Icesheet

Yes, two layers. Thanks, I'll give that a try 👍

I did struggle balancing that transition to be honest. Tried a graduated filter on Lightroom but it didn't look right. Do you have any suggestions?

That's an idea. Don't know why I didn't think of that. Thanks!

No, no filter on the foreground. I double checked and it was actually 3 mins, sorry 🙈. I’ve shot in this location before and I need exposures as long as that to be able to lift the shadows without too much noise. Of course this is at the expense of blowing out the house and street lights. Perhaps I could use two different exposures on the foreground in the future. Edited my original post too.

Thanks all, and to the mod who moved and commented 😊 I’ve got such great landscapes here so I have some plans for others. Hopefully next time I’m a little better prepared and get the exact composition I want.

Oops, can a mod move this to widefield imaging! Should not post at 5am! 😆 @Icesheet- done - fantastic image by the way.

This image of Orion rising over Fusa Fjord in western Norway is my first attempt at deepscape imaging. For those not familiar with deepscapes, the aim is to provide an accurate representation of a landscape foreground with a deep sky object as the backdrop. So this is not a random composition. Orion rose above the fjord in this location on the night I captured the image. I have been interested in this relatively uncommon genre of astrophotography for sometime and as the skies cleared in November after the rainiest October on record here, I got my chance. With the forecast of a clear night, I set about preparing for the job. I scouted possible locations and using the Stellarium and Ephemeris apps I was able to estimate when and where Orion would rise. Initially, I planned to shoot at 50mm to get as wide an image as I could, however the night I would be shooting (13th/14th Nov) had a 70% illuminated moon and I knew I would struggle to get good data. So, I changed plan to use my Askar FMA at 180mm as this would allow me to use my L-extreme filter to counter the moonlight. However, even still I underestimated the amount of planning required to capture the image and I have to admit this wasn't the composition I had planned. I hoped to catch Orion rising over a distance village that has a glacier as a backdrop but when Orion started appearing it quickly became apparent I had miscalculated where it would rise. Still, I'm delighted with what I got and learned a lot. I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea and it's hard to argue this is a natural looking image. However, I love the sense of scale you get when you see a well known deep sky object over a classic landscape foreground. For reference, the fjord rises from sea level to an altitude of around 650m and if you zoom in to the shore of the fjord you can see some little boat houses and other buildings. The image itself is a two pane vertical mosaic captured on the same night from the same tripod location. All shot with a modded Canon 6D and Askar FMA180. Foreground was 4x240 180s sec ISO1600. Sky 30x120s tracked with L-extreme filter. I also collected 30mins of RGB data but it was not useful due to moonlight. Processed in PixInsight and Photoshop. Happy to hear people's thoughts on it, good or bad!

Some new kit on the way! Picked up a Baader Zeiss T2 prism second hand, virtually unused. Also, went for the Altair 24 UFF that @JeremyS suggested. Finally, I ordered a Hyperion zoom and Barlow. It looked like the price might be rising on these so just jumped on it. It will give me the TV zoom range in the meantime and I’ll be able to see what fixed FL eye pieces will likely be most suitable for me. Seems most people end up keeping it in their bag anyway so I hope it’s a good investment either way!

Mount apparently available on Ali Express. Coming in at ~£3500. https://a.aliexpress.com/_mrKE5HY

I haven’t used either mount but the GEM28 is considered in the HEQ5 class of mounts which is a step above the EQM-35. The GEM28 has guaranteed PE of <+\-10 arc second and has higher payload. That’s reflected in the price though so as long as that is not an issue then it would be the GEM28 for me and I’d pay the extra £90 for iPolar which would be well worth the investment.

Sharpstar have been churning out products lately. Be interesting to see how they price this. Must be in the 5-6k bracket though given the price of Rainbow variants.

A bit off topic but was that the one on FINN.no? Looked like a pretty good deal to be had.

If the FSQ 85 wasn’t up to scratch for you I’m not sure there’s anything on the market that will! If you considered the Tak portable an Esprit 80ED may fit the bill. Although it sounds like you’re going to have to accept a compromise somewhere.

Oh no, don’t set me down the binoviewer path 🙈 Thanks again, seems to be a good compromise for quality and convenience!

Thanks all, some great suggestions here! Thanks Jeremy good spot. I read some reviews of this last night and all were very favourable even in comparison to the 24mm Pan so I think this is a real option and I can deal with the colour for the extra saving! This really interests me as a budget option for higher power observing and since @Andrew_B is also having success barlowing a zoom with the FS60Q, this could be an option. I will probably also keep my eye out on the used market for a Nagler zoom if that itch needs scratched. Great minds think alike @Bridgehouse 😂. I think if money was no issue I would just go straight to this and it’s good to know I wouldn’t regret it. I’ll probably end up there at some point! That is some collection 😍 I’m curious how you think the Hyperion Zoom stacks up against the fixed focal length eye pieces and have you barlowed it at all??

Sorry for the confusion. It’s the 15mm panoptic I own not the 24mm. I was considering getting the 24mm but the APM @JeremyS suggests looks nice at nearly half the price.

Thanks, I should have mentioned I’m planning on sticking to 1.25” at the moment. I’ll check that one out. Thanks. Yeah, I have to be honest I’m drawn to the Nagler zoom. I really like the Ultima but I’m not completely against selling it. Would have no idea how to price it though. What about selling both my eye pieces and replacing them with a Hyperion Zoom along with a Nagler zoom?

I’m looking to add a couple of eye pieces for an FS60 CB which I also have the Q module for. Currently I have a TV panoptic 15mm and Celestron Ultima 7.5mm so I’m looking for something at either end for wide field views and planetary. I had thought the 24mm Pan and Nagler 3-6 zoom would be nice but that’s coming in at £650 new. Are there any more budget friendly recommendations? I’m a novice observer so don’t have much experience with eye pieces.

I went from 1600MM to 2600MC and no regrets yet. I think most of it has been covered already but one thing I haven’t seen mentioned is sensor size (apologies if it has). The 2600MC’s APS-C is going to give you a lot more real estate than the 4/3rd of the 1600MM. Can make all the difference depending on the targets you are going for.

Yes, integration with a planetarium would be good. Actually, I didn’t even know you could tie in SkySafari. Will need to look into that. You know I’ve always found the Polar Alignment simple and seemingly reliable but now you mention it I do remember a few times it appeared to ‘jump’ more than I expected or not move at all after an adjustment. I have never gone back to check afterwards though so that’s interesting observation. I’ll try to remember to check that when I’m next out. Although, as you say as long the guiding is good maybe nothing to worry about.

Of the three you’ve listed the AstroTech is the best option by far. The first is an achromat which is generally not suitable for astrophotography. The second is an ED doublet but has a lower quality ED glass than the AstroTech plus the weight and focal length will be too much for the Star Adventurer IMO. However, when you add the 0.8x reducer/ Flattener then you’re back at 344mm FL with the AstroTech so not much more reach than your lens (what lens btw?). Also, the more you push the Star Adventurer in FL the shorter your unguided subs will be which will then likely require an extra investment to get an auto guiding set up. If you really want to start imaging at a longer FL then I would seriously consider upgrading your mount first. Not as exciting as a new scope I know but it’s the sensible way to go I think. If you must have a new scope then the AstroTech should be a nice upgrade from your lens but consider factoring in auto guiding if you can.

Hi, Yes it’s possible. You just go to an old image from the previous session, tap on it and it should give an option to ‘go to’. If you watch this video from Cuiv it explains it better. He talks about that from 2:42. It’s worthwhile watching the whole thing. Some good tips.

Thanks for the comments! The new generation of OSC sensors have closed the gap on mono for sure and with dual/ tri band filters you can now even get a taster of narrowband. For sure overall mono offers more flexibility, efficiency and probably quality if your conditions allow but for me there’s no rush to go back. Thanks Mark! I remember your post. Seems to be ringing true with many of us at the moment. Look forward to seeing your M31 when you finish it! Thanks! I’ve noticed that myself. I’m happy that yours agree with mine! There’s always seems to be a debate about colours and getting the right balance. Glad you like it.

Welcome Geremia! My mother is from Campania, a small town Capaccio south of Salerno if you know it. A wonderful part of the world you live in. I spent many childhood summers there. I look forward to seeing some of your images!

Probably my favourite target and one I always turn to when trying new gear. I also like to use it to try and gauge my progress in this hobby. I recently made the decision to move away from a mono camera to OSC. The ASI1600mm was my first dedicated astro camera and it showed me the value of a cooled camera over a DSLR. However, despite the obvious benefits I had a largely frustrating time, mainly because I ended up with so many unfinished images due to weather leaving me short of a complete data set. So, having read the reviews of the ASI2600MC I jumped at the chance of a customer return from FLO. This is 60x180sec at Gain 100 through an Esprit 100 ED, calibrated with darks and flats. First impressions are that the sensor is extremely clean and the increased FOV it offers coming from the 4/3 ASI1600mm is very nice! I don't think I'll regret the decision moving to it. I'm sure I'll return to mono at some point again in the future but at the moment I'm hoping this camera will help me get more completed images than I have been managing to. Processed in PI and photoshop. I feel a lot more comfortable in PI now and I think it's starting to show in my images. Still a lot to learn though. I'm happy this is my best effort at M31 to date but those of you with a critical eye will likely notice some issues. I posted about it earlier so please comment if you have the chance. Also, as always happy to hear any other suggestions for improvement