carastro

Did you select your camera in settings Raw/fits DDP settings box bottom left. Go into the Fits tab and select your camera, or the nearest to it. If you don't select the correct camera it will affect the colour. Also not a good idea to gather images in Jpeg, you lose much data this way. Carole

Sounds devastating, but one consolation is that if your roof ended up next door, that you don't mention it caused any damage to property or persons, that would have been even worse. Sharkmelley lost his roof a few years ago, it was a double width observatory, and he had to re-build. He now uses long straps with ratchet type buckles to anchor the roof down if there is any chance of bad wind. Not sure of the proper name for them. Carole

Ian is a great Astro Retailer and I have done a fair amount of purchasing from him in the past. He is also an excellent source of advice and a very fair person. He allowed me to try something out to see if it would work, and either return it or pay for it - (it was a spacer I think I recall), how many retailers will send you something without having to pay for it first. Also I was talking to Ian about buying my first Atik Mono camera some years ago, and before I had made a decision, a few days later he e mailed me to tip me off that Atik were doing a really cheap deal on the camera at Astrofest - thus doing himself out of a sale - again how many retailers would do that. Ian, FLO and Modern Astronomy are always my first choice of retailers, so I will only have to decide between two in the future. Ian will be a great asset to FLO, it sounds like a great amalgamation. Is Ian moving house, or working on-line from home, as he currently lives in Kent? Carole

This is my take on your question. I started with a DSLR, and wanted to get better detail/reduce noise so decided back in 2012 to buy a CCD camera. Many people advised me to get a Mono camera and filters because mono gives more detail due to the lack of a bayer matrix. This is more expensive because of the need to purchase a filterwheel and filters. But I took their advice and bought a mono camera and filters. My DSLR was still usable and on my first weekend at Kelling armed with both my DSLR and my new Mono CCD camera I took images of the same target with each on alternate nights, more as a test than anything. I was completely blown away at the results of the Mono CCD camera compared to what I could get with the DSLR. It took me a little while to learn how to combine the different colour filters, but since then I have never looked back, and very rarely now use the DSLR for imaging, About a year after I started mono imaging, I got an idea to buy a OSC (colour) CCD camera and take simultanous images with the Mono camera so I could get data more quickly. That OSC camera caused me a lot of hassle, and the results were not as good as those I could get from my mono camera, so I dispensed with the colour camera and just stuck to mono imaging. As an added bonus you can take narrowband images with a mono camera (OK, I know some say you can take narrowband with a colour camera too, but is it the same quality and does it take much much longer? ) There are many targets that really show up best in narrowband. Personally I would not waste time and money mending your DSLR. HTH Carole

Thanks Rodd. Carole

Not in the case of purchasing downloaded data from places like DSW, it's all done for you, you just process it. But I concede that is not what the original poster was asking. Absolutely not, going to star parties involves a huge amount of effort to take all your equipment to a location away from home and re-set it all up from scratch (not to mention the amount of other stuff you have to take to live there for a few days), takes much more effort than having a permanent PA'd rig already set up. As I say, IMO using a remote rig you have set up yourself whether it be at home or away from home is not cheating the art of AP. But using downloaded data already done for you is only doing half the job, so how can you claim it is your own image? Using a remote telescope you did not set up yourself and do not own the equipment but you operate it all yourself is for me a sort of halfway house but personally I would not feel comfortable with claiming images as my own even if I did declare the source. Each to his own, but I could not live comfortably with that unless I was no longer capable of doing it myself. Carole

I'm sorry but this is now getting way off the point. to be a good photographer (i.e. non asto photographer) it is not a pre-requisite that you made the camera yourself, it is how you use that camera. The whole point of this thread is what is your opinion on using remote telescope to capture data, and the replies are regarding whether you actually set up and operate the equipment yourself, or whether that is done for you, not whether you made the equipment yourself. I agree with Olly that processing is a very important part of the process, but I also agree with Tomato: Many of us don't have the luxury of copious clear and dark skies, and it is what we do with planning capture and how we process to get something reasonable in dire circumstances that decides what the final image will look like. If we simply downloaded data already captured with great equipment, from pristine skies and just processed it, how can that be comparable? Carole

Welcome to SGL. Wow those are amazingly good images from an EQ2-3. I wonder what you could produce from an HEQ5? Carole

Lol, yes I have seen Olly's reaction when this was mentioned before, it was hilarious. I have in fact been to Ollys back in 2013 when I was still learning. He is a great teacher and the skies are wonderful. I chose to use Olly's equipment because I could not face the long drive to the South of France, but I still have pangs of guilt over calling the images I got when I was there - "mine" even though I did all the capture myself, as I did not set up the quipment. Olly tells me they are my images but in my heart I feel they are only "loosely" my images. Carole

That's one of the instances I had in mind when I might consider doing it, but all the time I am capable of doing it myself, I would not consider using data I had not captured.

I never found a way to fix it I am afraid, I tried tightening the nuts up with a screw driver as there was a slot, but it didn't help. Maybe you could try some sort of glue to fix it. Bad design I think. Carole

Just as an added point about buying downloaded data from professional sources such as Deep Sky West (I am sure there are several others). The same data for a given target is processed by a number of people, so in effect it is just a processing contest. There was a time on Astrobin when the same image was being presented by several people. Not sure if it still happens as I am past caring about it now. I don't object to remote imaging so long as you own and set up the equipment yourself and capture and control it remotely. Carole

I used to own the same/similar model when I first started and my slow motion controls used to slip, it was very annoying, so I'd be turning the hand controls but all that was happening was the clamp bit was turning without gripping the axis rod. Could this be your problem? Carole

That sums it up precisely Jkulkin. LOL Me too. I don't "like" any images on Astrobin unless they are Backyard, Traveller or I happen to know the imager has set up their own rig with their own equipment and then operate it remotely. All the other images are lovely to look at but in their shoes, I would not be able to comfortably say they were my images unless I had done the capturing work myself using my own equipment etc etc. I have been embroiled in a number of arguments on Astrobin on this topic and now given up arguing and let them take their pats on the back for work they only half did themselves if that's what they feel they want/need. Recently some-one was over the Moon for getting an APOD using Hubble data. What's that all about?? The only time I would consider using downloaded data that I didn't set up myself is if I was physically unable to do the capture part myself for medical reasons and it's either that or give up the hobby completely. I won't even do it for targets that are out of reach in the UK. I recently travelled to Spain with a small portable set up in order to capture the Antares region, it has taken data captured over 5 years to complete this image. It's still not great because I had to use a camera lens (which I am not great with) and a Skytracker with no guiding, but it's all my own work. Carole

I converted my POD into a ROR dome, though it is a real PITA to get back on again as I discovered my base wasn't precisely circular (and too late to do anything about it now). So the dome wants to "ping back into circular shape" which makes it really difficult to clamp it back on again in the dark in the middle of the night - when I am half asleep and don't want to wake the neighbours when I want to shut it. Also I can't roll it back more than about a metre so the half dome is still in the way of stuff in the E/NE, but generally not a problem as most of that area is taken up by the house being in the way anyway, which was why I planned it that way, and a lot of targets will be rising from that direction and seen eventually. That is true too, and next door's tree has grown a lot since I put in the obsy. So one day I decided to set up on the patio as I used to before I got the Obsy, only to find the other next door have built a loft extension since then and now I can;t see Polaris from the patio. Grrrr!! Never mind I do a lot of my imaging from Astro camps as too LP at home. even at camp I use a camping observatory as I got used to the luxury of an Obsy, it is great as a wind shield and for frost protection if I camp in the winter months. Carole

Conservatory is currently doubling up as a garden seat store while l am borrowing lots from friends for a garden party. But back to the obsy It’s great to be able to leave everything set up also wind protection.

Absolutely not. Despite buying the wrong sort and having heavily LP skies. A ROR is the choice l would make if l started again. I bought a SKYPOD which is not the best for imaging due to the clamshell roof. Carole

That's come out very nicely Brian, and I think you have stepped up a notch. Possibly the background colour needs balancing a bit, but great image. I prefer this target in bicolour, I tried adding Sii to mine and didn't like the end result. Carole

Having looked it appears I am actually using Sigma average and not sigma kappa (must have been thinking of DSS). Carole

I was on holiday a few years ago in Margarita in the Caribbean. We took a trip to Los Roques archipelgo. We were forced to have an overnight stay because the plane's don't fly at night as there is no electricity for the runway. Though having thought about it there must be some electricity for the restaurants and homes there, but I think there was no street lighting. I recall stepping out of the restaurant and looking out to sea (not sure which direction this was, but Orion was visible so I presume south). My jaw nearly dropped off with the numbers of stars I could see and they looked like they were sticking out on stalks it was so clear. I had no equipment with me and indeed had no idea I would be having this experience, and it's a shame my mum who was holidaying with me was taken ill and we had to dash back to our accommodation as I was unable to enjoy this for long. Carole

Thanks for all that Olly, have made a note of it. So Sigma average is better than kappa sigma? I have Astroart V5 so hopefully should work OK, though Kappa sigma didn''t on the Witch Head. Might go back to that and try it again. I didn't know about that. Also noted. Carole

Does that include the Witch Head Nebula Olly. I use Kappa sigma stacking in Astroart and it woukld not get rid of the tons of satelittes in that target for me. Though maybe I didn't manage to capture sufficient subs - would that be a factor? Carole

Thanks Gina. Lucky you, I had to travel to another country and use a mini portable set up to get it. over two years. Carole

Quite stunning. Carole

Welcome to SGL, you can;t be far from me and at least three other members on here. I am in Bromley. Carole