The Lodestar PRO is an upgraded version of the very popular Lodestar X2 autoguider with quicker download times and lower read noise electronics. The original Lodestar used the ICX429 Exview chip from Sony and offered excellent sensitivity. However, the Lodestar X2 and the Lodestar PRO utilise Sony’s upgraded version of the CCD, the ICX829, with considerably improved QE and read noise. This new ‘Exview 2’ chip approximately doubles the Lodestar sensitivity and adds nearly a full star magnitude to the minimum guide star brightness. We have also redesigned the boards so that a standard RJ12 guide socket can be used. This will please many users who have found the small ‘ZH’ cable socket to be too delicate.
Colour or mono? Black and white cameras have the advantage of higher sensitivity and resolution than colour cameras. However, more effort is required to obtain a colour image. You also need colour filters and a filter wheel
