nephilim

@malc-c This is why I use the ASIair Pro. I've only just started AP & I was up & running within 10mins of having my gear set up the very first time with no issues whatsoever & managed to acquire an image I was very happy with considering it was my first attempt (Image attached). For now it does everything I need it to do & i'm not messing around with several pieces of software trying to get them all to play nicely together. I appreciate there will be a lot more in NINA for the more advanced/ experienced imager but for a 'newbie' my set up works well. I did try AP several years ago & found it totally overwhelming with all the different applications I needed, having sub optimal kit also didn't help. So now all my planning & imaging is done with the ASIair & all my stacking, calibration & processing is done in PI & it all works well together. Steve

@Newforestgimp I'd love to give NINA a shot but it seems a very steep learning curve, especially as i'm very new to all this. I also use the ASIair & its perfect. I can be up & running within 10mins of setting my gear up & it just does what its supposed to do with no issues at all (i've obviously cursed it now 😒) Steve

Thanks Adrian, It does look worthwhile having 🙂

@CloudMagnetThanks for the example, I think i'm sold, the image on the right shows a massive improvement.

@ONIKKINEN Thanks for the quick reply. I didn't see that you could get a free trial. Thanks for the info, I'll certainly give it a go. Steve

Hi, Does any one have any experience with the above software package? I've heard its pretty good but just looking for a few more opinions. I've already got PI & PS & i'm really just wanting to know if its worth spending more £££ on this & if it does it any better than the ones I already have. TIA Steve

I'm not sure if this really counts but I am imaging at f2-f4 with the Samyang 135ED Lens

I'm hoping there are no more to throw out on closer inspection but I should still get some fairly good detail (Fingers crossed) I've just had a look at yours on Astrobin & it really is a cracking shot. Friday was looking a little iffy so I had a quick go at the Crescent Nebula. The clouds suddenly parted & I managed 4hrs on that. Last night it was clear yet again & I was at a loss at which one to concentrate on. Due to not been 100% sure about my Cygnus Loop data I went back to the Crescent & got 4hrs 45mins, a nice total of nearly 9hrs. I'll have to make the same choice again tomorrow, i'm not used to having so many clear nights, my brain is starting to hurt 😂 And yes, widefield shots are very nice for capturing those big targets rather than having to do mosaics. Steve

Thats a very nice capture. I managed 4hrs on this on Thursday but had to bin around 10 subs (I got 73x180s in total) due to cloud coming in & out. I was also able to capture the full loop (Samyang 135ED f2 & ASI533MC-Pro) but will have to wait until later in the week to process it as theres a couple of nights looking clear (Tomorrow & Tuesday) so hopefully i'll get some more time on it.

Well done, very nice image & processing. I also used Lukes PI tutorial for my first ever Hubble Palette a couple of weeks ago.

Hi Simon, I'm at work using my phone at the moment so I'm have to wait until I get home onto my desktop for a proper look. If you've read the whole of this thread (I have & it took a while 😂) there are few people who've mentioned the performance of this lens & although very good, no two lens will even be completely identical. Some people have had minor issues when shooting wide open @f2 & some have had to resort to f2.8 or even f4 due to coma at the edges or In the corners, I've never seen it just on one side though. Although mines fine @f2 I usually stick with f2.8 as it makes focusing easier (I use a combination of the ASIair Pro & a Bahtinov Mask but mainly rely on the mask) if it is due to the lens I'd recommend stopping down but also image slightly over to one side so you can crop in processing. here's an image I took with my 135 & ASI533. Although the stars arnt perfect, that's due to my focusing & inexperience with post processing 😂 For widefield AP I love this lens as it's an absolute photon hoover. This image was only 50x 180 seconds. I can't wait to start guiding so I can go longer. Steve

So I was right in a way (if the spacer had been 25mm 😂) plus he'll still need to account for the L-eXtreme?

@Simon Pepper Back focus with a lens is just as important as with a telescope. From the info you've given, you've only got 42.5mm so you'll need another 4.1mm to get to where you need to be. That's taking into account the extra 0.6mm for your filter. Also be aware that once you take that filter out or replace with a different filter you'll need to recalculate the thickness of the new filter (add ⅓ of the filter thickness to the original backfocus (44mm with the Samyang) its that precision dependant that even by been 0.1mm out will put you out of focus. You don't mention why you can't achieve the correct back focus? If it's just a case of a lack of spacers, they're readily available online https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/baader-t-2-adjustment-spacer-ring-set.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwsZKJBhC0ARIsAJ96n3Ua0J60FTQW3HGQvRhKTx8w-BMOPCe32JcrMNPjC2VX2yZkorJpffUaAhV5EALw_wcB There are cheaper but these are good quality just make sure the diameter matches your camera. I've also got the L-eXtreme filter attached to the annular ring inside the 11mm spacer, for this filter you also need to add an extra 0.6mm as the filter thickness is 1.8mm. Steve

@scotty38 @malc-c @AstroMuni Thanks 🙂. Another thing I love about this forum is the amazing amount of support & good feedback/ advice available from fellow SGL member's, I've never had a negative or nasty comment in the 9 years I've been a member, only constructive criticism which I've always found very helpful as seeing it through another's eyes you spot things you normally wouldn't have. Before I joined the forum back in 2012, I only knew the basics (which were very basic 😂) I could navigate around the night sky etc but that was about it. Without the help I've received on here I wouldn't even know where to start & there's no way I'd have started out even attempting AP. Plus there's always new things to learn & always will be. It took around 40hrs of YouTube tutorials to get to the image I've posted. This was all crammed into one weekend, but after it I had learnt about workflows, the order of doing the basic processes & just enough to produce a fairly presentable image. Ive barely scratched the surface though 😬 Focus isn't perfect in this image, the stars are suffering from slight bloating with halos around the brighter ones, there's gradient in there which can be dealt with in future images by taking flat frames & there's walking noise that can be dealt with by dithering, my next images will hopefully be guided so I can go longer to 5 minutes plus (depending on the target). I think we're our own worst critics'. Back to the OP @Lotinsh You say you have a PC already so I'd very much recommend downloading the free 45 day trial of PixInsight (there's no obligation to buy afterwards) and have a go at practicing some processing for yourself. I'm sure there are plenty of members on here that will share their unprocessed Master Light frame (Just ask in the 'getting started with imaging' section). The Master light is the final image your left with after calibration/ stacking etc has been done & is the image you work on to pull out all that integration time to produce your final image. I'll happily send you the file for the image I've posted above & a link to the tutorial I used to produce it, it really is very straightforward .As I've mentioned, there are countless PixInsight beginner tutorials to help you & it would give you a massive head start when it comes to doing your own. You can even take some short untracked images of your own with the equipment you have, calibrate them & again use the free PI trial to process them. Do be warned though, the second you produce your first image, no matter what the quality, you WILL be hooked & once you go down that rabbit hole I'm afraid you'll be trapped & .there's no way out 😂😂 Steve

I just saw that this topic has been 'liked' & showing up in my notifications again. I thought I may as well add a bit to it as it's been a few months since I finally got all my kit together. I've posted this just to show what can be achieved by a total newbie to the hobby & that it is worthwhile having a bit of patience to wait & save for the best you can afford (I'll also add that I'm not the most patient of people & saving isn't something I'm very good at 🙄 if I can do it anyone can. It's taken me a total of around 11 months from starting to finally having an image that I'm happy enough to post. I've spent most of the last year researching as much as I could, it was hard not to just shorten this period & take shortcuts & buy less expensive gear or forgo certain parts altogether but realised I wouldn't be happy so filled my time with AP & processing tutorials. I also decided that I may as well jump in at the deep end with processing so chose PI as my main calibrating & processing software. I had no prior experience using PI, Photoshop or any of the other myriad of programs & as I'd heard PI was one of the best out there I decided I'd give it a go. The fact they give you a fully functioning 45 day free trial of it also swayed my decision, although you definitely need the 45 days to even start getting your head around it. Previously in this thread I mentioned that imaging is only 50% of the AP process & post processing the other 50%. I'd like to change that now to 9% spent actual imaging (setting up, taking the images etc) and 91% spent processing 😂😂 There are an enormous amount of PI tutorials on YouTube aimed at the novice user, some are very well done others more suited to someone who has an astrophysics or engineering PHD (preferably both 😬), it's up to the individual to trawl through them & find which style suit you best (I can give my preferences, which are the ones that explain it to you as if you were 5yrs old 🙄 Just DM me) This image was taken using my signature equipment (with the Optolong L-eXtreme dual narrowband filter) with 50x180 second light frames & 30 Dark frames, no flats were taken as I've only just got my head around these, as mentioned all calibration, stacking etc & processing were done in PI. My sky at home is rated approx Bortle 4/3. I also decided to process in the Hubble Palette as I really like how some objects look with it. Finally, I'd like to apologise to anyone whose seen this image 1000 times as I've posted it in a few threads 😬 I hope this gives anyone whose only just starting with AP & finding it all a little overwhelming a bit of hope that it can be done. If I can do it then I'm convinced anyone can. Steve.

Good forecast for the rest of the week up here in Cumbria. Unfortunately I need to set off for work @5:30am every morning this week. If I get up at 4am thats enough time to get my flats done, strip the rig down, shower & couple of coffees. I'm hoping to get a good few hours on the whole Cygnus Loop with the Samyang 135 f2 & although i've used the Optolong L-eXtreme to great effect on collecting Ha & OIII on IC1396 it'll be interesting to see how well it performs under a waning gibbous Moon.

Forecast up here in the Lakes is pretty good for this week as well. The Optolong L-eXtreme now means it doesn't matter if the Moons shining bright all night.😃

@powerlord I completely agree with you there. I didn't realise that there would be no 'give' in the rings so with me putting a little too much pressure on when tightening, this caused it to crack. The Primaluce kit is very expensive & probably over engineered but using to secure my camera, lens etc has given me confidence that the gear they're 'looking after' will be safe 🙂 Steve

Thanks Adrian, thats good to know 'IF' I ever buy the Redcat 😂 I'm in the process of saving for the Sharpstar 100Q II at the moment & luckily the WO BM that i've just bought will also adjust to fit that. Two for the price of one, Its very rare that something like this happens & you can actually save money on astro kit 😃

@Petrol I use PrimaluceLab for holding everything together apart from the top bar on the 135 which is WO I don't trust 3D printed rings after one cracked when I overtightened it slightly. Primaluce gear is very high quality but fairly expensive. These are the rings https://www.firstlightoptics.com/tube-rings/primaluce-lab-80mm-plus-tube-rings-for-airy-apo65f.html

@jetstream I think your refering to me when I mentioned my bortle 3-4 sky or rather how I wrote it. As far as I know there is no difference regarding which way round it's written (That I'm aware of anyway) that's just the way I write it. Thinking about it now though It would actually make more sense to say 4/3 as the scale goes down rather than up,. As for how I get to deciding the sky quality where I live, most of the markers judging a sky to be 4-3 or 3-4 (🤷) apply to me & what I can see etc, I'm not sure my way of coming to that conclusion would be bang on precise though. this is my garden which is of no use really as it's not dark but it's pretty much pitch black when that sun goes down. Steve

That doesn't sound great, although the 61 EDPH II is a triplet, i'm not sure what the OP had originally been looking at but im looking at the 100Q II quadruplet Astrograph APO which I think comes with a flattener built in, so hopefully that wont be an issue. Its not going to be until around November until I make a final decision so i've plenty of time for research. If I did decide on the 100Q or for that matter any scope thats going to be around the 2K mark I'd ask FLO if they would carry out a bench test before shipping although I'm sure they do on scopes in this price range? Steve

For sale.......Samyang 135ED f2 Zwo ASI533MC-Pro Explore Scientific EXO.......................................................🙄

@Nik271 Thanks. I'm very lucky out here really , in fact I couldn't really wish for a better spot, well I could but I dont think there are many job opportunities out in the Atacama Desert 😃 Sorry to hear about the approval of the housing estate near you, no doubt the proposed offices you mention will have the obligatory & completely wasteful & unnecessary 24hr lighting that seems to come as standard with those hateful boxes. I agree with you whole heartedly regarding humans & the parasitic urge to take everything from the planet & give nothing back in return apart from pollution & disease. I dont think it'll end until we no longer have a choice due to every square inch been covered in concrete or Tarmac. I haven't seen the Nova due to either work & having to go to bed early (out of the house by 5:30am) or weather so i'm rather envious of you there 🙂. Regarding LP, I know how you feel. I grew up on a farm just outside a small village in Nidderdale 4 miles from the town of Harrogate on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. My love of astronomy started at about 8yrs old when my best mate & I would head off down our back fields on a winters evening & sit against a fence under a big oak tree, staring up at the night sky with my ghetto blaster with Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds playing in the background ( that sounds all fairy tale cheesy kids book stuff there 😂😂. Don't worry, I'm not about to burst into song, there is an actual point to this). It was there that I taught myself the constellations, saw my first shooting 'star', a few years later on my 16th birthday (celebrated by a day trip to Jodrell Bank & a 60mm Tasco refractor 😂) I saw the rings of Saturn & the Leo Triplet for the first time & also down there a year later believe it or not was the only time I have ever see the Aroura Borealis, not just very pale hints of green but very distinct green, faint red & slightly grey curtains of colour that lasted a good 2hrs or so. Unfortunately these days I wouldnt be able to do that as theres a soulless, ugly housing estate on the other side of that field now, full of those grim & depressingly characterless boxes that some people sadly call 'home'. The sky is just a dull whitish orange & the only stars clearly visible on a clear, crisp winter night leaning against that oak tree looking SE are Sirius, Rigel, Betelgeuse, Aldebaran & Procyon, but even these giants are faint. Looking North is a little better but thats rapidly changing. Harrogate (like many other (if not all) towns is slowly crawling out in every direction like a cancer (bit of a cliche but its not far from the truth). In the end it will swallow up the village I grew up near & then he farm as its suburbs are pretty much on the doorstep now & the farm itself will just be a suburb soon. There are two houses on the farm, the main farm house & what was the farm managers house that my parents rent out. My sister & I had decided a long time ago that we would eventually retire into them but have now agreed that the whole lot will be going up for sale when the time comes as I dont really fancy living on a Barratt housing estate. First world 'problems' I know but all the above just highlights how quickly we're losing our dark skies. I dont have exact figures just approximations, so I'd say that when I lived on the farm up until around1990 the skies were probably around Bortle 4, now its a definite 6 in the South maybe even 7 and a little darker in the North for now. Where I live now is luckily pretty safe from development (in my lifetime anyway) & we get no through traffic due to our village ending at the village green & a farmers track up onto the fells. If you dont already I'd be considering AP with narrowband been a good way to go in light polluted areas & travel to a dark sight for visual work. Even though i'd benefit from a large reflector I'm only doing AP now, I've only just started out but i'm really enjoying it. As usual I seem to how typed out a version of War & Peace 🙄 (I'd be surprised if your still awake 😂) but i've very strong feelings when it comes to the human race, its cruel greed & thirst to destroy anything thats beautiful. I'd best get some sleep now. All the Best Steve