EAF poor marketing, some questions

darkmatter

I just wanted to vent that the EAF section on the website is an example of how NOT to do marketing. There are a lot of specifications listed but one big (and probably THE) question remains unanswered: why would I want to buy this thing? What problem(s) does it solve and what additional benefits and/or functions will it provide? Neither the website nor the EAF and Asiair manuals answer this. This has left me with the following questions, maybe someone who's taken the leap of faith and bought one can answer them:

When changing filters, does the focuser automatically adjust?
Is the focus position offset for each filter determined in advance, or is the V-curve run every time the filter position changes?
Is focuser backlash taken into account?
Is focus checked periodically to account for thermal changes or atmospheric diffraction?

Thank you in advance.

Jarno

AstroDude42

darkmatter to answer your questions:

Q: When changing filters, does the focuser automatically adjust?
A: not automatically but you have to to turn it on with the flip of a switch

Q: Is the focus position offset for each filter determined in advance, or is the V-curve run every time the filter position changes?
A: you can opt-in to autofocus when changing filters. Again it’s a flip of a switch.

Q: Is focuser backlash taken into account?
A: according to a reply from ZWO on this forum, set backlash to 0 and ASIair Pro will handle it by itself. I leave it up to you to find it by yourself.

Q: Is focus checked periodically to account for thermal changes or atmospheric diffraction?
A: yes, there are options the autofocus at changes for 1, 2 and if i remember correctly 5 degrees Celsius. Again it’s a flip of a switch.

You will find all those settings and some more in the EAF setting window under advanced settings.

astrosatch

Yes, you actually have to research for yourself everything related to asiair and other ZWO products. They say " as easy as 1,2,3". How easy? If you're in IT department, maybe. So much glitches and diy projects, just to make it work. I don't mind a little tinkering around stuff. Actually I kind a like it if I can improve something, but to waste days just to make it work? And then it doesn't work anyway? Manuals are just horrible. We are lucky that there are forums and FB pages for any kind of problems. If somebody with knowledge answers great. I'm just disappointed that developers turned the blind eye to us customers. In my business I can't imagine to ignore my customers if they encounter problems. But they apparently can. I apologise Jarno if I changed topic for this thread. EAF is very specific product and I agree it should be described better for what it does. There are many astrophotographers out there that struggles with basics. So good manual would prevent many mistakes and problems. And of course better customer support.
Andrej