Rustang

It looks ok for my first go, set to surface, no sliders changed and I believe the remember box was un ticket. The whole sun was covered with the alighment squares. What should the average solar file be in size then?

I'm still very new to it, I left it on 50% Does the ROI you chose affect the file size?

I dont think I compressed it, is that a setting in Autostakkert? Is it best to then?

I'm now looking to process my first Solar Ha data and Ive done the stack in AutoStakkert and I'm surprised to see that the Tiff has come out small as in 573kb, have I missed a setting somewhere!?

Some ha Solar gear! Very exciting! 😊 Just waiting on a Bresser 102, 460fl to turn up so using my Z73 for now. Today was my first ever Ha Solar session, hopefully I've captured something half decent but it went fairly well once focused. I was going to go Lunt 50 and the 178m but a last minute decision change was made when I saw a Quark, 174m and the Bresser scope for sale so went for it, no regrets.

Thanks, much appreciated 👍

I'm starting to get used to using Firecapture but wanted to make sure I'm not missing anything. I'm going to be using firecapture to do Solar Ha imaging with my Altair 174mono. I have the Ascom driver and Firecapture recognises the camera so thats all good. So firstly the fan goes on automatically when firecapture opens, i cant find any settings to control this so is it ok just running at what ever speed/settings it's currently on?. Next -is there any settings i need to set behind the scenes, as in, in Ascom or is everything simply controlled in firecapture as for solar it looks you only really need to adjust the gain, exposure and gamma which is all done in the software. being mono is that a setting somewhere? and how is the frame rate controlled? I think i understand what ROI does but I'm unsure what to have it on, I know the more of my sensor i use the slower the frame rate is. Anything I may have missed!?

I see, I'm still learning a little about these, it's sold now anyway so someone possibly got a bargain.

Are the tilt tuned versions not as expensive as the £3,315 examples currently for sale via FLO then!?

I've questioned the price so waiting to hear.

I know, makes its even harder!

There's images attached to this add.

I'm after a Lunt 50 but I've seen this Lunt 60 today, I'm in contact with the guy selling it but it's pretty obvious it's way to cheap so rings alarm bells already! What do you think? https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=189910

A massive ball ache but Il get there, the plus side is once all set up again everything should run smoother.

Love it, a really nice deep feel to it. I haven't been bothered myself for a while for a number of reasons, just when I started to get the taste for it again last week my laptop packs up and now I've got to sort every bit of software out again on a new laptop which was such a nightmare first time round, the enthusiasm is back to zero but il get out again soon hopefully.

I'm not sure how long your looing to run everything for or what your going to capture but for Milkyway imaging I just use decent rechargeable batteries in the SW-SA and they last for hours, I hardly change them to be honest. Camera wise, some batteries are better than others but mine normally last for over an hour, I've also on many occasions just swopped camera batteries out mid session with out problems. For my Dew heater I use a decent power bank that lasts for a couple of hours or so. If your looking to shoot for 3, 4 hours or more then I guess look at a combined power source. I havent bothered using the app to control anything either, just a decent intervaometer has worked perfectly for me. less to go wrong the better, I can just lie back, look up and enjoy spotting awesome meteor's while everythings works away This is the ball head I brought and its been fine to use Neewer Professional Metal 360 Degree Rotating Panoramic Ball Head with 1/4 inch Quick Shoe Plate and Bubble Level,up to 17.6pounds/8kilograms,for Tripod,Monopod,Slider,DSLR Camera,Camcorder: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Thanks everyone, il pass on the info -mods if you can, please move to the appropriate bino forum section 😊

Thanks and apologies, I didnt realise there was a section for bino's!

Asking for a friend who is looking to buy a pair for his partners birthday. All I know is that they will mainly be used for bird watching in the garden and some out and about use. So I wanted to ask on his behalf what criteria to look out for or would be best and or certain pairs people who recommend. Not sure on budget I'm afraid but would imagine he would like a pair of good quality. I'm guessing multi coated/low dispersion glass to stop chromatic aberration? Is there a decent set magnification that would be suited for the intended (bird watching) purpose? I imagine this kind of question could be a mind field, having been a wedding photographer and occasionally being asked "what camera would be best to buy my partner" is not a straight forward question to answer but any info would be apricated.

Thanks Martyn 👍

Thanks Foreground images for the Cape Cornwall two were captured around 10:20pm so a little left over sun light was enough light for a 5 second exposure at iso 800 from memory. The moon was still out to the Southwest/West so also adding light again. Pordenack Point was an hour or so before sun rise in the lighter blue hour so again enough light for a 5 second exposure. These were with my Fuji XT-2 as I have no decent lens for the 6D.

Thanks Adam 👍

Thanks Paul 👍 Yeah you are spoilt for choice location wise down there. Hope you have a nice trip in August and I will keep my fingers crossed for clear skies for you.

These are the last of the Milkway photos I managed to grab while on Holiday in Cornwall. Two are different view points from Kenidjack Cliff Castle looking South towards Cape Cornwall. The other image is facing South from Pordenack Point.

I thought I would post an entry to my first SGL challenge. This image was taken on Thursday 7th July while on holiday in Cornwall. The foreground was captured at 11:45pm in a single 30 sec exposure, f2.8 iso 1600, the 60% setting moon lit the rocks beautifully. The sky was captured shortly after and comprises of x49 60 second subs at f2.8 iso 1600. Captured using my Fuji XT-2 and the Fuji x mount 16-55mm f2.8 lens at 16mm. The sky was tracked using my SW Star Adventurer.