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Helical microfocuser vs. traditional
For guiding, and imaging in general, we prefer – by far – the traditional focuser (the black one in the video, our EZG); way more travel and, above all, much more rigidity.
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Rigidity is, for sure, the most important feature of a guidescope, with (probably) field of view being the second one; optical quality, as in flat field or color correction, accurate focuser, etc… are not really important for guiding.
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Also, don’t forget in order to guide correctly we do not need extreme focus, pint point stars – much the opposite, a bit of defocus can help compensate atmospheric turbulences (i.e. bad seeing).
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The only drawback of the traditional, sturdy focuser, is it turns the camera while focusing, but that’s not a big deal.
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In the comparison video, both focusers at their max travel, and with the brake (introduced by Lunatico in this scope design) screw tightened.
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When we find an improved design with both the rigidity of the older design, and the convenience of the helical one, we’ll update this post.
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Jaime
PS: funny as it is, these new helical focusers are not really a thing for optical astronomy either, as the rotation of the eyepiece is not a concern.
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