Kluson

Hi Guys Not sure which forum to ask this question but here goes. I have a now redundant red dot finder from my Celestron SE6. Is there a way to fit this to the hot shoe of my DSLR? My finder has a clamp which looks like the kind of thing you would find on a telescopic sight, it would be good to put this to use on my DSLR Many thanks in advance D

No need to apologise 🙂

Thanks so much for your advice Steve, . I had already ordered from Amazon before I saw this last post. It arrived today. I have not yet opened the product packaging. I can see that the top of the unit has a large oblong button? and a smaller round one. Is this the right one. I can always send it back to Amazon. there is no rush as our Dew shield has not yet arrived I wish you clear skies D

That's great, please let me know how you get on , I would also like to get a Raspberry Pi cheers D

Actually it was Fenland Paul who said that not me. I just quoted him. He was giving us a run down of how he got on with his start adventurer. I was very interested to know as a beginner also going down that road. I am going to mount mine on a vanguard pro 2+ tripod which is a very sturdy beast. 🙂 Thanks and wish you clear skies D

Hi Andy, another newbie here. This is a great place. I have been given some great help already and help based around fact not opinion. Good luck with your adventure. all the best D

Wow what a beautiful picture

you may find the book Digital SLR Astrophotography useful too, it's author is Michael A. Covington.

This is a great post and has at least put my mind at rest that I am not doing anything really wrong 🙂 If I see a bit of fluff, I'm quite excited! Mrs K is in awe of anything we see through the telescope. It really is incredible. we love it. Think it may be quite nice to upgrade to one of those Hubble things, but at the moment we are happy with our Nexstar 6SE 🙂

Thanks Alan and Jeremy, it looks ideal

Thanks so much for your tips cheers D

Thanks so much, That is brilliant advice. Exactly the kind of thing we need. We both really appreciate your kind post. So glad I found this place and thanks for your continued advice. it really is great Thanks and all the best Dave and Lou.

Many thanks Paul, Planisphere ordered. Thanks very much indeed Cheers D

Hi everyone after fumbling around in the garden last night we realised we need some kind of illumination. Can anyone suggest a decent red LED headlamp. Are the ones form Amazon any good? Many thanks and all the best D

Sorry Paul here's the clip

Wow, we got out last night. 🙂 . First attempts at aligning with the StarSense failed. We were too close to the house. !After a move further out into the Garden we had success. The preliminary alignment was completed. Next came the Calibration. Pick a star????? With our level of experience picking a named star was a little tricky. The phone app ( Sky Portal) doesn't look like the sky does it ! 😞 plus the fact we couldn't find the constellations in the Sky portal ( Have now switched on constellation names in settings 🙂 ) Great we found Ursa Major and we found Dubhe.. The scope slewed a little and the moment of truth. I ventured a look into the 32mm eyepiece and Bang there it was - A Star "Dubhe" We then followed the instructions given by Celestron to calibrate. Which we managed to do without any issue using both the 32mm and 13mm eyepieces. We were sorted. Wow. what to look at next. This is indeed the difficult bit, we stuck around Ursa Major. Then we realised things were getting a little blurry - DEW. What a disaster, we also realised that it was 12-45 and my wife had to get up for work in the morning. Tired and elated we decided to call it a night. Big Lessons of the Night - 1. Order a Dew shield and heater. 2. Learn our way around the sky Number one is very easy, place an order with favourite supplier and wait a couple of days. Number 2 is a little more tricky and will require a little more patience and understanding, but can be done, might just take a little longer. We decided not to go out again with the telescope, until we have the Dew protection., we will use the time trying to identify the night sky and use our binoculars. We saw some shooting stars and satellites last night too , it would be good to know what they are. It was really great to get out, shame about the Dew issue, but that can be resolved. Also the telescope alignment may not be spot on; not sure how much of that is down to not being able to see so well because of dew build up, but next time we can go through the process again. This really is amazing, just looking at a star and knowing it's name and the information about it is amazing. Just thinking how long that light took to get here is mind blowing. We really are hooked now and can't wait for the next chance to get out 🙂 Bye for now, stay safe and well and we wish you clear skies D

Thanks so much, That's very helpful. I found this you tube clip which seems quite helpful. His view of a Ball head may be of interest. Thanks again for your findings. I'm trying to order my sky Adventurer as we speak 🙂

Good luck, please let me know how you get on with the Star Adventurer

My Plan is an HEQ5 Pro. However to get started I am going to use a Sky Watcher Star Adventurer pro kit. This will make a good place to start and then develop form there. (forgive the pun) Thanks D

Hi Everyone, not sure if anyone has seen this guy , but he uses various software packages and I found this very helpful, So might be good for beginners like me.

That's a great point. I will use my micro four thirds set up for our normal domestic photography so it would indeed make good sense to use a dedicated astro camera. I was a little put off by the complexity as a beginner, however I intend to attend some society meetings etc ( Once we can) and build up some knowledge. Your point is a good one and may well be the way forward. All the best D

So it's your fault. 🙂 I would be very interested to hear how you get on with your new purchase. I was thinking to get one of those 🙂 If you would be kind enough to let me know how you get on with it, I would be very grateful. What Camera are you going to mount on it?

Thanks Chris. I was thinking along the same lines. It will be interesting trying the Olympus with the Celestron.

Thanks, We have only had a short look through it , but looking forward to some clear skies eventually Thanks and all the best D

Hi Chris Thanks, I have other Cameras, I was just trying to decide whether it would be worth using it or putting in it's box and leave it in the loft. It's a shame as it is in such nice condition. My wife often likes to use it so maybe I'll give it to her., I went to Olympus micro Four thirds to reduce the weight and bulk of large DSLR. I think the OMD may be useful. I think a Canon 750D in reasonable condition would be good to then have converted for Astro use. Thanks for the tip. What was the exposure on the picture above? Clear Skies D