Alien 13

I tend to just use the 500 rule as a starting point i.e. MAX exposure length but modify it by 1.6 (Canon APSC crop factor) for non full frame cameras so I get 500/1.6 = 312.5, so my goto rule of thumb is 300/lens focal length.

Alan

7 hours ago, Scorpius said:

Almost spot on? So additional fine tuning is still required? Just ordered one from High Point Scientific here in the US William Optics Diffraction Spikes Bahtinov Mask for 75mm-110mm Dew Shields - BM-DS-GR45 (highpointscientific.com)

The Mask is fine but I noticed that the image shown didn't quite have pinpoint feint stars and looked like some dimmer ones were about to "blink on" had the adjustment been a tiny tiny bit more.

Alan

A good year for me although it started bad with a certain virus in December 2019 that I still haven't fully recovered from, not been outside now for a year but plenty to do and lots of new challenges indoors. 

Alan

Interesting, had always thought of Baader film as being as flat as the ocean in a gale, odd that my ND/UV/Polarizing camera lens filters etc are as flat as a flat thing.

Alan

I am an Affinity Photo user now but still have PS CS6 which cost an arm and a leg back in the day, I gave up on PS purely for its lack of RAW support on the latest Canon cameras.

Looking at the current monthly subscriptions for PS I would say its a bargain, I would imagine PS would cost £1-2K if bought outright but could be out of date within 6-7 years.

Alan

22 minutes ago, nephilim said:

At least there would be actual gear to buy 😃 The whole bike thing was a nightmare with lead times on gear being very similar to Astro stuff now. I got the bike built in the end (the black one, Bird Aeris 145) & it was well worth the wait.

Very nice but its not a proper bike, no mudguards/lights or even a bell 

Alan

The focus point for Mars or anything else will be the same as the Moon, tiny adjustments might be required to compensate for atmospherics but I do mean tiny..

Alan

Option two please, still the same even if the prize was £250...

Alan

38 minutes ago, spacedog said:

Last bit for tonight before i get in trouble.Had good look round My 40D and yes it isa zoomable X5 and X10.just need rccomended isp and shutter speed.would 30 seconds be to long ?

 

The list I posted earlier suggests the best ISO for the 40D is 800 and my initial thoughts using the 500 rule for shutter speed is 500/14 = 35 .7 seconds as a maximum.

Alan

The ISO depends on the camera model there is a list here as for shutter speed start with around 20-30 seconds and see how the stars look in your image.

For focusing use liveview find a star (focus must be reasonably close for this) then zoom in X10 and adjust focus so that the faint stars blink into view.

Alan

Thats a realy good image, your nephew is a natural...Its amazing realy how often hand held Lunar shots work with camera lenses.

Alan

2 hours ago, Ande said:

I must confess, I have just googled some images, and the star produced by the WO mask does appear to offer easier precision. I’m quite tempted.
 

Nice pattern and the focus is almost spot on, must try one.

Alan

Loved it, noticed that not only was the Earth moving but rotating, does this mean that it isn't flat 

Alan

The method you describe works fine, I use it all the time, just remember to factor in the delay time (2 or 10 seconds) into the timer interval.

Alan 

I would personally get a 2 inch extension piece or a 2 inch camera adapter anyway as at its native focus its still handy for full disc Lunar imaging etc.

Alan

Im back, Stuart is the member I was thinking of, worth searching all his posts.

Alan

I think at least 1 member uses this lens for AP with very good results, certainly on par with a top end APO scope but cant remember any details at the moment....Ill be back.

Alan

6 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

How does the optimum iso effect the histogram peak on this camera? Is this camera quite different

I dont think it effects how you use the histogram, just means that you may have to expose for longer to reach the same point (which is a good thing as it means better dynamic range). The 80D is unique in the Canon range as it is pretty much ISO invariant which means the data captured in dark areas suffer no noise penalty if you use post processing software to increase levels rather than using a higher ISO, much like a lot of Nikon cameras.

Alan  

40 minutes ago, Ande said:

I did have a play with the Canon Connect app, but it seemed very limited. I may well have missed an option that opens up some more commands, so I shall give it another look.

Just tried mine and yes the app is limited and so too the EOS utility on the PC via remote wifi. I tend to use the app/eos util to remotely set the camera and get it focused using the microfocusing options then switch control to a wireless intervalometer (dont like the cold so do everything from indoors).

As Happy Kat mentioned shoot at the cameras optimum ISO which in the case of the 80D is 100-200.

Alan

10 minutes ago, Ande said:

I realise I can use the self timer on the DSLR, but not worked out how to incorporate it with Bulb Mode yet. Not sure if I even can. I might draft the laptop to perform this duty, as a stopgap measure until I can get my hands on the ASIAIR. 
 

Unfortunately the timer/intervalometer will only work with multiple 30sec subs and the bulb timer only works for single shots, the two cant be combined. A cheap wired intervalometer will be an easy option or try the Canon camera connect app.

Alan

9 minutes ago, Ande said:

I did look at Photoshop as an option, but the subscription model doesn’t sit particularly well with me. I’ll take a look at some of the other options mentioned. I did download Deep Sky Stacker this morning, but not sure when I’ll get a chance to gather enough images to test it out. Although the link you posted sounds a great solution in the meantime.  I can pull up something on YouTube, and then try to replicate the steps using those sample images.

A couple of years ago I spent a week in Alston, Cumbria. The whole area was stunning. If you live anywhere even close to that in beauty then you are a lucky individual.  The skies were amazing, like the skies of my childhood, when light pollution was nowhere near as bad as it is today.  Be very interesting to see what you are able to capture come the glorious day.

 

Affinity Photo is a good alternative to Photoshop and is reasonably priced, it is quite popular with members on this site.

Alan

4 minutes ago, Newforestgimp said:

Interesting,

as I say I’m electric phobic it’s a dark art to me, I have a EQM-35, will need to run a dew heater and phone/tablet nonguiding with laptop for now.

Think that mount needs 12V so my solution wont work.

Alan

The power requirements depend on the specific mount etc. for example my EQ3 only requires 6V so I can power it, my dew heaters and tablets/mobiles etc of cheap mobile phone power banks making everything very portable.

Alan

The 80D is a bit of a beast to get your head around but there are quite a few users on this site if you have any questions. The video linked too by Tony Northrup is excellent but does not cover some of the more advanced features like custom shooting modes which are so handy if you cant remember a previous set up, it can save all the relevant options for Astro/Video shooting/macro photography into one place on the dial ie C1 or C2.

Alan

5 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

The RA axis doesn't have to be in that position to polar align, just rotate it so CWs are pointing up then align?? 

Unfortunately that is only true if the polarscope can be rotated and has an hour scale like the SW ones..

Alan