Ande

Couldn't work out how to turn it into .jpeg. I thought PS might allow me to save it as a jpeg but it doesn't. Not sure how the stars suddenly turned blue either. I must have pressed something somewhere. Autosave002.tif

Thanks each. I’ll try and post a light frame if I can work out how to get one that displays. Apart from DSS, I don’t seem to have anything that wants to look at a RAW file. I think the Canon spits them out as .CR2 or something like that. I’m currently away from the camera and PC and am not sure about that, but it rings a bell. I did try to feed one into PS, but it rejected it. Regarding the ISO being low, I do get that as it seems low to me too. I was just going by this article: http://dslr-astrophotography.com/iso-values-canon-cameras/ which suggests that the 80D performs best at ISO 200. I guess I was clutching at straws with such a small exposure as 20 seconds.

Hi all. Tried my first imaging session earlier, and it did not go well. I set up for a crack at the Pleiades. I took fairly short exposures of 20x20 seconds, which I knew wasn’t going to be amazing, but I was more concerned with just having some images to feed into DSS, just so I could sample the mechanics of the process. I also took 20x20 dark frames, and 20 bias frames. No flats. I followed a YouTube tutorial along, and got all of my images loaded in, but when it came to registering the images DSS could not find any more than 6 stars, no matter where I positioned the slider. I had a quick Google, and someone who had the same issue had suggested trying to stack only lights, in case the calibration frames were somehow interfering. So I tried that but still no difference. So I forged on, and DSS informed me that of the 60 pictures it was given it was only going to stack one. Not much merit in that. So, I googled a bit more, and someone said that DSS was picky over star shapes if tracking was poor, and was also intolerant of poor focussing. But I did a pretty good polar alignment, and got good focus with a Bhatinov mask. Plus, the exposures were only 20 seconds, so no trouble for the Ioptron Skyguider. My stars looked pretty crisp. Any ideas on why DSS kicked everything out? I was using a Canon 80D, unmodified, a Samyang 135mm lens, and an Ioptron Skyguider. ISO 200 (this is supposed to be optimum for the 80D), f2.8 and 20 seconds exposures. To be honest, I actually tried SIRIL first, as I thought that looked really good on YouTube. But as soon as I asked it to process the images it imploded and crashed instantly. So I’ve abandoned that particular idea. I had heard that it was a bit unstable. Edit: Forgot to mention that light pollution is quite heavy, with some LED lampposts quite nearby. Although the images looked alright in spite of that.

I’d certainly hang onto the mask, the dew shield and the finder scopes whatever route you take. They’ll certainly come in useful.

I know what you mean. I’m desperately hoping to witness the first man/woman landing on Mars before I croak my last breath. I’m 58 now, so don’t hold out too much hope.

Yeah, I chuckled out loud at that part 😀.

I had the 250 dob, and took a quick snap of the moon. This was no more than my old Samsung phone held up to the eyepiece. So no, definitely not stacked, 😀

Excellent. And extra kudos for braving the cold 🥶.

That’s good to hear. I watched quite a few YouTube videos on the Vortex binos before I ordered. Somewhat naively, I expected to see lots of birdwatchers and astronomers testing them out. What I actually found was loads of red-neck hunting types. I watched some really bizarre stuff. But they all concurred that they were great binos, so job done, albeit in a strange way 😀

I had the proper Vortex tripod adapter delivered this morning. Yes, it is unbelievably fiddly and awkward. Not very impressed with the design of it at all to be honest. It is very difficult to be able to apply enough torque to get a nice, solid fit. I’ll probably leave it on the binos permanently, unless I’m going out in the woods or something, then I’ll remove it.

Any excuse, eh? 😀 I had to follow my housemate to the MOT station then wait forever on Tesco’s car park while they got sorted out. I had my binos with me, and was sorely tempted to while away the time by having a good scan around. But then thought how suspect, and pervy it might appear, so I had to suppress the notion 😂. It’s been a wonderful, blue sky day here for the most part, and I’ve been counting down the hours until dark, but then the clouds moved in at dusk in a somewhat typical fashion. Back to the waiting game again.

The Diamondbacks turned up early this morning. My initial reaction, when I saw how small the box appeared to be, was that they had sent me the binos without the Glass Case, so I was already on the back-foot. Then, upon opening the box, I was relieved to see the case. Opening the case again shocked me, as the binos looked a lot smaller than I had envisaged. Then, upon picking them up and opening them to their widest, I was further dismayed. No way would they accommodate my IPD. So, imagine my delight when I actually took them outside, adjusted the IPD and diopter, and then scanned around. Wonderful clarity, and a lovely, bright image. Well, bright given the fact that it is grey and snowing 😀. I think my IPD concerns were spawned because of the non-traditional design of the barrels running so close to each other throughout their length. It made the eyepieces look so close together. I am more accustomed to the old-fashioned style binos that stagger out. The zoom feels lovely and smooth, and they feel great in the hand. The small form factor is a complete non-issue, in fact, quite the opposite. Who wants great big, clunky things? Also, very surprised at how close up they can focus. I had them down to about 5-6’ and was totally blown away at the image. So, it looks like I have some keepers. Thanks to all who chipped in. Much appreciated

@Stormbringer Thanks Alan. I can’t wait to get hold of them. I actually bought a set of real cheapos off Amazon not long ago, that are surprisingly good for daylight/terrestrial use, but struggle to pick up as many stars as I would like. I look forward to seeing what the Vectors can bring to the party.

Nice one

I very nearly went there 😀

I need to source a tripod adapter. Great to hear that you like the binos though.

Just finished watching this. What a beautiful, and emotional journey. I had started to watch it a few months ago, but life got in the way, and I abandoned it. Thanks for reminding, and inspiring me to complete the viewing. What a stunning achievement considering it was 70’s technology. It really brought it home to me just how archaic it actually was when one of the guys was talking about plotting courses on graph paper. And I had tears in my eyes when they covered the Challenger launch. Also found it very moving when Carl Sagan convinced NASA to swing the camera back around to take that famous shot of Earth. Truly magical. It’s incredible to think, because of the distances involved, and time spent travelling those distances, that this project has consumed most, if not all of the participants’ working lives. And the journey still continues. I found the whole thing totally engrossing, and absolutely humbling.

Thanks @cupton. I read a few reviews, and they did say that there was very little difference between the two, with the DB’s being marginally better. I’m hopefully only buying once, so decided to push the boat out a bit. Really good to hear that you rate yours so highly.

Debating session over. Just ordered the Vortex Diamondback 10x50’s. Hopefully here on Wednesday

@DaveS Thanks Dave. That’s reassuring to know. Just currently debating whether it’s worth throwing in a little extra to go for the Diamondbacks or not.

@michael.h.f.wilkinson Thanks for the heads-up. Most people seem to say that the Astro sweet spot for binos is 10x50. I’ll heed your advice and bag me a pair

Hi all. Looking at getting some decent binos. I’ve looked at one or two Top 10-type lists, and the Vortex Crossfire seems to be quite well regarded. I have looked at some other makes, Pentax, Nikon etc, but am looking to get something that is actually available to purchase now. As with telescopes, the current stock lists are a barren wasteland. But the Vortex I can get my hands on. So, there is only a tenner difference between 10x50’s and 12x50’s. I realise that the 12’s are going to put me into “shaky hands” territory, but intend to use a tripod anyhow. Which do you think I should go for? Oh, and there is also the possibility of stumping up a bit more and going for the next model up, the Diamondback. Any thoughts?

Whoops. Yep. All of the evidence is there. Sorry OP 🙂

He says he is using his Canon 200D ii for imaging.

I had one of those. It was a cracking ‘scope, and nice and portable too.