Webby-962

I'm using a Redcat 51, with a Williams Optic guide scope.

I pulled the trigger on a complete starter set up, and whilst I was learning the equipment and software, somehow managed to grab a few (very) quick images of a couple of easy targets; M31 and the Heart nebula. These shots were more about learning a workflow and getting my head around the gear, but I had two nights of semi clear skies, so took a chance to grab some shots. I'm under a Bortle 5 sky, and used a ZWO duo narrowband duel filter on my 533MC Pro. M31 was shot first on 30th November, and was 60 x 120 seconds exposures. I hadn't worked out how to do guiding at this point, so kept the exposures short. I took the darks, and flats and dark flats the next day. I processed it all in Affinity Photo using James Ritson's Macros and the StarXterminator plugin. The Heart nebula was 15 x 180 seconds and 1 x 300 second exposure (this time I was just learning the skills of auto guiding), shot on 2nd December and again, calibration frames shot the next day. All processed in Affinity Photo, but I tried JR OSC to Mono macro, just to try and get a bit more colour out of all that red! Now I'm just waiting for clear Skies! I have a long way to go, but this is my first tentative steps, so any advice always welcome.

I'm just coming back to astronomy after an 8 year break. Things have moved on a lot since then, and I'm excited to get into the photography side of things again. Hopefully the days of butchering an old webcam to fit it to my old skywatcher 130 telescope are over! Especially with guiding mounts and tracking software! So, I've been researching a starter rig to get me back into it. My budget is about £3.5k. I want to be able to image from my back garden, but also nip up the road to a nearby dark site if I need to. I'm sure the hobby will grow, so this is a set up to start on, but also will see me into other areas. I'm after a setup for DSO at this point in time. I'm not sure if the EF is needed, and the camera choice is daunting, so advice welcome. Back in the day I was using a webcam and a DSLR. Not use if it is best to start with colour or mono and filters (or if that is do-able in my budget) or cooled (I'm in the UK if that matters). I'm happy to stick to the ZWO ecosystem, so a ZWO camera is ok. I was thinking: Telescope William Optics v2-U RedCat 51 Tracking Mount Skywatcher Star Adventurer GTi Guide scope William Optics 50mm Slide-base Uniguide scope Guide camera ZWO ASI120MM-MINI Camera controlers ZWO ASIAIR Plus 32GB Mount ProAstroGear Black-CAT Mount Focuser? ZWO Electronic Automatic Focuser Camera?? I know there will. be loads of options, but any pros and cons with any recommendations most welcome. Cheers