Zynch

56 minutes ago, bottletopburly said:

Choose wisely or buy twice

That's why I'm here

39 minutes ago, Stuart1971 said:

Hello,

You should consider your imaging set up to choose a good guide set up, what is you FL and imaging pixel size, to give an imaging scale, also will you want to use an OAG, or stick with a 50mm finder scope….

I recently bought the ASI174mm mini, and it’s superb, and blows the Lodestar X2 out of the water which is what I had before, I also tried the ASI120m mini, and that also was very good, but I am using an f5.9 Tak FS60 as a guide scope, so the smaller pixels of the ASI is much better with my set up…

So a bit more info on my setup:

I have an Orion 8" 800 mm f/4 scope, and am imaging with a Nikon D7500 DSLR with a 0.9x coma corrector.

The finder scope will stay for now but might get an upgrade down the line.

An acquaintance recommended me the ASI178MM, while I myself was originally looking at the 120mm due to it being cheaper. But looking at it I realized I might be able to get away with taking some images with the 178 (the dslr is not modded, so this would be a nice change) so I started leaning in that direction.

Hi,

I'm considering upgrading my guiding setup currently using the original finderscope (8x 50mm) that came with my scope and a QHY5 camera. I'm having issues with connecting the camera so I'm considering upgrading.

Right now I'm looking at the ASI178MM and am thinking I could maybe even try using it as the main camera for a image or two.
I'll most likely get a new guidescope in the near future aswell.

What do you think, would it be a good pick or should I get something else?

Thank you for confirming that, and for the guide.

I will most likely get a Canon camera and remove the filter myself, as it will be the cheapest and easiest to do.

Michael you just resolved a big thing for me.

The camera actually has two filters and not just one as I originaly thought, which means, I would not need a replacement filter (I was afraid of leaving the sensor bare) because I would still have the second filter to protect it, which makes the modification way easier.

15 hours ago, bryand said:

Why are you modifying a DSLR at all? 

The one thing you don't use is the Reflex ability of the camera - you are not using the through-the-lens viewfinder.  You have a telescope for that.

If you use a mirrorless camera, you can get equivalent functionality with less weight and you can go for a full spectrum conversion and then fit a clip-in filter to protect the sensor.

Again it's because of the price, I can get a DSLR for cheaper than a mirrorles.

Just to check that I did not misinterpret information I read online, I can use a Canon DSLR with PC control (I use NINA) for exposures over 30 sec?

The reason to do it myself is mainly that it is cheaper.

And where is the fun in buying a already modified camera.

After thinking overnight and a chat with some people, I got the idea, that maybe I should just sell the D70 and get a Canon camera, since they work better and are not limited to 30 sec of exposure when controlled from PC and I can get the filters from EU for cheaper for them.

So any recommendations for a camera to modify now. I will try to find a used one if possible, but have no idea about Canon models.

I just heard back from LifePixel. They said that only their full-spectrum modification would be applicable for astrophotography.

I have also been thinking about it, and I came up with this: If I do the full-spectrum, I presume I will have to use filters. So in the case of LRGB filters, the L one is usualy already a IR cut filter, and the others are bandpass filters, so that should not be a problem if my thought process is correct.

So is my idea good, or would I always need a IR cut filter.

Thank you for welcoming me everyone.

7 minutes ago, davew said:

Those sound like IR photography filters to me. Not astrophotography. Contact them and see what they say but be sure to tell them your photo intentions. 

Dave.

Yeah they are meant for photography. I will contact them and see what they say.

Hello

Just realised I haven't introduced myself yet.

I come from Slovenia and am currently studying robotic engineering.

I have been interested in astronomy since 2009. Since then I have been on many observations with the local club and my middle school at the time and have also borrowed their equipment a few times.

About 4 years ago my club set up a new observatory with a nice setup of: Officina Stellare Ultra CRC 320 f/5.4, MOFOD MkII Fork Friction Mount, Apogee Alta F16M (probably won't be able to get any photos from there)

A few months ago I got myself my own equipment. I managed to get a used Orion Astrograph 8" f/4, a NEQ6-pro mount and QHY5 camera. In the meantime I made an adapters to fit the camera to the finderscope, so I can use it for guiding.

50 minutes ago, davew said:

If you go full spectrum then you'll still need an IR filter somewhere when you do Astrophotos. ( For Astro we use IR block not IR pass unless that's your thing ) I think the LifePixel photos show an IR pass ! Be careful.

Before you plan on LifePixel as a supplier, I suggest you contact them first and see if they still do a filter for this camera. 

Dave.

I was thinking about that. I think I could put a 2" IR block on my coma (I think it is the SkyWatcher 0.9x Coma Corrector - bought used, so no idea)

But I will probably get a IR cut filter for the camera itself. I do plan to check if they still have filters for this camera, but I can add it to the cart on their website.

So since I will most likely get a filter from LifePixel, which one should I go for:

    1) Standard Infrared (720 nm)    2) Enhanced Infrared (665 nm)    3) Super Color Infrared (590 nm)    4) Super Blue Infrared (blue + IR)    5) Deep B&W Infrared (830 nm)

Davew thanks for the links, I took a look at them, they are nice manuals on how to do it.

Should I just go for full-spectrum modification by just removing the filter, or would buying a different one from LifePixel be a better idea (as far as I can tell they are the only one, that sells them) and if so which one.

Thanks for the suggestion, but the site only offers modifications for Canon cameras.

What I forgot to mention is, that I would probably do it myself, if I can find the replacement filters, which is proving hard, since most companies only sell ones for Canon cameras.

I know that LifePixel sells different filters, but I am looking for something from EU if possible to avoid having to pay customs.

So to rephrase my question what I am more interested in is where I could get replacement filters and what filter I should get since there are multiple different ones.

Hello

So as the title suggests, I am looking for advice regarding modifying a DLSR for astrophotography.

At the time of writing, I am using an unmodified Nikon D700 which I am planing to keep as is. The camera I am thinking about modifying is a Nikon D70, that is sitting on the shelf for the last few years, and is not being used at all.

I have been reading about it, and do not have any better idea what to do, so I decided to just ask.

Could anyone give me some advice as to if it's worth it, what modifications I should do, etc.

My Gear: Orion Astrograph f/4 8", SkyWatcher NEQ6-pro, Nikon D700, QHY5 and finderscope for guiding, PHD2, N.I.N.A.