vineyard

Thanks @Spongey yes I was surprised to see it break like that. I think I will probably go for the WO b/c it does get v good reviews- definitely pricier, but buy once is generally best long-term strategy I've found. Have been trying to save for a rotator, so will just have to dip into that piggy bank 😕 Cheers

I had a bit of an accident yesterday and my tripod with a the iOptron wedge & SkyguiderPro fell over. The wedge broke (luckily everything else ok, camera wasn't attached yet!) - specifically one side of the saddle that bolts into the wedge, where the SkyguiderPro would sit - so now it can't be clamped in. Brings to mind 2 Qs. What is this saddle made of that it could break so easily on an impact - I didn't think metal would break like this? Is there a clever replacement of just this part, or is the whole thing a write-off? Cheers.

Gosh sounds like a frustrating session but it was worth persevering for that image 👍🏾

A wider lens - old Pentax 35mm f3.5 but taken at f8. The first shot 60s, the second 120s on Astrotracer (at 180s there was some slight trailing). Both ISO 200 (w a Baader M&SG filter in front). Both single shots. The blur on the bottom left are clouds that were moving across. (Had a bit of a disaster - was going to use the iOptron SkyguiderPro but somehow the tripod toppled and broke wedge - luckily no other damage done (camera was not attached). So I thought I'd do a quick astrotracer to experiment).

That's v cool - a drone shuttle!

I've played with the 50ED as a widefield imaging scope & its pretty good for my purposes. You will definitely need a flattener - Skywatcher & Starizona both do one, SW is cheaper & more available, but only works w unto 17.5mm back focus (I think) - ie its fine for ZWO cameras but not for DSLRs. When I used it properly last, I had some walking noise, so need to dither - hence a need for guiding for the 50ED for which I'm going to use a ZWO Miniguide scope, and if that works w my main imaging refractor too, then I'll just leave the 50ED as a widefield imaging set up in its rings & no longer use it as a guidescope at all. For the rings & mounting, Astrokraken is great - Philippe has a special set-up for 50EDs w flattener & ZWO cameras - w a finder shoe on top. He will also do a Bahtinov mask for the 50ED which makes focusing a doddle. Enjoy! Vin

That's genius. I love the idea of gentleperson amateurs just picking up satellite downloads. 👏🏾 Btw, if that's fixed pattern noise, maybe the scientists would be kind enough to share a masterdark with you!

I ordered this Vixen-thread-to-1.25" adapter last October - arrived today 4 months later 😮 Now I can attach things w a compression band rather than set screw, and - even more importantly - can also fine focus on the 102M.

That's lovely @alacant. Definitely nicer w/o the diffraction spikes. I have an old Sonnar 135 MC as well that I've been playing around with, so you've set the bar I now need to aim for w my clumsy images! 👏🏾 Is the Canon modded? I'm waiting for a cheap soldering iron to arrive, and then intend on modding an almost two decades old Pentax istD (basically taking the IR & anti-alias filter off to make it full spectrum, and then relying on filters threaded into the front of the lens). Let's see what happens! Lovely image again 👍🏾

So a short update on connectivity for the data. Managed to test something & I think it should work. Basically, a Powerline into mains electricity, and then a Stellarmate RPi3 connected to the Powerline with an ethernet cable. With cameras, mount etc connected to the Pi via USB. The other end of the Powerline is connected to the wifi router inside the house. Tested it, and I could use my laptop to connect to the Pi, and use the EKOS on my laptop! This link was very helpful. So with this setup, I can either VNC into the RPi ("stellarmate.local:6080" in the browser) or use the RPi as the server ("stellar mate.local:8624" or "stellar mate.local:8624/#" in the browser). I think the 2nd option is better b/c it allows the laptop's faster processing, SSD etc to be used rather than relying on the little Pi to do it all. I think the EKOS on the RPi has to be switched off (in case it comes on automatically when the Pi is plugged in) but that can easily be done by VNC, and then switch to the server mode. If this is a stable setup, then that's brilliant. No need to run ethernet cables from the pier into the house, nor any need to rely on wifi. Just need to get the pier sourced & installed now? 😂

You should enter that in the SGL satellite imaging competition! 👍🏾

Here are a couple of images from last night (v cold). CZ Sonnar 135mm at f8 on the K70. 30s on the AstroTracer. Single shots, w no calibration. JPGs for size.

What a good idea for lockdown & cloudy skies! Thank you. Here's my stab.

Fingers crossed it works - it'll be a great hack if so, b/c then that should mean OAGs or filter drawers could possibly also be put in if someone wanted to?

Yes it could be a nice proxy for that (although its not completely random since its always 1 pixel in set directions). I will also try it when the camera is on a tracking mount to see what happens. (There is also a "movement corrected" version of the PixelShift which should work, even without a tracking mount, for short-exposure objects at infinity like the moon where the object itself should not have moved by a pixel a camera sensor in say 1/80th of a sec - another thing to try!). Will report back once a chance ever materialises again w the weather!)

There are some pretty experienced people here so you should get a lot of feedback. I've been tinkering with an OLD Carl Zeiss Sonnar 135mm f/3.5 which should be in that price range pretty comfortably. It's been too cloudy to be able to really take it for a spin so no images to share for the time being other than these. (I do have some ones of Orion but tbh I can't remember if those were with a 50mm or the 135mm - dodgy memory).

I ordered some stuff from TS Optics & it arrived within days from Germany (they used Parcelforce I think). I also bought & sold some stuff with SGLers & it all seems to be stuck in RM here in the UK (even though tracked, signed for, SD etc). I don't mind - the posties are great & they've been overwhelmed at times, so as long as things don't get lost or damaged. 🤷🏾‍♂️

The colours...! In one place the features also look a bit like a lighthouse beam. That is splendid.

That's a brave hack - hope it works - could be genius. Don't know enough about optics but am wondering whether the flattener lenses need to be a certain distance apart from each other and whether that would be within the length of the extension tube? Good luck!

Lovely - I had a quick peep on Fri and say some nice looking proms & was curious whether you'd have a chance to image them! The monochrome full disk really captures the level of activity. 👏🏾

Hello, Had a v quick go last night around midnight. Normal photographic tripod, Pentax K70 w old CZ Sonnar 135mm (set one click wider than f5.6) ISO 100 - put the camera into monochrome and used its pixel shift function (where it takes 4 photos in quick succession, shifting the sensor 1 pixel each time - I guess that increases resolution?). Have put the images through a couple of High Pass iterations in GIMP. 3 images (all converted to JPEG for size) - a close crop, a full FOV, and then just for fun, Sirius peaking through some trees. Cheers.

V restful on the eye. Lovely shading of colours across the maria. 👏🏾

Missed this image when first posted - wow, its a beauty.

I use an ASI294MC Pro as the main imaging camera (and use an ASI120MMmini as the guidecam in the 50ED). Would echo others re the widefield w the flattener - its 2 scopes in 1

I know. I had to pinch myself. Rainy morning, and clouds have come back so it could all just have been a dream.