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scitmon

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Everything posted by scitmon

  1. In front of the sensor is an array of small lenses which cause really bright stars to appear with strange artifiacts. A good example here: I've concluded, with the lack of alternatives (The 183MM is one but its pixels are too small) I think its rare enough, and probably easy enough to post process out to be a deal breaker.
  2. I am in the exact same position as yourself, an 80ed owner looking to upgrade. I have decided I will be going down the mono route and have been looking at lots of cameras. I've been unsure about the 1600, with the micro lens diffraction issue putting me off. However, mainly down to the lack of CMOS alternates and the issue being quite rare, I think I will end up going for it.
  3. Yes more data required! I did do flats, the gradients I assume is light pollution, but what are these artefacts you mention?
  4. Here is my latest effort in Deep Sky Astrophotgraphy. I think my processing skills in PixInsight are coming along quite well, but would like to see how far I have come compared to people with more experience, therefore I would like to issue a challenge to anyone willing, to see if they can do better? I have attached the xisf file of the master light file. SoulNebulaLightMaster.xisf
  5. The OPer has a EQ5 Pro, not a HEQ5 Pro, unless you were recommending that as an upgrade?
  6. FLO says the EQ5 Pro is rated at 6.5kg for imaging. The 80ED is 4kgs on its own, together with the guidescope and camera you would probably be getting towards that limit, but I'd say it would probably work. PHD2 will give you an indication of the amount of corrections needed to keep your guidestar in the same spot. The reason behind the drift could be the mount's tracking, or it could be down to the precision of your polar alignment. The Bahtinov mask is a must, to get good images, good focus is essential. I would say get both a small refractor and upgrade the mount, but which you do first is down to you!
  7. You might need to explain what you mean by "image brightness" more... The only thing you need to worry about (at least for now) is that your 1 min exposure's histogram is not clipping on the left. i.e. you see something like this If that is the case, then you can stack and post process to bring out details.
  8. I think you are setting yourself up for a lot of frustrations. Disclaimer: I am not speaking from experience, just what I've read.... The focal length between a guide scope and the 180 is too vast for any meaningful guidance I think, so OAG would be the way to go, and as you say you may find it difficult to find a guide star in your target. I do wonder if you would have significant vignetting too? I don't know. Personally I would be putting money into a more tried as tested astrophotgraphy setup. I wish you luck and would be very interested in your results (as I own a 180 too). EDIT: Having said all the above, this fella https://www.astrobin.com/r3f267/?nc=user looks to have had some success with guiding, doing a lot of 60s exposures on a EQ8.
  9. Using the polar scope on my AZEQ6 has always been good enough with PHD2 for imaging.
  10. How often (if ever) have you run into the micro lens diffraction pattern issue? This is something that really puts me off the 1600MM.
  11. I too will watch with interest. I would like to get into the world of mono + filters, but wouldn't have a clue what filters to go for. Would I be right in saying that comparisons between brands such as ZWO, Baader, Astronomik, etc are largely untested? Would I be wrong to assume cost correlates to quality?
  12. Very Nice, I keep tooing and throwing between something like this, and a rollout setup. Would love to see more pictures of the setup!
  13. Another alternative is to skip the telescope altogether if you have some lenses for your camera? A https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-star-adventurer/skywatcher-star-adventurer-mini-sam-wifi-astro-imaging-mount-bundle.html could be worth considering?
  14. It's going to be difficult on your strict budget. An eq3 goto mount and reflector like: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-130p-ds-eq3-pro-goto.html you could get great results with, it breaks your budget by £28 however. The telescope itself is great, would last your as long as you want it to. But there is very little wiggle room in the mount, so there is no "ability to grow with" as you put it. Don't forget other costs you will need such as power supplies, camera adapters, dew heaters etc.
  15. Firsty, I would recommend buying the book "Making Every Photon Count" before spending significant money. However I will summarise as best I can.... Astrophotgraphy is a money pitt. Hence read the above book before getting into it. Photographing DSO's and Bright Objects (Moon and Planets) are very different disciplines. DSO's require equatorial tracking GOTO mounts and long exposure photographs. Planets/Moon benefit from high frame rate video captures. With your Canon DSLR, that is an ideal starter camera for DSO's. With Astrophotgraphy, the mount is everything. You'll want an equatorial mount which can comfortably cope with your payload. Telescope wise... Reflectors offer the best 'bang for buck' in terms of aperture, but big aperture is not required and adds weight and surface area that wind can disturb your tracking. Small refractors are generally the goto starter scopes for astrophotography, but can be a little more money if your budget is tight. Maksutov scopes like the nexstar are not suitable for DSO's (wrong mount type, and focal length is too long), but are good for planets and moon. I presume your Canon will have a video mode which might work well. Consider that planets can go for long periods below the equator. If you ask me, I would recommend saving for something like https://www.firstlightoptics.com/pro-series/skywatcher-evostar-80ed-pro-heq5-pro.html for DSO stuff. I'm not experienced enough in planet photography yet to recommend anything in that area.
  16. Before commiting to photoshop, I would also give free trials of Star Tools and Pixinsight a go. These are dedicated to astrophotgraphy where photoshop is more generic. Star Tools is much cheaper, simple to use wheras Pixinsight is much more complex but very powerful.
  17. 1 second seems a little long for a DSLR to me, I guess it depends on your light source, I could be wrong. Did you use the AV mode (I assume Nikon cameras have this too?)
  18. You won't achieve focus with standard tube length of the 200p unless you use a barlow. This is what the 200 P-DS is for: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-200p-ds-ota.html
  19. Ok having a bit more success now I think, is the Readout noise setting important? And if so what do I set it to?
  20. Hello all, I am trying SGPro for the first time right now, and I'm trying to get it working with my Canon 700d. I taking test shots at 5 second exposures with ISO800 and all I'm seeing is a grey image which does not look debayered. I can just make out dust bunnies. Any ideas?
  21. Not offended, just don't like it. By insulting them, it seems you are the offended one.
  22. I personally think ST Picard is pretty dreadful. Sir Patrick seems to be playing himself rather than the Picard character we all knew and loved. They seem to be crowbarring in a xenophobic themed plotline to try and make it relevant to current politcal themes which just doesn't belong in the Gene Roddenberry universe. These guys pretty much sum up my feelings:
  23. I must strongly disagree with the loosening of the central bolt to polar align, this is not correct procedure! I am surprised so many people are agreeing with this method! I suspect the reason you are not having success with the 2 AZ bolts is because you are not loosening one side before adjusting the other. So for example if I wanted to rotate the mount left slightly, I would first loosen the left knob, then the right one would push the mount left is it tightens again.
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