Starlight Xpress MX7C and USB interface

I recently invested in a decent CCD camera after taking my first steps with my home built CB245. Not that the CB245 isn't a decent camera, its just that I'm not a decent engineer <g> and the clunkyness factor was beginning to be a major anoyance to me.

So far I am very impressed with the camera although I have not had much of a chance to work with it. The dark noise on these Sony chips is so low that for the most part I can easily get away without taking dark frames! The USB interface is a dream come true for anyone who has ever worked with parallel port based cameras - there are no lockups when downloading the image from the chip and a 752 x 580 pixel image takes just about 4 to download. I also have the sutoguider module but as yet haven't had the time to use it properly. I'll add more info when I get to it.

With the release of the MX716 I decided to invest in the mono-version chip for this camera as the sensitivity is much higher than the color version due to the better QE of the new CCD and the lack of a color matrix. Click here to find more info about the swap, calibration and comparison.

Olympus OM-1

Simply an incredible, 100% manual camera. The body is very compact and it has all the right features going for it for astrophotography - mirror lock-up, no batteries needed for operation, interchangeable focusing screens, etc. I was lucky and picked one up on E-Bay that is next to new and have been using it for 'regular' photography over the past year with great results. Lenses are fairly cheap and can be easily found on E-bay.

Olympus Varimagni

This is a 90° finder that fits the Olympus OM series cameras. It is used for help framing and focusing when taking pictures and is especially helpfull for astrophotography when used with a fine focusing screen on the camera. I will not provide a way to achieve a perfect focus though. (If for no other reason - the eyepiece on the Verimagni can be focused.) A Hartman mask or a knife edge focuser should be used for that. The base rotates 360° for getting that really comfortable position when the camera is on the scope and you can select the 1.2x or 2.5x magnification.

Lumicon Cassegrain Easy Guider f/5, f/6 or f/10 off axis Guider

This is simply an outstanding piece of equipment IMO. Rock solid and very versitile. In the top photo you can see the OAG body with the reducer / corrector lens, the eyepiece holder tube on the upper left and and extention tube to the left of that. On the lower left the larger ring threads to the visual back of the scope, and the smaller one threads to your cameras T-Ring.

In the second picture you see the setup ready to go for photos. The whole OAG body can be rotated independently of the scope and the camera thanks to setscrews that hold the OAG to the scope and the camera to itself. This is great for hunting down those pesky guide stars. The ep tube from the pick off prisim can itself be moved back and forth giving you that much more freedom in selecting and centering a star.

Inside the OAG the reducer corrector lens can be set for f/5, f/6 or removed for f/10 imaging. (All this assuming your scope is f/10 to begin with!) Imaging at f/5 guiding is also done at f/5, but imaging f/6 the lens is bedind the pick off prisim allowing you to guide at f/10. This so far is my favorite setting. The vignetting is quite acceptable and you have that little bit more accuracy for guiding.

In the last image you see the OAG body set up for visual use. I place a bit of electrical tape over the pick off prisim to block off stray light and pop in a 2" to 1.25" adapter. With the OAG at f/5 and the Celestron 32mm Plössl the Double Cluster in Cassiopeia and M31 look simply stunning! Those of you with 2" diagonals can plug them directly into the OAG. Thanks to Paul LeFevre over at SCT-User for this handy tip!

Meade f/3.3 CCD reducer

I've had some great results with this thing and the StarlightXpress MX7C. The diference in FOV is significant but you do have to deal with some distortion around the edges.

Meade Model 644 Flip-Mirror System

This flip mirror is only 1.25" but for CCD work that is enough. Its cut the time taken to land an object on the chip and focused in half. It comes with a few extention tubes to help with focusing. Getting the camera and eypiece par-focal is about the trickiest thing to using one of these.

Meade Variable Tele-Extender

A Tele-Extender lets you hook up your camera to the telescope but in this case it uses a lens to project a magnified image onto the film. I like the variable models because you can do a lot more with a single lens. You also have to be careful with the lenses as not all may fit inside due to rubber eyecups, etc.

Meade Piggyback holder for SLR's

Handy little accessory. The only problem I had with it was that I could actully see the end of the tube with my 25mm lens. No problem. Just attached it to the front of the scope instead of the rear as seen in the picture. This is also handy for mounting the CB245 on the scope for wide field CCDing with my Canon lenses.