tooth_dr

Would you mind posting a link to the thread/s? Im curious as I just bought a mesu and find all information interesting good and bad. I didn’t come across any threads highlighting significant issues prior to purchase. Thanks

I didn't pay for postage with my blue glass.

Is it expected that these filters fail? I don't know? Not my field of expertise. I expect components in anything to fail eventually, but I feel that 2 years is premature.

I was sent to part free from Germany on behalf of Lunt, but I 'think' it costs around £30 as someone on here bought one. I bought my scope new in 2017, so I would say that this failure is quite premature in the lifespan of the telescope.

Thanks for the reply. I’m not understanding your point about the light panel, but as you say other viewpoints are available. @smr I did the same yesterday evening, seems to work well and as you say easier is a nice change in AP

Most cameras work best at a particular ISO? Why wouldnt you just use the same ISO??

I switched from DSS to APP (Astro Pixel Procesor) due to the formers inability to register differently sized images. If you download the trial of APP it would be a good option, and it’s free. It will scale the 2x2 to match the unbinned data

lol I actually bought an M56 Baader click lock and screwed this onto the focuser, and use the 2” adapter from FLO which screws onto the FF. Just made it easier to get the framing right. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-click-lock-2956256-m56-celestron-skywatcher.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/astro-essentials-adapter-for-sky-watcher-focal-reducers.html

It's not new. I bought my ED80 in 2010, and this is how it was then - M56 thread on the focuser, matches the FF.

The 0.85x FR/FF can screw directly onto the focusing tube of the ED80, giving a nice secure connection.

Steve Richards has a book Making Every Photon Count, that would be a good starter too for info. If you go for the ED80 you will also need a T adapter and a SW 0.85x FR/FF.

The central portion is particularly detailed! Great image.

Stunning, hope to see more from you.

Lol mr muscle - stuff used for cleaning bath and shower. Obviously do so at your own risk but it didn’t do any harm to mine

Sorry it wasnt clear, but no that last image is several hours of data stacked. I meant the first 5 are single subs to show the FOV. @Diddykong uncropped means the image has not been cropped in size. Sometimes images are cropped and this can make your galaxy 'appear' bigger ie look more magnified, as it fills more of the field. I wanted to convey to you, that at 520mm, things like galaxies for the most part are going to be very small.

I've had a look on my PC, and found some images taken with a Canon 40d/1000d, which is similar enough to the 1300d. There were taken through an ED80, with FF at 520mm F6.3, on an EQ6. These are uncropped single subs out of the camera just to give you an idea of FOV. I would say that 'I've learnt the ropes', and TBH still use my ED80. It reliable and trouble free to use, and produces nice images. I wont ever sell it. I took an image of Andromeda through it, using a Canon 1000d, without the FF, and it's attached below also. It's not great but it shows the potential of the scope and DSLR.

Diddyking, such a great game, enjoyed multiplayer games on the N64 The ED80 is a tried and tested scope, nice and light, wont tax the mount and should work well with the Canon. You'll need the additional 0.85x FF to get the most out of it, to speed it up and improve the field curvature. I have a 250, which is a bigger version of the 200. I had it on an EQ6, and it just about worked. I also have an ED80, and it was used 99.9% of the time on my EQ6. If you go for the 200P you'll need a MPCC (or some sort of CC) otherwise stars will look a bit funky. Any sort of wind and the 200P will blow about. It has a focal length of 1000mm, so approx x2 the ED80 with 0.85x FF. This means it will be more critical of errors in tracking. Also will require collimation (not hard, but just to make you aware, and you will need to buy a collimating tool). Galaxies - with the exception of a few larger ones, the 200P is a better choice. Nebula - often larger in size and therefore more suited to the shorter focal length of the ED80. In an ideal world, buy both, as the 200P will give good images of Saturn etc.

That red Ha jet is pretty clear, so I'd say youve done a great job here. I also have a lot of LRGB data to process, and I havent got around to it, because it's not easy!

Yes that's 100%. Just watch that light cant get in anywhere as this can affect the flats/darks.

I've a few darks and flats to take at the minute, but I've been using the good weather to image. I normally take around 50. At the end of the day it doesnt cost me anything to take them, and so a few extra frames wont hurt, (but there is no logic in it). I take my darks and flats at night to eliminate light leakage as much as possible, as the back of my reflector is open. My camera was recording a temp of 19.8oC today so it would have be very difficult to maintain a nice -20deg anyway. I take one flat (using luminance filter) and that seems to work ok for LRGB. You would again take as many flats frames as you want to, and make a master flat. If you bin, then take a new set of all calibration data at the new binning level eg 2x2. I have tried scaling my darks, it doesnt work of me, plus it is easy just to have a set for each time interval. I keep my master darks handy and reuse for months. Temp matters too, so calibration frames needs taken at the same temp as your lights - pick a temp and stick to it otherwise it's a PITA. Make all your calibration frames, save them in a folder, and reuse as required, and then take more when the weather is bad or if they dont calibrate properly. You may need to take flats regularly if you move the kit about a lot and remove the camera. I have a permanent set up so I dont take flats often. Which is a good thing as my flats needs to be over 3.5s in length, and that can be a right hassle. Oh and dark flats - these are darks used to calibrate your flats. Whatever length of time your flats turns out to be, take a corresponding set of darks (ie lens cap on) at the same length. You can see how it you take a separate flat for each filter, you can end up with a lot of flats and darks flats. HTH Adam.

A nice interesting object, great job.

Thanks David for updating your thread. Do you mind if I ask what you had to set up? Was it more than the standard stuff on purchase?

That’s terrible to hear that, worse that it’s putting your hobby in doubt too.

Tough one Paul, and sorry to hear that you arent feeling great about imaging. I occasionally feel like that too. I've done a bit of planetary and solar imaging recently, and I'll be honest it's 100x more enjoyable that deep sky imaging. There are just too things to go wrong with deep sky imaging, it feels distant sometimes, and then there is the processing side of things. If I was you, and if its viable to do so, Id keep everything safely stored for a period of time, and then see how much you miss it. But do what feels right, as all the stuff can probably be bought again in the future if you decide to sell up.

Great shots David. I checked my cameras, nothing doing. Here is one from 2020-04-17 T00-02-52, westerly direction so i doubt anyone on here picked it up.