Full rig recommendations for beginners - Forums

Topic starter

Aug 27, 2024 · Edited: Aug 27, 2024

So I put together this list of my personal recommendations for some beginner astrophotography rigs. It was an idea for a youtube video that I uploaded and I thought I share them here and see the community's feedback!

One of the most frustrating things I faced starting out with astrophotography was that no one had a straight answer for me. I would read an article that claimed the most important piece of equipment is your mount, for example, but then it would leave it at that. No one ever gave me a straight answer!

Well, I guess that is to be expected, there is so much variety out there and everyone is biased towards their own experiences in the hobby. However, I have an unhealthy fascination with Astro equipment and I’ve put together a list of complete astrophotography rigs that you can choose from. In my opinion, you won’t go wrong with any of these choices. We’re going to start with a budget of $1989 for the absolute most basic true astro-rig and end things with the ultimate, and what I like to call the future proof astro rig.

Now, I haven’t been contacted by any of these companies or asked to promote any of these products so rest assured my words are my own and I’m not being influenced by any company whatsoever. Also I tried to choose equipment that would still be useful, or even vital to you once you level up from beginner to intermittent or even advanced. I still use many of the same equipment I started with. Furthermore, this is not a review of the individual components, you’ll probably find those in plenty elsewhere online. I know I rambled a lot but my final point is this, I will include money saving plans for each level if you’re willing to go for lesser known brands, I opted to keep the tried and tested products in my recommendation but the alternatives you’ll see in the savings plan are perfectly reasonable and shouldn't drop the the quality of your rig.

Rig 1

We’ll start things off with a little wide field scope, the Askar FMA180 pro, that you can take some incredible images with and you can adapt it in the future as a guide scope or even use it with a full frame camera when the day comes. It has the standard 55mm back focus so it should be easy for you to equip it with modern astro cams and a handy saddle for the guide scope I'll mention in a second. For $400, it's a steel!

We’re going to pair it with the ASI585MC camera that has a small sized sensor, giving us the option to shoot with cooling which is a great advantage. The sensor has small pixels which should make the small sensor size a lot more palatable. The camera will set you back $600.

We’ll add the small ZWO 30mm guide scope for $99 and a small guide camera for $150.

Our new scope will sit atop the tried and tested Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi which will give us goto capabilities and plate solving with the right softwares and should guide our scope with no issues. Costing $740 that will bring our total to $1989.

So where can we save some money here: Well you can get the Guide Scope Combination and save around $120. Bringing your total to $1870.

Rig 2

If you have slightly more cash I would highly recommend switching to the absolutely marvelous RedCat 51 from william optics. You’ll hear people singing this scope’s praises all over the internet. It has a higher focal length and is a Petzval design so backfocus shouldn't be an issue. It is also compatible with many focusers (Hint for later) and it’s also a telescope you’ll have a hard time convincing yourself of selling even after leveling up. You can still use it with a full frame camera too and the slightly larger aperture is always welcomed. With the same accessories and camera in the above set up your total will be $2487.

I personally believe that you can get better refractors here and for cheaper but we are constrained by the weight limit of our little mount and so RedCat 51 is a great choice for the weight we are working with!

You can again save $120 with the SV bony guide scope and camera to bring that down to $2367.

Rig 3

Here we will add the ZWO electronic auto focuser for an additional $200. And switch to everyone’s favorite square shaped camera, the ASI533mc. This camera has long been recommended by many people for beginners and with the zero Amp-glow version I have to agree that it is a great choice. Many people sing its praises online and so you won’t have to worry about finding reviews on it. It is $200 more expensive than the 585 and if you can manage it you’ll never regret buying this camera.

That brings our total to $2887, and you can still make some savings here. You can switch the guiding equipment too and save 120$ and also switch to a generic focuser from AliExpress called the Gemini Focuser and save another 120$ dollars to bring down your total to $2647.

This is a complete astrophotography rig equipped with guiding and auto focus capability, You can definitely stop pushing your budget here and call it a day and still produce award winning images with a rig like this.

Rig 4

Now, some may consider these rigs intermediate or advanced, and for the price they ought to be. But in terms of difficulty they are pretty comparable. If you’ve been saving up for a big spending spree then the next three rigs are for you.

Here we will dip our toes into the future with a shiny new harmonic mount called the AM3. It can handle up to17lbs(8kg) of total payload without a counterweight and 28lbs(13kg) with a counterweight, while only weighing 3.9kg itself. Harmonic mounts are the future and I can't in good conscience not recommend it. It is a huge step-up from the star adventurer, but a powerful one. The price however is not cheap at $1798. With our new Harmonic mount we gotta increase that aperture and focal length with a bigger Petzval that has 71mm of aperture and 490mm of focal length. The Askar 71F 70mm f/6.9 Quadruplet. It’s a great scope with great integration capabilities with every accessory you can think of. With the guiding equipment from the previous set ups, you have yourself a time machine worthy of praise! It costs around $600 which is cheaper than the RedCat 51, that should help ease the shock from the price tag on our new mount. That makes your total $3647.

Take away $120 should you choose the SvBony camera and guide scope and another $120 for the gemini focuser and your total will be $3505.

You can also save an additional $162 if you opt to get the Juwei-17 harmonic mount from AliExpress. It has a higher payload at 13kg without CW and 17kg with a counterweight yet it is still cheaper than the AM3 at $1636 with a carbon fiber tripod and an adapter along with the mount head itself. If you decide to activate all the savings options it would bring down your total to 3245$. That is a total of 400$ in savings.

Rig 5

For our penultimate rig we equip the scope with a large APS-C size sensor in the ASI2600MC. This is my personal favorite camera in both one-shot color and in mono form. It is truly an amazing camera and I’ve produced some of my best work with it. It’s probably the current industry standard so you won’t have to worry about it going out of fashion anytime soon!

It is however a big jump in price at $1500 for the camera alone so that’s gonna jack up the price tag to $4347 if you decide to build this rig without any of the saving’s options.

If you decide to activate the savings plan however we can bring down the price tag considerably.

$120 for replacing the guiding equipment, $120 for replacing the ZWO focuser in favor of the Gemini, $162 if you go for the Juwei-17 instead of the AM3. Additionally, you can also replace the camera with another brand that has the same sensor and save around $300. I’m talking about the ToupTek ATR3 color of course which I found listed on AliExpress for cheaper than it was listed on the official Touptek website at $1097 plus around $70 for shipping.

These savings options would bring down the price to around $3645. That’s around $702 in savings!!

Rig 6

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TiffsAndAstro

Aug 27, 2024

Watched your video, seemed full of good advice I wish I had it 8 months ago

Oskari Nikkinen

Aug 27, 2024

I would rather recommend Newtonians for the rigs that have a decent mount (3 onwards). The price to aperture ratio of these refractors is atrocious, you'd get a scope that is at least 3 times faster for half the price if going with a reflector.

Many options too, the 130PDS is very cheap and easily mountable. Perfect for smaller sensors which are also affordable (585,533). The Quattro 6 is another very cheap newt, and comes with a corrector.

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Ali Alobaidly

Topic starter

Aug 27, 2024

Oskari Nikkinen:
I would rather recommend Newtonians for the rigs that have a decent mount (3 onwards). The price to aperture ratio of these refractors is atrocious, you'd get a scope that is at least 3 times faster for half the price if going with a reflector.

Many options too, the 130PDS is very cheap and easily mountable. Perfect for smaller sensors which are also affordable (585,533). The Quattro 6 is another very cheap newt, and comes with a corrector.

I avoided reflectors due to the difficulty they may present for some in terms of focal length and collimation. I am working on a similar list for intermediates that will be full of them. Thanks for the input and examples!

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Maxim

Aug 27, 2024

Great job! I would personally never go below 533mc, but I see 585 is pretty popular and good results are totally achievable with it

one important piece missing is how to control all that stuff. Most rigs are zwo-heavy and require asiair to be included in the total price. If you don't go with asiair then in case there's already a pc there can be a recommendation on powering solution like simple wandererastro box or pegasus, or as a mobile fanless PC quieter 3c or 4c is perfect.

Arun H

Aug 27, 2024

Oskari Nikkinen:
I would rather recommend Newtonians for the rigs that have a decent mount (3 onwards). The price to aperture ratio of these refractors is atrocious, you'd get a scope that is at least 3 times faster for half the price if going with a reflector.

I have both a reflector (TS Optics ONTC 808 f/4.6 with Paracorr ) and a refractor (Astro-Physics Stowaway, 92mm f/5.3). While there is no question that the reflector gathers more light, there is also no question that the refractor is a lot more stress free and I much enjoy how quickly I can just get to imaging with it. They both have their pluses and minuses, but after years of using both, I now understand why people love refractors.

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NeilM

Aug 27, 2024

I think those are good lists, and I 100% agree with starting with refractors.

The only other comment I'd make is that I always recommend to beginners that they buy used equipment. There is so much used astrophotography equipment on the market, that it seems silly for a beginner to go out and buy new equipment, especially until they at least gain some experience and know which direction they want to go. I bought almost everything second-hand when I was starting out, including an excellent HEQ-5 Mount for $600- and an older but good ZWO cooled color camera for $400.

With a bit of time and patience, I think that a beginner should be able to assemble a good initial rig with used equipment for not much more than $1,000-. Not to mention that researching equipment is a valuable additional way to begin to learn our weird hobby.

Thanks for this!!

Neil

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Oskari Nikkinen

Aug 27, 2024

Arun H:
Oskari Nikkinen:
I would rather recommend Newtonians for the rigs that have a decent mount (3 onwards). The price to aperture ratio of these refractors is atrocious, you'd get a scope that is at least 3 times faster for half the price if going with a reflector.

I have both a reflector (TS Optics ONTC 808 f/4.6 with Paracorr ) and a refractor (Astro-Physics Stowaway, 92mm f/5.3). While there is no question that the reflector gathers more light, there is also no question that the refractor is a lot more stress free and I much enjoy how quickly I can just get to imaging with it. They both have their pluses and minuses, but after years of using both, I now understand why people love refractors.

* True, its all a matter of perspective for the individual making the purchase. I personally value speed far more than ease of use, since no amount of money will make clear skies more likely (okay, enough money will get the scope setup in Chile but getting expensive now).

This matter of preference is also why there isnt a general consensus as to what a complete beginner rig looks like. OPs suggestions are very good, just not what i would choose for my situation in 80%+ cloudy Finland.

andrea tasselli

Frequent contributor

Aug 27, 2024

They are wasteful in the extreme. Buy used from someone who has already used it would be my 1st and foremost advice. And they are all small and expensive refractors, with maybe n.1 being the exception.

TiffsAndAstro

Aug 27, 2024

Ali Alobaidly:
Oskari Nikkinen:
I would rather recommend Newtonians for the rigs that have a decent mount (3 onwards). The price to aperture ratio of these refractors is atrocious, you'd get a scope that is at least 3 times faster for half the price if going with a reflector.

Many options too, the 130PDS is very cheap and easily mountable. Perfect for smaller sensors which are also affordable (585,533). The Quattro 6 is another very cheap newt, and comes with a corrector.

I avoided reflectors due to the difficulty they may present for some in terms of focal length and collimation. I am working on a similar list for intermediates that will be full of them. Thanks for the input and examples!

as a 8 month veteran of this hobby I'd still be trying to collimate now

Gilmour Dickson

Aug 27, 2024

Oskari Nikkinen:
Arun H:
Oskari Nikkinen:
I would rather recommend Newtonians for the rigs that have a decent mount (3 onwards). The price to aperture ratio of these refractors is atrocious, you'd get a scope that is at least 3 times faster for half the price if going with a reflector.

I have both a reflector (TS Optics ONTC 808 f/4.6 with Paracorr ) and a refractor (Astro-Physics Stowaway, 92mm f/5.3). While there is no question that the reflector gathers more light, there is also no question that the refractor is a lot more stress free and I much enjoy how quickly I can just get to imaging with it. They both have their pluses and minuses, but after years of using both, I now understand why people love refractors.

* True, its all a matter of perspective for the individual making the purchase. I personally value speed far more than ease of use, since no amount of money will make clear skies more likely (okay, enough money will get the scope setup in Chile but getting expensive now).

This matter of preference is also why there isnt a general consensus as to what a complete beginner rig looks like. OPs suggestions are very good, just not what i would choose for my situation in 80%+ cloudy Finland.

It totally depends on circumstances and where one lives. Here in Zambia I am blessed with a long dry season and lots of clear skies. But shipping in a Newt would see me arguing with customs for weeks and still having a massive bill. Such that it makes no sense at all. A small refractor might be slow but it flies under the radar and doesn't attract attention. Sure, if I was in Finland or my native cloudy Scotland then a fairly slow 65mm refractor would not be my choice. So that atrocious price to aperture is not always equal...

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ArthurD

Aug 27, 2024

Hi Ali

This is very helpful, I'll surely send it to newcomers , thanks for doing this.
I've just started astrophotography and this would be indeed very helpful.

The goal being giving people the experience of astrophotography with less investment upfront, I normally recommend people to get a smart scope first. The learning cure is really low, and it allows people to experience the fun of chossing targets, imaging and sharing the work very quickly and with decent results.

I can speak for the Seestar S50 which was my first step in this path, but others should work similarly.
While very turnkey, the learning does scale past the Seestar: a software / UI that might be helpful down the road (it's basically a simpler version of the AsiAir app) and you get the raw fit files and can learn image processing as much as you want, but still have a nice looking, ready to share stack image on your mobile in real time .

Best!

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