Astronix

Just a quick post to say thanks again. I did manage to get a few pictures last weekend of the M101, and I was really pleased to see the galaxy appeared after stacking the images. The problem was the extension piece in front of the FF, it was stopping me from focussing inward enough. My first images were very noisy as I think that my ISO setting of 1600 was too high. Now that I am confident that I am getting focus, l will be taking more time on taking test images. I am also going to be a bit more patient when using the Bahtinov mask to get proper focus. once again thank you for all the advice. I should be able to get a half decent image soon, once all the clouds have gone anyway.

So removed the the extension piece and now can achieve focus, thanks everyone especially Astronebulee. Will try it out tonight looks like a may get a little bit of clear sky😂👍

That’s really interesting, I will have a play around with it later and let you know if it makes any difference. But it definitely makes sense. Thanks

Although the attachment at the scope is a slot in type I do have a screw in adapter as well, I tried this as a last ditch attempt to see if it made any difference.

I tried backyard eos and had the same problem that I did with Nina. Must be a problem with my laptop, but I am pretty sure that I can fix that.

I think that I have the 55mm clearance from the sensor and it’s good to know I made the right choice purchasing it. I did download sharpcap but I thought it was just for dedicated cameras, I will have another look. I was thinking that it looked a bit more user friendly. I did have room to move the focuser, so I will give your suggestion a go next time the skies are clear.

I am wondering if I have made a mistake buying a fully modded camera?

Thanks for the reply Olly. I have tried to focus on the moon, but I just managed a white ball and could not get it to focus. Maybe I am doing something wrong with the camera settings?

So, I now have some of the gear (enough to be able to get an image). I have acquired an EQM-35 goto mount and tripod, a 72ED telescope, a fully modified Canon 450d DSLR, a Astronomik CLS CCD filter, an Astronomik field flattener, T ring adaptor. So everything screw’s together, I just need a rotator so I can keep the camera straight. I have rigged it all up to my HP laptop and I am using N.I.N.A. I am having issues with Nina freezing in live view on the laptop, I have set up on my desktop pc and had no problems with that. IT’s obviously not practical to take my desktop outside every time there is a clear night, I am working on getting it to work on the laptop. I uninstalled eqmod, Ascom, and Nina, I then reinstalled them all. I now have a problem with eqmod saying runtime error 55 when I try to start the drivers. I am sure that I will find a fix for this, but still looking. I have managed to set everything up and get it working to a point. Polar alignment is bang on, I have managed to get the goto working in the right area of the sky. The problem is I cannot get any views of any stars to focus the camera. I have it in bulb, mode which shows on the live view but it is just black. I have got it to focus on objects during the daytime but they are pretty close to the setup as views from my garden are limited low down. I am just looking for any help and guidance, I am doing something wrong I am just not sure what it is. any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the warm welcome and thanks for your comments Elp.

Fingers crossed, I am sure that it will be a very big learning curve.

Hi All just thought I would say hello. I have had an 8” Newtonian for a few years on an eq5 manual mount. I am now looking to get into AP. Just bought a EQM35 pro mount and I am now looking at the rest of the kit that I will need. currently looking for a Skywatcher 72ED or similar, need a field flattener, T ring adaptor, light pollution filter and a camera.I am thinking of going for a Canon DSLR Astro modded but I am not quite sure about which filter to buy to get me started. The skies where I live in Cheshire are Bortel 5. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Will probably go for a 40d camera but would look at others if my budget allows. May go for a cheap guide scope and camera but this can come later. Many thanks