On 1/25/11, Kim Hyatt <kimharch@cut.net> wrote:

Chuck, do you plan to piggy-back a DSLR or use it as a prime focus system?

Both.

On 1/26/11, Kim Hyatt <kimharch@cut.net> wrote:

I'm interested to know how that works out. When I get a few dollars I may look into purchasing one myself. What kind of guidescope will you be using?

The product manual recommends at least 80mm aperture, and a focal length between 400mm and 1200mm. I'll probably experiment with the guidescope choice and it will likely change to suit the image scale I'm shooting at the moment. I have several refractors that fit the bill, and I can even guide with my C5 or C6 if need be.

Kim, I'm really looking for a versatile system that will allow me to do both wide-field as well as the narrower-field, higher mag. stuff. Some of my best shots were camera-only, hand-guided through an 80mm refractor, on the old predecessor to the EQ-1 mount, with numerous home-brew modifications (such as adding electric dec and a platform that allowed 2 cameras to be used simultaneously- I have 2 Pentax K-1000's) On 1/26/11, Kim Hyatt <kimharch@cut.net> wrote:

Thanks, Chuck. Let me/us know how this works out for you. I've long wanted to do a bit more wide-field imaging; maybe this would work for me, too. I've really had a lot of fun with a barn-door mount and the 18-70mm lens on my Nikon D70. Lot's of "old" technology, but it works for me. I wouldn't mind a cheap alternative to the kind of imaging that Joe, Steve and others do (though I'm not foolish enough to expect the same fantastic results).

Chuck, Here is a review on optcorp.com. http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=319-327-210-15304&tb=8 Debbie On Tue, Jan 25, 2011 at 4:51 PM, Dale Hooper <Dale.Hooper@sdl.usu.edu>wrote:

Hi Chuck,

I think it sounds like a great deal. You are probably aware that S&T named it as one of their Hot Products for 2011. They haven't printed a review of it yet, but at the end of the hot product announcement they said, "Watch for our review of the NexGuide in the coming months, but we can tell you now that our initial tests are very encouraging."

Clear skies, Dale.

...

-----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah- astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 2:46 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Celestron Nexguide autoguider

Has anyone purchased and used the Celestron Nexguide autoguider?

http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?ProdID=648

As my transition from emulsion to digital continues, I really like this concept.

I want to avoid having to take a laptop to a remote site- generally take only the minimum amount of equipment. I tend to take too much stuff even for visual outings, lol.

Imaging with a DSLR and this little gadget seems to be the perfect way to go, especially considering the amazing images published by people using a DSLR instead of dedicated astro-camera. Spend more time getting images and less time staring at a monitor, punching keys, and generally losing good dark-adaptation. Do all the organizing and processing back at home.

Add to that the fact that one's power requirements drop quite a bit when losing the computer, and it's a cinch for streamlined, reduced-hassle imaging.

I'd like to get this with a portion of my tax return, and do some testing with the old Pentax film camera, until I can fund the DSLR later in the spring.

Comments welcome.

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Thanks Dale. Actually I wasn't aware of that. I stopped subscribing to S&T about 6 years ago. On 1/25/11, Dale Hooper <Dale.Hooper@sdl.usu.edu> wrote:

Hi Chuck,

I think it sounds like a great deal. You are probably aware that S&T named it as one of their Hot Products for 2011. They haven't printed a review of it yet, but at the end of the hot product announcement they said, "Watch for our review of the NexGuide in the coming months, but we can tell you now that our initial tests are very encouraging."