I'm from New Zealand, I live in a Bortle 7-8 and will be traveling to Bortle 1-5 zones when my schedule allows. I'm looking to go the high-ish budget "buy once, cry once" route but lack experience and would welcome any comments on the setup. I mostly plan to image nebulae but will likely take the occasional shot of a galaxy or the moon. I do enjoy tinkering, but would like the setup to be relatively simple to set up and use, both to ease the learning curve and to encourage me to go to dark sites more often and have enjoyable and worry-free nights under the stars.
Askar FRA500/600 (can't decide)
Askar 0.7x F/3.9 Reducer
ZWO ASI 2600MC Duo
ZWO AM5N
ZWO ASIAIR Plus
ZWO EAF Pro
ZWO CAA
ZWO TC40
ZWO Filter Drawer M54 V2 + spare filter holder
Antila ALP-T Dual Band 5nm Ha/OIII
EcoFlow RIVER 3 Max Plus
SVBONY SV192 Dew Heater Strip
A couple of additional questions:
-Would it be sensible to use a 3nm dualband with the 2600MC Duo? I'm a bit concerned about wavelength shift reducing transmission with the f/3.9 reducer as well.
-Would someone be likely to be happier long-term with an FRA500 or FRA600? The reducers to change focal length to 350mm / 420mm add versatility, but I'm still cautious that maybe 600mm and 420mm would feel tight for some targets. So far I lean toward the FRA600 because I prefer tighter cropped images in many cases and assume I'd welcome the extra aperture, but because I'm new I'm cautious my feelings might change - it seems like the level of resolution with this setup might be high enough that an FRA500 and cropping the images after the fact might achieve visually similar results with more flexibility on framing. I've out both in stellarium, but I have analysis paralysis from overthinking this detail (save me!)
-What additional spacers would I need for 55mm backfocus with the reducer on?
-What is the best way to attach an ASIAIR Plus to this setup? Considerations include the cables when the CAA rotates, what would perform the best and what would look the tidiest (increased satisfaction, important to me with a purchase this expensive)
-Will I need anything else, such as a case to carry the rig semi-assembled? (Any case recommendations?)
-Is the filter drawer likely to add much convenience? Or am I much more likely to image with a single filter per night and not need to swap them during an imaging session, making it a trivial upgrade over just installing the filter before travel to a dark site?
Thanks!