Kanak RT avatar
Hi All, I'm Kanak from Bengaluru, India.

I've been considering to get into astrophotography since a long time now, I initially decided to go with RC 71 with ASI2600MC Pro, and after learning a lot of stuff from astrobin, couldnights and on youtube.. I've now decided my setup, which is:

Initial Setup:
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William Optics RedCat 51
ASI183MC Pro
iOptron SkyHunter Pro 
iOptron Mini Guide Scope with GuideCam
Optolong L-Pro 2" Filter
Optolong L-Ultimate 2" Filter
ZWO ASI Air Plus
Celestron PowerTank

Things to purchase later:
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Celestron EDGE HD 8" SCT
iOptron HEM27 Mount
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
ZWO Filter Drawer
ZWO Electronic Auto Focuser
ZWO Off Axis Guider
Celestron F 0.7x Reducer


I'm not so concerned about the wider FOV that 2600 provides, I'm looking for a camera (for initial setup) that can provide a detailed image of the DSO that I intend to capture (including all the other attributes like oversampling, under sampling and arc per second etc.. I've checked it all on astronomy.tools). I need suggestions regarding the camera that best fits my initial setup. 

I'm also aware about the new SkyHunter facing tracking problems, the dealer here has told me that they are yet to receive the motherboard for all the mounts they have and later list it on their website for purchase. 

Also please do suggest me if I have to do any changes to my "Things to purchase later:" list. The reason why I've considered iOptron's HEM27 over AM5 is because it is much more light weight and also has good payload capacity of about 20 kilos (Including Counter Weight) which is perfect for the whole EDGE HD setup on paper.
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David Nozadze avatar
Hello Kanak, 

You selection looks very nice. I also started with ASI183 MC Pro on my RC51. But, eventually, I upgraded to ASI294 MM Pro. This is a very versatile monochrome camera. It has the unlocked 1x1 binning mode, with 2.4 micron pixel size - a perfect fit for RC51's short focal length. But in largen binning modes (2x2, 3x3) it can be used on much larger scopes as well, including your 8" SCT. It also has highest quantum efficiency, compared to other sensors.
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Salvatore Iovene avatar
If you find the Redcat on the AstroBin equipment database, you can see the equipment items (cameras, filters, mounts) it's most often used with. It's one of the most popular telescopes on AstroBin, so that should give you an indication of what cameras it works well with. And of course you can browse images and see what people used and what kind of results they got:

https://app.astrobin.com/equipment/explorer/telescope/650/william-optics-redcat-51
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Franco Geraci (aka Voloire) avatar
Hey Kanak,
I'd consider EAF as soon as you can smile Get the focus could be a frustrating experience

my 2 cents

CS
Paul Cimino avatar
David Nozadze:
Hello Kanak, 

You selection looks very nice. I also started with ASI183 MC Pro on my RC51. But, eventually, I upgraded to ASI294 MM Pro. This is a very versatile monochrome camera. It has the unlocked 1x1 binning mode, with 2.4 micron pixel size - a perfect fit for RC51's short focal length. But in largen binning modes (2x2, 3x3) it can be used on much larger scopes as well, including your 8" SCT. It also has highest quantum efficiency, compared to other sensors.

I went the exact same route - 183MC Pro to 294MM Pro.