Nigel G

I found these videos very helpfull, my first try was spot on. Nige.

Good luck Ken. I hope it goes well when the sky's clear for you.

Its a great lightweight scope, I have had to buy a flattener for it but I'm very impressed, perfect for the EQ3 pro. I also got this because of SGL and other reviews. I know what you mean about waiting for clear sky's, UK county of Essex has not had a completely clear night for a few months now, only an odd hour or 2 now and again Nige.

I don't have a permanent setup, all I do is mark the patio where the tripod stands and just bring it in doors without adjusting it at all. Minimal aligning on setup, PDH does most of the hard work. Scopes and cameras all get packed away. Nige.

It's been quiet in here for a while, probably due to poor weather. The weatherman promised a 2 hour gap in the clouds Friday evening, they were bang on. Why can't they be right when they say its going to be clear all night ? I made the most of the short gap. 13 x 360s is all I got. At 800 ISO. 6 darks, 30 flats, 50 bias frames. 80ED, EQ3 guided, modified Canon 1200D. DSS & ST. I tried binning less with StarTools at 75% with a much better result than 35% or 50%, I need to save up for a field flattener though. For the short time taken I'm pleased with this IC 410, Tadpole nebula. Nige.

Welcome to SGL, good first attempt at dso's Nige.

Ken, I think its a wise move with your camera and scope. It is great cropping just a few pixels rather than 30% or more of the image, getting the full potential of the scope. You will soon be guiding , it makes a huge difference, 100% keepers at any length sub, and very easy to setup after you have done it once. I will look forward to seeing your images. Good luck & clear sky's. Nige.

Very good Ken, A steady improvement through the year, keep going I just checked back in this thread, my first stack was April 9th page 10. M101. I got my Star discovery 11 months and a few days ago. and I'm miles behind your latest Rosette Edit: My DSO image count is about 62 different objects. Nige.

Been there

Hard luck Happy-Kat & good luck next time.

Ken, its great keeping every sub and no trails, it does show that I need a field flatner though. before it was not so obvious. I found processing pretty much the same except for the cropping, same noise levels so still bin 50% To be honest I didn't try processing without binning. I shall now though to see if it makes a difference. Nige.

A good improvement Bob. The modded cameras make quite a difference Seb, I love the wide field images more data should clean it up a little. WD guys

I finally got guiding last night. What a difference, keeping every sub at 4 minutes. Well worth the effort. I think now the camera is the main limiting factor ? I can't get rid of the grainy look to the image without spoiling it. The Cone Nebula and Christmas tree cluster. 30 x 240s @ 800 ISO with 10 dark, 30 flat and 50 bias. Modded Canon 1200d & CLS filter. 80ED pro, EQ3 pro. PHD2 guiding 50mm guide scope, OSSAIO guide cam. DSS & StarTools. And 1 hour on the Jellyfish for a bonus image. Cheers Nige.

I have it set low as possible , I'm guiding it atm on the Cone nebula, Great stuff, I'm not use to keeping all my sub's I will replace the tripod at some point. Cheers Nige.

Here's my new setup Been a reflector and Alt-Az man until recently. Now an EQ 3 guided Equinox 80 ed pro with an Orion star shoot and Orion 50mm mini guide scope. Only trouble is the blooming clouds. Nige.

Last night we had an unexpected clear spell so. My first try at Rosette NGC 2244 with the new rig. ( Great field of view with this scope ) 70 minutes of mixed 60s-90s-120s ISO800, with darks, flats & bias. Modified canon 1200D with CLS filter, EQ3 . DSS & Startools. A quick process before going to work. I'll have another in depth go later. Cheers Nige

I have been waiting for a chance but its been cloudy the whole time P45 Honda comet. Mag 7 atm in Canes Venatici

I would suggest the 2 star align for DSO's. Its what I do with mine. Nige.

Well done It looks a lot like my first ever image. Get ready for a challenging journey Nige.