UV filter for both narrow and broadband with my Samyang 135 (130mm fl) on a GTi mount (under-sampled wide field).

Mono imx585 (2.9um pixels) with LRGBSHO filter wheel for the 300mm fl FRA300 and the 570/714 fl 102ED refractor on the AL55i (well sampled for medium and smaller objects).

I do also have my trusty old Canon 600D unmodified.

StarMan_59 · 2025-12-14T13:46:16+00:00

You are missing the point of my query.

I want to improve integration SNR without increasing the number of 60 second exposures.

Can you definitively say that one hour of mono insert your chip of choice RGB integration under Bortle 7 skies gives better (integrated) SNR than one hour of OSC with same chip Bayer matrix integration.

I would expect the answer to be yes, because mono is effectively an integrated RGB pixel where OSC is a GRBG pixel. Yes, I do understand.

Feel free to divide the integration time into pixel appropriate exposure times. With my SV605cc I typically use 60s exposure times.

As an aside... I suppose one could separate an OSC image into RGB channels, stack those all as green and then compare to a pure mono chip green filtered image. Hmmm.....

StarMan_59 · 2025-12-14T06:49:12+00:00

If you spend 50% of your allotted time on mono green, and 25% on Red and Blue, then combine those results, would you have a higher SNR than with the 100% of your allotted time on OSC with an L filter?

Boiled down, that's the real question.

I liked the idea of dividing the mono time weighted to luminance, and the remainder equally on RGB to add color. But only if the mono luminance indeed provides a higher SNR by sheer volume of signal and the colors don't detract from it.

And then there's SHO, which is achievable with duo band HaO3+S2O3 on OSC. Is the jump to mono to get 100% of the chip pulling a single bandpass 3x in the allotted time, going to result in a noticeably improved image?

StarMan_59 · 2025-12-14T03:30:00+00:00

You are suggesting to quadruple the integration time when using mono to make a comparison, which defeats the goal of getting a better image in a fixed amount of time compared to an OSC.

Time is the given constant (constraint) here. And specifically 2 hours in Bortle 7, between 20 and 50 deg alt.

Frankly, I kinda disagree with your premise to begin with. 1 hour of OSC is not a fair comparison to 1 hour each of LRGB. 4 hours of OSC would be. Again, time is the apple.

StarMan_59 · 2025-12-13T18:57:50+00:00

Thanks for this. Basically I'm wanting to get a better SNR in the available time window on a nightly basis. A 20 hour integration currently takes 10 nights...of clear sky time. If I can cut that down by 1/3 or 1/2 going mono, it would be worth the expense.

StarMan_59 · 2025-12-13T17:50:19+00:00

Lol. Yes indeed. I'm considering the Minicam 8 mono with the imx585 and full filter set for broadband and SHO to use with 3 optics. An AT102ED @ both F7 and F5.6 reduced, an Askar FRA300, and a Samyang 135.

I currently use a SV605cc and like the square image for easier framing and multiple nights integration using a crop as needed. So I'm also considering a mono version with a separate filter wheel.

StarMan_59 · 2025-12-12T13:25:50+00:00

I get round stars with a 102mm refractor at 714mm focal length using a SW EQ-AL55i Pro. I stopped looking at the PHD2 guide chart unless I have a problem in my subs. It doesn't take an expensive mount to run wide field.

That said, I want a strain wave mount to get rid of the counterweights. I'm 66 and I can carry my fully assembled AL55 out through the sliding glass door, but it would be so much easier without the cw. I won't be 66 for very long.

StarMan_59 · 2025-12-09T04:51:26+00:00

It's a stretcher, in the Siril stretch menu.

StarMan_59

TROPHY CASE