Adreneline

I bought one of these two years ago; it runs SGPro, APP, PI, and PS-CS6 faultlessly. It also controls my Intel NUC (running all the same software) via Remote Desktop. At £260 I can't really fault it! OK, the display isn't on a par with my MacBook Pro but everything else is great and you could buy a 4K external monitor and still be quids in. I replaced the DVD caddy with a second SSD caddy off eBay for £8.50 and fitted a 500GB SSD for image storage. Refurbished, recycled, upcycled!

This was taken paired with an ASI1600-Pro which is a fairly large sensor cooled camera. The Samyang 135mm is also an excellent lens but again very much better suited to larger targets, e.g. nebula.

Not sure I would agree - 200mm is a great lens especially for many nebula targets - M31 also works well but other galaxy targets would be disappointing perhaps. I rarely use my 600/510mm ED80DS. I took this with my Canon 200mm at f2.8 Good luck with your deliberations!

At the extreme you can remove the stars completely using the Windows release of Starnet++; it works standalone or as a Process in PixInsight (if you have it) - it's free to download. I use Annie's Astro Actions to (a) reduce stars in a PS image or (b) to remove them completely - costs about £15. HTH Adrian

I took your image into PI and plate solved it and it revealed this: HTH Adrian P.S. Very nice image - I like it a lot.

I think the primary issue is can you connect to the camera via USB. If you look on the BackYardEoS website they list supported cameras: this is a screen shot of the mirrorless section of the table - the M10 is not listed despite the fact I understand it has a high speed USB port. I am currently considering buying an M6 MkII for general photography which is supported by BYEoS - unlike the MkI which had no usb connection. HTH Adrian

I for one don't know - I'm sure someone will though.

Sky Safari would seem to confirm that: Adrian

Interesting! I could be tempted and I've bookmarked the page - thank you David. For now I will stick with my fixed 'landscape' orientation. At 135mm most things fit the frame anyway, however, if I get around to imaging again with my trusty old ED80DS one of these might be very handy. Thanks again. Adrian

I am interested in how you do this Gina. I image with an ASI1600 + ZWO-EFW + Samyang 135mm. If I rotate the camera through 90 degrees then the EFW rotates through 90 degrees as well (and of course the lens) and my whole dec balance goes completely awry - not to mention having to release the EAF belt to allow the lens to rotate. Do you rebalance your dec axis every time you rotate the camera? It's taken me ages to balance out the offset moment due to the focus motor; I've ended up using small (150g, 100g and 50g) laboratory scale balance weights on the opposite side of the lens mount. Forgive me if I'm missing something obvious. Adrian

Thanks Alan. I will give it a go and see how far I have to go to reduce the problem; I usually end up cropping off the corners anyway. I was getting similar problems on my Canon 200mm at f2.8 but I was putting that down to droop as I was reliant on the EoS adapter holding things tight and aligned. The Canon 200mm does not have an aperture control ring so there was no chance to experiment without removing the lens and reattaching to a Canon camera - definitely too much faffing around! Thanks again for your help and advice. Adrian

Hi Everyone, I've just remounted my Samyang 135mm + ASI1600 combination having modified the Samyang with an M42 end plate. The image is Polaris - just 4 x 2s frames at f2, calibrated and stacked in APP. I think I've got the spacing spot-on but the star shapes in the corners of the image are not consistent, as per the screen shot above. Bottom left looks quite different to the other corners and I am at a loss to know what might be causing the problem. With the M42 adapter I am convinced there is no droop or misalignment between the camera and lens; I am also supporting the lens as well as the camera and have gone to great lengths to ensure everything is level/aligned. My ASIair reported HFD on the target star of 1.1 - 1.4. APP reported FWHM figures of ~1.9 so I think the focus was reasonable. Does this look like optics or a sensor problem? Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks for looking. Adrian

Whilst checking old external hard drives I came across this; it would seem that two years ago I collected more data than I had time to process. This is M31 captured with a Canon 70D and ED80DS-Pro and NEQ6; a combination of 20 off 300s, 180s, 60s and 30s subs that I never got around to processing at the time other than to produce the stacked masters in PI. Better late than never this is now processed in PI and layer combined in PS. I've tried not to over stretch the image so there is possibly more to be extracted. I found all manner of other unprocessed images on the same drive - exciting stuff! Thanks for looking. Adrian

I share your optimism however the site owner has posted a message saying it is a “catastrophic loss of data” and images will need to be uploaded again. He’s already offering free upgrades to those affected. I feel sorry for the guy - he seems distraught.

Apparently all of them! I’m sure it won’t be permanent - a gremlin in the system. Update. They’ve all gone and will need to be uploaded again. Oh well