Milesy303

I got a good deal with an ex demo 115 thank you for help with the filters

Thank you for all the great advice @vlaiv - I went a step further and chose the 115M camera, which by all I read is the mono version of the 294. I have created a new thread for some advice on filters and mounting them. Thank you to everyone else to helped me make a decision, it is much appreciated.

Hi all, I have chosen to go with mono (please dont try convert me to OSC, I have made the choice and willing to roll with it just now haha) I have went for an Altair 115m hypercam to use with my WO GT81. Does anyone know if I will be able to use 1.25" filters with this? and If I can will I be able to use them in a drawer or wheel in terms of backspacing etc? Any help greatly appreciated

Mono I like in theory but I’m limited in budget and can only afford a camera just now. So I invest in a camera and don’t use it until i have the filters and wheel and eaf, and by the time next season comes and I unbox there will be a new camera I wish I had invested in. Or I just bank the money and write off the rest of the season and don’t do any imaging. End up with car troubles or my boiler breaks and I need to spend the money and in one years time I’ll be back writing the same post again haha So really I don’t want to hold off and just make the best purchase I can, even if it’s not best paired with my scope for a few months and then after the summer I’ll get a longer focal length. I don’t plan on staying with the GT81 so I don’t want to match it

Hi @vlaiv - I will be honest I am not sure exactly how to answer. When I said resolution I just implied the only resolution I know is what I have had with my DSLR. I want to go to a longer focal length to get better shots of things like the pinwheel, bodes, owl nebula etc I have managed to get a lot of these already, but require big crops, and then lots of processing. noise reduction and deconvolution etc. Now I just want to be able to produce better pictures and move onto the next stage of my journey Chris

I am looking at Altair, the 533 seems quite a bit cheaper than the 269 and the 294. I assumed it was less of a camera.

Thanks Neil, how did it serve up with the GT102? Do you take darks?

Hi all. I’m currently looking at both sensors to use with my GT81 scope for a few months but want to go to a longer focal length for after the summer. I have been looking at the same targets at the same resolution for quite a few years with my DSLR and my primary objective is getting into smaller targets and more detail. With the 269 I’ll be over sampled when I go to the longer focal length but there is no amp glow to deal with. The 294 seems an older technology but maybe bet better suited to upgrading after the summer ? To be used under "uk seeing" which I think might be "ok" My head hurts with all the sampling and seeing. Chris

Hey folks, so I am currently using a GT81 with a 0.8 reducer, and my future plan is to get a RASA8. I am looking at the altair astro models, but I need to admit I am not totally clued up on the specifics of sampling, and pixels etc. I know the rough idea but not enough to make an expensive decision yet. I am currently looking at the 183, 269 or 294 models. Are any of them suited to what I am doing, to what I plan with the RASA8 on doing under fairly suburban skies? (Ignoring the colour/mono question for the moment) Many thanks Chris

Not much more will pay for a decent quality 8 port powered hub. i already run my pi from a good power supply. I’m not massively fussed on having a one stop shop maybe I should just get a lynx astro unit with Dslr and dew heaters

I’m in a dilemma to get the Pegasus power box advance or the power box mini and a separate powered usb hub. it seems like an awful lot more for only a few USB ports that would be better spent on a recent usb hub. any thoughts?

At the moment I have the following setup. WO GT81, EQ6-R, Nikon D5500 and I’m in the process of getting set up with stellarmate so I can utilise dithering and guiding mainly more than capturing but that helps. I’d love a WO FLT132 but that’s way out my budget sadly at the moment. I’m basically imaging what I can with the scope I have, including smaller targets that I’ve cropped like Bodes, Whirlpool etc. I have about £1000ish to spend and my thoughts were to a new camera. My biggest pain points here in Scotland for the last two seasons has been 1. Taking darks, it seriously hampers my very little imaging time I get. So something like a cooled camera like the 1600 or 183 hyper cam seemed appealing 2. I miss so much imaging time during the moon and it’ll only be a few months until twilight creeps back again for the summer. I’ve only managed to image three times since October...... so going mono on the above cameras seems like a pretty good idea. Someone else also suggested the 183c with a triband filter All I want is to give me a bit of a boost in productivity with so little imaging time greatly appreciated of any responses many thanks chris