I Finally Turned My EdgeHD 8 Into an Astrophotography Rig... Then This Happened

For nearly 10 years I've owned this Celestron EdgeHD 8, but I've never truly used it for deep-sky astrophotography. That finally changes. In this video I take you through the process of converting my EdgeHD 8 into a dedicated imaging rig using the Celestron 0.7x reducer, PrimaLuceLab ESATTO Low Profile focuser, Eagle computer, Player One camera system and off-axis guider. What started as a straightforward upgrade quickly turned into a battle with backfocus, spacing requirements and a design limitation that almost prevented the system from working at all. Free Affinity design so you can work out your own backspace requirements here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JXwj... I'll show you: • Why I chose an external focuser instead of a standard EAF setup • How mirror locks can improve SCT imaging performance • The backfocus calculations required for an EdgeHD 8 with reducer • The unexpected issue with the ESATTO Low Profile focuser • How Player One helped solve the problem • First light testing and initial star results If you're considering an EdgeHD 8 astrophotography setup, especially with the 0.7x reducer and an external focuser, this video may save you a lot of frustration. 00:00 - Intro 00:55 - Making the Edge ready for imaging 01:30 - Problems faced over the years 04:29 - The solution 11:21 - Problems with the Esatto design 12:58 - The solution 14:12 - Results 14:59 - End Clear skies, Martin Adventures in Astronomy