what is a good star guide camera that fits the Orion 50mm guide scope? if there is not one what is good star guide scope, thanks all
Recommended star guide camera for 50mm guide scope?
Any that fits a 1.25" nosepiece. As the one I posted about to your previous query.
Apart the fact that it has to phisically fit your guidescope, some recomnendations that come into my mind:
I saw in another thread that you are interested in planetary. For that you do not necessarily need guiding, as the technique is different.
Also if you already have a planetary camera, start with it for the guiding (for deep sky)
- go for a mono camera; they are more sensitive
- choose one with a high QE (quantum effefficiency)
- choose one with better response towards the IR part of the spectrum as this part is less afected by light pollution
I saw in another thread that you are interested in planetary. For that you do not necessarily need guiding, as the technique is different.
Also if you already have a planetary camera, start with it for the guiding (for deep sky)
ZWO has a range of Guide cameras which are quite cost effective. ZWO ASI 120 MM is a good entry level mono guide camera. I normally use my ZWO 120 MC Planetary Camera as a Guide camera and that works fine as well
with a 50mm guide scope, I wouldn’t go too crazy, the standard 120MM will work perfectly fine for it. I actually have one of these guide scopes (they’re kinda bad), but it works fine for my widefield rig.
thanks all, I am not familiar with zwo cameras, what are the entire camera numbers? also, how does one run guide scope camera while using a planetary camera for pictures at same time?
Not long ago (within 2 years), my original Orion Star Shoot Auto Guider camera went belly up.
I replace the camera with a ZWO ASI290MM Mini. I wanted to use a finer sensor for my guiding. It worked out great for me.
After a short while I wanted to replace the Orion 50mm guide scope with something bigger. I wound up getting a 60mm Svbony 106 guide scope. Quite a difference over the 50mm Orion guide scope. Much easier to dial in the focus.
Shortly after getting my ASI290MM Mini, they discontinued it and offered the ASI220. After viewing the specifications I’m still much happier with the 290 for its finer sensor.
I don’t know how it compares to the 220 in real use but my 290MM consistently locks onto 9 stars in PHD2’s Multi-Star Guiding. Recently I learned PHD2 multi-star guiding offers 12 star maximum. But I sure cannot complain about my guiding now.
I go by my imaging results more than statistics and I’m getting absolute pinprick stars in my imaging. So, I think my shade tree engineering paid off. (Higher pixel count and a bigger eye for the camera)
Maybe mining down here would help (As far a ZWO goes.) zwo asi camera comparison chart - Search
Or this for the Mini’s most often used for guiding. zwo asi290mm mini guide camera - Search
Barry Ziober:
(...) also, how does one run guide scope camera while using a planetary camera for pictures at same time?
I am not sure I understand your question, but I will try to explain a bit:
You practically have 2 cameras:
- one for imaging, which sits at the back of your telescope
- one for guiding, which sits at the back of your guidescope.
Both of them are connected to your PC (usually via USB cables).
On your PC you run two programs/software:
- one for imaging (there are several of them; I use APT - AstroPhotography Tool)
- one for guiding (there are also several of them; I use PHD2)
And that's it.
What else do you want to know?
Helpful
thanks much, i appreciate it. i get it now. thanks for your other replies. i am working my way through this si i may have more questions
thanks Sonny, very helpful.
Barry Ziober · Dec 3, 2025, 06:16 PM
thanks Sonny, very helpful.
You’re welcome Barry.
I used to think it only needed to grab on to a single star for guiding. Not so anymore. PHD2 has a selectable multi-star guiding which makes guiding much more precise in my experience.
That also helped me decide on the higher resolution camera for my guiding. The ASI290MM Mini was actually also useable for planetary imaging. (I didn’t care about that. Just the higher resolution for PHD2 and its multi-star jazz.)
Cuiv goes into these matters much better. https://youtu.be/wDCEjwQNmTE?si=Tzsxno2MWwa3sV7h
Incidentally, I’ve always used 1 second guiding. My thought on that from way back was the finer guide pluses would help narrow down any drift. Some folks use up to 3 seconds between guiding pulses (or images) and I never understood that logic. Smaller corrections more often makes more sense to me. So that is why I strive for smaller corrections more often.
Everything we do wants to lead us to smaller stars.
thanks again Sonny, good video
Power Station for occasional use
Hello all, I know this topic comes up a lot, but i’m trying to consolidate my research with a few opinions of those who might be in the same boat as me. My normal set up at the moment is a SA GTi mount, with a REDCAT 51, ASI533MC Pro, filter wheel, E...