JonHigh

Awesome. Thanks so much for your help! Really is very much appreciated! I feel like a newbie all over again!! 😂

Thanks for the detailed info. To be honest I thought it was something I may have inadvertently done to it! - I will check the back focusing spacers just in case which is an easy thing to do. However it's the collimation I don't know at all. I will get a cheshire to start with so at least I can bring it to where it should be. This was one reason why I didn't go for an RC scope and got a my Triplet some time ago now. Was thinking about selling it and getting a Newt as a replacement but I'm not so sure now. Maybe my brother should take it back but not before I have played! 🤣 Thanks again PS. Aha yes there is a central dot. Right I get it now! 🙄

Oh I see. I'm so used to my triplet, Oh the fun of newts 😂 ! I will have to check with my brother as he set it up initially so I am assuming he has set it up correctly. I will check if the distance is correct maybe an extension spacer was left off? So birdlike stars is a collimation issue? What is a backwards coma? Starting to wonder if I should just stick to my frac! Sorry for going on - Just want to understand. 👍

Thanks for the fast and sound replies! So I was going in the right direction of it being well out of collimation. Is this a Primary / secondary or both mirrors out? Yes, indeed a coma corrector was in place but I didn't think it could present an issue as long as a corrector was used? Maybe a better one is needed? This is a totally new scope to me so I'm a bit like a fish out of water! I'll have to sort this out and get it back up and running when clear again. Also need to sort out the tilt!! Birdlike Stars... If it turns out to be astigmatic is that the end of the scope?

Hi All. I hope you can advise on this. I borrowed my brother's Newtonian (SW 150PDS) to have a look if it was something worth getting as I have only ever used refractor's and Mak's. I took this 2 min sub and saved an auto stretch version in ASIFITS viewer to ask someone more knowledgable what this is? Im guessing it's a collimation issue (primary or secondary?) or is there something wrong with it optically? I first thought it was out of focus (Used a mask) although it was saying it was focused!? I assumed if it was out of focus I would get donuts rather than odd shapes? Please help.

Had a little play with this image on a bit of downtime plus the weather has been awful so...

Brian May would be pleased to see all that dust! Really excellent reprocessing. I must look into getting PI and these plug ins at some point!

That’s a great image. I had to zoom in as it didn’t look real. Very Eskimo looking! 👍🏻

Hi Alan. That's some light reading I will be doing. I love to be educated and gain (excuse the pun) knowledge especially in this hobby that I enjoy maybe too much! So thanks again for your time. I will have a look at the exposure times next time it's clear, whenever that will be. I do have a Pro Licence for SharpCap that I mainly use for PA. I recently did a Sensor Analysis which, to be honest put me on this road in the first place. But come out the other side with more understanding, so was definitely worth it! 👍 Indeed, I will check out the Smart Histogram function now I have done the SA. I live in Bortle 5/6 which is why I have never ventured further than 3 min subs for the very reason you gave. The camera side I get instinctively. Re the RedCat. Sounds like you had an awful time with it but pleased the distributor was good enough to help you! Yes agreed, I actually deleted it from this post and started it on a new one as there seemed to be an issue reinserting it as I decided to reprocessed it again.. Many thanks for your comment. 😇

Hi All, Finally got to reprocess the Soul Nebula over the weekend. I think I have tamed the noise levels in the high gain setting I used...

Alan. Thank you so very much for your time and patience. I think it has now gelled. It seems an absolute mine field, but an enjoyable learning curve especially with good people like yourself shedding light on things clearly and thoughtfully. I thought I had an understanding of sensors and how they worked but never realised how different manufacturers use different scales to describe the same thing. Almost like using imperial and metric units I guess! Either way thanks again 👍. Being an ex-pro photographer with an understanding I assume as the gain levels have risen, I take it that the exposures would need to decrease or should I continue with 3 mins subs for example? On a side note from looking at your impressive equipment list, I noticed you have WO RedCat-51. I was considering it as a possible next purchase as the Evoguide 50 I repurposed has got me into wide field captures.

So the auto switch over from LCG TO HCG on the Zwo is at 100 where it’s done manually on the Altair. So I thought I was right in using a gain value of 300 and switching it into HGC mode. As it’s a rough equivalent value? Better to use 100 in HCG which brings it up to 300 in brightness/sensitivity at a lower read noise level? Sorry about this.

Thanks again for your time Alan. Crazy. I don’t understand why the scale values are different from various manufacturers and aren’t just standardized across the board! Oh well. I use APT for image capture rather than Altair’s own software. I loaded that software up for the first time and indeed it starts at 100 (ZWO 0). Also checked APT and confirms that too, it reverts to 100 if I enter a value <100. So I’ve been using the camera at its base line. Or in ZWO terms Gain 0 in LCH mode all this time.

Hi Alan. Okay thanks for that. I think I have worked it out in my head now 🙄. Looking at the graphs and of my Sensor Analysis from SharpCap, it’s seems best to have it set at 100 using HCG mode. I will give it a try next time out and hopefully I get a better result?! Let’s face it, either way it will not be as noisy as the shot from last night!

Hi Alan. Thank you very much for your info and help. Really do appreciate it. Ah. That explains why I have a noisy image. So I was using a Gain value of 900! Blast. APT has a manual switch over for the conversion modes. So would I be right in saying that LCG at 300 is equivalent to 100 HCG. If so then the later should give better read noise results but a loss in Dynamic range and well depth? I found the graphs for the 26c and have attached them. thanks again

Hi All. Took this last night and quickly processed it in Siril and PhotoLab. Trying to work out different settings for the camera. Using HCG mode, higher gain and offset values in APT. 54 x 3 min subs, gain 300, offset 200. Switched over from LCG to HCG. Although brighter and higher SNR, I think it looks noisier than when I was shooting at gain 100 with an offset of 50 in LCH mode. I assumed it would be less noisier, maybe shorter exposures and more subs? Appreciate any advice. Can I still use LCG at 300 as the switch over is done manually? Also, It didn’t help that my EAF was slightly out of focus, something I need to have a look at. I will be looking at processing it in the Hubble Pallet this weekend for fun.

HI all. I hope someone can help me out? I have an Altair 26c that I have been using for a while now and been very happy with it as per previous images/posts I have shared. However, I think I could be doing better with regards to its settings in APT and Read Noise levels. Currently, I have been using it by and large at Gain 120, Offset 50 with about 3 Min exposures in Ultra Low noise mode and in LCG mode. I have now got a SharpCap Pro licence and ran the Sensor Analysis routine and came up this info (see attached). It would seem running the Gain level at 300 would be most beneficial. As I understand at Gain 300 is the switch over from LCG to HCG? So should I be running APT in HCG or just keep it in LCG at Gain 300? If I do change it to HCG at 300 does that correspond to '300' in both apps as I have seen that these values can change EG 300 in one app means 150 in another?? Confused! Also the Offsets in SharpCap started off with 794 should I keep to that? Hope this makes sense and appreciate any help.

Hi Happy-Kat. And if The Lazy Astronomer sees this post. Just wanted to thank you for your help in December re EvoFF. I’m very pleased with the results it produced! 👍🏻

Thanks. Yup, I had the SW FF that came as a deal kit when I bought the scope but never used it so sold it in favour of the EvoFF. Primarily because I couldn’t add filters due to the tight back focus requirements. I was surprised at the amount of vignetting the EvoFF produced on my APS size sensor but the calibration frames and background extraction made light work of it! The EvoFF has a T2 thread which makes adding extension tubes etc very easy. Shame the Evoguide doesn’t have a compression ring just three screw to hold everything in place! Re the clamshell. - lovely piece of kit and Starizona were great. Shipped from the US to the UK in 3days! I didn’t want to use the standard mount that came with it as I wanted it to a true to the mount as possible without it being off centre. Maybe my OCD takes over sometimes!! 😂

Hi all. Another project of mine that’s been simmering in the background since I modified the SkyMax150 for DSO AP. Repurposing my rather excellent guidescope! I decided to pull the trigger a Starizona Evo clamshell and an EvoFF v2 for my EvoGuide50. Looked at the forecast, clear for the second night running!!!! Whoa! After some time setting the whole thing up from scratch I got it all working! Then the blasted clouds rolled in!!! So I only managed to get 21 x3mins subs in. I’m quite happy to say the results weren’t half bad for a first attempt at my wide field setup! Yes. The dodgy DIY dew shields actually worked. 😂

Hi All. Another first attempt with my Altair Wave 102 and HyperCam 26C. This time, one of my favourite to observe and can’t believe it’s taken me this long to image it! Still it’s been cloudy the last 6weeks and 5 before that! 🤬 60x 2min subs at gain 120, Offset 50. Maybe 3min subs would have been better? The seeing conditions worsened as the night draw on so only 2hrs of acquisition time. Processed in Siril and DXO PhotoLab

Wow! What an awesome image! You’re right of course, this is a rare object to capture. May I ask what mount do you use? And how do you prevent everything freezing over at those temperatures?

Nice. Very keen to get it out. Just wish these clouds would disappear!

Thanks guys. On your recommendation I decided to go for it and bought a Starizona Evo-FF from 365 Astronomy at a very good price. It arrived today so looking forward to clear skies to try it out. 👍🏻

Oh! I did see the Starizona FF mentioned in other posts but didn’t know the back focus distance was 55mm. So that seems to be the way to go. Thank you. Any idea if the quality is as good or better than the SW version? I just don’t want to crop the image really as the whole point is to have the wide field at relatively low cost. If you get where I’m coming from.