Dazzyt66

Really this is a test sequence from last night. Was trying out a 135mm M42 lens which I haven't used before. Left it wide open f2. I was also testing my Ekos auto routine as I haven't used it for a while, so this imaging started 2 hours before astronomical twilight and consists of:

354x30s ISO1600 Lights

30 darks

60 flats

60 bias

Totally stacked and processed in Siril using OSC Script and standard post process steps (background, green noise, photometric, autostretch) - so this is all pretty much default 'as is' output.

I think the lens will create so great images when I use it stopped down a little.... 🤞

5 minutes ago, davew said:

Hi Daz,

As I see it ( a Nikon user ), there is no advantage obvious to me that changing cameras would be a good idea. Although Ekos is supposed to work with the 1 J2 it is now 11 years old ( I know the Canon is older ) but the sensor is the CX format that is smaller than APSC. It's the same sensor size that is in the Sony RX100 series.

If you want a tiny field of view I suspect cropping the Canon would be the best bet.

Dave.

Thanks Dave, I'd looked in various places for info on the N1 for astro work to no avail, so the advice is much appreciated. I am aware that my 1100D is getting on a bit and was looking for something 'newer' without breaking the bank...

Hi all,

I was thinking of getting one of these on a good used deal. I currently use a modded canon 1100d with Ekos. I only use M42 lenses nowadays for basic AP stuff using my HEQ5 - so nothing fancy and the mount is defo overkill.

Anyway, my question is: would the Nikon be ok for similar use ie Ekos with lens photography. I have some Canon FD lenses, which, with a mirrorless adaptor could work even better than my M42 stock?

If the Nikon was viable for this kind of use I could then downgrade my HEQ5 for something more portable as I go on my travels…

TIA

Daz

26 minutes ago, carastro said:

I have seen the aurora in both Norfolk and Iceland and neither time did I see colour to my naked eye, just appeared white.  Yes with a camera they appeared green.

Hope this answers your question.

Carole 

Similar to Carole. I have seen the aurora in Orkney - I actually thought I was looking at car headlights far away across the landscape as there was no colour - until someone pointed out that that was the aurora 😂😂

One other place you may find useful for Astro gear if you have trouble sourcing:

https://www.astroboot.eu/AstroBoot

They don't ship to UK anymore but I got my HEQ5 from there and a 120p dob years ago vastly cheaper than elsewhere - service was great!

@Balthazar Saissore you don’t really need to get a telescope if you go down the DSLR route. You can get some pretty impressive DSO imaging done with stock lenses. There is loads of info on here and other sources (YouTube etc.) on how to do this. The most important thing is the mount you will need, depending on how seriously you want to go. I image with a modified DSLR and an HEQ5 mount and get sufficiently good images for my liking. Everyone is different though. I don’t use fancy lenses, I buy used M42 from eBay and use with an adaptor on a modified Canon 1100d.

Starting out this way is relatively cheap for AP and gets you used to the whole process from capturing to processing. You can then decide to expand as you wish.

Hope that helps.

Daz

9 minutes ago, wesdon1 said:

@Dazzyt66 Hi Dazzy! Would you be so kind as to tell me where I can get the plans to make my own cardboard Bhatinov Mask please? I know they're relatively cheap to buy but I haven't got around to buying one yet, and your idea/inevntion of making your own from cardboard is a brilliant idea! Thanks!

Wes, Liverpool ( Bortle 7 *apparently?? More like Bortle 99'000 with the damn white LED street lamps that blaze down on my gear! LOL ) 

@wesdon1 here’s the link to the site and instructions I used 😊 I eventually did buy one but my cardboard version worked great too!

https://www.deepskywatch.com/Articles/make-bahtinov-mask.html
 

Good luck!!

Daz

5 hours ago, Peter Drew said:

Compared to the secondary mirror diameter "speck", no consequence.     🙂

Good to know, still annoying knowing that it’s there though! 😂😂

Hey,

Used my Skymax 150 pro for the first time in about 18 months the other night. As usual visual planetary views were brilliant, however, I also tried a video capture of Venus and noticed what I thought was a dust bunny on the sensor. I swapped cameras but speck was still there (in same place). In the morning I noticed that the mirror has a small speck of dust (looks like a tiny piece of flock as it’s black) on it - literally the only thing on the mirror.

So, given that this isn’t visible when doing visual through the Mak does it matter? I’m thinking I’ll probably put it up for sale this year as I really don’t use it that much but I’m worried the dust particle may put people off? Is it worth getting it cleaned? A air puffer would defo shift it and it’s not like the mirror is dirty at all otherwise.

Thoughts?

Daz

On 16/04/2023 at 16:52, Dazzyt66 said:

I know this is an old thread but hey…

Last night I wanted to make use of a gap in the cloud to grab a quick capture of Venus using OAcapture on my pi 4. It was running like a dog over WiFi so I thought - ‘hey, maybe if I turn off this VNC thingy it’ll go faster’ …. Locked myself out of the pi until a mini hdmi adaptor arrives tomorrow 😂😂😂

Well, I fixed it and am now about to try Venus again… 🤞

I know this is an old thread but hey…

Last night I wanted to make use of a gap in the cloud to grab a quick capture of Venus using OAcapture on my pi 4. It was running like a dog over WiFi so I thought - ‘hey, maybe if I turn off this VNC thingy it’ll go faster’ …. Locked myself out of the pi until a mini hdmi adaptor arrives tomorrow 😂😂😂

11 minutes ago, M40 said:

I've never tried it, but I can’t see any reason why not other than it may block the polar scope?

That was my thinking - I don't use the polar scope anyway as I do my polar alignment using Ekos 🙂

So I guess I should just make my question: can I use a HEQ5 with the counterbalance bar not extended? 😊

1 minute ago, M40 said:

 Footprint of mine is about 700x700. 

Yeah, that's the kind of idea I'm looking at, but obviously not as tall in my case (probably 1 x hollow concrete block plus the mount) 🙂 

Hey all,

For a couple of years now I’ve left my HEQ5 set up permanently in the garden on its tripod, covered with a BBQ cover. This year I’m thinking of creating a more permanent enclosure for it.

As I do most of my ‘observing’ remotely nowadays with just my DSLR and lenses (rather than a scope) - and I don’t take it seriously enough to call it imaging 😂 I have a question:

I want the footprint for the closure to be as small as practically possible. Given that I am only using a DSLR and lens I really don’t need any kind (or very minimal) counterweight. Therefore can I keep the counterweight bar retracted? 

I don’t really want to alter the HEQ5 as I want to keep the option to move it back to the tripod if desired for use with a scope.

In the enclosure I’d mount it on a low height pier with the whole thing enclosed in a footprint area of around 1sqm. 

The aim would be to have something resembling a bee hive as the finishing housing.

I can’t seem to find anything info wise on the web so thought I’d check here with you fine people. 😊

TIA

Daz

29 minutes ago, Nrmh02 said:

I’ve just received my eq6 r pro and needing to get some kinda power supply to it. 
 

has anyone tried this and can give me an indication if it’s long lasting or not

or if anyone can recommend something better ?

 

thanks 

 

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-17-amp-power-tank.html

I have a HEQ5 and I can power mine all night (literally, while I leave the rig imaging) from a Halfords Jump Start power pack that I’ve had for several years - there’s an RAC version on Amazon atm for about £40 which I was going to get too, to power all the extra stuff I have attached nowadays…even with both of them it works out cheaper than an ‘Astro’ power bank (that is basically the same thing)… HTH

7 hours ago, barkingsteve said:

If you have any inkling that you may do longer exposures  ( 30 secs + ) down the road, you will be better off getting an eq mount now. I started out with an alt/az when i first decided to do EAA and wished i never bothered as it only took a few sessions before i wanted longer exposures.

Don't be deterred about polar aligning, with modern equipment it is easier than you probably think  That is what scared me off originally but with ipolar and now asiair it literally takes a few minutes ( as long as your mount is fairly level and pointing roughly north ) and with the new harmonic mounts you don't even have to worry about counterweights and balancing.

 

+1 for the EQ advice. I have a HEQ5 permanently setup outside for a couple of years now and it’s great. I use Ekos on a RPI and did polar alignment through that - took about 15mins and now I just check it before I start in case the tripod has moved (due to me knocking it) between sessions… so most of my ‘observing’ is done from the kitchen 😊

I flipping well love my ST80 - I use it A LOT more than my 150 Mak.

The ST80 is what it is, but as an entry level scope I don’t think it can be beaten IMO 🤔

21 hours ago, 7170 said:

One more thing to consider, KStars/Ekos is an integrated planetarium and imaging suite.

 

I found Kstars/Ekos worked a dream on my old laptop with Ubuntu - and they do pretty much everything - all you’d need would be an eqmod cable for the mount

49 minutes ago, Whistlin Bob said:

This! I've had lots of fun doing this.

The image below was taken with a 2nd hand 600d, with the IR filter removed, on a Star Adventurer, using a second hand 135mm lens off eBay for about £25. 

And this one used the same lens on an Altair 183c fan cooled camera.

So it's definitely possible to do things on a budget- but as others have said, the mount is probably the most critical part.

I agree with @Whistlin Bob I’ve been in a similar position to you (I own an ST80) and although I already had a HEQ5 mount I really didn’t want to spend £1000s more on equipment (especially as I do most of my ‘AP’ in my light polluted back garden). So, I modded my 1100d (£60 from eBay, £70 for the mod) and am now experimenting with various m42 prime lenses I’ve acquired from eBay (max around £25). The results are good enough for me (atm) and combined with automation using a raspberry pi and Ekos my imaging is just a joy, rewarding to do and quick and easy to setup. 

HTH

Daz

This was the way I thought it could be done in my OP. Thanks @alacant for the info 😀

I think anyone here will agree that the best ‘telescope’ is the one that gets used the most. I’ve got a couple of scopes but find the DSLR lens combo far quicker to setup and get results with which keeps the enjoyment going. In the last 12 months I have only used my DSLR with my HEQ5 mount and various lens combinations as I find my AP feet. I would therefore suggest sticking with the camera and lens and see how you get on before disappearing further down the AP rabbit hole/money pit! 😂 As many will say, the best thing to future proof where you go next will the mount choice, but for now the Star Adventurer should still back you some cracking images. 
 

HTH

New to StarTools and composites so here's my attempt! Pretty much used all defaults with minor tweaks. Colour was sampled and applied using HST preset. Thanks for great data to 'play' with:

On 15/10/2021 at 19:52, StuartT said:

6h 5m of integration time.

 

Just out of interest @StuartT, over how long a period did this take in real time?

On 15/10/2021 at 19:52, StuartT said:

6h 5m of integration time. Stacked and processed in SiriL (I LOVE SiriL!!)

Glad you’re liking Siril. It’s a hidden gem for those of us that just want to be able to ‘get stuff stacked and processed’ 😊