The Altair MG60 mini guide scope & camera combo comes with the sensitive Altair GPCAMv2 AR0130 Mono Guide Camera, plus famous Altair 60mm Guide Scope optical tube in new red trim with an improved optical tube sporting a lockable backfocus adjuster in the mid-section. It's light weight and ideal for auto-guiding.
You get a free SharpCap PRO software license with the camera, so you can POLAR ALIGN with extreme accuracy out of the box in minutes. Your finder doesn't even need to be perfectly aligned with your optical tube! You can just point the finder scope within 5 degrees of the north or south celestial pole and the software will do the rest!
There are many autoguiding kits out there, but nothing we know of with such a sensitive camera and such a light weight high quality all-metal guide scope. There are no plastic parts in this kit, and no spring loaded guidescope rings so you don't need to worry about flex. The finder scope includes a special extension with 3 locking screws to bring your camera to focus. The focuser has it's own thumbscrew to stay locked in focus.
This combo includes:
- 60mm F3.75 Optical Tube (Focal length is 225mm) with 1.25" Precision Locking Micro focuser (with locking thumbscrew)
- Special thread-on extension with 3 thumbscrews and brass compression ring to hold the camera absolutely rigid.
- Adjustable guide scope rings with Nylon Tipped thumbscrews
- Metal Finder Stalk which screws into the metal cross-piece. (Fits Skywatcher and most other telescope finder brackets).
- Universal Finder Scope Base (Code: UNIFBR) which fits Altair Astro optical tubes and most other optical tubes on the market thanks to the slotted holes.
- Altair GPCAMv2 AR0130 MONO Guide Camera with ST4 Port (Code: ALTAIRGP130M-BASIC)
- Clear Optical window for maximum guide star transmission.
- 1.25" Nosepiece/Barrel with 1.25" Filter thread on front
- ST4 Cable
- USB Cable
- Free AltairCapture deepsky, planetary imaging and EAA software for Windows XP, 8, & 10 PC only.
- SPECIAL OFFER! FREE 1 YEAR SharpCap PRO License! Includes ultra-accurate polar alignment assist, deepsky CMOS exposure time optimisation assist, live stacking for EAA/Video astronomy, live darkframe and flat frame subtration. Click here for more SC PRO features. Just download the latest SharpCap, connect your camera, register when the screen pops up and sign up for your free license. Download SharpCap 3.0+ now to take advantage of this special offer. One license per user. For Windows PCs only.
- NOTE: The Camera is compatible with PHD2.6 or above guiding software (native support), and with other applications through the ASCOM interface.
- NOTE: Software and drivers are not included in the box and must be downloaded from www.altaircameras.com and installed before plugging in and operating the camera.
Altair staff comments:
Caveat Emptor - cheap "guidescope" packages: We recently became aware of cheap guidescope packages on the market. This kit is lighter and better than the cheap large 80mm visual achromat telescopes with wobbly rack and pinion focusers, which are often repurposed as guide scopes and sold as "guide scope packages". This is because you are required to fully extend the focuser PLUS add a ricket extension tube to get it to focus with your camera without a diagonal and of course the focuser is very wobbly even partially extended. We feel the mechanics on these cheap guide scopes are barely acceptable enough for wide field visual observing, let alone adequate enough for auto-guiding. The Starwave package is also better than the re-purposed 50mm finder scopes with the all-plastic/Nylon screws (seriously?), the rubber o-ring at the front and the single "springy screw" thingy at the back. These finder scopes are barely able to stay pointed in one direction, let along capable of guiding. Please don't be fooled by inferior products.