daemon

Very nice! And well framed! Well done! 👍

That is a stunning image! I'd be more than happy with that. Well done!! Daemon

Thanks Olly. It seems that I am a repeat offender when it comes to clipping! I will try again with processing when time permits. If I am able to gather more data for stacking then this will perhaps reduce the temptation to over clip the black point. Regards, Daemon

Thanks for the comment LordLoki, and you have got some good shots there - especially the second one. Your stars are a bit rounder than mine so I guess your tracking/guiding was better. My tracking is normally good as long as I get my alignment right - I think I took a few too many shortcuts last weekend. And yes, I really must be more diligent with the calibration frames in future. Clear Skies!

Hi Erling, Yes, I know I need more subs. Tracking failed this weekend because I failed to align very well (apart from initial PA) so lost the tracking quickly. Just ran too short of time. Cheers, Steve

Great shots Erling! I'm struggling with guiding too, so I feel your pain! 🙂 Your Andromeda shot is much better than my recent attempts. Good luck and clear Skies! Daemon Steve

Hi All, I just wanted to share a couple of shots of M31 taken this weekend from here on the south coast of the UK. Andromeda is rising now, the nights are getting longer and I'm looking forward to Galaxy season. Unfortunately I'm pretty constrained with time - other than needing sleep I tend to struggle with alignment and I am still really struggling with guiding, so these shots are based on very little exposure time and are still very much beginners attempts. I did however want to try and compare my DSLR (Nikon D5300) with my relatively new ZWO ASI1600 Mono camera. So here are two images for you to look at - taken on different night's this weekend - unfortunately the clouds rolled in on Saturday - when I had the most time available - typical!. The first one (DSLR) is a single sub. I had a pretty good Polar Alignment but was struggling with other alignment stars so just settled for plate solving to find M31 and took some shots before the tracking went wild on me! The second one was similar (ASI1600). I plate solved after a pretty good PA and managed 4 subs (20", 60" 120" and 180" - all with Luminance filter) before once again the tracking gave up. Sadly no time for calibration frames, so I just packed up and went to bed. Stacking (DSS) and processing (GIMP) done on the following days. Having said that, I shot some darks the next day with the ZWO. I realise this is probably a no-no but thought I would give it a try to see if I could get rid of some of the noise. So the ZWO image does have some darks applied, but probably to no avail, as there is still a LOT of noise. I guess I'd also really benefit from flats (yes, even I can spot the dust bunnies!) The next thing is Coma (& maybe field rotation?). I fitted my Coma Corrector to both the DSLR and the ZWO, but (especially with the ZWO) I am not sure if it is in the right place in the imaging train. Maybe I'll post a pic of my imaging train one of these days to get some advice. Finally, my processing skills leave a lot to be desired (being colour blind doesn't help 🙂 - so I have used quite a bit of artistic license (even resorting to using a basic Windows photo filter! Aghhh!}. Anyway, I've waffled on long enough. Thanks for looking and clear skies! Daemon Steve. 1) Sky-Watcher 150PDS, SW EQ6R-Pro, Nikon D5300 (un-modded) Baader Coma Corrector. Single Sub, 300" exposure ISO 640. No Guiding, only tracking. 2) Sky-Watcher 150PDS, SW EQ6R-Pro, ZWO ASI1600M Pro, Baader Coma Corrector, Luminance Filter, 4 subs (various exposure lengths) Gain = 139. No Guiding, only tracking.

I think you'll find you need to use an Ha filter (7nm best) to bring out that third leg! 😉

Congratulations on choosing the EQ6-R-Pro! Same choice as I made with a similar budget. I spent as much as I could considering I also needed other items. I have had mine for 6 months now and I am very happy with it. I have had some pretty good results even just with the mount tracking and no guiding (I am still getting to grips with PHD2). I also subsequently bought another mount (for a set-up I have in Spain) and I went with the HEQ-5. I have not used this as much yet but it seems okay. But not nearly as robust as the EQ6-R. Enjoy! Clear skies! Daemon

Thanks Paul. I have heard that is a very good sensor, but I think I will go for CMOS to keep the cost down. And just a point of note: I've also learned that 31mm filters are best suited to the ASI1600MM on the 150PDS as it is relatively fast at f5. Cheers, Daemon

Welcome to the lounge! Enjoy!

With that sort of budget I would either save up or seek out a second-hand un-modded DSLR (you don't say whether your "standard digital" is an SLR or not). I've seen decent Canon DSLR's second hand (even in London) for £90 - £100. I'm currently using a Nikon D5300 on an Explorer 150PDS and I'm getting some decent DSO images, but then I am just starting out too. I have my eyes on the ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro Mono, but it ain't cheap! Good luck! Daemon

Anyone have any thoughts on imaging with a CCD/CMOS camera on the 150PDS? I'm currently using an un-modded Nikon D5300 DSLR which is great for starting out, but it does get very noisy and an upgrade could be on the horizon. I am tempted by the ZWO ASI1600MM Mono with all the appropriate LRGB and narrowband filters. I'm assuming 1.25" should be okay but happy to hear opinions. I would keep the DSLR as an OSC option, but I like the idea of the sharpness of mono imaging despite the extra capture time needed with the different filters. I've also recently bought another scope (SW Evostar 80ED) to have a Refractor option. I'm wondering how the ASI1600 would go with that too. Does anyone have similar set-ups or opinions? Cheers, Daemon

I've had my 150PDS for about 6 months. I have it sitting on a EQ6R-Pro and image with a Nikon D5300 un-modded DSLR. All in all I am super happy with it - although my imaging opportunities have been limited. Really glad to see that you've started this thread! 🙂 Thanks! I got the inspiration to buy my 150 based on all the comments on the 130 thread - so it'll be nice if this thread grows to show the capabilities of this fairly fast little Newt! Cheers, Daemon

Thanks Olly! Looks useful. I'll go through it in a bit more detail before my next processing session. A bientot! Daemon

I have a SW 150 PDS and use a Nikon D5300 on it with the Baader Coma Corrector. I have not had it modded yet and may not bother as I may move onto a Mono CCD and filters when budget allows. I am relatively pleased with the results and the D5300 is a very capable DSLR. I do get quite a lot of noise in some images but I am still experimenting as I have only been doing this for 6 months or so. The camera is probably far more capable than I am so most of my images so far do not do it justice. Once my image capture and processing skills improve I think the camera will be capable of much better results. Good luck! Daemon

Greetings All, Hope you won't mind a new member from just over the border in Hants! ?

Nice one! I want to add that one to my list soon. Well done!!