Daf1983

44 minutes ago, Budgie1 said:

There's also quite a bit of adjustment on the EAF motor bracket, so can you fit the coupler so it's far enough out to clear the casing?

I have yes. I think you're suggestion here might be an option if I can't adjust the focuser. Thanks again for you help

1 hour ago, Budgie1 said:

When I fitted the EAF to my ED80 DS Pro, I didn't have any issues.

I've just checked the focuser (I changed it for the upgraded version) and the shaft sticks out 7mm from the black focuser casing, so yours looks about right.

One thing to check is that you haven't got the coupler the wrong way round. The centre hole has two different sizes in it, one for the scope side and one for the EAF, which is larger. If you put the EAF side onto the  focuser shaft and tighten the grub screws then this can push the coupler off centre and it can rub the casing. You also won't be able to get the EAF onto the coupler.  

Hi, thanks for the reply. 

This is what I thought initially, but the coupler is definitely attached the correct way. I'm pretty sure that it's an issue with the focuser being off centre, but I don't want to be messing about with focuser unless I have to!!

I've been trying to attach my new ZWO EAF to my Evostar 80ED focuser. I didn't get very far before I got unstuck.

I have removed the coarse focuser knob as per the instructions. But I'm having trouble attaching the coupler to the telescope. I can get the coupler in (but it does not fit in easily), and once in place there seems to be a lot o resistance when trying to rotate the focuser (with just the coupler in place).

From what I can see, the focuser shaft seems off centre, and therefore the coupler in rubbing against the black tube shown in the photos.

Do I need to adjust the focuser so I can get the shaft centred? If so, how do I go about doing that?  

Thanks in advance

Dafydd

This waiting for me when I got home from work today. Picked it up for a decent price off Astro buy & sell. Need to get it fitted on 80ED now😬

And I processed this again, using starnett to remove the stars this time.

Finally got out imaging after what seems like ages due to weather and work commitment. First time imaging the Elephant's Trunk nebula. 

About 3 hours of data, and processed in Photoshop. Might try and process this using a false hubble's palette when I have the time.

CC welcome as usual.

Dafydd

I had this problem when using the 600d. Make sure that all your files are in the same format (ie fits or canon raw). I found when I tried to mix fits with cr2 files, they wouldn't stack because they were slightly different sizes

5 minutes ago, powerlord said:

haha. 'fraid so. even at 1480mm it's as above. I thought about using without the FF and just doing the pillars at 2350mm , but figured at F10 and with the limited time, it would have been a waste - though seeing was nice last night - some of my stars were FWHM 2ish which isn't usually the case with the SCT.

I did consider breaking out the big gun (SW 300PDS) but it's a bit of effort to trek the thing out there and set it up.. and for 20 mins I decided it wasn't worth it for the extra F1.4

I'm gonna need a new scope then😬

28 minutes ago, powerlord said:

Yeh last year around now I didn't have the kit, but even if I did I thought it being so low, and such limited view it was a waste of time. Even last night I was in two minds whether it was worth the hassle.

Forecast clear for Friday night, so left things set up and can maybe double my integration time to 4 subs! 😂

Speaking of kit, I only have the 80ED at the minute, so I'm guessing it's gonna be pretty widefield at that focal length😏 

Love this. This is the target I've most wanted to image since starting with astrophotography. I just remember seeing the Hubble image for the first time, and being blown away. 

However, being so low in the sky and behind next doors house, I've never attempted it. I might make an effort to go up to my parents in laws house to give it a go after seeing this. They have less light pollution, and a much less restricted view of the sky.

Thanks everyone for their kind comments. Regarding PI, I was a bit apprehensive about it to begin with, because of all the comments about it being very unintuitive etc. But I've actually found it easier to pick up than Photoshop, even though the names of some of the processes are a bit ridiculous. But I'm still in the trial period at the minute, and I'm still undecided whether I'm going to buy a licence just yet(mainly because I'm skint😭) 

Having recently acquired a new laptop, I thought I'd download Pixinsight to see what all the fuss was about. 

Have always wanted to make a Hubble style images, and have always struggled to get satisfactory results in Photoshop. So, this is my first attempt using Pixinsight. 

Most of the processing was actually done months ago in PS, but I split the channels and recombined in Pixelmath using PI, to give a Hubble Palette effect. The original data was captured with an L-enhance filter and ZWO 533 MC pro camera.

45 minutes ago, Clarkey said:

That's a pretty good image for 3.5 hours. The background looks OK to me - what's bothering you?

A bit more saturation might help with getting slightly better star colours and bring out the galaxies a bit more.

Thanks for your comment. Re background, never sure how much to darken the background in processing, and how much to push noise reduction.

I think I lose a bit of perspective after spending hours processing the image, so ti's good to have a second opinion

I had the same dilemma regarding the 294 vs 533. I went with the 533 in the end, even though I wasn't sure about the square sensor. After 2 months with the camera, I find rectangular images strange😂 

First attempt imaging the Leo Triplet. About 3.5 hours integration time, with flats, dark flats and darks. Stacked in photoshop, processed in photoshop. Equipment used as was my Skywatcher Evostar 80ED and ZWO 533MC pro.

I think my processing is coming along, but still feel my background isn't quite right. CC welcome as always

Dafydd

I'm pretty sure I saw this in one of my subs while imaging last night. I'll have a proper look once I've downloaded everything on to my laptop. 

Some lovely clear skies on holiday in the Lake District. No telescope, but took some photos with my Google pixel 3, using night sight mode.

The recent run of clear skies gave me the opportunity to shoot M51 for the first time. I left the rig running over night, so I was able to capture about 80x5 minutes subs, to give a total integration time of about 6.5 hours. Calibrated with flats, darks and bias frames.

The focal length of the Evostar 80Ed is not ideal for these galaxies, but even so I'm quite happy with the result.

CC welcome as usual

23 minutes ago, Clarkey said:

Did you use any filters? This will reduce the spectrum available. (From M82 I would say not, but it would depend on the processing).

I used an astronomik uv/ir cut

I've been having issues with my guiding lately, especially in RA. I finally has the time and courage to tune the backlash in my HEQ5, and a couple of clear nights let me test it out. Guiding was much more stable, generally between 0.50-0.80 total RMS, never above 0.90. It had been fluctuating wildly, especially post dither, so I'm very happy!

This is the image I took over the last 2 nights. This is the first time I've shot this target. I took 5 minute subs for a total integration time of 4 hours. Stacked in DSS and processed in photoshop.

Quite happy with the results, but struggled to get much colour out of the data. CC welcome as usual

Finally had the time and courage to tune my mount to get rid of the horrible backlash in ra. Shooting m81 and m82 tonight, and guiding seems much better so far. 

Thanks @Second Time Around for the quick delivery. Nice to have something to read since I'm in covid isolation again!

Tonight's 88% Waxing Gibbous Moon, taken with 80ED and ZWO 533. Stacked about 100 frames in AS3 and quickly processed in Photoshop. 

33 minutes ago, itsamomentintime said:

thats a beauty

could i add a telescope, then use the camera to take the image?

It depends on your mount. With the mount used on this image (which was the omegon lx2 by the way), I could get 30s exposures before I had star trails, that was with a 135mm focal length lens. With a telescope, you will have a longer focal length, so you will need a better mount.

I've never used the star adventurer, but I think you could use a small telescope on it, like the redcat or the evostar 72ed. But then your in a different price range compared to a budget lens.

When I started out (and I'm still very much a beginner), everyone told me to spend most of my budget on the mount. This is so true.

Personally, budget permitting, I would get a skywatcher star adventurer, a small telescope/telephoto lens and a dslr.

Hi,

I'm no expert, but when I started a year and a half ago, I had a similar goal, and used the following equipment:

- Canon 600d (£200 2nd hand)

- Carl zeiss 135mm lens (£30)

- Tripod (£40)

- Intervalometer (£10)

- Skytracker (depends, star adventurer is about £250, I used a mechanical tracker which I picked up for £80 2nd hand).

This is what I got with the above equipment, not sure if it qualifies as decent🙈

Be aware, since taking this photo I've spent a further £2k+, this hobby can be addictive and pricey!