assouptro

Just thought I’d add a couple of comparison images from the same scope, with different cameras. m27, canon 6D, lx200 12” with 6.3 focal reducer field flattener mid summer same scope and flattener with an Atik 460 and filters also round midsummer. The smaller chip of the Atik gives a smaller Field of view. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to processing. both were guided, and as others have said, guiding is probably your first real step to improve images, without it you’ll struggle to take long enough sub frames. phd guiding is fairly straight forward. There is always a learning curve but there is also someone on this site ready to help should you come across a stumbling block. I know, I have been pulled out of the mire of frustration often enough! What ever decision you make just try and enjoy the night sky and remember why you want to pursue this hobby! cheers Bryan

Hi Steve I cant offer you any advice on the telescopes, but what I can say is that in the past 10 or more years of imaging and wondering which piece of exotic glass will improve my images the most significant leap forward for me was buying a second hand Atik CCD and learning how to image in mono using filters. It was honestly a game changer. I was reluctant as I knew it was going to take me out of my comfort zone but I am so glad I finally took the plunge. Sorry to throw you a curve ball! Maybe someone else will be more helpful? Cheers Bryan

Nice! Its an old thread but I have just found it whilst searching for some kind of solution for my focus issues with my solar scout. A quick question for anyone with a solar scout, do you experience image shift when rotating the focuser? If I am usinf a 26mm eyepiece and viewing the whole disk the sun moves from one side of my view to the other when focusing. its more pronounced when close up with a camera. Is this normal with these units? Cheers Bryan

I agree some sort of electronic focuser would be really useful, I am pondering that too. And it is a totally different ball game to DSO imaging. I ended up using my Atik 314l+ and Fits files (that was slow!) then converting the best fits to an avi in Pipp before processing. I have a camera on its way, I’m not totally convinced it’s suitable but it was a good price on ukabs. It’s a brand I’ve never come across it’s a Point grey Blackfly usb3, it apparently has the same Sony chip as the zwo asi 174 so we’ll see!

I’m new to this too! Great image! what camera did you use? also, a question about the scope. I have a certain amount of image shift when rotating the helical focuser. How does your scope perform? cheers and thanks for sharing Bryan

Hi I bought a second hand Daystar Solarscout 60. it arrived Friday and the sun came out yesterday! I don’t have the camera I intend to use for this at the moment and so I hooked up my Atik 314l+ Here is my first attempt. the dark spot near the middle is a dust bunny I think. I didn’t get round to taking flats. It’s a start. cheers Bryan

All very helpful info! I just want to thank you all. This forum is awesome and full of helpful folk that will share their hard earned knowledge willingly. Thanks Bryan

Thanks guys for your replies. i think I have enough information and confidence to have a punt at the Blackfly! Solar Imaging, here I come! (I think the clouds heard me!) Bryan

Thanks for the reply! I understand it is some sort of trade off, I guess what I need to know is will it work at 40fps? Or will the sun be over exposed? cheers Bryan

Hi solar imagers! I have never posted before in this thread but I have just bought my first solar scope. The Daystar solar scout 60mm I am looking for a suitable camera and it looks like the zwo asi174 is the one i should be looking at. I am possibly buying an FLIR Blackfly usb 3 which apparently has the same sensor as the 174 but it’s max frame rate (at full resolution) is 41. It obviously gets faster when doing ROI cropped imaging. My question is, will it be ok @ 41fps for solar imaging? Many thanks in advance for any advice. Bryan Blackfly USB3 MODEL: BFLY-U3-23S6M-C: 2.3 MP, 41 FPS, SONY IMX249, MONO

Very nice! and such short subs too! thanks for sharing Bryan

Thanks for the comment tomato I have toyed with the idea of a OSC camera as we don’t always get the clear skies needed for several nights with filters but I love narrow band imaging and would be concerned by the loss of sensitivity due to the Bayer Matrix. Do you still use or own a OSC camera? Cheers Bryan

Yeah, the 428 has the same sized pixels as the 460 I think and could be a useful camera! Recently I have been looking at the 490 as its smaller Pixels could be a good match with my smaller scope and lenses as we enter into summer and autumn oh to have an endless budget and cloudless skies!!

Thanks Don It has been fun using it again and I think I might keep it out for a while! cheers Bryan

Hi Carole! I knew there was a reason I didn’t sell my 314 when I got the 460. I was upset when the 460 developed a fault and we had clear skies but at least I had the 314 to play with, I wasn’t expecting to achieve much but it has surpassed my expectations and reminded me not to leave it in the cupboard! cheers Bryan

Thanks for the comment! I have fallen back in love with this little underrated workhorse! Just need some more clear skies but it looks like summer is here!!

Thanks for the kind words I have learned a lot since I bought the camera and it has been fun reusing it. Bryan

My Atik 460 is faulty following a “knock” it took and has been shipped to Lisbon to have a new PCB installed. (What happens after Brexit??) Whilst it has been away, we had some lovely clear skies (Typical!) but the wind was gusting 20-30mph! I decided to dust off my Atik 314l+ so I could still play. Although the conditions weren’t great and I only get about 2 hours of twilight here at this time of year I am quite pleased with what that lovely 1.2mp camera can do! Connected to my Revelation Astro ed 100 f6 it’s under sampled but gives a nice fov for some DSO’s like NGC 6888. Enough waffle.... 15 min rgb 3min subs for the stars with 7 hour 20min ha 6.5 hr 20min Oiii with darks and flats. Acquisition, Artemis Registration and stacking App Put together in photoshop with noise reduction via topaz DeNoise AI Thanks for looking Bryan

Ouch!! that’s a sickener!

Thanks Mark

Hi again Fellow starlovers! I have always loved the night sky and owned a couple of reflectors as a teenager and young adult which I used to view the moon and planets with but will never forget the the experience of seeing my first Deep Sky Object through a 12" SCT (the same one I took this image with) I was blown away! I have tried several times since to photograph M13 to share that moment of awe but it's a tricky one with a bright core that easily over saturates and at 49 seconds per pixel I was always gonna struggle on my azeq6 with north west Lancashire atmospherics! Here is several nights, a mixture of 3 min, 2 min, 1 min and 30s subs I think its the best I have achieved so far......"my God it's full of stars!" Thanks for looking Cheers Bryan

Although I took a blow to my shoulder My filter wheel and camera took a bad knock to the mount and I haven't been happy with the performance since!?

Oh no! What happened to Stu? I haven't seen that thread!

Thanks Victor It’s like watching a disaster movie, I have watched it back a few times willing myself to turn around!! cheers Bryan

Hi stargazers! I have mothballed the 12” Meade LX200 after another Galaxy season as Cygnus and all its delights are obtainable for the 2 hours of twilight available to me at this location. I decided to do a short series of subs on the Dumbbell in Vulpecula. its 10x5 min RGB with 4x10 min Ha and 3x10 min Oiii all bin 1 at a ridiculous arc seconds per pixel with my Atik 460 It’s definitely an over cooked artistic rather than scientific version and the star shapes are poor but I’m still learning! I just thought I’d add this.... I had a slight disaster when removing the weights from the mount, I hadn’t double checked the balance on the R A axis and really locked it up. The mount swung round and as I was carrying quite a bit of weight with flip flops on and slightly worse for wear due to a FaceTime boozy session with an old work buddy my reaction speeds were defiantly compromised and my whole set up took a knock! I spent the next 2 clear nights trying to achieve the collimation and Alignment I had obviously stumbled upon and cursed the operation of “heavy machinery” when under the influence. here is my cctv footage of the incident. Don’t laugh! IMG_2390.MP4 Anyway. thanks for looking! Cheers Bryan