PaulM

I enjoy the views through the the following 2" setup on my dob;

SkyWatcher 2" PanaView 38mm Eyepiece

ED Deluxe 2x two-inch Barlow Lens

Regarding astrophotography - you have the wrong setup to get the images you see on here and elsewhere. I recently bought a cheap 2nd hand DSLR and have managed to get images of the moon, Jupiter and Saturn and their moons and will need more practice at this. The 2" barlow has been required for me to get in close for these images. I will attempt this setup on the more brighter objects such as globular clusters but not sure what the results will be given I have no opportunity to do long exposures

I appreciate this is an old thread but thought I would add to the discussion

I've owned a 12" GOTO SW and now have a 14" flexi non-GOTO SW - both bought used and secondhand

I was actually taken aback by how much more I can see with the 14" when compared to the 12" with M42 (Orion Nebula) and M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) being good examples of being able to see more faint elements and structure

Granted the 14" is large and cumbersome but I can take the base apart (I only screw in 4 of the holding bolts into the base) and position it where required and mount the tube within minutes and be observing

1 hour ago, Telescope40 said:

Hello. May I quickly enquire about the RDF you have fitted to this lovely scope. 
Don’t think I’ve seen one before. 
regards.  John 

Its a Celestron Star Pointer - awful piece of kit, is very cheaply put together, unstable. I took mine off after 2 sessions with it and replaced with a Rigel Quickfinder

Great program congrats to the team who edited and put it together

34 minutes ago, Tenor Viol said:

Once upon a time... around 1990 I taught an astronomy adult evening class... I remember we discussed 1987A and watched a bit of the Horizon programme about it (which really annoyed me as by then Horizon had ceased to be the serious science programme of earlier years and degenerated into lots of scene setting, endlessly repeating itself and very little actual content) 

Your right Horizon used to be brilliant I remember watching the episode about Voyager at Jupiter and being spellbound as a young kid

I remember this event as a child and was gutted I couldnt see it trom the UK

Looks like its left behind a neutron star

https://public.nrao.edu/news/alma-finds-possible-sign-of-neutron-star-in-supernova-1987a/

Enjoy sure you will, looks like a bargain

As said learn to starhop. Try brighter DSOs first such as the andromeda galaxy and ring nebula M57 both can be seen faintly in your finder scope and are easy to locate vis star hopping

Images taken at late twilight before the clouds rolled in as I was hoping to try and image Jupiter and Saturn.

Images taken through my 350p 14" dob using my canon 350d at ISO100 at prime focus and then processed in GIMP - basically went through the menus and played around with the settings so much to learn

Im happy and relieved I can get focus after reading this may be a problem with a dob but no issues nice image through the camera viewfinder when focusing

Larger image taken through a 2" 2x barlow

Looking forwards to adding basic imaging along with eye observing as part of my time out in the dark

I live under bortle 6 skies and could see a lot with my old 200p and spent hours observing dozens of targets a night so definetely get one as said if your budget allows go larger I have a 14" flexi which is manageable 

3 hours ago, markse68 said:

The weather forecast- particularly the met office one on my phone. Last night it predicted clouds, rain and  even had a thunderstorm warning! All night! At 11pm i looked out to perfectly clear skies- horizon to horizon. It was too late though to set out with scope so i missed a much needed session 😡 This happens regularly and often Clear Outside is no better- they often completely contradict each other! Where’s the best resource for live satellite views of the weather? I’ve downloaded an app but it’s a very tight view of UK- something wider would be useful to see the patterns

I use the app from here gives a good view of clouds via radar 

https://www.weatherandradar.co.uk/

4 minutes ago, merlin100 said:

I've just got the standard one speed focuser on my 200P.  I seldom have a problem focusing on an object, only if there's hazy cloud.  What advantage would there be for me in getting one?  Sorry for hijacking the thread...

Finer focusing. When i fitted it to my 200p it was a very worthy upgrade to allow that extra fine control getting focus made me realise i was viewing things a tad out of focus sometimes

Fitted one to my 200p dob easy 10 minute job and ensure the tube is level or facing down just in case you drop anything

Went into A mode and custom setting were available now in setup 2 menu where i then set mirror lock to enabled, does sound right?

Dont seem to have that option in menus. Have looked on a few websites and its suppose to be there under the far right menu option setup2

https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/EXT/EXTA11.HTM

do i need to be in a specific mode?

4 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

Two things:

1. The 350D doesn't have a liveview function, so you need to take a photo to see an image.
2. Check the camera's custom function menu to enable shooting without a lens.

Thanks that makes sense as when i took an image just now I got a white screen.

Where would I check to enable shooting without a lens?

Great pics

Just took delivery of a used EOS 350D and t ring adaptor which fits on my 350p skywatcher dob fine as in the photo

Just pointed it as a cloudy bright sky and the screen is blank/black menus show fine

Was expecting to see something even just a general white screen put the dial wheel on landscape and selected a few different ISO settings from 200 to 800

Could you advise if this is ok and if so what general setting to start with I have no idead about DSLRs or cameras so a dummies guide would be great !!! Obviously with no tracking im hopeful i can image planets , moon, star clusters and fingers crossed bright nebula

Any help would be really appreciated as like the screen on my camera im in the dark on all this 

Canon EOS 350D used

2x 2" barlow - hefty piece of kit

Canon t ring and 2" adaptor

20 hours ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

Hi Paul.

I have a 200 and 300p also. I cant believe the size difference between your 350 and 200p!  Do you have a pic of your 300 and 350p together, I would be interested in seeing how much of a size increase there is between them.

what do yiu have over the primary mirror on your 350p?

Regards

Hi

I unfortunately have no photos of the 300/350 together as I sold the 300 to get the 350. The dust cover over the primary came with the 350.

Stored my old 12" and 8" in the garage

My current 14" lives in the conservatory corner

I started with a 200p as well and didnt regret getting a 2" wide angle EP just for M42 Orion Nebula and Pleidies which will impress as well as M81/82 and open star clusters. As for what I have I find the following covers how I want to observe a range of objects 4/8/15/24 and 32mm EPs and a 2x barlow.

Ordered quite a few goodies now the nights will be getting longer few arrived today

4mm Skywatcher UWA planetary EP

ALTAIR 10x60mm RAIC finder to help spot DSOs

2" Baader UHC-S nebula filter

Head torch with red light

51 minutes ago, andrew s said:

Provided you have enough back focus yes. However,  you might want to use a Barlow to increase the image scale, for the planets but the following gets harder.

Regards Andrew 

Thanks for confirming

hi

is a canon eos 300d suitable for a 350p dob

looking to take pics of planets, moon, glob clusters and bright dso's so quick exposure times due to no tracking capability

what adaptor wuld i need is a standard canon t ring ok?

many thanks