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My simple advice: Do NOT piggyback! Just remove the scope, etc and attach the camera +lens directly to your mount, assuming you are using a GEM. Piggyback is really only for forkmounted outfits. Any mount will perform far, far better when it carries only a quarter or a tenth of its design capacity. So, if your mount is a GEM, then the question to ask is what dovetail or accessory you need to mount your camera+lens. Perhaps I can give you more pointers if you specify which lens or lenses you wish to use.

If your mount is a fork then you do need a sturdy ballhead, but most folk do this all wrong and end up with major headaches with balancing. So, is it a GEM or a fork? Which lenses?

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The mount is a CG5-ASTG and I have several Canon lenses: a 50mm f/1.4 USM, 24-105 f/4L IS USM, 100-300mm f/3.5-5.6 II USM. The 100-300mm is ok, not great, but it was part of my "starter kit" so to speak. I'm thinking about replacing it with a 100-400mm f/3.5-5.6 L IS USM. I'm also looking at some primes like the 85mm f/1.4 USM and a 200mm f/2.8 L II USM, or maybe a 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM, etc. I do a lot of daylight photography so I need to figure out what lenses I need to cover the types of shooting I do. I'm hoping that I can also use some/all of these lenses for widefield as well.

P.S. I do know that IS isn't necessary for tripod shooting. It's more for the daylight stuff I do.

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Daniel B. Milliken Planetarium
@ Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, CA

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