OdpSteviesteve

If the planets are badly placed right now should I just use my webcam and get practice with them and wait to buy a planetary camera? Anyone know which is best camera for planetary, detailed lunar, possibly trying for sunspots. Zwo asi 224 290 or 385? My current scopes are 130mm f5 Newtonian, 150 f8 Newtonian. 2 and 3 x barlows.... I have a canon 1100d I want to use for wide field and possibly eaa. Should I get practice with this before looking for an eaa camera? Am I answering my own questions lol

Thanks bizbilder I'll save my money... Sorted auto focus on my 620mm f5 Newtonian, sorted anti glare screen on laptop, using solar film filter and baader continuum filter, the green one, out this weekend, solar and hopefully some eaa. Longer scope on way and also a ZWO asi 224 mc on way to replace my webcam.. Scope may be unnecessary as I have 2x and 3x barlows, but 1200mm 6" for £80 is OK.

Ordered 12v motor geared to 1/2 rpm, 12v variable /reversable speed controller and a flexible shaft coupling, Should have remote auto focus sorted by the next session £25. Astrobiscuit is my inspiration! Do I need to spend money saved on a Ha filter?

Lol

Thanks for the tips Dave, I ordered an anti glare screen cover and might try lining a plastic storage box with black velvet to enhance contrast , and wear a black t shirt! I'll have a go at making a focuser, maybe a stepper motor and controller with some sort of gearbox might work. I appreciate the variable nature of seeing and focus, a brief glimpse of sharpness is what we are looking for? I have checked collimation with a Cheshire

How do people get on with using a laptop in sunshine!? I perch mine in the back of my vwt5 stand under the tailgate but its still very difficult the screen is like a mirror. Probably one of the reasons I'm finding it difficult to focus. Along with lack of practical experience, the laptop battery only lasted 2 hours, another problem to be solved by ebay, dc dc boost 12v to 19v regulator on the way.

Great. Thanks a lot. I hadn't considered that approach to getting focus I will try next session. I will also downgrade my registax. The picture is fabulous by the way. I got started in all this on the moon with a webcam without knowing how to use the mount properly. I corrected my knowledge only for the moon to effectively dissappear giving me nothing to practice on.. I used APT in planetary mode it takes frames at about 18fps with the 1100d. Though it seems only jpegs. I'll try APT and set a capture sequence of raw images next time after a focusing session!

Hi I've been trying to get 'a photo of the sun' that's all but still failing and I don't know why... Its possibly focusing as there are no sunspots to help... Should I be able to see any detail visually?..... My gear is a f5 [5 Inch] 600mm Newtonian stopped down using the opening in the end cap, a solar film white light filter, a Baader continuum filter, canon 1100d using EOS movie record to make avi. And APT in planetary mode to take 1000 frames which I've tried stacking in Autostakert. No detail whatsoever just a coloured disc.. I also tried my webcam and Sharpcap but could not find any focus at all..I took the shots early morning..... I know solar is a whole speciality but Where am I going wrong? Do I need more filters? Should I Focus on a star then wait for a sunny day? Should I give up on solar? I am a newbie to astrophotography.

Hi. I'm fairly new and I've done what you've donE, only with a 12inch dobsonian. You are limited by 3 things. 1 they are wery far away! You will probably only manage venus jupiter and saturN. 2. Supplied eyepieces are usually very basic just to get uyou started. Good ones can Cost a lot of money. 3any given telescope can only magnify so much. On top of that seeing will vary and mostly limit use able magnification anyway. Due to the British weather you are up against it. You need a dark site and good seeing.... Alternately buy a wilco webcam take off the front and the lenses. Stick it in the eyepiece plug into a laptop and use Sharpcap programme... The magnification will be amazing. You can live stack or save the video and stack later... Look up electronically assisted astronomy. Visual astronomy was a big disappointment to me.. Eaa is the way to see planets galaxy's and nebula in all thier glory... Next there's astrophotography

Hi thanks Damian and Eric. I'm not very good with facebook but I've found the group.. Was hoping to be able to chat to members but I'll look out for meets. Will Google video imaging too. I want to buy an A ZWO camera as an upgrade from my webcam to do lunar and planetary imaging and also use for guiding.. Any advice please? Being new I might be best avoiding the extra hassle n cost of mono and filters? Anyone any idea?

Thank you

Hi Ive just got into Astrophotography before lockdown. Im getting to grips with my HQ5 goto and my Canon 1100d. Also used a webacam which seems to have broken, just ' whiteing' out so im looking to the future and thnking about buying a guide cam (for when I get into guiding) that can replace the webcam for planetary and lunar/solar. My scope is 630mm f4.9 130mm reflector, which is widefield. My question is . Will the guide cam give similar views to the webacm (i.e highly Magnified) AND should I get a colour OR mono guidecam? Would it be any use for deepsky ( the smaller stuff) as opposed to the DSLR? My understanding is that a 1.2mp guide cam sensor would resolve similar to cropping my 12mp DSLR so i wouldnt gain any advantage. Webcam Image field of view.

Hi All at WADAS, I,m Steve from Castleford. I started visual last year and after being generally disappointed turned to imaging early this year, motivated by Astro Back Yard on you tube, I already had a Canon 1100d doing nothing , bought a HQ5 goto and started learning the hard way!, alone! due to lockdown. Anyway my original plan was just to take the scope camping as we have a camper van (great), we dont have a back yard(not great) . So my main issue is finding places to take the van to image away from light polution. Can anyone help? Ive found some info online like Sutton Bank Car park but as we know other people have strange hobbies! Anyone have any info or experience imaging away from home please?