beamer3.6m

2 hours ago, gerardsheldon said:

I am in a similar position to you.  I have recently got the cooled 294MC colour camera to replace my canon 1000D for my 130pds.  My main challenges have been software.  I can only get live view with SharpCap.  So i currently using that, and then switching to NINA (or APT).    For deep sky objects, I was advised the cooling is very important, so get the cooled version if you can.   The 294MC requires its own power supply and cable to the laptop.   The software gives you options that cools the camera and warms it (I understand that it is best not to warm it too quickly).

I also got a un/ir filter and a coma corrector.  I got a The focus position for the 294MC is much further back and I don't know why.  I have asked why this is on another thread.   Balancing the telescope on the mount (HEQ5) is trickier.  Apart from the two normal ways of balancing the telescope, I also rotate the telescope in the tube so it does not go horizontal.

Does the camera reach focus on the 130pds without a coma corrector and if so does it do so out of the box?

Sk I am thinking about moving to a dedicated asteo camera and I have seen the ZWP294MC PRO which caught my eye.

Now I have a 130pds scope... would this be a marriage made in heaven or a divorce waiting to happen?.

My intended targets would be the usual deepsky fare... m31, m15, plaides, m42 etc etc.

If the 130pds would not work what is recommended... I want to keep it very simple and as low cost as possible.

At the current time I use my 1100d with a simple lens (cannot be bothered to faff with the 130pds).

Could someone help me process this

It's a Tiff filed made kn deepsky stacker from a combination of lights (34 x 180s), darks (5) and flats (15).

I know the original data is not yp to much. It I really struggle with processing and one of the problems I have is that I don't know just what can be achieved from given data so I never know when have maxed out the image, if that makes sense.

Any help would be appreciated.

Autosave001.tif

The .Tiff as produced by DSS

Autosave001.tif

I tried Siril but I don't really get it to be honest... my images come out looking awful when I follow the tutorials.

So I opted for Deepsky Stacker ('DSS')for this one and then photoshop with noel carboni astro actions but the 'actions' were not really put into play.

I will post the .Tiff as produced by DSS very shortly

I have the original files... would someone like/be willing to have a go at processing with the data we have.

Now this is a pretty poor attempt at M31.

34 x 180s lights

5 darks

15 flats

Light pollution filter (clip in)

Moon was rising

Canon 1100d (unmodded) with Tamron 18-200 lens set at 197mm(!)

I am not sure of the 'f' of the lens as I keep forgetting to check

AZ-GTI (EQ modded)

The pros:

Focus

Tracking

Alignment

The cons:

Thank you for that clear answer.

It now makes sense.

so would 'bin3' triple it?

what light panels do you guys use?

Thank you Tomato... your help is appreciated.

I agree there are positives with my image and I am pleased with the tracking and framing etc.

I also appreciate that I do need the calibration frames... any tips of how best to get 'flats'?

I just need to work on my processing but in reality 'rubbish in, rubbish out' will always prevail.

So what do the different 'Bin' options do when capturing frames?

I note that a difference between 'Bin 1' and 'Bin 2' is the image size in pixels... anything else I need to know??

So I have returned to imaging after many years away.

My equipment:

AZ-GTI (EQ mode) and guided

Basic Tamron 18-135 lens

CLS lip filter (to alleviate street lights)

Image details

8 x 5 minute exposures

2 x darks (I messed these up so only have 2)

No flats (I just couldn't take them as they came out very very weird... I tried the t-shirt method and a laptop screen but rubbish!)

ISO 400

The VERY poor result of the Sadr region as processed through Siril!!!

HOW EMBARRASING IS THAT IMAGE

I have seen an item I am interested in at Hdew Cameras and the price is very competitive.

The item is only a lens so the need to register it etc is almost redundant, unlike when buying a camera body etc.

No recent reviews on here though and I will be parting with a good few £££'s so any comments welcome.

What is the forums opinion on a good price for this lens...

On the second hand market and new.

I.e. what price would be a) defo buy; b) likely buy and c) not buy 

(Assuming good condition)

Urther info:

The 1100d needs 7.4v 2a.

My input to the asiair is 12V 5a.

Can this be suitably down converted with a buck converter and if so which is suitable????

So I'm thinking of getting g one of these buck converter type things to power my 1100d from the asiair.

Amazon has hundred of options with various reviews... but at the risk of not wanting to fry my camera which ones are recommended?

My input to the asiair is 12v 5a and I THINK I need 7.4v for the 1100d (that is what a battery for the 1100d says anyway??? (pic attached).

I'm not sure what amps would be required into the 1100d though?

I solved it.

I was being an idiot.

The camera has an end piece which unscrews, this I knew as it is black and the camera is red... however what I didn't k kW was that the end piece also itself unscrews to leave just a tiny little end piece... it is this which you need to screw on to the c adapter.

I was originally using the entire end piece to screw onto the c adapter... wrong

The end piece is so well made it wasn't obvious that there is this further ability to unsrew it.

Thanks guys

That's the thing... I had the moon in shot and I could not get focus...

I also tried jupiter but again no use!!!

I will try asiair studio... wasnt familiar with that so will check this out.

So I have the asi120 mini attached to a 9x50 straight through finder...

I qm using the correct adapter and this is a system sold by FLO etc so its known to work.

However, how hard is ot to get focus??? Its driving me nuts.

I'm using asiair so I made the asi120 the main camer so I could use video mode but what gain/exp am I going g to need to se stars and how much focus movement is needed. This is so frustrating 😤 

I know the 2.4ghz thing is important. My router has both 2.4 and 5 on the same channel... do you think this may be an issue??

I uave done all of the above... AAP has my WiFi set in station mode. I have checked my router and the AAP is showing as a device with its own iPhone address... I type that address into the app and nothing happens.

Great work.

I'm confused by the station mode in the ASIAIR PRO.

I have turned on station mode and it found my home WiFi and I put know the password etc. So far all good.

However, when I then put my tablet back to the home WiFi and start the asiair app it won't let me connect.

How do you connect to the app once you ha e station mode enabled and turned on.

What am I missing.