Daf1983

Thanks for that, I've seen a few people use the altair ff/fr also. Am I right on assuming that any field flattener will work as long as it matches the specs of the scope?

Thanks, that good to know! Looks like I'll have to invest in some guiding equipment sooner rather than later! What field flattener due you use with the 80ed? The main thing that's putting me off is the skywatcher ff/fr is about £180, which makes it a much more expensive option than the 72ed (where you can use the ovl flattener)

Would the 80ed not need a focal reducer to make it quick enough for imaging? This would bring the focal length to 510mm (with 0.85 reducer which most use), which is not that much longer than the 72ed. I'm not disagreeing with you by the way, just trying to get my head around both optiins😁 I've had a play on the field of view simulators, and while the 80ed is probably better for more targets, I felt there wasn't much in it(assuming you use a focal reducer)

I have to be honest, this has been my major dilemma! Would the 80ed give much better results?

Short subs - I'm assuming as I won't be guiding to begin with, I won't be able to obtain very long subs. But I take your point on needing to guide to get good results, but I want to get used to using a eq mount and polar aligning etc first, before I add an extra layer of complexity which guiding brings (plus I've blown my budget on the mount and telescope😪) As you say, the best thing to do is try and see what works. Thanks for your input

Hi, thanks for the reply. I live in bortle 4 skies, so I'll see how I get on before investing in a LP filter. Also, as I won't be guiding to begin with, am I right in saying subs won't be long enough for LP to be an issue? I have a laptop. With regards to dew control, I 've had no issues at all with due while imaging with a dslr and lens,. Would a refractor be any more prone to dew than a standard lens?

Hi, Having done a fair bit of observing with my dob and imaging with DSLR, lens and the Omegon Minitrack over the past year, I'm ready to invest some money in a more serious astrophotography rig. I've read 'Making every photon count' (twice), and I think I have an idea of what I need to get started. My logic is to start with a fairly simple setup with no guiding, and then build from there. This is what I have in mind: 1. HEQ5 pro 2. Evostar 72ED - I decided on this rather than the 80ED to make it easier to track unguided 3. OVL field flattener 4. Astro essential dovetail bar - in order to balance the scope properly 5. Lynx Astro 12v DC power supply - to power mount from mains supply 6. DSLR and t ring adapter (which I already have). Befoe I pull the trigger, is this a decent starting setup to get into astrophotography, and does anyone have a similar setup? Have I missed anything that I need? Thanks in advance Dafydd

Arrived today from @FLO. Essential reading I'm told before I invest in some proper imaging kit.

Had (yet another🙈) go at Pleiades this week. I upped the integration time (about 150x25s light frames) and used ISO 1600 instead of ISO 800. I also bought some step down filter rings off Aliexpress to get rid of the big diffraction spikes caused by the lens (thanks @alacantfor the suggestion). I have also invested in Photoshop and the Astronomy tools plug ins to help with processing. These are the final results, the first image being heavily cropped. Thanks again everyone for their suggestions and help on this thread. I am now saving up to buy a proper mount and telescope so I can improve my images further.

Third attempt at capturing M45. Combined some more data to the one above, and took a slightly different route while processing. Finding this hobby very addictive and rewarding👍

Hello everyone. After all the advice I received on this thread, I've managed to find a couple of hours of cloudless skies to try out this lens again. This time, I took some flat and dark flat frames (not that hard after all), and used some noise reduction plug ins for gimp. I also took more care when stretching the image, checking that the noise wasn't getting to bad as I went along. This is my new image of M45, which I think is a slight improvement on the one in the OP. Thanks again everyone for their tips and advice🙂

This is very interesting and informative. I also noticed the notches on the diaphragm, wasn't sure if that was normal for vintage lenses, as this is the only one I've used. I also get red halos around bright stars when focusing, and like you, focus by making sure these disappear. I would definitely be interested in a vintage lens thread, as that's all I can afford for the time being👍

Thanks for your kind words. I would have been overjoyed with those images when starting a few months back, but I suppose you become more self critical as you gain some experience.

I bought this lens a few weeks ago. This is what I've managed with it so far. Don't be put off with these images though, as I'm a complete novice, and my processing skills aren't the best😁

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely look into some kind of mask to aid with focusing, as I must admit, there is some degree of guessing going on with my current approach. I've read that Y lord is maybe more suitable for dslr lenses, as they let more light in? They also look easier to make than a bahtinov mask(don't want to be spending more money at the minute🙈)

That's also what I've found in the short time I've been using it

I've thought about making a Y lord mask, it might be worth a shot, and I will have a look at the videos you mentioned when I have time. I followed one of Serif's (I think) when trying to process andromeda a couple a months back. Regarding a dslr controller and android app, how would that aid focusing?(excuse my ignorance) Thanks again

At the minute, I'm focusing using live view at x10 magnification. I suppose a bahtinov mask would help?

Thanks again, everyone has been very helpful! Up to about 2 months ago, I had done zero image processing. Feel like I have learned a lot in that time(mostly from reading and getting advice on here), but also feel I have a LOT still to learn

I've only used free software to do my processing so far (gimp and siril). I'm guessing they don't have the features you've described above?

Yes it is the f3.5. Thanks for the help, that makes sense now👍

Thank you for taking the time to look for them👍 Where/how do they attach to the lens? Does it have to be specific type for a specific lens? (Sorry for all the questions)

Thanks everyone👍 I'll have a go at taking some flats next time. Thanks for that, will have a go with that software. Where could I get hold of a filter ring?

I thought someone would suggest this. I've been putting off doing flats, mainly because I don't really know how to, and it seems very fiddly. I will have to look into it and give it a go😁

Thanks the suggestions! I will definitely try these out next time. 👍 With regards to processing, what do you mean by 'blurring out background noise'?