Dazzyt66

Nice!!!

That setup is very nice!

Thats exactly the approach I am going to take - I run all my stuff of a Raspberry Pi and had already looked into the autofocus build 👍

Here's an excellent explanation of taking calibration frames and the reasons why (and indeed the diminishing returns of doing loads). I don't use darks at all but go for 30 bias and flats. https://youtu.be/JKWmP5W3nts

Thanks. I am really impressed with what can be done with basic lenses and I've decided for imaging that is all I'm gonna use now. My HEQ5 is definite overkill for this (as I thought I may go down the ED route at some point) but as I've got it and its permanently set up why not eh? 😂 Anyway, the distortion doesn't bother me but I guess I could crop it out. I was fully open at f3.5 and as others have said I could stop it down which will probably improve things. I left it at 3.5 cos I wanted to get enough data before the clouds came back in - this was only meant to be a test image 😂 I used the Ekos focus module for obtaining the focus which was a little backed off from infinity (which is what I would've expected) - I have got a Bahtinov mask too which I use but didn't this time. I was planning on building an auto focuser for my ST80 to use with Ekos, which I could modify to fit the focus ring on the lens - this may improve things more. TBH - this is a perfect, 'easy', cheap way to image for me. I'm not planning, or expecting, to win any imaging awards. I just like to see what I'm able to do from my Donny back garden and my wife and daughter like to see whats out there. Glad you like it. Daz

We've all been on this journey, and pretty much everyone will give you differing answers on where to start. As I'm a relative newbie to the hobby too I can let you know my experience so far (I am going to assume you are starting out with visual aim in mind as opposed to imaging): I started with 150mm Dobsonian (reflector) - Skyliner 150p which is great for general use visual, planets and galaxies etc. (be aware that deep space objects will mainly be 'fuzzy' views). However, this is a big scope for moving about and setup which I found cumbersome - many people use them though as its great for a garden. I eventually sold this. I think the current cost of them new may be out of your price range but used you may even be able to get a 200mm. My goto scope which gets used pretty much anytime is a Startravel 80mm (refractor). Lots of people have them. You can easily setup in minutes. Travel ANYWHERE with it as its so portable and it will give you good views of planets and also galaxies etc. Again most deep space objects will be seen as 'fuzzy'. This is easily in your price range so you could use the rest for eyepieces etc. I then got fancy and got a HEQ5 goto mount and tripod which makes finding things a doddle. This is VERY heavy for transporting about and if I'm honest, goto sort of takes the fun out of trying to find things on your own and getting to know the night sky. Goto also adds extra cost to your purchase. I would avoid GOTO when starting out and use the money to get best scope that suits your preference. My final scope is a Skymax 150mm (commonly known as a Mak). This is also very heavy. Is FANTASTIC for planets but out of your price range - I include it here because the 90mm and 120mm versions are probably in your price range and combined with decent EP's with give you great planetary views and some DSO (again, unles its something like Orion, they will appear as fuzzys). If I could do it all again, my advice to myself would be: Use binoculars until you know what it is that interests you. When you decide on what is your main focus, buy something that you will find easy to setup and use. If you are even remotely thinking of imaging I would start with a camera and a lens and progress from there. Do not get distracted by gadgets like GOTO as that will eat your budget - you can always upgrade as you progress. You will find plenty of advice here as you decide. Hope this helped a little. Enjoy the hobby! Thats the main thing! Daz

Its a M42 Kalimar fixed 200mm f3.5 lens I got from Ebay for £20 - as I know little about photography I cannot tell you if this is a good make or not (I'm guessing not for the price ) - used an M42 adaptor on my now astro modded 1100D.

Thanks! Yeah, fixed 200mm Kalimar lens wide open at 3.5. I wanted to grab as much info as I could in shortest time given the weather unpredictability. As this is only my 3rd 'real' attempt at imaging and processing I'm chuffed with it

Wowsers! Second outing for my used 200mm 3.5 lens after a clean. I knew cloud was going to set in so I really just wanted to practice focusing with Ekos focus module. When I'd got it focused using the module (I didn't have much luck using the Bahtinov algorithm so just used the standard tool) with my laptop next to the lens as I tried to get the numbers as low as possible. As it was still clear at this point I thought I'd have another go at M31. I got about 50 mins of useable ISO1600 60s subs until cloud set in. This morning I wasn't really expecting much as I stacked and processed the 50 subs in Siril using the bias and flats I did last time I used the lens (so no additional cleaning taken into consideration) but after a final tweak in Gimp I got this... I nearly wet myself!!! lol

I've had a similar epiphany regarding vintage lenses - here's 50 mins of M31 captured last night and quickly stacked and processed this morning. Using a 200mm f3.5 lens from ebay (£20) plus my modded 1100D I also got from eBay for £60 a few years ago and had it modded recently. I do use my HEQ5 (which is total overkill) but I'm more than happy with the images I'm able to get from my Bortle 7 garden

Lots changed over the last few months since there was last a cloudless night. Got a new (used) 200mm f3.5 lens so tried it out on M31 after a few hours of trying to remember how Ekos worked LOL! This is only my second 'properly' processed image. I've always wanted to do M31 and am happy with this after just 2 hours worth of 60s lights. Stacked and processed in Siril with just bias and flats, finalised in Gimp after using Starnet++ - oh, and yes, i've moved back from Linux to Win10..

Not sure about APT, but using EKOS I have to make sure of the correct settings for the lens diameter and length (and camera sensor details) for the calculated FOV otherwise plate solving will fail. Also, in the captures, it will show some noise but the stars should be able to be seen - as someone else has said, you need to be taking around 10s exposures for plate solving to ensure stars resolve above noise/LP

Another great comparison test @Lee_PTo me, the difference isn’t worth the cost 🤔

Great image - M101 is on my to do list and I hope I can get something as good as that 😀

Thanks! Yeah, am loving Ekos and looking forward to experiencing a number of lenses - dunno why I never tried it before! 😀

So it’s a little Heath Robinson but now I can use the camera only on the HEQ5 with Ekos. Just need a clear night now... 😂

Thanks guys, Ive emailed Juan and will be sending mine off soon! 😀

Finally deciding to take the plunge and get my 1100d modded. Has anybody got any recommendations of where to send it (UK)? Cheers Daz

So I had some time last night to do some widefield using the 135mm at f2.8 which looks promising! Both images are just 20x30s (with bias and flats). M31 and North American Nebula (although with an unmodded DSLR I don't know how to process it, so I guess I'll have to read up!). I'm gonna try my 80-200 zoom next at 200 and see what occurs!

So, there are no nice scopes in the shops (that I can afford anyway!) and I really wanted to try and get better images than either my ST80 or my Mak can achieve. I'm really liking the wide field stuff especially. I do have a DSLR and I do have some older M42 lenses. 'So,' I think, 'I REALLY LOVE ekos, plate solving et al. I wonder if I can get it to work with my 135mm lens?' Googling it didn't come up with much definitively either way apart from other people have asked the same questions... The answer friends, as I found out last night is yes!! Put the lens details in Ekos in place of the scope. It worked out the FOV, plate solving worked fine. Focussing worked fine. PA was spot on. Quick test images of M81/82 and M39 - bloody promising (although I had left the lens at a midway f number (not sure which as I moved it in the dark when I put the stuff away 🤣) rather than its fastest f2.8, and I imaged at ISO 800 rather than the 1600 I usually use. BUT, the images I did get at 30s, seem better than either the ST80 or the Mak could get for the same exposure (albeit a different FOV obvs!). I really rather excited to try a few more - better results will get posted here obviously! 😀

I second this. Although I’m new to the Raspberry Pi scene, it has changed my Astro experience considerably for the better. It just works. My scope is situated around 20m or more from my router yet I can still access it via VNC over my own network, failing that I could do the same using its own hotspot. All in all including the pi4 (2gb), case and memory card, the solution cost me less than £100 (Astroberry is free but I also made a donation too) and it all works from my Halfords power tank (which was around £60 but I already had that). It works great, and has been said already, it’s standalone, so should WiFi or electricity fail, the RPI will carry on and finish its job. Oh, and you can go to bed while it does it! Bonus!!! 😀

Thanks! Yeah, I used the photometric cal in Siril - I too think they are a bit too blue but I guess I’ll get better at sorting that out as I go 🙂

Made a few tweaks using some of the suggestions above (still reading up on others to try). I'm very happy with this now! Kappa Sigma stacking and Sinh stretching initially made quite a huge difference I think: