Orion Starshoot AutoGuider

About this product

Autoguiding has revolutionized the capture of deep-sky astro-images by mechanizing the tedious and tiring method of "manually" guiding an astrophotography exposure, which involved staring endlessly into an illuminated reticle telescope eyepiece while vigilantly tweaking your mount's electronic drive controls by hand to keep the stars pinpoint sharp. Until now, the problem has always been the lack of a simple, affordable autoguider camera to do the job.

Problem solved. The Orion StarShoot AutoGuider provides a user-friendly, dedicated autoguiding camera for long-exposure astrophotography. It's compatible with virtually any mount equipped with an autoguider port and comes with all the software and cables needed to work right out of the box!

The StarShoot AutoGuider is built around a high-resolution, 1/2" format 1.3-megapixel CMOS monochrome chip, with 5.2æ x 5.2æ pixels for highly accurate guiding. That high accuracy due to the small pixel size means you can use the Orion StarShoot AutoGuider with smaller, less expensive guide scopes than what's possible with other guide cameras (such as the now-discontinued ST-4). The chip resides in a super-compact, anodized aluminum housing that measures just 2.5" wide by 2.35" long and weighs a mere 4.4 oz. It has a 1.25" nosepiece that can be removed to access a T-thread interface. On top of that, the StarShoot AutoGuider's short inward focus requirement of only 15mm from a typical 1.25" Plossl telescope eyepiece makes it compatible with virtually any telescope.

Now Mac compatible with Intel-based Mac computers! Software and drivers are now available for use of the Orion StarShoot AutoGuider with Apple computers running Mac OS X. Visit the StarShoot AutoGuider product support section to download software and drivers.

The StarShoot AutoGuider's incredible ease of use will appeal to beginning and experienced astrophotographers alike. We've included highly acclaimed PHD Guiding software for the most intuitive and user-friendly autoguiding experience. The included PHD Guiding software requires no previous knowledge of autoguiding. It offers automatic calibration and guiding with literally a single mouse click. PHD Guiding has been ranked as the #1 guiding software in the 2007 "AstroPhoto Insight" magazine. The StarShoot AutoGuider is powered via your computer's high-speed USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 connection with the included 5' USB cable; no other power source is needed. A 6' RJ-12 cable is also included to connect the AutoGuider to the mount without the need for an additional RS-232 adapter.

With the Orion StarShoot AutoGuider, precision autoguiding for deep-sky photography is now easier and more economical than ever. Buy one today for your imaging setup!

Requires Mac computer running OS X, or PC running Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 or Windows 10 Operating Systems. AutoGuider is not recommended for use as a stand-alone imaging camera.

• Best for imaging

  Deep sky
• Imaging sensor

  Micron MT9M001
• Imaging sensor size

  6.66mm x 5.32mm
• Pixel array

  1280 x 1024 (1,310,720 total)
• Pixel size

  5.2 x 5.2
• Imaging chip

  Monochrome
• Video frame rate

  15 frames/second at full resolution
• Autoguider capability

  Yes
• Exposure range

  0.05 second to 10 second
• A/D conversion

  8 bit
• Thermoelectric cooling

  No
• IR filter

  No
• Mounting

  1.25" nozzle or t-thread
• USB connection

  High-speed 2.0
• Software compatibility

  Windows 7/8/10 OSX
• Backfocus distance (from T-threads)

  15.00mm
• Weight (oz.) 4