RossHicksPhoto

13 minutes ago, inFINNity Deck said:

You can shoot at a high rate and afterwards reduce the output using PIPP. Among a plethora of other useful things it allows you to skip frames, to compress them and to run the output video at another frame-rate than the original (both slower and faster). I use it a lot, mainly to reduce the filesize of my time-lapses, a few of which are on my website.

Nicolàs

That sounds pretty awesome. I have an intervalometer attached to my Canon DSLR which takes a series of images over a set time. I am heading out tonight again so I will be out longer tonight, getting more images as a result. At least that is the plan
Just researching some locations as we speak. 

I created my first Timelapse last night from the back garden. Focusing on Mars rising in to the night sky. 
I will be attempting another one tonight with a higher frame rate as this was shot over a 45 minute period and rendered at 10fps. I will be aiming for 20-25fps for a smoother result on my next one. 

Hi all... fairly new to this site... is this club still ongoing? (with obvious covid measures in place :))

On 03/10/2020 at 19:04, Captain Magenta said:

It was beautiful and clear for me last night. I spent most of the time observing through my Skymax 180 but couldn't resist at the end of the evening grabbing my DSLR/telephoto to get this, around 1am:

Cheers, Magnus

Wow! Beautiful image! What lens / camera body was this using? 
I struggled to get a decent focus on my shot (above) as the clouds were rolling in fast and I was shooting by hand. 

On 03/10/2020 at 13:13, LeeHore7 said:

Hi Ross 

Great image, I'm getting to learn my canon 450d with my tamron 70-300mm lens, what settings did you use for your image 

Kind regards 

Lee 

To be honest... For this shot I just had the camera in auto... I know that is cheating but I could see the clouds rolling in so I wanted to get what I could, fast... hence handheld and blurry. This was even taken through my living room window haha

Excuse the blurry moon... this was the best I could do through my living room window by hand using my 70-300mm lens.

On 28/08/2020 at 18:02, BrianHes said:

Hi Ross. Happy birthday.
I have the same scope. I see you have the t ring adaptor and Barlow. If you have the Barlow that screws into the adaptor, you should be able to get a good focus on the camera. 
I haven’t tried photographing stars yet, at least not clusters, but have had some success with lunar. 
As others have said, the standard mount can wobble, so you need to make sure everything is balanced after fitting the camera. make sure everything is tight and shorten the legs as far as possible. That will give you the best chance of success. 
I have the motor but have never got it to work properly/at all, so it is gathering dust. It isn’t needed for planetary/lunar photography, exposures are quite short.
I find best results by using the self timer. It cuts down the wobble caused by the mirror flipping up. 
Hope you enjoy the scope. Happy viewing
 

@BrianHes Thanks for such a comprehensive reponse. 
I have an intervalometer that I have for my Canon EOS 750D so I tend to use that to fire off shots when attached to the telescope. No wobble at all then. 
I have done some long exposure shots in the past (albeit on a Camera Tripod) and find this gets best results as there is no delay in having to wait for a timer.

On 28/08/2020 at 15:39, redbase said:

@RossHicksPhoto  Hi Ross,  I have the same telescope which I just purchased used this week.  Here is a link to a motor which you can attach to help track the stars:  https://www.celestron.com/products/astromaster-powerseeker-motor-drive

I have a slight problem with my EQ mount in that the slow motion DEC assembly does not not turn properly.  Does your work okay? 

@redbase sorry for the late reply... Only now noticing these responses.... Oops. 

I don't seem to have any issues with either of the slow motion controls. 
Also, thanks for the link... 
Adding to basket as we speak

Just driving home from work and the clouds parted for a very clear view of the Moon and Mars.... Outstanding view! I wish I had my telescope with me.... 
Typically, now I am home, the clouds are rolling in again.

Well, at least I got to see it... Proper goosebumps lol

Hi all, 

So my amazing wife bought me an Astromaster 130EQ  for my birthday. I have already bought some extras for it so I can hook up my DSLR and cannot wait to get some clear skies to give it a go. 
However, I am also looking for some guidance as I want to set up a motor unit so I can track the stars. 
The telescope came with an equatorial mount but I am not sure which system will work to motorise it. 

Do any of you have any experience / knowledge in this area please? 

On 24/07/2020 at 19:58, KevS said:

 Looking at the above you must also know Dinas Powis, Llandough and Cadoxton.  Small world and welcome to the lounge.

I sure do!!

On 21/03/2009 at 21:13, Ant said:

We have been asked a number of times what the words below the usernames signify.

Well TBH they are just a bit of fun really!

As you post more in the Astro sections of Stargazerslounge you're post count goes up by one (posting in The Lounge doesn't).

With this post I've attached a list of the User Ranks and the posts required to get to each rank.

All they signify is the number of posts that user has made and it doesn't necessarily mean that the person knows what they are talking about (take me for example ).

I think we'll have these bands for some time, but as always we cannot rule out a change at some point.

Cheers
Ant

Good to know this stuff haha

I am already loving how welcoming everyone is!! Thank  you

1 minute ago, Daf1983 said:

I currently live on the north Wales coast, not far from Colwyn Bay/Llandudno. I did live in Cardiff for over 10 years until fairly recently. 

Nice!!

I grew up in Cardiff... Penarth, Cogan and Danescourt

1 minute ago, Daf1983 said:

Welcome Ross, from a fellow newby from Wales

 

Glad to meet you.

What part of Wales are you based?

Hi all, 

I am new to both the forum as well as the world of Stargazing. 
I have had the chance in recent weeks to photograph the night sky on such clear nights and my wife then surprised me with an early birthday present in the form on a Celestron Astromaster 130EQ. 

I have the 10 and 25mm Eyepieces and just had a 1.25 barlow and t-ring delivered for me to attach my DSLR camera! Cannot wait to get out an about with it all!

I have included some of the images I have captured simply using my DSLR and various lenses (mostly my wide angle). 
I cannot wait to start this love affair with the night sky. It really has inspired me to pick up my camera again... a hobby that I sadly let slip with lockdown.

I look forward to getting to know you all

Ross