Alien 13

I still chuckle when people have a look at the moon through my 90mm Mak, their look of shock is priceless... Alan

I like the wedge shown in that video too. Alan

True but it is supposed to be the worlds sharpest 250 mm lens Alan

Thanks Ray, manual focus camera lenses do fine on portable rigs and provided the focus ring on this one is smooth and without slop etc it will be a winner. Alan P.S. As it will no doubt be cloudy during your testing it would be nice to know how it does perform as a "camera" lens in the daytime. Alan

I cant see that matters, the scope will probably spend most of its time on portable rigs like the SA and most likely with a DSLR or simple CMOS camera set up for hands on AP. Alan

Looking at one of the videos it seems to suggest that the whole back end comes off including the rotator (not the focusser) which should give more back focus for a diagonal but looks like it needs to be special ... Alan

If you just wanted to check the unevenness of illumination as a percentage you could just take readings from various points on the panel using a Light Dependent Resistor and a multimeter set to K ohms, if you wanted you could calibrate the above with a known light source. Alan

Keep at it, I am am sure it would make a very fine "video" lens..... Alan

They look perfectly framed as if the Cat was made for Andromeda and as you say would look good with your SA Alan

Its not fair, even the diagonal is RED.......... Alan

I dont see an issue with you or any of your team supplying additional factual information though for example configurations that work and those that dont etc. Have to say also that this is one product that has my wallet sweating and not just for imaging, it could make a smashing wide field visual setup for those who cant get on with binoculars.. Alan

Loving this thread but I wish someone could make a printer that could fit in a 4 inch cube, how hard could it be? Alan

It might still work if shooting in video mode which could be handy for Luna or Planets.. Alan

Interesting, I think the Canon TC is very much like a powermate in that it should be vastly superior to any barlow lens, I do not know however if using one without a lens would produce an error code (easy to try out), I have found this old thread that may help. This is something I must try myself with my Kenko version . I think the method of connection is to fit the TC to the camera as normal then use a EOS to T adapter fitting into the Teleconvertor you then would need the standard kit for fitting into the focus tube etc, you will need a two inch extension in there too. Alan

I think it depends on the lens, there is no scope equivalent to the Samyang 135 mm f/2 and the Canon 400 mm f/2.8 was chosen over a scope for use in the dragonfly project. The big advantages of a lens are it ability to cover a full frame chip, its speed and its inbuilt focus motor. The downside is that for good CA performance and star shapes is the cost, for example the 400 mm canon will set you back £12K which is far more than any premium refractor of similar focal length. Alan

I have been thinking about 3D printer costs and was wondering what part takes up most of the cost?, after all a modern scanner copier is more complex with more moving parts but are very cheap. Alan

I dont think anything bigger than an 80 mm bed size would fit on my coffee table and I cant imagine that I would want to print anything larger than about 40 mm anyway. Alan

Have been browsing again and found the PocketMaker 3D Printer and the Createbot Super Mini 3D printer that fit the bill size wise but have no idea if they are any good, there does seem to be a lack of small printers on the market. Alan

I think a USB dew heater would be ideal for a SA setup and as said it will stop a power bank turning off. Alan

Behemoth... Alan

Might be a daft question but are there any good tiny precision printers around, ideally I would want an absolute max print size of 80 mm cubed? Alan

Nice, I like the camera too Alan

I think you will find that the stock lenses are far better than their price would suggest and more than good enough to get you going. Alan

I think the old M42 lenses wont achieve focus with Nikon cameras as the camera flange to focal plane distance is too great so you will be stuck with the own brand lenses or third party ones from Samyang/Sigma etc. Alan

I too have been looking at printers and been put off having to buy one then spend months modifying it, would only need a max of 120mm in each axis.. Alan