Alien 13

I image Lunar and Planetary fine with my single axis motor that "ticks" and is fine for camera lens deep sky too. I am confused though why the std motors are often quoted as being "DC" when they are still crystal controlled stepping motors albeit with a lesser spec? Alan

Nice and agree that phones have come a long way, I hope this brings more people into the fold as its so easy now with plenty of apps to help too. I have just started setting up a widefield phone rig for this and general video shooting too. Alan

Just downloaded this and looks promising, was worried if it defaulted to the highest res camera on my S21 but it seemed to do so, I like its simplicity too. Alan

The mount/adapters depend on if you are using the Camera on its own for widefield or through a scope eyepiece. The most important cheap addition is a remote bluetooth shutter release. I bought one of these because of its lowish latency but there are lots of cheaper ones. My own rig is an all metal stand alone widefield one that doubles up as a video set up but not cheap. Alan Alan

I would drill a hole in it to make the scope 5 ft long for a start 🙂 Alan

The 80D is one of the few/only camera that Canon made that is more or less ISO invariant so you can use it with an ISO of 200 or less if you want with no noise penalty if you brighten it up in post processing. Alan

I think you missed portability, I would argue that my Sirui camera tripod is the best on the planet...well it is for my needs. Alan

Glad you caught it in time, everyone should inspect there optics regularly and clean them if there is the slightest hint of fungus... Alan

I am wondering if some most all some of the problems with bad corners are down to the camera, any modified DSLR will likely be miles out at F2 unless its been calibrated on an optical bench, same as a dedicated CCD/CMOS with a bunch of adapters in the image train. Alan

The pros sometimes use high powered CO2 from something like a Fire Extinguisher to clean their huge mirrors with no ill effects. Alan

I am with you on the 90mm Mak, you can go bigger but loose the grab and go element and the "snap to focus" that the little Mak has. Alan

I would agree with the above regarding 8x42 or similar, the thing to check is if the binoculars can match the "inter pupil distance" of a child. Alan

COOWOO USB heaters for me with my camera lenses and small scopes.. Alan

Never had a problem with the bolts myself provided you dont try tightening one without first loosening the other and they only need to be finger tight.. Alan

The EQ5 is a good mount for visual use provided its not overloaded if an Equatorial platform is what you want, the addition of even the single axis motor will keep most objects in the FOV for many minutes providing stress free viewing. I mentioned visual use but it can track well enough for Lunar or Planetary imaging which is often done by short bursts of video or very wide field AP with a DSLR and say a 50mm lens but anything else starts to make things more difficult though not impossible. Alan

No one has mentioned the Samyang 135mm f/2 yet, an ideal match for a DSLR and "star tracker". Alan

These controllers dont work very well if you are using rechargeable batteries, the voltage from rechargeables will only be 4.8V (4 X 1.2V) which is borderline and made worse if its cold outside. The good news is that I have found that these controllers will run quite happily from a mobile phone power bank which supplies a constant 5.2 V, all you need is an old USB cable with one end chopped off and a suitable connector fitted.. Alan

Not seen these before but look ideal for all my DSLR video accessories etc. Alan

I am OK with this, for example a small child would fill his/her mitts with the right amount of rice/salad/peas/nuts/chilies etc for their needs and an adult would get a bigger portion 🙂 Alan

I do the same although these days I cheat and often print out a drilling/cutting template and stick it to the work piece which is far more accurate for me if I am drilling some equipment face plate for example. Alan

The DSLR right angled viewfinder that I mentioned solves that problem and only needs to be held against the polarscope although there are more expensive "astro versions" available like this. Alan

Not sure why you would need to lay on the grass as the camera has a articulated screen and one of these held against the polarscope would eliminate that. Alan

I have built and still build a lot of electronic equipment and as well as having to contend with both imperial/metric I often need another measure like a bottle top/fag paper etc. Even PCB layout packages get stumped sometimes if you have the "snap to grid" option turned on. Alan

Having the reflective surface on the "inside" so to speak also means that the coating is immune from degradation so no cleaning or colimation. Wonder how long before mobile phones start introducing this tech for real telephoto performance in a tiny package. Alan

It looks like there are no commercial 5 to 12V versions with the dual inputs that I can find but plenty of the 8V type designed for DSLR use ☹️. Provided the 12V dew strap takes less than 1A (equates to 12 watts) then the single input version should work OK. Alan