Hello all,
I am new to the forum but I thought this would be the best place to get the information I need from first hand users. I am looking to buy a camera for my telescope and am having difficulty selecting the best one.
First a bit about my telescope. I have a Meade 8" ACF LS telescope. It is an f/10 SCT that aligns itself once switched on. It sits on a single arm Alt-Az mount. I know this type of mount is not the best for astrophotography but it is what I've got. I purchased a zero image shift micro-focuser from Meade to go along with it which works quite well and the optics on this OTA are absolutely outstanding.
My goals for a camera are as follows:
1. Very good planetary/lunar imaging
2. Capable of imaging some bright deep sky objects
3. Support live view
I am a high school Earth/Space Science teacher and I would like to be able to take my scope and camera out with a monitor and show students and other interested people images of what the telescope sees on a monitor rather than having to have them take turns at the eyepiece. I really want to be able to show them live views of the planets and some bright DSO's. When I am not using the scope and camera for this purpose I would like to be able to use the camera to produce my own images of the planets, moon, and DSO's.
I have looked at the 224, and the 290 among others and unfortunately don't feel like I know enough about it to decide which camera would work best for my needs. I am looking to stay around the $400 price range. I would be willing to go a little higher if the camera that meets my needs is a little bit more or if the camera was a large improvement over a little less expensive one.
Please let me know your thoughts as any help is greatly appreciated.
Clear skies!
