tooth_dr

Indeed these are quite visible in the Oiii flat. I get similar to these with my FF DSLR where light is reflecting on the edge of the mirror box. I wonder is there something in the way that is causing reflections.

The ED80 is a fantastic scope and I would certainly be a big fan. You would need to budget for the optional 0.85x, because with a DSLR the stars are unacceptably distorted without it. It then runs at 510mm F6.4 and takes great images. Ths HEQ5 is also perfect for serious astrophotography. And once you get well used to it, you could consider a belt modification too. Another thing you will want to do is start guiding. You can buy an adapter to convert your existing finderscope, and then add something like a ZWO 120MM.

I did finally get it sorted. I’ll get you a screen shot of my settings later.

The RASA8 appears to list a spot diagram only up to 11mm from the centre point, the others present information on double this distance or more. Some boxes are 50, some are 100, some are 18, some are 40! Very hard to make a quite judgement on the images.

Incredible isn’t it! I can’t wait to get my colour CMOS camera now and try to go deep

Could you take a flat frame to see if the problem is there.

I'm intrigued by this as 365astronomy state they are exclusive dealers:

I ordered it on Tuesday off 365astronomy Andy. It was listed as #in stock# but I got a call on Friday to say the deliver was due in on Monday/Tuesday. Slightly disappointed but hopefully it will arrive before the holidays as the scope is poorly corrected without it.

My 94 order should be here on Tuesday. I’ve a 0.8x FR also on order. I was undecided between the 100 and the 94, because the latter requires a full frame flattener at £250-300, so the cost of the 94 becomes closer to the 100. The 100 delivers a flat field due to its inbuilt flattener. However despite the 100 being advertised with an F4.3 focal reducer being available, it hasn’t actually been produced yet according to sources online 👎🏻 Ended up ordering the 94. With the focal reducer, the FOV of the 94 with the KAF8300 will be very similar to the epsilon with the 2600MC, albeit at different resolutions. Little bit of cropping needed.

Im only sharing what I learnt the hard way! I’m not sure how you have attached your scope to the mount, I was only assuming the standard way of tube rings and a dovetail bar! The big issue is the tube itself flexes - its made of the thinnest steel with a huge piece of glass hanging at one end. I had my kit down to 30kg to balance. Looking at your photos with the ED80 on the top you look like you are using 45kg to balance? The EQ6 is sold with this scope but not with another telescope on top! If you are serious about giving this a go, in my humble opinion, you’ll need to shed as much weight as possible, and the only way to do this is a) guide with a finderscope or b) guide with a OAG! I hope it works out at the light gather/resolution/imaging scale is phenomenal, and some of the best visual sights I had were through this scope. All the best Adam

Unfortunately this doesnt remove the differential flexure.

Very interesting and a cool project. I did briefly run a 300PDS on the same mount as you. I agree it was very large and it also hit one wall of my Obsy at a certain point, so I was never comfortable letting it work away at night. I went down to the 250, and found it much more usable, and the 1200mm FL wasnt much of an issue. You can see I also used weights, and have an ED80 in the background. You might struggle with differential flexure using a guidescope - the tube is very thin and the mirror is very heavy. Also your mentioned than your guiding is now 3 x worse. We need to note that your imaging scale is now also 2.5 x finer, so you really need to be guiding even better than before. To get the most out of it, 0.45"/px RMS would be the target! I never managed it and subsequently sold it on.

Any extra glass or mirrors can only take away from the image quality. Best avoided by using a suitable extension tube.

We all pay for it in the long run lol

Thanks guys. I have dropped them an email regarding this.

Ok, thanks for that, I have been patiently waiting for the telescope that I ordered on Tuesday to arrive. I didnt realise it would be a 25 day wait to tie in with the other items.

Anyone know?

I in fact have a ZWO on order, not the Baader one. Will see how it goes, hopefully it's ok.

I have one on order, but havent received it yet.

Very nice Dave, NGC1333 is particularly nice. I recently tried it at 180mm with my Nikon, and go nowhere near that quality with double the exposure.

Amazing! Cant wait for my 2600MC to arrive.

That, and F2.0 of the RASA helps

@FLO if a number of items are ordered, but some of those items are out of stock, will the in-stock items be dispatched first? Thanks Adam

Sorry typo. Yes I’m getting the same camera, there is no MM. Gorann on here photographed the squid with 2 hours 15 minutes of data.

I would have been very much mono/filters but this colour camera with a dual filter seems to redefine that perception. I’ll be in a good position soon to give a comparison when it arrives.