Mark2022

LOL. I'm my own worst critic anyhow! 😂

No, they're just after Pipp. I have others which have been stacked with AS!3 however, if preferred?

Because I like to take a wide shot now and then of the planet and moons.

Kon, some of us just aren't that tech savvy and don't have access to people who are.

If anyone fancies doing their thing with any of these, please do. 🙂 It will be very interesting to see what can be achieved and whether I'm just not good at processing! jupiter f6.3 prime focus__000006__00-17-01__data_pipp_____100r_48T_4234reg.tif jupiter f6.3 prime focus__000005__00-14-04__data_pipp_____100r_48T_5350reg.tif jupiter f6.3 prime focus__000004__00-10-39__data_pipp_____100r_48T_5454reg.tif jupiter f6.3 prime focus__000003__00-00-23__data_pipp_____100r_48T_4575reg.tif jupiter f6.3 prime focus__000002__23-55-26__data_pipp_____100r_48T_5157reg.tif jupiter f6.3 prime focus__000001__23-52-13__data_pipp_____100r_48T_3914reg.tif saturn prime focus__000002__22-53-34__data_pipp_____100r_48T_6738reg.tif saturn prime focus__000003__22-57-38__data_pipp_____100r_48T_2623reg.tif

I can't use Sharpcap for the moment (or Firecapture). I have a mac and an SVBony 305c. The only software which supports both is AstroDmx. However, it also has a histogram but I haven't got used to using the ROI function yet and the SW actually aborts quite often. I tend to use 640x480 and I keep thinking what would the resolution be like with 1920 because higher resolution means higher resolution, doesn't it?

Hi Kon, Ok, first things first: Collimation. I'd never collimated any scope before the night I took the attached pics above. Here is a video of my attempt using Polaris, the helical focuser and a tri bahtinov mask. SCT Collimation.mp4 The collimation beforehand was already good, I thought, and when I started tinkering with it, it went way out before I brought it back in. However, never having attempted it before, I have no idea if the achieved result is good, bad or indifferent. I always brought Polaris back to the centre of the eyepiece (the video is not of me actually doing the collimation since I did it with my SVBony zoom lens, first at 27mm then at 9mm). Looking at the video, I can still see it may be a fraction out but I saw this during the collimation and sometimes it would appear spot on and other times, slightly out. However, with this result, if it were just ever so slightly out, would that make the difference between what I'm achieving and what you are? I have tried both: Moons and Planet when focusing. I've previously done just 2 minute captures and I've seen no improvement (or deterioration) but that could be because I'm not finely enough focused which, again, may be due to poor collimation? I have no idea if my collimation is now good enough. I have downloaded Winjupos which, I believe, is for derotation but have never used it so far. Is it possible it would result in me seeing a dramatic difference from what my results are so far or does it only produce a minor improvement on already good data? 5ms? I started weeks ago at around 20-24ms. Someone recently said 10ms and now it's 5? Doesn't that then require increased gain and increased noise which then suggests increased capture time for better SNR? Re the sampling: What I find is that, if I use my F6.3 corrector/reducer, the details seem to be improved however the disk is small of course. If I then do prime focus, that's quite good too (F10) but perhaps slightly less good. My SVBony camera is also 2.9 pixel. If I use my 2x barlow, I'm F20 and 3x F30. Were you never at the point of getting results like I am? If not, then I guess you can't explain what single or couple of things you changed to make the dramatic improvement?

I'd like to hear from someone who has, at one point, had results like mine but has then done something (just one or two things) which has dramatically improved their images to (or near) Kon's results above. Someone must have gone through this improvement and knows what was the one major factor to achieve it.

Super shots Kon. I need to pick your brain further but it's late so perhaps catch up tomorrow.

The focusing issue with the LX10 is why I bought the SVBony helical focuser which is equivalent to vastly increasing the turning radius. An ADC is not on my 'horizon' at the moment but will be if I can achieve improvement first on the focusing. Cheers.

Espoo? I used to visit there often in the 90s to meet the Nokia people (Oulu too). Thanks for the feedback. Extremely annoying though to think I'd be lucky to get the quality I'm looking for. I'll certainly take on board some of your suggestions however. I do think the software deals with the RGB alignment sufficiently to negate the need for the ADC however, unless I'm wrong. I realise Saturn, as low as it is, is going to suffer and, to be honest, I'm quite pleased with the results given that. Jupiter is at least 60deg however but, no matter what, I just seem to be able to tease out the tiniest more detail on each session until now but still feel the focus is not right. I never realised, at 'infinity' that focus could still be so critical.

The late evening/early morning of the 9th/10th September was spectacular in its clarity. I don't remember seeing such a calm, majestic canopy of stars in years/decades. It really is dark here (well a Bortle 3/4) and I looked up and, without sounding like a ****, I 'saw God'. The stars really were like a blanket of diamonds on a velvet background and, even though Saturn was low in the sky, the conditions were so perfect (you really had to be here - bright meteors and artificial damned satellites everywhere) that I, luckily, have improved my technique a little to be able to capture Saturn, Jupiter and the moon again. This time, in crisper detail than before (though I still have a long way to go to achieve the quality I'm looking for). I've only started a few months back and only had 2 real sessions with my Meade LX10 8 inch and an SVBony 305c. The Meade is still forked but is in full operating condition. I've collimated the scope as best I can (see video) but I have no electronic focuser and I'm not using any software of any kind to focus. I use the Meade's original focuser to achieve rough focus and then I use an SVBony helical focuser which replaces the visual back at prime focus OR, if using my F6.3 reducer/corrector it screws onto that and then the SVBony camera direct into the helical focuser or into a Meade 2x barlow (sometimes a Neewer 3x barlow) then into the focuser. When using the helical focuser, the slightest turn is all that is needed to achieve best focus. What I tend to do is ramp the gain up on AstroDMx capture software (I use a mac and SVBony so AstroDMX is the only software which accepts both), focus as best I can on the moons, turn the gain back down and the videos taken were taken at around 10 - 12ms. However, I have been taking videos of approx 3 mins, sometimes 4 mins. The detail and clarity I'm trying to achieve is in this video.... How do I get from the quality of these shots.... ....to the quality of that video? I realise it's hard work and also realise it's harder to do manually but I'm getting video quality captures of the same quality as he is in the video. To process, I use Pipp and the Astrosurface (which is similar to Autostakkert and Registax in one package). I just can't seem to nail that focus although, again, the actual captures appear to be of the very same quality (if not better) than the video capture in the video above. Suggestions and advice very welcome.

It's the Post Police!

Nice job. I like the natural colours from the unmodded camera. The Cygnus wall stands out very well and I don't notice any artifacts. Nice round stars too. Then again, I'm no connoisseur. When those photos are on the back of your DSLR there's a buzz that those outwith the astro community don't understand. When you then stack an process and get a result that's pleasing to you, there's the next buzz. From then on there's a lot of 'hate speech' you should be locked up for, against clouds! What did they ever do to you?

I had my 8 inch LX10 out for a run last night, trying out a new SVBony zoom. The sky was crystal clear up here. However, I spent 3 hours taking captures with AstroDMX of both, moon and Jupiter and, to my dismay, I find out this morning that I saved none of them! AstroDMX was also crashing during captures though not all the time. Anyhow, that was off topic. Fantastic views last night.

Just to follow up: First light last night with it and yes, the zoom function isn't so stiff now. Checked out the moon and Jupiter with it and what can I say? A fantastic eyepiece. Clear as a bell and the zoom extremes are incredible (my first - and last - zoom eyepiece). I know people praise the Hyperion zoom and I've never used one but I don't intend to buy one either because this eyepiece does all I want it to. For £22.99!!!