CDK 17 buying advice

I have a CDK-17 in Chile at Deep Sky Chile (one mountain over from Obstech about 10km).  I am very happy with it.  I considered the CDK20 and couldn't justify the price difference based on the small incremental difference in the scopes.  What camera and mount are you looking at?

I use the L-500 without guiding.  I have an OAG but don't use it.  It has been a bulletproof mount.  In regard to cameras, I use a C4 but do not recommend that. I got it for the 9 micron pixel but the Gsense 4040 chip is a pain. The only issue with the C3 or C5 is image scale but there are a lot of conflicting opinions on that topic.  If $ isn't an issue I'd go with the C5.  I'm in the process of adding a CDK-24 in Chile and will use a C5-100 on that rig.  I can't comment intelligently on the optical performance but doubt it would be noticeable.  Are you located in the US?  If yes, can I ask where you are buying it?  I had a very negative experience with a PW dealer and am now using a different one who is very good.

Tolga is a very good dealer.  That's where I'm buying the 24. I'm not missing anything with the CDK17, I just wanted to have more capacity.  I am getting into searching for planetary nebula and validating PN candidates.  The 24 will have a spectrometer on it in addition to the C5.  It will also be nice to gather data twice as quickly having two scopes.  Can I ask how you chose Obstech?  Everything I hear about them is very good, I'm just curious.

Dan

I think Obstech is very good but DSC was less money and still very good.  I will have three piers after the CDK-24 arrives so the savings is meaningful.

David Néel:
Atria team at DSC with a CDK 17 and a QHY600M. This setup is fantastic. You should Go (Maybe not the QHY600 as raw frame are difficult to pre process.)

Thanks David! Any difference between QHY600M raw frames and ZWO ASI6200mm fits files?

Daniel Stern:
I got it for the 9 micron pixel but the Gsense 4040 chip is a pain.

Just curious. In what way is the 4040 chip a pain?

I guess it takes some effort to get scientifically correct lights :-)

Daniel Stern:
After you get things setup it's not too bad.  I calibrate manually but the process is quick and I get good results.  That said, if I had to do it over again I would have gotten a C5.

So, in your opinion, is there any real advantages in using a GSense4040 over the more common (and cheap) IMX455? Do you think you are going to miss your Moravian C4 in any aspect?

Rafael Sampaio:
I’m considering using a L-500 and IMX455 based camera (QHY600M or Moravian C3) . Or maybe a Moravian C5, for a wider field.  Any advice on that? 

According to  https://www.planewave.eu/fileadmin/Daten/downloads/planewave_image-brochure.pdf

seems that the CDK 17 has better RMS optical performance numbers than CDK 20, but do you think this diference is perceptible on images?

Look into the Moravian C4 with that scope.  I have a QHY600M SBL and in hindsight I wish I would have gone with the Moravian,  It's the only CMOS camera that I know of that has a 9um pixel size and would be more beneficial with the CDK OTA.  Also take another look at the L-600 for future proofing.  Do you plan on leaving at as an Alt/AZ or are you going with a wedge to make it an EQ Mount.  More food for thought.