ShaunyC

I bought the lens from some local guy on facebook, the listing is no longer up but I've just messeged the chap to ask what camera it was for.. 

He's just replied as I've been writing this and says it was connected to a pentax

😭😭😭😭

Disaster... 🤬

Camera arrived today and all exited when I've just seen orion in clear view I've gone to put all my bits together and the lens dosent fit my camera!? 

The lens conection seems to be alot smaller.. 

I'm sure I'd seen that the sigma dg 70-300 fits with the Canon 600d??? 

9 hours ago, happy-kat said:

There's a stargazine today at 7:30 check the link out episode 31 I think there will be items that will be interesting like startrails you could try with your camera when it arrives you could do inside.

Will have a look for this in a minute.. Depending how long it takes me to write this post 😂

4 hours ago, LeeHore7 said:

I started seriously into astronomy since the lockdown started in April this year and as I live in a first floor flat getting my eq3-2 mount, skywatcher explorer 150p and skymax 127 up and down the stairs is a logistical nightmare so I regularly do visual and imaging from my bedroom and through a window,polar alignment is well dodgy and guesswork so tracking is always off but I can get close. Yes it's not the correct or best way but it sometimes all we have. If I get permission I'm going to build a Todmorden pier in my communal area so I only have the scope and mount to take down. I'm attaching some images I've taken with my canon 450d in prime focus on my skywatcher explorer 150p in my bedroom and through a window as it faces east to south and I'm well happy with these. I know I'm never going to get the most perfect of images and the top quality images others can get with guiding, polar alignment and spending more money on equipment, but it's pleasing to see just what can be achieved when you preserve with it. If someone said to me that I could get an image of M42 like this when I started in April, I'd of said no chance and laughed at them, don't give up when it gets tough with bedroom astronomy and astrophotography, it's possible in some shape or form. 

That is some exceptional work you you've done there Lee... Brilliant to have some images of what can be achieved out of a bedroom window with what has been said to be far from the best equipment and observation conditions... 

Thank you for sharing if I can get anything close to this I would be extremely happy... 

One thing I did have set in stone in my mind was a 'pds' .... But you have achieved this with just the 'p' which would widen my search field drasticly for a telescope... How do you find using the setup you have? Do you have anymore images you could share please? 

As many have said already.. I am making a start in this hobby because its something I'm passionate about.... 

I don't want to waste my money on something that's completely useless and get the best I can for my budget.... 

If this was all about the images I would just search for images done by the Hubble telescope which I'm sure is even out of your friends budget mal-C 😉

One could say... "Pft, eq8.... You need to be in outer space mate" 😂😂

There is always better equipment out there whatever field/hobby your into.. Take my other hobby fishing... People can go out and buy a £15 rod from bouys but the more experienced anglers don't, they go out and buy a £600 ziplex etc... 

They all have the same desire, to catch fish.... Just some have more money... 

One step away from taking my 1st baby step into AP 😁 we'll 2 ☁️☁️☁️ 😂

11 hours ago, happy-kat said:

If using on a static mount I would be careful of which if any filter you add as some filters cut light so if you are already on short exposures you might not appreciate the light you could gather being cut, particularly light pollution filters do this. I would try with the lens you have and work from that. All my camera lenses have a daylight filter on them which is essentially clear visually just to protect the lenses from any accidental damage I might do though all my old lenses I bought had come with one already left on by the seller.

I did buy one, don't really use it currently, a 2 inch that fits to all the lenses using a step ring where needed to meet the lens size.

An area to practice is using the camera and how to navigate the buttons and menus when not under pressure of a clear sky.

The fun of digital is seeing what you captured straight away. 

Ah OK cool so don't be rushing into filters thanks for the heads up 👍

Tbf  after having a read through this.. 

https://expertphotography.com/best-astrophotography-filters/

It sounds like another technical language to learn... Jeez I love getting into a new hobby 😂

I did see some clear filters but even then your thinking is there some kind of magic I'm missing in the description? And overlooking the fact there just protectors 😂

I know, I can't wait to receive my camera and have a play with all the buttons... Been in the post since the 6th feels like forever.. Hopefully arrive Monday along with a tripod I ordered..

Then another long wait for clear skies  ☁️☁️☁️

Didn't know there was dedicated astro weather sites will have a nosey through them....

I tend to just look at BBC weather and play the long forcast display to watch cloud cover moving in a direction.. Usually pretty accurate, often more accurate than the hour by hour display above it.. 

14 minutes ago, AstroMuni said:

You are spot on...It helps with focussing 👍

Thank you for confirming 👍

4 hours ago, M40 said:

 Anyways, check the lens to see if it has a thread to fit filters. If it does, you can then expand your toybox to include a metal lens hood (£27), two uv filters (£6 each) and a 58mm snap in Bahtinov mask (£14).

Looking on this site it seems it does have filters out there for it 😁

Now just to suss out which ones will be best 🤔

I'm assuming the one that says it's a "star filter" isn't actually any use as it just adds spikes to sorces of light?? 

3 hours ago, M40 said:

Looks a good price to me 👍 

Never having done any form of stacking before and having a similar Canon camera and lens, I have been following that link you posted about taking pictures of Orion with a DSLR. I am now at the stage of waiting for some clears skies, so this time next year maybe 🤦‍♂️ Anyways, check the lens to see if it has a thread to fit filters. If it does, you can then expand your toybox to include a metal lens hood (£27), two uv filters (£6 each) and a 58mm snap in Bahtinov mask (£14).

Freebie software I have so far is DSS and paint.net. I looked at gimp but it's too steep a learning curve at the moment so that's on the backburner. So it's game on to see who gets the first blurry blob 😜

Enjoy

Oooo.... Competition... I like the sound of that 😂  In the name of fairness I think we should post them on the same day 👍

I had a quick look at the lens, loads of twisty movey bits I will have to suss out but lenses looked nice and clean with cap for either end... Can't remember if it had a thread on it for filters will have a look.. 

I watched that orion with dlsr all the way through, quite long but brilliant video that explains quite well how to use the software...  Will be sure to watch it again once I actual have a camera.. 

Look foward to seeing your pictures..

2 hours ago, happy-kat said:

You can make your own dew shield for the lens with a plastic flower pot or piece of camping mat or yoga mat or stiff card and a couple elastic bands. I flocked the flower pot I used.

You could make a Y mask (Lord mask) for the lens using stiff card, a ruler, compass, pencil and scissors and another elastic band.

Thanks you for the tips 👍 Good to hear you take your diy'ing serious flocking you flower pot 😉 

 Will have to look up what  y/lord mask is... Sounds like that bahtinov thing with all the lines in.... Not 100% on what these do? Think on the orion with dlsr vid he mentioned it helps to get good focus with single spikes or something on stars... 

3 hours ago, Starwiz said:

My first views of Mercury and Mars were through an open window. 

Yes, although it won't be ideal for the reason others have mentioned, you can still have a lot of fun and if it's very cold outside you will be warmer in the room.

But at some point, you may want to take your kit outside or to another location, so bear this in mind when choosing what you buy.  Also consider what light pollution you have to contend with and what other buildings are nearby that will produce rising heat degrading your views further.

John

Hi John, thanks for your comment, 

Everyone has to start somewhere I suppose, hopping out my window will just give me an easy opportunity to get acustom to using the scope and set up, then abit of experiance with stacking and post processing... So I asuppose this is all more of a training exercise than anything.. 

Once I've got my head around everything and improved certain bits of my equipment I can easily imagine myself going on adventures.. 

My house is in approx bortle 6 and i can see a few stars on clear nights to the left as there's a school playing field.. 

But when I do decide to venture out I'm 10-15 mins from bortle 4 which is also on the coast.. I have a few spots in mind already where I go star gazing usually when there's a meteor show on.. Shame I'm working nights this weekend but at present can't imagine the skies to be clear anyway..... Again... 

I also go sea fishing quite abit.. So I'm sure I will be intertwining the two hobbies before long

And for this reason I'm swaying back to a 130pds, but it's just a case of which scope turns up 1st I think

Just bought a lens to pick up on the way home from work, sigma dg 70 - 300 f4-5.6.. £35

Don't think it's a great thing but something to play with as soon as the 600d turns up until I get a telescope.. maybe even try abit of stacking 🤔

Oh, Wait.. I need to get a laptop yet 😂🤣

Getting there tho 😁

Will soon have a rubbish blury blob to show you all and be proud of 😂

So that baader protective one comes with with both bits? t ring and 2" extension.. I guess the protective bit is clear glass to stop the camera photcell getting anything on? 

Then if I bought the 1.25 extension I could fit my astro revelation filters to it? Which would screw to t ring in place of the 2" one that comes with it... 

But the 150pds has 2" focuser? 

So would need 2" filters? or clip on ones that go in the camera? 

Where would the coma corrector sit in all this when I buy one? 

Sorry just trying to get my head around this next segment lol

BTW just for formation for myself t2 suits the camera... M42 is thread t ring to extension? 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/T2-EOS-T2-Lens-Mount-Adapter-ring-for-Canon-EOS-760D-750D-700D-650D-600D-1200D-/323873639259?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

Would this be an acceptable t ring? 

Next headache if anyone can help me out please is how will I be attaching the camera to the focuser?

I take it I don't need eyepieces for this? 

T ring, T2 dose it matter what type? 

Do I need an extension tube to gain focus? 

Coma corrector is that something I can buy at a later date as its another decent expense.. Or does the coma corrector take away the need for an extension tube? 

Not gona mod the camera for now, but is there any filters I should add to this mounting list of expenses 😂

Clip in cls filter? Etc

Any help advice or recommendations appreciated

Thanks

Hopefully I'll have some images to share in the near future.. 

Glad to hear you still manage to get enjoyment looking through your loft, give's me a little bit of hope 👍

Had a right headache trying to learn another technical language of dlsr lenses to accompany my 600d when it arrives.... 

But thankfully I've just seen this video, which is based on the setup I was thinking of and if I can get anything close to these images I would be over the moon 🌠🌠🌛🌛 

So back on with a pds search it is 😁

3 minutes ago, Thalestris24 said:

It's not in a fit state to be passed on to someone else. I had a lot of trouble with the focuser not being square to the tube and not being able to collimate properly. In the end I gave up on it (life is too short!) and moved over to the much simpler and hassle-free refractors/lenses. 

Louise

Oh right that sounds a pia, was it like that straight out the box? 

16 hours ago, Thalestris24 said:

I have a 200pds and a 130pds and they both sit in the corner gathering dust. 

Fancy selling your 130pds?

Would be going to a good home 😁

14 minutes ago, Moonshed said:

I would say your advice is good if the person that asked could afford a £2000 mount and they were without doubt going to take up astrophotography at some point, but the OP has already said they have a limited budget. Now even if they somehow managed to raise that much money I’m not at all sure that would be a good buy for someone quiet new to astronomy who intends trying it out by observing from an upstairs spare room. It has to be considered that under such unfavourable conditions there is a good chance interest would quickly wane to the point of collecting dust.

Surely it would make more sense not to invest too heavily when buying gear at this stage but instead buy cheap and see how it goes, if it doesn’t work out then not a lot of money is lost, plus it could easily be sold to new beginners. If it does work out then with the experience gained, and a decision made regarding moving out doors and starting astrophotography, then is the right time to invest in a good mount.

Exactly what I'm thinking.. 

Enough to have a good go and test the waters.. Then if it is something I gel with I can upgrade bits as I grow... 

Also if I get things now that are reasonable good gear they will have resale value when I do grow 👍

Wahoo.... 1st part of my collection bought 🥁🥁🥁 cannon 600d 😁 £100 that's not too bad is it?... 

The 200p I was looking at was on a eq5 mount.. Which from what I've read still might struggle with ota alone never mind dlsr and guide mount etc...  It just seemed a decent price but looking through suppliers that setup isn't much more new.... And anyway I've talked myself out of getting silly with appature size... 

This whole idea was to give me a taste to see if its something I can become obsessed with and if I go too big from the off, never mind the headaches and frustration that will probably put me off I'll have nothing to grow into, as such...

3 hours ago, gilesco said:

I bought a £2000 mount and put a £200 OTA on it until I could afford something better. Not telling you to go down that route, but investing in the mount at first is a good idea...

I do get what your saying and I've read it so many times about the mount being the most important thing but apart from spending £2k on a mount making me feel nauseous, it's no good spending that kind of money on something that becomes moth balled in the corner...

I will start with a camera but I imagine I will want to upgrade with a tescope before long put an offer in on a 200p earlier 😂 but realistcly Ill wait until the 130pds comes back in stock or I come across one second hand... 

OK ill scrap the moddng idea for now tbf when I watched a comparison earlier it made the image look a red hue... But you could see it made the fainter nebula gasses stand out more... 

I belive I'm in bottle class 6 looking on a light pollution map.. 

I think I see something easier about apt controlling camera from laptop not sure if it read anything above a 600d is acceptable? 

Its crazy all this info I'm trying to decipher 🤯

Thank you for trying to help me make sense of it all 👍

This looks filddly

Ah.... Thanks 👍

Will have a look for Dr glover's video... 

Hello again thank you for more posts it's nice to hear even out of a window without breaking the bank you can get some shots to be proud of and receive the enjoyment from the hobby.... 

My original idea was basicly as has been mentioned to just strap my phone to a telescope eyepiece... But as I started reading more, to get anything close to what I've seen a dslr is needed.... (BTW I am aware of the let down of looking thro a tesescope for the 1st time, when somene says "can you see it" and my response is "what.. that little smudge" 😂) 

So talking of cameras which has been my main research goal this last day or so.. 

The 2 I've come to decided between but if either show themselves at the right price I'll take it, is the 450d and 600d(mainly for the twisty lcd) but I'm sure I read about other benifits... One thing I'm curious about tho is from watching a vid on mounts and upgrades they said about wobble arc seconds in relation with pixel size of the camera lens which can blurr pictures and even worse the more zoomed in you are... 

So after looking at this site.. 

http://dslrmodifications.com/DSLRcomparison.html

It seems the 600d has smaller pixels than the 450d, so will that mean the arc second wobble will cover more pixels thus making it harder to get a clear image? And the 450d easier? 

Also another total noob question about exposure.. What will the difference be between taking say 300x2sec shots and 30x20sec shots... 

They've both had 600sec of light gathering, sorry if this is a stupid question... 

Cheers

I do really apreciate all the comments and yes I will prob go ahead with this idea.... I imagine I will realise all what you all have said before long and will quite happily take "the told you so's" 🙄

I use stallerium quite alot on my phone, not heard of plainsphere.. But can't say I've sussed out how to use it to see field of views? Will have a play... 

Platesolving sounds like the mount is going to cost alot more?

After watching this video..

I've had a change of heart what equipment to buy 1st.. 

And I believe it was mentioned earlier, sorry for knocking the idea M40.. 

As I need everything... I'm going to concentrate on dlsr/lens and laptop 1st...  Which I will need anyway and it will give me some experience at stacking and processing.. Also will give me some time to see what I can fabricate to get the rig out the window and off the floor..