Equipment
This is my setup as of the early 2020's. The scope is still my TeleVue Genesis 4" f/5 refractor. Riding on top of the Genesis is my 60mm Orion finder/guider with ASI120mm-s guide camera. At the focuser end of the Genesis is either an ASI1600mm Pro or an ASI294MC-Pro. The mount is an iOptron GEM-45 and tripod. Mounted to the GEM-45 is an ASIAir to control image acquisition and guiding.
This was my usual setup back when I first started with digital imaging. In a photo from July 2007 we see the SBIG ST-402ME attached to my Televue Genesis (on the left) and the SBIG ST-4 autoguider is attached to my Stellarvue 80mm guidescope (on the right). Both are both mounted side by side on the Losmandy G-11 equatorial mount. Notice the laptop computer to control image capture.
Listed below is the equipment I have used over the years.
Mounts:
- iOptron GEM-45 equatorial goto mount
- Celestron Advanced VX - used mostly for visual work, sold Apr. 2023
- Losmandy G-11 (non- Gemini) - Sold Oct. 2019
- iOptron Sky Tracker
Cameras:
- ZWO ASI1600mm-cool for monochrome imaging
- ZWO ASI294MC Pro for one shot color imaging
- Canon T3i (un-modified) DSLR for general purpose imaging
- ZWO ASI120MM-S primary guide camera
- ZWO ASI120MC-S planetary imaging camera
- SBIG ST-402ME CCD with RGB filter wheel for imaging
- SBIG ST-4 CCD - guide camera system (sold Feb. 2017)
- ATIK 16IC CCD - primary guide camera (retired)
- Canon XTi (modified) DSLR for imaging
- Phillips SPC 900NC web cam - retired planetary imaging camera
Scopes:
- Televue Genesis 4" f/5 refractor
- 8 inch f/6.1 homemade Newtonian reflector (sold Oct. 2021)
- Celestron Edge HD 800 SCT used primarily for visual work
- Celestron C-11 SCT (sold Oct. 2014)
- Meade 4" SCT
- Stellarvue 80mm f/9.4 refractor (former guide scope, sold Apr. 2023
- Orion 60mm f/3.78 finder/guider
- Brandon 80mm f/4.8 refractor for guiding and Ha solar work
- Sigma 600mm f/8 SCT mirror-lens for guiding (retired)
Software:
- PixInsight for image processing
- Maxim DL 5 for CCD image capture and imaging processing
- Images Plus 5.75 for DSLR imaging processing
- Astrophotography Tool for image capture
- Backyard EOS for DSLR capture
- Photoshop CS2 for final image processing
- Deep-Sky Planner
- The Sky