Daf1983

4 minutes ago, PaulM said:

yep good fit and can get prime focus

Would you need a 2 inch barlow lens to use with that? The ones I've seen have t ring which screws directly to the scope for prime focus, and a 1.25 inch adaptor for using with a barlow

(Sorry for all the questions)

9 minutes ago, PaulM said:

this is the t-ring i got

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0759X99NQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_G-5sFb4J7HK1Q

Great👍 Is that one with a 2inch adaptor?

17 minutes ago, PaulM said:

Recently bought a used 350d camera for £30 to see what I could get from my 350p dob and managed this last night of mars 6 best images stacked not processed further. i use a Canon 4524B001 Remote Control RC-06 to take the images quickly after each other

Ive also had to buy a 2x barlow to achieve close up focus as well as a short t-ring adaptor for the camera to achieve primary focus

Thanks,  good to know what can be done, I just want to experiment a bit to begin with to see what's possible, I definitely plan on trying this.

I have a barlow already, but need to buy a t-ring and adaptor. Out of interest, where did you get yours? Seems to be a lot of options on ebay/amazon which vary massively in price. I guessing a cheap one would do the job

1 hour ago, Nicola Hannah Butterfield said:

As @dannybgoodesaid it is probably best to save for the mount first, as any astro photography is tricky at the best of times.

However, that said images can be done with non-driven mounts, when I started earlier this year, I had a Skywatcher 200P on a static HEQ5 mount along with a canon 6D, using a high ISO (sensor sensitivity) of 6,400, I managed to obtain this image of The Orion Nebula.

It is a stack of 80 1/4's exposures, stacked in Registax,  this seemed to take for ever as has been mentioned previously I had to constantly adjust the scope and wait to settle, but not it was an eq mount so a little easier to follow the object as I only really had the one axis to worry about.

I also managed this image of Venus using eye-piece projection, detail are equivalent focal length of the scope was some 18m (yes 18m) @ f/90, shutter speed 1/60th and the ISO 12,800, note this was a single exposure opposed to a video sequence which can then me stacked.

I would imagine, that similar can be achieved with either the 550D or 600D as there was no computer control, the only other thing I had for the Orion shot was an interval timer, so I would frame the scope so as the nebula moved through the f.o.v. I would take several short exposure whilst it was close to the centre of view, then re frame and repeat.

Hope this helps in your decision.

Hello. I've actually brought a second hand canon 600d by now, should be arriving this week.  

I've decided to keep the dob as a purely visual scope, although I might try a bit of lunar photography with it and the 600d, and maybe take videos of planet.

I'm also planning on doing some non-tracking astrophotography with a 600d, a tripod and a intervelometer. I'm not expecting to get amazing results, but am mostly wanting to learn a bit about photography and astrophotography, and see how much I enjoy it, before investing in expensive gear.  If I do find myself really enjoying it, I will probably eventually invest in a star tracker to use with the dslr. 

If I can get anything nearly as good as your picture of Orion, I'll be over the moon👍

1 minute ago, Andy R said:

It’s a nice walk up there and a great view from the top.

thanks

I have been up there years ago, but not at night. I imagine it's a great dark site, but I don't fancy hauling my 8 inch dob up there😉

Beautiful shot! Moel famau is not that far from where I live👍

3 minutes ago, PaulM said:

I used my new Neodymium filter on Saturn/Jupiter but seeing was awful but could see a benefit vs not using the filter

That's interesting, as I've been struggling a bit with jupiter. I can just about see the bands, but nothing much more. Not sure if that's because of poor seeing, their low altitude or a combination of both. But I think some sort of filter could help

55 minutes ago, Philip R said:

+1 for the UHC. I have the Explore Scientific... (because I like the pretty outer boxes they come supplied in).

 

Another useful filter and my most used filter is the Baader Neodymium.
I often call/refer to it the 'Swiss Army knife' filter.

Not too expensive either, only £6 dearer than the unbranded version from flo. Surely it's worth an extra £6 for the pretty box alone😉

2 minutes ago, PaulM said:

I started with a UHC and Oiii filter and tend to get the better views from the UHC filter

Thanks, I will add that to my ever growing wish list🙈

19 minutes ago, PaulM said:

Excellent set of objects observed, very very reminiscence of my first observation sessions through my 200p and likewise my expectations were exceeded when I first observed M81\82 together in the same FOV 

Dumbell Nebula is worth hunting down just as a challenge in itself as it is quite faint

If you enjoy M13 then I would recommend spending some time viewing the double cluster in Perseus and also the double double in Lyra (I was just able to split these with my 200p) which isn't not too far from M57 which like yourself I always try to get a view of and using filters give it a more dynamic almost 3D appearance 

I also managed to split the double double last week, but have bot got round to observing the double cluster yet, another to add to the list👍.

I will definitely have another go at the dumbell, maybe from the inlaws garden, which is much more open. Which filters would you recommend?

23 minutes ago, westmarch said:

Lovely report, M81 and M82 are one of my favourite combinations in the FOV.  I recommend the Leo galaxies, in Spring,  as a treat to look forward to.

Don’t you just get such a sense of achievement star hopping to find your target popping up as planned?

I was looking at the planets last night and after looking at Jupiter and Saturn, thought I would star hop to Neptune, while waiting for Mars to come from behind a tree. Couldn’t see much below Pegasus  due to the light pollution from an industrial estate but starting off at Markab in Pegasus, I was able to star hop down using the FOV of my 40mm plossl. Took about 20 mins but lo and behold up it pops as part of a tight little asterism in Aquarius.

Its low tech but not much to go wrong. 😀

John

 

Thank you. I agree, star hopping is very rewarding, but very frustrating to begin with!😁

I was pleasantly suprised how clear it was from my back garden last night, could even see the milky way by the time I had finished my session. It's also nice that the nights are getting longer, and I don't have to stay up until silly o'clock to have some darkness.

Mars and neptune are next on my list. Mars pops up above my neighbours house about midnight at the minute, so should be more than doable

Hi there. Did you wind the eyeguard the whole way up? 

Had a great night of observing last night, for the first time since I bought my 200p in May, everything felt easier, less stressful and a lot more enjoyable. It was also the first time I had a chance to properly use my Sky and Telescope pocket sky atlas, and along with the the Telrad, I think this is a good combination for me.

I started off in Hercules with a familiar target, M13, which is fast becoming my go to DSO, and definitely a favourite! I then moved on to a second Globular Cluster in hercules, M92. Whilst, not quite as impressive as M13, I had some really nice view of this with my dob and the 8mm BST. 

I then moved on to the Ring Nebula, M57. Again, this is becoming a favourite of mine, but for whatever reason, the views of this wasn't as good as I've previously seen. I think I might also need to invest in a Nebula filter to increase the contrast on these targets. 

Finally, I had planned to have a look at the Dumbell Nebula, but unfortunately, the neighbours house was blocking the view. I therefore turned my attention to M81 and M82, Bode's Nebula and the Cigar Galaxy. I hadn't planned on observing these, and didn't have a star hop route planned put to find them. However, I decided to start at Dubhe in Ursa Major, and using my finderscope, I moved one star at a time until i reached where I thought they should be. Then, I had a look through my Vixen NPL 30mm, and after searching around the while, I managed to find both. These are the first galaxies I have observed, and whilst I couldn't see much detail, I could easily see the core of M81, and the elongated shape of M82. It really does take the breath away seeing both at the same time.

Finally, I moved the dob to the other side of the garden to have a quick look at Jupiter and Saturn, which were as impressive as always. All in all, a successful session.

Hi. I have the same telescope, and have the the 12mm and 8mm bst, along with a vixen npl 30mm and a barlow. Personally, I would say that's more than enough to keep you going for a while. What I've noticed in my limited experience is that it's best to use what you have, and see if any other eyepieces are needed as you go along! For example, while I'm observing some objects, I find that I could do with something in the 15-18mm range, so this will be my next purchase when funds allow.

With regards to recommended eyepieces, apart from bst's, I really like the vixen npl. But I'm sure others with more experience can help you more.

I'm sure you'll love the 200p. Looking forward to hearing how you get on.

Cheers Dafydd

3 months ago, I was in exactly the same position as you, trying to decide between the 150p and 200p skyliner. I eventually ordered the 150p....then cancelled the order and ordered the 200p instead. I'm so glad I did, as I'm very happy with the 200p, and if I had gone with the 150p, there would always be nagging feeling I should have stretched my budget that little further.( The jump in price from 6 to 8 inch is not that big). However, I'm sure you'll be more than happy if you decide to go with 150p.

As for accessories, as merlin says above, the bst starguiders ar very good, I have bought the 8mm and 12mm. I also have the vixen npl 30mm which is also very nice, and not too expensive. 

I found the scope quite hard to use with only the original 8x50 finder, so I would highly recommend getting the telrad to complement it. It's made observing so much easier and pleasurable in my (limited) experience. This would probably be the first thing I would buy if I had my time again.

Agree, a bit early to get excited unfortunately. Have found that the forecast changes dramatically from hour to hour recently, let alone from day to day! But I'll keep my fingers crossed for you😁

I'd probably do the same if I was buying again. Good luck👍

4 minutes ago, merlin100 said:

I'm using the same telescope...😉

I noticed, it's my first ever telescope, and I'm very happy with it. However, I have read that the focuser is not the best, and that might be causing the issue when rotating the cheshire.🤷‍♂️ If you go for the premium cheshire, I'd be interested to hear if you have the same issues with that

I have the cheaper of the two for 200p dob. It seems fairly well built but I've had 2 issues with it. Firstly, I can't see the 3 primary clips when centering the secondary in the focuser. I presume this is because it's a long cheshire. I've had to make a collimation cap for this part of collimation. Secondly, there is quite a bit of movement with the cheshire in the focuser, this means that the crosshairs don't stay exactly central when you rotate it. 

Please note that this is the only cheshire I've ever used, so I don't know if these are common issues with long cheshire eyepieces and the skywatcher focuser, or a problem with this particular eyepiece.

Bortle 4 according to co and the light pollution website. A lot of housing development going on in the area at the minute though, so I doubt it'll stay like that for long😏

27 minutes ago, Nikodn said:

The physical size concerns me getting to darker site ????

I have the 200p, and although quite heavy, I can easily carry it from where it's stored in the shed to my garden in one piece. I also occasionally take it in the car to a dark site, when I do this I disassemble it into its two main parts, and reassemble it at the site, which takes 5 minutes max to do.👍

I have the astro essentials version with my 200p. I can't see the 3 primary clips at all using it, and I find there is quite a bit of movement when it's in the focuser. Is it's the only cheshire eyepiece I've ever used, so not sure if it's an issue with the eyepiece, the focuser or (most probably) me!

11 minutes ago, HutchStar said:

My garden is south facing but I can only see a tiny slither of the southern sky due to trees so I'd either have to wait until Jupiter/Saturn appeared there or go somewhere else to get a look at the planets. I get a decent view east and west though, and can see things higher up to the north so it's not all bad.

 

Thanks for all the input everyone, very much appreciated. Good point about not stargazing alone too, I'll look into clubs when my scope arrives.

I also have a 8 inch skywatcher dob, and the view from my garden sounds similar to yours. I live in a bortle 4/5 zone, have a south facing garden, but the view in this direction is blocked by our neighbours house. I have unobstructed views to the east and west, and my own house blocks the view to the north.

I have done 90% of my observing from my garden, and have seen plenty of dso. However, to see saturn and jupiter I have had to take my scope up to the inlaws house up the road, which is much less light polluted, and has unobstructed views in all directions. 

11 minutes ago, Tommohawk said:

Yup! 550D sensor is 22mm wide approx where 120 is 4.5mm wide. 

Do you think that would be an issue with a manual dob? Does anyone have experience using zwo cameras with a manual dob?