Adrian Condon

Hi Graham, I am going for two full days, I found most of the talks interesting. In 2018 the sound system was a total disaster for part of the first talk and I really wanted to hear the speaker. It was corrected within 15 minutes but should never have occurred. I stay overnight at the Copthorne Tara Hotel on the Friday night with some friends. I find the bulk of the traders interesting and more than willing to discuss their products (one or two not interested in talking about their products last year, if the pre-sales is poor, just guess what the after sales is like!!!) Yes some traders are offering discounts that help defray the costs of attending. Remember a number of companies are locating to Europe in anticipation of Brexit..... so will they be attending in future. I like Carole idea of badging up! A Happy New Year and hope to meet up with as many of you as possible... Adrian

Hi Sachakins, Nice to see that you have found an unknown camera to me! Well Done. Mirrorless 4/3 cameras are making inroads in the camera marketplace, this system has been in existence for 10 years. So the technical issues usually associated with any new systems have been resolved, so ignore any old reviews..... Olympus and Panasonic are the original companies that drew up and agreed the basics of the design characters. The Olympus and Panasonic have completely interchangeable lens, ie a Panasonic lens will work on an Olympus M4/3 camera and visa versa. The M4/3 system has a complete range of lens from entry level, enthusiasts and a fabulous Pro range from Olympus (with prices to match). The Panasonic top lens range are also brilliant. Remember these lens have a crop of x2 so a 25mm lens on a M4/3 camera is equivalent to a 50mm lens on a Canon full frame camera. The image quality is excellent, people who pixel count have rubbished the quality, but 95% of the time it is nigh impossible to see the difference in large prints, I have seen the same shot using both M4/3 and full frame Nikon cameras and the prints were about 1 metre high. The 5% is where the full frame wins if shooting in the dark where the noise on high ISO is more noticeable. Up to ISO 3200 the quality is the same. Have a look at a review of the Y1 camera at. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1AL5HsKNw4 (not what happens on modern M4/3 cameras) The M4/3 cameras from Olympus and Panasonic leave the Y1 on the camera shop shelves! Have a look at the Olympus OMD E-M10 mkiii (mark 3) is an entry camera little more expensive but offers excellent quality. I have been a Canon user for years but transferred to M4/3 system 2 years ago. I have a top of the range Olympus OMD E-1 mkII and a number of Pro and Premium range lens. I have used it at the Galloway Autumn Star Party this year and happy with the results of the Milky Way using ISO 1600 and 20 second shoots. If you want a camera for daytime and star images I recommend then an Olympus or Panasonic M4/3 would be a good choice also a Canon and Nikon used cameras are also a good choice. Canon and Nikon are moving to mirrorless cameras, the advantages are lighter cameras, and since the mirror does not flip up during exposure, the image is viewable all the time. Plus what use is on the screen is what you get on the image so you have less image reviews If you are interested in M4/3, and I get a free moment I will put a few images on the SGL if that will help you make a choice. Happy Hunting! Adrian

Hi Mike I as usual plan to attend........ ( I suspect Lesley has my name already pencilled in ) It should be a great event with the getting older regulars and the new star party starters..... given the dark clear skies and the craic it is hard to see why not.... All the best Adrian

Hi Peter Glad to hear that you know the area. I always book my meals at the Harbour Inn, Sundays is one of their busy days and early evenings booking is essential. All the best. Adrian

Hi Peter, You are correct, there is no pub on site, we take a volume of whiskey and cans of various liquids.... of course there is the Harbour Inn in Garliston which is great for drink and Sunday Carvery. The food prices are reasonable specially the Sunday lunch. A number of us descend there for a good meal and the locals are very friendly and they make you very welcome. Of course, the drink-drive laws in Scotland are tougher than England..... http://www.the-harbour-inn.co.uk Food shopping can be done in the Co-Op in Wigtown or a Sainsburys and Aldi or Lidl in Newton Stewart, the local butcher there is excellent, two outdoor shops as well plus two or three cafes and a cinema. Forget Chinese takeaway..... So, given the campsite is in the back of beyond, civilisation is only a drive away! Hope to meet up. Cheers Adrian

Hi Peter, Glad to see that you are thinking about the Galloway Star Party.... if the hip operation is delayed, there is a Spring Star Party at Drumroamin, it is usually held in February / March time, so that may be of interest to you. As Ian says the Autumn one is the 10th year of stargazing there, so we are expecting it to be a great event with loads of people attending. The Saturday evening of the party just gone was absolutely fantastic with crystal clear sky and a Milky Way to die for. On the wet evenings we have a whiskey tasting sessions which are great fun. The Star Parties there are very friendly, a great laugh, Pie eating and of course there is a Pool Table as well. I travel 800 mile round trip to attend...... enough said.... Hope to meet up with you there. Cheers Adrian

Hi Mike, None of this great star party would be possible without you having taken over the reins a number of years ago. I enjoy the whole party, from the extremely clear skies, the nights that are not so clear, the nights when there is just a few stars visible and the nights that the craic is very entertaining. This star party is amazing and travelling the 800 mile round trip speaks volume. A Big Thank you for all your efforts goes without saying. Thank you.......Mike Hope to see you in the Spring 2019. Adrian

Hi Damian It was taken at around 21:30 pm It looks a lot better in Lightroom I have taken both RAW and jpeg at the same time This image is a RAW converted to jpeg in Lightroom and exported. I must download the jpeg image from the camera and compare both jpegs All the best Adrian

Hi David, I took the following images using an Olympus EM-1 MKii camera with a 7-14mm Pro lens (equivalent to 14-28mm on a full frame camera). So this was a wide-angle shot. This was a one-off colour image, 15 second duration, ( and, for Mike.... it was taken on a tripod! ) with a iOptron mini mount. Another image will be loaded later. All the

Hi David, I got home safely and am completely shattered, the wind on the A75 and M6 was terrible. I am off to bed and tomorrow I will get back to reporting Sunday evening..... tomorrow Believe Mick got home safely as well. Cheers Adrian

HI David, Glad you got home safely. A good soak in a bath may help. I know that sore backs are areal pain. Hope Tony will make another trip to Drumroamin, trust you are fit enough to let the builder in tomorrow. As always, it is great meeting up with you. Cheers Adrian

Hi Ian, Glad you got home safely and the A75 closure was not a major problem. The weather here is back to windy, the grass has dried out amazingly, given the rain only stopped around 16:00 hours. I took some shots of the Milky Way last night, which I hope to put one on the site when I get home. I think I will treat myself to a walk to Mike's static van soon for a quick chat with Phil, Kenny and Mike. It is very quiet here now and no red lights to be seen. Hoping that the wind may blow the clouds away, so I have my tripod and camera at the ready. (So has Phil!) David, hope your back was not too painfully driving back to Perth ( Scotland ). Trust everyone had a safe and uneventful journey home. Yes, Saturday night was brilliant..... definitely worth doing the 800 mile round trip!!!!! To Julian and Dai who unfortunately could not make it this time, remember that we do it again in the Spring of 2019........ All the Best. Adrian

Hi Damian. I agree, it is winder in the corner, I think you have some protection from the hedge. I like the bottom corner...... because I can talk to the farmer who owns the field as he is a friend of one of my best friends in the Isle of Whithorn. Plus less light from the others who camp nearer the facilities block. My big Outwell tent takes the same bashing and it survives.... of course it costs a lot more. Anyway, trust you are in the best of health and we will be seeing you at Galloway soon. Cheers Adrian

Hi Nick, I did not know you were up at Glen Luce. Phil and myself were up to Glen Luce Saturday afternoon. The sky in this corner of Scotland was brilliant last night till about 03:00 am this morning. I went to bed at 02:00 am but got up again at 04:35am and the sky to the east was clear. The Orion constellation looked absolutely beautiful over the Solway Forth. Went for the constitutional dog walk with Bud. It started to rain at 10:00am, luckily most of those with tents managed to get packed by the time the rain got serious. It looks set in for the day. I agree with Ian, when I closed the legs on my carbon fibre tripod, ice came off the legs. I am going home tomorrow, so hoping the rain eases off and disappears before I need to pack up. The only damage occurred during the windy weather was my Kampa Utility /Toilet tent which I use to cover the Dob. Two poles broke and the cloth the poles go through was ripped to shreds. Their guy lines are totally unsuitable as they appeared to be made of a poor quality cotton. I have a larger Kampa Utility tent that got two poles broken in March here. The supplier sent me two replacements after trying to get Kampa involved. The quality of the larger tent is very good, and I suppose the tent was not made to stand up to the 60mph winds we had in March. Phil and myself are going to the Harbour Inn in Garliston for the Sunday roast. We have had a number of nights in which we saw stars. Less nights for the craic, but enough to make it a very enjoyable star party. Trust the SGL Star Party gets a good number of clear nights. Good Luck..... Adrian

Hi Folks, Saturday Night Report.... Well, it has been a cracking day here in sunny Scotland. The skies started to go blue around 09:00am.... we had a cold wind for a good part of the day but it absolutely no wind at present and long may it stay away. Phil and myself went to Port William, it was really wind there, we could see the Isle of Man, so we did the honourable thing, we waved to Hadyn and Christina, but they didn't wave back. So we phoned Hadyn and he was driving to the campsite at Ballaugh, site of a great Isle of Man (IoM) Star Party 3 weeks ago. Christina took the call and we complained that they hadn't returned our wave. Hadyn was getting practice in for the long drive to SGL Lucsall next week. After that we went birdwatching at Wigtown Bay Hide, saw some redshanks and a flock of geese. Tonight, the skies are clear, it is getting colder so everyone is out and well wrapped up. Yes Stu, Paul and family arrived safe and sound yesterday and currently chasing the stars. As per usual great views of the Milky Way and constellations plus all the usual culprits. Mars is showing nicely and Saturn is dropping below the Horizon in the southwest. Orion will be up around 03:30 am on Sunday morning, that will be time for a wee dram and some soup! Then at 06:15 am the Japanese Grand Prix starts, so it will be a busy night here in beautiful Galloway. Trust the folks going to The SGL Star Party enjoy great clear skies, Hadyn no doubt will give the SGL gang a rundown on the IoM event I better get back out to enjoy the marvellous views. Cheers till tomorrow. Adrian