Alien 13

I had a question that didn't get answered during the live event, does anyone know if Affinity works best when doing small iterative adjustments rather than single larger ones like PS does? Alan

The 50mm f/1.4 was a vast upgrade to the standard 50mm f/1.8 in both build quality and focus action with its USM motor but the difference is smaller now with the newer 50mm f1.8 STM having upped its build quality with improved AF and with a metal mounting flange. If I was buying for astro I would stick with the f1.8 but also think about a nice Samyang or even a Sigma/Tokina zoom instead. Alan

Nice result, its good to see the innards of these Maks as I have often thought about doing some mods to mine, have been thinking about making the focus tube inner/outer blacker than a black thing with some of that "Vanta black" type paint which supposedly gives a boost in contrast. Alan

Confused now very disorientating, dont recognize the avatar either....but do remember a John. Alan

If you want to play the field then look in charity shops/market stalls etc and pick up various cheap samples of ideally M42 fit lenses even if they have issues (very cheap) and try them out, If you find one you realy like then you can then opt for a better condition one off e-bay or similar...mint condition examples are not cheap though, I paid well over £120 for my 50mm Takumar. Alan

My best one was a 135mm f/3.5 minolta MD mount lens but upgraded to a Canon L lens. The 135/200mm Takumars are good but modern lens technology means that for shorter focal lengths like 50mm or below the cheap nifty fifty or 40mm STM will win. Alan

I have a few vintage lenses and some are fine for AP but even those that dont make the grade like my 50mm Takumar (cost an arm and leg as it was a mint early model) are very good for general video use.. Alan

Love it, looks so natural and not overly processed. Alan

As above but its worth checking the battery door micro switch tab that is easily broken off.. Alan

I have used my DSLR with a 1.25 inch X2 barlow with both my scopes and although it does vignette a little it has no effect on planetary imaging. The frame rate with a DSLR will as said be quite poor compared to a planetary camera but it does have a big advantage when trying to find the object (I struggle to get the Moon in the FOV sometimes ). Alan

According to the long running "imaging with a Samyang" thread this fits the 135mm f/2 lens. The adapter is mentioned from page 11 on. Alan

I expect the dealer might favor what is available, most starter scopes are sold out everywhere apart from some scope/mount bundles...As for the 102 Mak it is very good for Lunar/Planetary views and handles imaging like no other scope. I think the Celestron Maks have better coatings and less reflective focus tubes but are identical to the Skywatcher versions in other ways. Alan

Great images, the small Maks are very sharp... Alan

I still use my EQ3-2 as a DSLR tracking mount with the single axis motor, can use it for Lunar/Planetary imaging with my 90mm Mak or DSLR with lens. Its performance is OK for me as I dont normally go above 150mm f/f. but as a rough guide I can get around 90s with 330mm f/l and several hours if I wanted at 17mm f/l. As for the tripod I always use it at its min height and again its fine, of course a RA polarscope and DSLR with a flippy screen makes this easy and one other plus for me is that it can be run off a cheap mobile phone power bank. Alan

If you are always going to be using APT then it might not matter too much but the image you get on the camera screen is better. Alan