Balthazar Saissore
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Everything posted by Balthazar Saissore
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Yeah heh I think Saudi is definitely a tad hotter than here. At night I can definitely keep it below 20c for most of the year. Those are some nice pictures, I'd definitely like to have an astromodded dslr for getting amazing colours but yeah in the end it will most likely have to depend on how cheap a DSLR with astromod will be compared to a cooled camera. I think I agree for the heq5 though, will have to wait a bit longer but it kind of covers my needs pretty well, although in a moment of weakness I think I could settle for the eq5 as well. Yea that sounds pretty straightforward for a DIY build, seems like an interesting alternative to buying something ready made, but I think it's something of a later addition rather than a priority anyway. There's already a ton of equipment and procedures I'll need to acquaint myself with before counting automations such as these. Thank you for sharing though, will definitely keep it in mind. Yea pi's are kind of overpriced I tend to look at clones for anything I wanna do in that regard, although even then most usecases are pretty dedicated to specific things so unless I had a bunch of different usecases to experiment with I doubt I'd make the move to buy one to try out.
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I was thinking of getting a beaglebone black for some embedded linux practice but I doubt it'll be anytime soon. Yea the 4GB model is especially spicy to find from what I've heard, and close to 220 euro :P for the ones I've found here. I think at that price the asiair is starting to look like a better option. I assume you use to to monitor progress from home while the setup sits comfortably outside in the backyard. I doubt I'll end up doing something like that in the foreseeable future but it is indeed an interesting idea, do you end up getting a live feed of the guidecam and like various pieces of information or is it more of a control panel type thing. (will definitely be checking out the astroberry repo though to see what interesting things they're offering )
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Yea I thought as much the max ratings are rarely for intended use, with half the payload as a guideline I would need to be looking at a minimum payload of 10kg for what i'd like to have as a setup. A new heq5 will cost me about 1400-1500€ so looking at EQM-35 and EQ5 they are both not bad alternatives coming in both at about 10kg payloads. The added 4kg of the HEQ5 are definitely awesome but they add a lot of cost. If I could figure out the taxation on used products from the UK though I'd be able to go for an heq5 I believe as the prices I saw were around the 500-800 pounds range. Ah, interesting to see such a colorful experience with the SA. I wonder if you could share a bit more about what kind of issues you faced with the dslr and heat. Obviously I'd prefer to start out with a dedicated color astrocam, but in absence of one I wouldn't like to wait around for more than a year waiting for the possibility that a good deal will show up or that I will raise enough money to get a new one. For example the ASI 533 MC Pro Color costs about 1.2k euros new here, assuming I could find it or a similar one for half the price then it'd be worth it over a dslr, otherwise might need to settle for phone camera or end up choosing the dslr I think if I can either find a good deal on the heq5 or just wait a bit longer and just go with that. As for the asiair, i think its more of a quality of life improvement than a necessity, it really depends on the deals I can get on either, and I think I'd probably enjoy it more to start a bit more "old school" than, automate everything straight away. I would definitely include such an option though, and I'm definitely all about future proofing so thanks for the suggestion. Apart from the fact that a raspberry pi is rarer than gold nowadays, I think it would not be a very enjoyable experience to have to ssh into it to tweak things. Maybe with a wifi hotspot and a simple frontend site hosted on localhost could be interesting but who has the time to go through all that. I already have a few projects with microelectronics I think i'd keep astro as simple as possible on that regard. Although I was under the impression that you can already use a computer for scope control so wouldn't it be a bit redundant if you end up needing a laptop to easily use the pi?
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Hey there sorry for the late response, been pretty busy with work. I definitely cannot afford spending 7k for the mount just yet heh, and honestly I doubt I'd need it. I am estimating the weight to be roughly at or above 5kg for the setup I'd like but that's obviously an estimation. I've mentioned my budget before, but I'd like to stick to at or around the 2k euro mark. My weight calculations are 2.5kg for a scope, .5kg for camera + .5kg for guidescope + .5kg for guide camera or at least that's the weights I saw at the site. Technically they should be easily covered by the SA, but I'm not sure if being within the weight limit is the same as "works well". So I have a couple of options for locations. For quick access I have a number of locations around me that I can drive to within an hour and all would pretty much be setup right on the car and then pack up go home for the night. I have a couple of locations that I intend to camp out the night, let's say a mix of 70%-30% with the 30 being near the car, and the rest being far from the car. (By far I mean around 100-400 yards depending) I also have 2 locations which are country houses and I'll be able to tie in to DC power and have private parking. The problem is the difference in price between new-used and the availability of used ads. For example I checked some UK used ads and the pricing was significantly lower than other EU secondhand. I also found out that it's cheaper for me to buy from FLO and pay duties rather than buy from new EU import duty free. I think for a zenithstar 73 + 50mm guidescope + flattener it came out to about 1276£ from EU, and 1070£ from UK. And that's with the import fees calculated. I did try to find a suitable cooled camera but have not found anything that I could justify the price of yet since cheapest new one I can get is upwards of 1k here, and there are so many options that I don't even know if the used ads I've found are even any good or suited to dso. Basically with 1k£ for the scope related things, 300£ for an SA if it could handle the weight and let's say 500£ for a camera I would be set but even the SA is 600€ new here so heh once again too many things to consider.
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My main concern is that I want to go for a telescope and guide scope setup and I'm pretty sure that the star adventurer wouldn't be able to handle that, hence why I wanted to go for the heavy mount straight away. But now I'm re-evaluating my options and it might be a better option, too many options heh. Interesting points, as I can see you're probably using home power for the heq5 which is one of my concerns really, but still solvable I guess. I definitely have plans for delving deeper into AP so no way I'll be stopping at just the basic gear. That's why I wanted to go straight for the one I will probably need rather than just going for the "easier" entry option. Definitely wouldn't be a bad nice to have for travelling an being more mobile but it really depends on how soon I'll be transitioning to a telescope rather than a lens. Surprised to hear you've been heaving trouble with heavier scopes, is that with the heq5? or with the SA? Really interested to see what quirks you've faced either way to know what limitations I could end up needing to plan for.
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Of course everything adds value to the setup, and it is true that if I've been using something for 3 years then yea it can be considered a worthy investment. What I'm more worried about is with all the gear options being up in the air still and not properly decided I feel like maybe a smaller mount might be limiting my options vs a larger one. Obviously If the starter setup is complete and enough to cover my needs for 2-3 years then that would be fine, but considering I wanted my setup to be heavier than 5kg from the start I never really considered it. As for resale, I'm sort of a collector of things so even if I had the option to sell it I probably would just keep it even though I am concerned about price now, I rarely end up selling gear I own as I operate under the mentality of you never know when you'll need it. Thank you though I will have to take a look into what I can find.
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I never really considered the cooling factor as a problem as I don't really know what outside temperatures would constitute an issue, usually run about 7 months of 10C> weather here especially at night with summer reaching 30s, kinda went off thinking that should be fine. My main grind with dedicated astro cameras was mostly their fixed nature as in you can only use them with a telescope + power outlet + laptop but I've learned a lot of new information contradicting that here so I'm starting to warm up to the idea. Also felt that a DSLR was a less overwhelming piece of equipment as I've handled some before and thought I'd be better off starting with something familiar. Yea budgeting is the biggest point really, the lower I could drop the cost of one component the more budget, and shorter wait I'd have for the next. Also I have been having trouble finding second hand markets for anything more than DSLRs meaning all my pricings come from new/retailer sites. When you compare a 280 euro used dslr with lenses vs a 1200euro new astrocam the price gap doesn't seem that appealing but If the price point was at the 500 euro mark then it's a whole different story as realistically with the 280 dslr you'd have to factor in an astromod which would essentially take the price up to the 500s. I mean I would like to think I will continue doing this for a long time, but yea as you say resource and time constraints are a limiting factor. I just would like to be as prepared as possible before getting out there so that I don't end up frustrated and demotivated with my results. Obviously don't expect to go out and grab a masterpiece on the first try but I try to be very well informed about what to expect and what to do as to limit the risk of getting shoddy results due to equipment error. Like if I'd gone ahead and bought a dslr and then found out it gets too hot here to use one and all my pictures are fuzzy and full of noise then that would be on me for not doing better research and I'd feel bad about my choices. I have never done anything on the visual side before really, I assumed most things are not really visible to the human eye through a telescope and kind of brushed it off as something that I wouldn't enjoy, especially since what I'm really after is those nice and long sessions on nebulae. But I guess it is also a valid consideration assuming I can find a good enough price on a starting set that wouldn't put me off target that much. I also assume that visual would need some extra adaptors and eyepiece to get working with an imaging telescope but still doable?
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I see what you mean yeah, I was kind of going off of the mindset of it's better to get a few seconds with a dslr than a long exposure with a smartphone just based on the pictures I've taken with my smartphone and how much I dislike their quality but I get your point.
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The only concern I have is, if I am to buy a piece of gear like the star adventurer costing about 500€ but the a year down the line deciding to upgrade it I will be -500 off the target. The way I am thinking about the setup is, if I am going to do it I might as well do it right instead of needing to constantly upgrade. In this case the mount has a very small load capacity which makes me concerned about using it in the future with a telescope for example meaning I'd be needing a new one, and this you end up with an old + new cost situation. Of course you could resell but that's again taking a chance that someone will want it (obviously no idea of the market for second hand gear in Europe). But you do have a point about having things sitting in boxes for years waiting for a setup to be completed. This is why my original plan was DSLR first, mount second, telescope last, meaning everything I got would be used straight away even in a limited capacity. I really do have to find some used prices though because it's a different comparison when you compare it, 500 now and a used heq5 for 800 later for example would still be preferable than 1300 now or 1300+500. For the power side as I've said it is a concern I'll definitely have to address since getting power in the middle of the mountains is always problematic and a power unit adds extra cost to the setup.
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That's a pretty good price indeed, for already astromodified. The star adventurer seems pretty cheap I'd have to take a look at specs and see if it's future proof enough for my plans. Realistic budget is around 2-3k for mount, camera, modification, mount and some small peripherals the extended budget that I'd like to keep under in the long term is 5k and by that I mean for the next 2years. Basically was thinking of waiting along for good deals as much as possible working towards an ideal setup over the 2yrs and gathering money on the side. Ideally I'd like to have a setup with a good eq mount (considering heq5), a telescope (I really liked the William optics zenistar series but pretty influenced by yt on that), a guide scope and guide camera, and a DSLR with plans to expand to a dedicated astro cam beyond the 2yrs mark if I decide I want to delve deeper. The only thing I was considering buying was an unmodified 700d with 2 lenses 55mm and 300mm for around 280€ or a 750d with a 55mm lens for same price. There are some other contenders but those seem to be the best deals I've found locally. Obviously nothing is set in stone hence why I'm here asking questions.
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Sorry don't seem to be able to access that post. I'm assuming I need to spend more time in this forum before I can.
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Interesting, I saw some really nice pictures in that section although I doubt my phone can really take any of similar quality (Xiaomi 11). So you are suggesting that I'd be better off ignoring the DSLR and try for a mount and telescope first which really opens up possibilities but at the same time moves the goal post a bit further away, meaning I'm assuming I'll have to wait longer to start imaging with a phone than with a DSLR since I'll be needing both mount and scope, which are both pretty big ticket items compared to the camera. I might try to give it a shot for some night time photography just with the phone and see if I can grab any good pics without investing any in a mount or scope and move on from there, most likely will need a tripod though. I assume there's also apps to increase the functionality of phone camera hopefully.
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I checked the azgti, it looks very compact. I never thought of using a raspberry pi honestly, but it sounds like a solid option I would have to check out. The asiair looks like a good option for managing everything from your phone if I'm seeing this right which definitely adds to the mobile side. I think I have to calculate the power usage for my setup before the controller and see what kind of power supply I would need. Primarily if I can power everything but the laptop then I could see me relying on the laptop battery for 3h and then plug-in to an outlet. If on the other hand everything is too power hungry I might have to consider going towards a setup like the one you described and opt for a mobile controller. There are just so many options to consider about each part of a build that I gets way overwhelming for a beginner.
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I'll give that a look as well thank you. Luckily no import taxes apply when buying within the EU regardless of item value so it'll be no issue, that's not to say that customs won't decide to check it out thoroughly but in the end it's just a checkup. That is a bit confusing, I assume then if you're using software to guide the camera as well as goto etc it would be considered EVA as well? I did check a video out for the dwarf and I can see the quick and easy part for sure. Yeah from what I saw in reviews just now, the setup is very complete, for 400$ you get a full set of gear. The power is definitely concern since my laptop is very power hungry and in any setup that required it would mean I need a very powerful mobile power source, not that running a mount and the cameras wouldn't take a toll as well but the PSU for the laptop is 280W. Having said that, I think based on the quality of the images alone I'd rather hold off and get a proper setup. I mean we've already established that astrophotography just keeps luring you into getting more things, and even with the possibility of reselling it I think it's a valuable tool and something I feel I'd be holding on to or getting once I already had a proper setup and was looking into something more mobile and versatile.
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I will give that site a look thanks for the tip. As for the dwarf or Seestar, I checked them out, and I don't know something feels off about a system like that of course you have a great deal of experience so I'll definitely be giving that a look, but as they have not come out yet I would wait to see how they fair before actually considering it. I'm just very cautious when it comes to jack of all trades type of machines (which I assume those could be classed as) as I've been burned before by thinking it would be a good choice. It's hard considering I am not that familiar with all the terminologies therefore my opinion of a camera is biased only by what I hear and not really by any personal experience or knowledge. Edit: I checked Cheap Astrophotography and it seems they have good prices on modifications, that might be tax free since It'd be my camera I'd be sending in, thanks for the tip
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Yup totally understandable, this is just a portion of the setup I'd like just enough to get started into taking pictures really. My plan is to get a telescope, a goto mount (heq5 seems to be the top contender) , and a guidance system to track via a smaller telescope (I assume that's what it's called but not sure). It's just that I can't spend everything at once so I'm compartmentalizing it to be able to get some use. I did not actually know that some lenses are not suited to astrophotography or that they can be added to astrocams this adds a few possibilities of course. I have also allocated some money for cabling and assorted gear like boxes, cases etc. although one particular concern I had was the power supply since I don't have a backyard and will need to be far away from any power outlets. I'm currently based in Greece, there is one shop here that has a range of items, and then the other one I've been browsing is astroshop eu . The big issue I've been facing is the import fees anything imported outside of the eu will have a pretty hefty import tax that would make it unreasonably expensive and most likely increase the chance of damage to the item or it being lost. Basically if I order something from the UK or US directly to Greece I have to pay vat on it's original msrp, and the item will be stuck in customs for quite a while. If I find something of great value of course I could probably sort something out where I personally pick it up from the UK for example but yea you get the gist. That's why I've stayed on retail shops and only eu based so far. Yeah YT has pretty much been my main source of information and ideas for the past years but as I've come to know, many times it's better to ask people than trust influencers I came here for a more concise source of info
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Those are some awesome pictures for sure and it's great to see the progression over the years through improving techniques I hope to also end up doing as well. Unfortunately gear I already have is a phone with a camera that I doubt is any good, I've tried taking long exposure night photos with it and it just looks very weird Obviously I didn't do any postprocessing to these, but this was in the desert with iso as low as I could take it and pretty long exposures for a phone and I just felt that most likely there is something wrong with the phone, I fiddled with the settings and those 2 are the only viable pictures everything else is either too dark or too light polluted. I am quite scared to perform a modification myself, but I've heard of a store in italy that will do it for 200€ and 1-2 months of processing and shipping back and forth so was considering that as an option but as I'll be without a camera for that entire duration I was trying to leverage how important astromods were and if so if I could find some place that sells them cheaper than astroshop since I am not willing to bay 1.4k for an astromodified 850d, not because I want that model but because out of all the ones they sell that's the only one that appealed to me. Realistically what I'm looking at is getting a used DSLR and a very basic tripod for a total of around 200€-300€ and then in the future sending it to italy to get modified with a baader filter (at least that's what I chose after reading a bit about the different astromods I don't really know if it's the best). I thought of maybe going straight to astrocams but I feel like I either have to be super lucky on everything and find everything used in a good condition and cheap to even get my setup under 2k with one. I would say I definitely need to do more research though.
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I thought with DSLR you could only do very wide field photography making pictures of most deep sky objects impossible to capture without some pretty heavy lenses. By that I mean I've been using the astronomy tools field of view calculator to actually see what I would need to get a view I would be satisfied with in my photos and what I ended up thinking was that if I went the DSLR route and went with lenses then later on switching to a dedicated astrocam would require me to get a telescope as well. While I do enjoy the idea of being versatile and having the ability to take wide pics as well as more zoomed in ones, the used cameras I have currently found all come with either 55mm lenses or none at all meaning I would have to spend at least another 200€-300€ to get a new lens (going off of what I can see as new prices for 135mm and 250mm lenses) which would eventually be cutting a big chunk of what I could be saving towards a telescope. With regards to the mount, I too have been looking towards the HEQ5 although the price tag is pretty steep and I have not found any used options meaning I have to wait until I can gather upwards of 1000€ to get it and I kind of opted for leaving that for later Might be wise to add that I don't have the greatest experience with ebay, and it costs a lot to get stuff in from outside of europe but I'd have to take a look to see if I can find things a bit cheaper there. What I seem to be confused about is whether you can use a normal DSLR lens, like the Samyang you've recommended, both on an astrocamera and a DSLR, I've been operating under the assumption that this is not possible. Also if that is the case I mean this lens (as it shows up on market here) is about 600€ which is pretty steep for a lens considering I could definitely get a telescope for that much, I wouldn't say it'd be pushing me out of budget but I have to sort of strategically run through my list of things I'd like and kind of pick and choose where I'll save. I'd say I definitely understand the spending frenzy that comes with a hobby like this, doubt I've had any hobby so far that didn't come with constant mood of "ooh shinny", but I've set a budget of about 2k as a reasonable goal, the most problematic items being the telescope and goto mount, which together on their own would set me back 2k and are impossible to find used (here at least) or order from abroad due to weight. I've already started thinking about more and more upgrades I could make to my setup based on what looks cool but I do realize that my ideal budget of 5k is not a good idea for now. Hence why I went with the idea of getting a DSLR first since it would offer some minimal ability to get started and mitigate the insatiable desire to go out and start taking pictures without requiring me to commit the entire sum straight up, like a 300€ camera with a 55mm lens should be good enough to keep me occupied and honing my skills until I can afford to get the mount and then the telescope (I think at least) do you think I'm approaching this wrong?
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Hi all, I have been circling around the idea of getting started with astrophotography for about a year now and I think I'm finally ready for making my first equipment purchase. I'm greatly interested capturing in deep sky objects and specifically nebulae, although as I've only seen other people's images I hope i can actually pull it off. I'm leaning towards getting a DSLR since it's a low cost option and offers versatility but there are so many different options between that and dedicated astro cameras that it's really hard to decide on a specific thing. The most important factor I keep hearing is getting your DSLR astromodified but once again there is a variety of options. So my question is, assuming I have the option to get a DSLR from (60d, 700,750d,800d) for pretty cheap (200€-300€) how much of a difference would it make to get it astromodified (with extra cost and hassle) and then which modification would be more fitting (baader, UV/IR, full spectrum etc.) Also assuming the above, would it be more prudent to spend the 600€ to get a dedicated astro cam instead, knowing I would have to wait until I get a telescope as well before I can start taking pictures? Thank you for any help you can provide. Ps. I live in Europe and the used astro market is pretty limited in my country so I'm also open to any suggestions for second hand stores on the EU side.
