So to update on my previous post I decided to purchase the ZWO ASIair mini and the ZWO 30F4 MiniScope for guiding my rig. I have ordered a ZWOASI 120MM MiniGuide Camera, but this was in back order, so I will presumably get it in 5 weeks’ time – So the waiting game begins.
alongside these two new interesting assets, my replacement mount arrived, so hopefully the weather will soon improve so that I can get out to test all the new features of my rig.
Why is the ASIair a good asset to the rig – well since I have not tested it yet – I am not the right person to tell you. Instead I will let Trevor Jones from Astrobackyard tell you his thoughts on how the ASIair can improve your astrophotography.
When you opt into the ASI track, the choice is a little more limited since the ASIair is a closed environment compared to some of the other Astrophotography computers out there. But the ease of it simply made the difference in my case. I went with the cheaper ASIair Mini, which comes at a price of about 295 euros in comparison to the 32Gb version of the AISair Plus which comes at a price of 429 euros. The Mini comes packed with 32Gb of storage but at a much lower form factor. To reduce the physical size of the ASIair Mini ZWO has removed the power button, the Ethernet port and the micro SD slot, furthermore they have substituted the two USB3.0 ports for two USB2.0 ports.
What amazed me about the ASIair Mini was the mass of the mini-pc. Today I tested everything with my new Sky Watcher – Star Adventurer GTi-mount. I am very excited to test it with the Nikon Z5 and the 150-600 mm Tamron lens. I hope it will make the Polar alignment much easier.
Until next time – clear skies…