Ratlet

Indredible images 

40 minutes ago, Phillyo said:

So I'm still having some interesting issues with this camera that I can't figure out. I have created a post over on the Risingcam AP Facebook page so I'll copy and paste that here with image examples and hopefully someone can point me in the direction of where I'm going wrong!

"Good afternoon,
I'm having some issues with my Risingcam (colour) camera and wondering if anyone can help. I'm imaging through the Antlia ALP-T 5nm filter and a Samyang 135mm lens stopped down to around f3.5 using stop down rings. I'm getting really bad vignetting, even after using flats, dark flats and darks. The image is also very noisy and after I run ABE/DBE (to deal with the vignetting) I get a halo ring type effect around the middle of the image.
I have the dew heater on and I have dew straps around the lens (and guide scope) and I've checked during the night and there's no dew forming that I can see. I'm using NINA with the native Risingcam drivers. Eddie from Risingcam has suggested I try the Ascom drivers to see if that helps? Also, during the night I'll have a bunch of frames that are just white/grey with no detail and lots of banding lines across like the sensor has just messed up. Maybe 3 or 4 from 100 or so images but for no apparent reason.
I'll upload some images as examples to this post to hopefully show my issues.

Finally, I did a sensor analysis of the camera using Sharpcap, but I noticed that even doing that analysis with the camera/sensor directly on top of my white panel and no lens in the way I'm seeing vignetting in the image. Is that normal?
Thanks for any help and sorry for the long post!"

I have attached the 'bad frame', the vignetting from the sensor, a master flat and the resulting image that has only had background neutralisation and colour calibration before being stretched to remove the green element from the RGGB sensor. This is approx 6 hours of data I believe.
Phil

What is the first image you have posted, the one with the banding?

I've had weird halos on images, once was caused by an issue with my flats, the other was ABE.

For the flats I'm not sure the issue but it seems to have been sorted by going dimmer therefore making the flat exposures longer.  I also use the flat panel wizard on Nina.

This showed up on the images before automatic background extraction.

With the ABE there is a bit underinterpolation and output for function degree that defaults to 4. Try setting it to 1 as I've found leaving it on default can cause some weirdness.

Edit:. Just worked out the first one is the frame with the banding. 

What does your master dark look like if you apply an autostretch to it?

Or you could try this.

https://m.all3dp.com/4/transfer-images-onto-3d-models-using-a-laser-printer/

Been meaning to try it myself.

15 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

Any 3d printers out there know if it would be possible to print a graduated ring to slip over a rotator which doesnt have any markings? the rotator is 77mm diameter. 1 degree marks would be nice but 2 degree wouild be ok. I've never dont any printing and not sure whats possible with it. I'm looking for options to get a scale on my rotator. 

Probably.  I'm not an expert, but I've printed lens caps with threads which are quite precise. 

Might need a bit of iterative design to get a best fit but it's certainly possible.

30 minutes ago, braybarr said:

Curious how many people have issues with their primary mirrors dewing over? I’m going to try using a shower cap around the back end of the scope tonight, but I’m dreading the fact I might still get dewed over. 

Seems you have to take a DIY approach if you want to heat the mirror, and that’s intimidating to me. 

I've had my secondary dew over but never the primary.  I've managed okay with a dew shield at preventing secondary from dewing over.

40 minutes ago, RobertI said:

I did the same a while ago,  I took the cheap/lazy route and used epoxy resin and cable ties to connect them as they exactly matched my interpupillary distance. Works a treat. 

I bought a 3D printer recently so I'm obligated to print as much as possible to justify the purchase.

Second TC-E2 teleconverter so I can make some 2x42 binos.

1 minute ago, Starflyer said:

Have you tried reshooting a dark with the camera on in a totally dark place?  I get a slight light leak on my QHY268M when shooting darks in a light room, I guess it's at a joint somewhere between the camera, filter wheel, OAG etc.

Yeah, I tried imaging with it in it's peli case with a jacket over it.  Same thing.

I'm going to attach my stacked dark frame from the Altair Astro Hypercam 533C in the hope that someone can provide some insight as I don't think that snips of the autostretch are being useful.  My suspicion is that it is to do with the way that the Altair handles the data versus how the ASI533C handles it and that in a real world situation the signal from it is essentially non existent.   I'm going to wait for Altair to get back to me and see what they say and also hope that someone who actually understands imaging and data and such can look at it and provide more insight

300s -10C_stacked.fit

8 hours ago, ONIKKINEN said:

Does look like some amp glow. Maybe ask the manufacturer if everything is ok with the camera? Could be some kind of fault. As far as i understand the ampglow comes from the circuitry in the camera and not necessarily the sensor itself, but thats a wild guess at best.

I know these new Sony starvis sensors are quoted as completely amp glow free, but my 571 sensor camera (made by touptek, as is the hypercam i presume) has a little bit of extra glow visible at the top of the frame in extreme darks. By extreme i mean 3600s darks running for 15 hours at room temperature with the cooler at 90%+ power all of that time, but still there is some.

I've raised a ticket with Altair about it.  The camera functions very well and I've very happy with the performance, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a fault. or that it won't get worse.  I've managed to find some dark frames from ZWO ASI533mc and they do not show the amp glow under autostretch so it's either a function of the design of the camera and it's not quite zero amp glow or its got a fault.

I've also spoken to some guys on cloudy nights who have shared their darks from the asi533c at the length and temp and they have no glow, all compared in asi fitsviewer with autostretch.  The Altair site also says the sensor should be free of glows of any kind which is not encouraging.

Edit: I'm back home now and have loaded up all my lights from 4 different targets.  They are all 90s exposures.  I cannot see any sign of the glow at all.  I've tried with siril autostretch and the asi viewer and there is no sign of it.

47 minutes ago, Clarkey said:

I don't know how severely stretched that image is, but I am not sure 'zero' really exists. However, that does look like a pretty clear 'glow'. I assume there was absolutely no light leakage possible?

I don't see anyway as the sensor has a cap and bung installed.  Unless the light is getting in from behind the sensor, but that seems unlikely.

I tend to agree with yout about whether true zero glow exists.

20 minutes ago, peonic said:

Give it a shot, if you're using NINA it's surprisingly easy to setup.  Literally tell it how many panels you want, adjust the framing as required and off you go!

The files can end up getting quite big, however!

 

Chris 

I can see that.  I thought about downloading your data and saw the image size lol

Absolutely fantastic.

I picked up a 533 sensor and was a bit concerned with the narrow fov but had considered doing mosaics but wasn't sure how it would turn out!  Next time I get out I'll need to give one a try.

1 hour ago, bosun21 said:

It’s time I tried one of these SVbony zoom eyepieces. I opted for the 7-21mm. If I don’t like it then I’ll pass it on to my grandson who loves the Celestron LT70 I gifted him (once I removed the starsense unit).🙂

 

Be interested to see your feedback.  I wasn't massively keen on my 8-24mm initially, but i think that was my own inexperience.

Tried it a couple nights ago and quite enjoyed it.  Very, very nice barlowed for planets and the moon.

I'm hoping someone can help me here.  I've been playing around with my hypercam 533C which uses the IMX533 sensor.  As I understand it this sensor is zero amp glow.

I've been building a dark library at various temperatures and exposure times.  On stacking my darks in siril to build a master dark I used the auto stretch function to just see what it looked like and I was a bit surprised that there was a very clear glow in one corner.  Is this normal?  I've attached a single 300s exposure taken at -10C below with the siril auto stretch applied and it shows a small, but clear bright spot in the corner.  My feeling is that this isn't a problem really and it's just an artifact on there being so little brightness in the image that the auto stretch is having to stretch the image phenomenally hard and giving the impression of an issue.  I've also attached a snip of an autostretched stack of 20x180s darks at -5C

I'll add that the unstretched dark is completely black and I've got zero issues with the camera so far.  I guess it is just a gap in my understanding of zero amp glow.

Thanks!

22 minutes ago, SteveNickolls said:

Hi Ratlet, I'm now on the main pc where it's better to type replies than the tablet. 😁

My iPolar routine mirrors your own though I was getting to question whether the camera centre value ought to be removed each session to let iPolar populate it's new value. Do you find you need to rotate the payload to position 2 or that the iPolar software instantaneously it seems does a second plate solve (in what is position 1)? I have tried covering the iPolar before moving to position 2 then taking off the dust cap to let the software do a second plate solve in position 2.  I have to place my mount outside each seesion but have marks on the imaging pad which give a close positioning to the NCP. When I used Sharpcap Pros polar alignment tool a few nights ago this showed initially the gear to be pointing around 5 arc minutes off the NCP so the original alignment just using the marks on the concrete were doing their job.

I would be pleased to hear how the iPolar compares in operation to using NINA.

I'm pleased to hear you have found iCommnder v8 an improvement for you. I still use v7 as I can be lazy and if everythnig is working ok in v7... In the future when I get a new main pc for the house I will migrate over to the latest version. In v7 I always use the same USB port on my laptop to control all USB peripherals using the StarTech USB over Ethernet device to avoid any issue with phantom USB ports.

As mentioned before it's really good news that the GEM's 12V output port will power your 533C. Just need to buy a cable now to duplicate this. 👍

I've found that one needs to take care when securing the GEM28's RA and DEC clutches in place as you can easily slightly miss the 'right' positions and so the mount is not properly in its normal Zero Position. You more have to feel the connection is correct than any visual clue, especially in the dark.

My next step is to use my tablet to control the SharpCap Pro polar alignment process and leave the laptop connected up indoors to later control the mount and imaging. A friend introduced me to some software called 'spacedesk'

https://www.spacedesk.net/

which permits the tablet to be used as a pc monitor. I'm going to set up an external wi-fi extender so I can get network coverage from the imaging location. Ultimately it will mean I wont have to replace the laptop in the future and shift control to a new more powerful main pc. I find the USB over Ethernet solution very convenient in the colder months being able to control the mount and camera from the living room, a bit more social than standing freezing outdoors or alone in the kitchen.

Hope you get some clear, dark skies.

Cheers,
Steve

I'm going to be honest, I never read the manual for the iPolar so I'm beginning to think I might have been doing it wrong!  I just turn it on and load the last dark frame.  I've never done anything with positions or rotating the payload.  I just get the mount loaded and balanced, turn on ipolar and wait for it to give me the dot and cross and then align them.  Once they go green I close the software and carry on.  I think I might have a read of the manual as I can see how it could in fact not be aligned properly.  I'll need to wait 2 weeks till I can get a chance to compare NINA Vs Ipolar.

If you are powering the camera from the mount just make sure to check the polarity of the connections.  I believe the mount is centre positive.

1 minute ago, JeremyS said:

My advice: steer clear of the Taks

😊

I second this.  If anyone finds themselves in too close a proximity to a Tak they can send them my way and I will ensure they will never be near that Tak again.

Later in the week the Canon to T2 adapter arrived.  I used this to hook up the camera to a Takumar SMC 200mm via an M42 to canon adapter.  The lens was stepped down to F5.6 using a stepdown ring.

This time a side by side setup as used with a 30mm SVBONY guidescope.  I also powered the camera from the 12V output on the GEM 28 mount.  Again 90s exposures were used at -5C.

This time and with the wider field of view I imaged the heart nebula and decided to image for longer as the moon was about 95% illuminated.

This was about 2 hours of data and was again processed using the same method as before.  I think I butchered this one a bit more than the others in processing.  I have attached the Autostretched output from Siril as well.  I think the stars turned out very well given the age of the lens and the undersampling from the camera itself.

Conclusions:

As a relative newbie I had relatively few issues with the camera.  It is a bit light on adapters vs the ASI533, however I wonder how many of the adapters actually get used in most setups.  Given I've got 2 young kids the hard case is far more useful I think.  I think the camera represents a great alternative to the ZWO ASI 533, even though since my purchase the cost has increased to £899.

It plays well with NINA and honestly I've not had any issues thus far.  I would like to try some livestacking with it at some point and will update the review once I do.

I look forward to doing more imaging with this lens

I purchased the camera to use with my vintage glass however lacked any way of connecting the camera to my lenses.  Fortuantely I picked up a ZWO Canon EOS to T2 filter drawer from the forum, but in the mean time I used the supplied adapter to set it up on my 130PDS (without a coma corrector).  This was mounted on a GEM 28 with a TS optics 60mm guidescope and ZWO 120mm guide camera.  Everything was controlled by NINA running on an i5 Intel NUC.

Setting everything up was fairly simple.  I connected the iPolar on the GEM28 via the USB hub on the camera, all other connections were direct to the NUC.  I had no issues during polar alignment.  I was surprised that I couldn't achieve focus with the focuser fully extended.  I adjusted the bite depth on the T2 nosepiece and got focus.

Focusing was a revelation with the USB 3.0 connection.  My previous camera was a canon T3i which was crushingly slow.  The Altair transferred its pictures incredibly quickly and made focusing a breeze.

For a test I ran 20 x 90s exposures of 3 targets:  M27 first (it was the first DSO I sketched, so seemed appropriate), NGC 281 and Stephan's Quintet/The Deerlick Group.  I have attached the images of M27 and the quintet below.  I was VERY happy with the quality of images it produced.  BIAS, Darks and flats were taken for all images.  I forgot to upload NGC 281, but will update later.

These are lightly processed in Pixinsight (free trial) using Lukomatico's M45 Tutorial processing guide.  I'm certain the quality of images produced are better than my ability to process them.

I purchased an Altair Astro Hypercam 533c.  this is the Altair astronomy camera using the colour IMX533 sensor.  For an overview of the camera, you can proceed here:  

https://www.altairastro.com/altair-hypercam-533c-colour-camera-9239-p.asp

In essence it is Altair's version of the ZWO ASI 533c.

Part of the reason for me buying it was that Margerine Thatcher had tanked the value of the £ and I could see it only getting more expensive if I waited.  I purchased it for £799, approximately £220 less than the equivalent ZWO model.

The camera arrives with a hard shelled case with pick and pluck foam which has been picked and plucked to hold the camera.  It also comes with a power adapter, a USB 3.0 cable and a 2" Nosepiece adapter so it can be attached to a standard 2" Focuser.  The power adapter does not fit in the hard case easily.  It also arrived with a pack of Haribo and a nice hat.  It also came with a 1 year subscription to Sharpcap Pro.

The camera itself appears well made and my wife and daughter very much approved of the purple colour.  The camera has 2 x USB 2.0 ports on the back of the camera and a 12V DC in power socket.

Setting up the software was straightforward.  Just download the Altair capture software from https://www.altairastro.help/ and install it.  After that I plugged in the camera and it was recognised by both The Altari Capture software and Sharpcap.  Once I had the pro licence running on Sharpcap I ran a sensor analysis.

I'm not an expert but it is interesting that the unity gain is 300 vs the ZWO 100, however the full well, read noise and dynamic range is almost exactly the same.  Perhaps someone who knwos what they are talking about would be able to comment.

The camera ran well in NINA so I fired it up, set the cooling to -5C which it reached with minimal effort and then proceeded to take 20 dark frames each at (90s and 180s using 300 gain and 192 offset, which NINA had defaulted to.  I then stacked these in SIRIL to produce my master darks.  I have attached the master dark from the 180s exposures which has been stretched using Autostretch.  There is a tiny bit of glow in the lower left, however the rest of the sensor looks very clean to me.  Again though, I'm not an expert so perhaps someone else can provide more insight.

I'm still trucking along with the Gem28 also.

With respect to the ipolar specifically:

• I've not had any issues with the iPolar.  However, I am using it in a setup where I have the laptop close to the mount. 
• Typically I load up the mount with everything, ensuring it is all balanced and then I just run the software, load in the last darkframe and begin polar alignment. 
• The ipolar software has been manually configured with the latitude/longitude.  I have not and do not determine the camera centre.
• The software then displays a red dot and red cross.  I adjust the alt/az until the dot and cross are matched and they both turn green.  When I get close I tighten the 2 bolts that hold the mount to the tripod and the azimuth tension until snug.  Once green I 'nip them up'.  This seems to minimise the alignment getting thrown during this step.
• I have a clear view to the NCP.  I have the ipolar connected through the USB hub on my Hypercam 533c.  I have had no issues during polar alignment this way.  The software is a bit odd in that it appears to just be an .exe file that you run.

When I am next out with the scope I will polar align with the ipolar and then compare to nina's 3 point polar alignment.  I've not seen any major issues with guiding, but I've not looked particularly hard.  I have been imaging at 650mm and 200mm focal length with the 533c.  I will say that after polar aligning NINA usually needs 2 or 3 goes to centre itself exactly on a target with platesolving which may or may not be due to the polar alignment being out.  I will check what nina thinks of the alignment by ipolar next time I get the rig out.

More generally:

• I've found the connection from my intel NUC to the mount has improved substantially since the version 8 of the icommander software was released.  Previously getting the commander software to recognise that hte mount was connected was problematic requiring the mount to be restarted and disconnected several times.  Since upgrading the icommander softwre to V8 I have had no issues.
• I have been using the 12V DC output (which the manual only refers to as powering the polar scope if the illuminated polar scope is used) to power my Hypercam 533c.  I've had no issues powering it through this connection.  I am powering the mount with a 5A power adapter and the Hypercam came supplied with a 3A power adapter.  Typically I run the hypercam at -5C.
• I couldn't say for certain, but I strongly suspect that when you connect the mount to nina, or possibly turn the mount on it assumes the default position is park.  I have been using it with a side by side mount and when I park the scope in nina it returned the mount to the position from the start of the session even though the declination was 90 degrees from 'normal'.

Skywatcher really made an absolute weapons with the 130pds.  The focal length is very flexible for a lot of object, an aperture large enough for good detail without being so large to need a monster mount.  Over on cloudy nights the call the 130pds "the apo killer" and at the price point, it's not hard to see why 

2 hours ago, JimFR said:

I have the 12mm one for my 130PdS. It’s a great eyepiece! I’d expect the 8mm to be as good.

Its the 130pds I've got @Chris at Flo recommended it.  Its a smashing eyepiece and excellent tag team with the 130pds.  The x80 is very versatile for lots of DSO.

What's your focal length?  I found a 105mm mak with a 1300mm focal length and put it with the 8mm through astronomy tools Vs my 650mm focal length scope with the 8mm and 2x Barlow using Jupiter.

It is a delicious fov for planets.  Jupiter looks really good at this and so does Saturn (although Saturn is now quite low for me).

Looks like my favourite cut price astronomy maker is bringing out a camera of their own with this sensor:

https://www.svbony.com/blog/one-of-the-new-products--sv705cc-eaa-/

Itll be interesting to see how it compares.