Jm1973

9 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

This will probably depend upon your telescope. Normally a barlow or Powermate is used to increase the overall focal length of the telescope.

Hi. Thanks for the reply.

So do you mean Camera -> Barlow -> Focusser? Is that the usual way of it?

I have a barlow but it does not have a thread on it. 

Hi. Im currently using a DSLR attached directly to my telescope focusser to photograph DSOs.

I am going to buy a ZWO camera as I want to start autoguiding. I am going to attach it to my 9x50 finderscope.

So far so good...

However, I also want to occasionally use the ZWO camera to do some planetary imaging.

I am thinking about buying the USB3 ZWO ASI120MC-S, as I am not ready to start messing about with filters too much yet.

I have two questions.. 

1. Do you think the ZWO ASI120MC-S is a good choice for a starter camera for planetary imaging? It's about at the limit of my budget for now. From what I've read it should be fine as a guide camera.

2. How would I actually incorporate it into the imaging train? I assume I would need to use an EP in front of the ZWO in order to get the magnifications required to get some decent planetary shots? Or is this not the case? Also, just to make things awkward, the only semi-decent EPs I have are the BST Starguiders, which have quite a bulbous front aperture, so they are not easy to fit into an adaptor or extender. Does anyone have any idea how I could set this up please? And if I would need an EP in front of the camera at all...

Thanks.

Hi. I currently have a DSLR attached via T-ring directly to my focusser. I am looking to get a CLS filter or similar. I have seen one for sale which is a 1.25" CLS  filter. I am wondering which is the best way to fit this into my current setup. How do people normally do it? 

Thanks in advance.

Just to add some balance. I have an EQ5 mount and a skywatcher 200p. I use my dslr to image and have had no issues so far with it being overweight for the mount. I'm going to add a zwoasi120mm mini onto the existing finderscope so as not to add much weight when I start autoguiding.

31 minutes ago, PlankWithANailIn said:

How did you get it to work with your dslr?

I installed the ASCOM DSLR driver. Then selected 'ASCOM driver for DSLR' as the camera type in SharpCap.

https://github.com/FearL0rd/ASCOM.DSLR/wiki/Installation

2 hours ago, Seelive said:

Unfortunately, unlike the old orange low  pressure sodium lights that only omit in a very narrow bandwidth which are easily removed by filters such as the IDAS D2, LED lighting is much more broadband, emitting over a wide range of wavelengths. Whilst 'light pollution' filters such as the IDAS D2 will help somewhat, the only real solution is probably narrow band filters.

You mean something like a tri or quad band filter?

On 23/10/2020 at 22:13, wornish said:

Sharpcap Polar Align is as good as anything else out there. Used it for over two years.  

Well worth the £10.

Having now tried it successfully, it is great. Definitely worth a tenner.

I was thinking of more of a general purpose filter if possible. I live in the outskirts of Bristol. There are white streetlights, several neighbors have security and garden lights that come on randomly, and there is the general skyglow that comes from living a few miles from the centre of a city. I couldn't really say what type of LP I am specifically suffering with.

On 01/01/2020 at 20:50, Fo_Cuss said:

Gimp Version (does a better job IMHO)

Below are :

Original Image .... PixInsight Modded Image
Gimp Modded Image (exact details) .... Gimp Colour Enhanced Image

Note
The PixInsight stars are not the same colour as the original (and colours are washed out).
The 1st Gimped image has extracted the exact colour details from the original image.
The 2nd Gimped image lifts the original colours (as an option if wished)

Do appreciate that I figured this method by myself ... I'm sure it can be improved.

The most important element, is that Gimp enables accurate extraction of the detail, with the option of colour enhancement
... and it doesn't cost a penny.

However, it is thanks to Rikyuu's original work, that guided me to this method 👍

I suggest that I write up the method as a separate tutorial.
Whether it should be stuck is up to the admins
... but as the original LE software is no longer available, and Gimp will be free and with us forever....

🌝

Hi. Did you ever write up any instructions on how to do this in GIMP please?

53 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

USB 2.0 is more than enough for guiding. It is only when you want to use the same camera for planetary imaging that USB 3.0 has advantage.

You can still do very decent planetary shots with USB 2.0 cameras, mind you.

For guiding, mono is a bit better, but you can guide with OSC as well - there won't be any issues except for slightly smaller sensitivity (bayer matrix lowers overall sensitivity of camera and not each pixel is sensitive in whole spectrum).

So far I always guided with OSC cameras and never had any issues because of that.

Thanks. I'll consider getting the OSC if I can't find a mono version then.

Thanks for the replies. It sounds like the ASI120MM Mini could be the way to go.

I've not seen any of the mono ones on sale second hand, but I have seen a few of the colour ones for sale at around the £100 mark.

I assume there is no problem using a colour instead of mono version?

Also is the USB3 version necessary or would I get away with a USB2?

Thanks again!

Fingers crossed, eh?

I'll know what's what when I take out the current bolts. As you say, it may well be that I need to do something to the mount itself as well as replacing the bolts.

The bolts are definitely bent though.

Hi All!

I'm currently imaging with an EQ5 pro goto synscan mount, Skywatcher Explorer 200P, and D3300 DSLR attached to the focusser. It is all run from a PC via USB cables. I am aware that this is considered an underspecced mount for this weight but it works ok. I am able to get subs of 90 seconds with no issue, and with good polar alignment I can push up to about 2 minutes before stars start to get oval-shaped.

I am considering making the move to auto-guiding to get longer subs. I am aware that many would say I am already pushing my luck weight-wise with this mount, so I am trying to keep the setup streamlined. I have been reading up on the subject and am hoping to attached a webcam (maybe a QuickCam Pro 4000) to my existing finderscope, which is the stock 9x50 type. I am thinking of attaching this to my PC via USB cable and controlling via EQMOD.

The advantages of this are 1. it's cheap, 2. it only adds the weight of the webcam to my mount.

Does anyone here do anything similar, or know whether this is feasible, or know of any potential pitfalls I should look out for?

Thanks for any replies!

Clear skies!

30 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

This problem is compounded by the blot pushing against an aluminium slope which wears after a while so instead of the bolt pushing against the slope it rides up it and bends.

If you're into DIY there are various solutions such as lining the aluminium with stainless steel set to suit your latitude.

Dave

Hi Dave. Thanks for the reply. I have come across this, and at the other extreme I have come across people who have had the mount itself wear away by using too strong bolts.

I think as long as one loosens the opposite bolt first. then 'takes the strain' on the mount head, before tightening the adjustment bolt, therte should be no problem with bolts bending or mounts wearing down.

In theory anyway.

I recently bought a Skywatcher EQ5 mount, and the south latitude adjustment bolt is bent. I've seen numerous threads on this subject, and have seen replacements on sale for £35 a set. I've also seen people buying M8 bolts and using Allan keys to adjust them. I've just been looking and think I have found a good solution, at an extremely cheap price.

These were the princely sum of £2.50 on that well known auction site. Search for eye bolts.

The great thing about these is you can easily turn them by hand. They have a thread length of 75mm which is about the same as the stock bolts, and they are zinc plated so will be stronger than the stock bolts.

I'll update this thread once I've got them to say if they actually fit or not!

Hi All.

I am shooting from a fairly light-polluted area probably Bortle Class 5 or 6. I always have to spend time removing the LP from my stacked images.

I am considering buying a LP filter, but am unsure whether to buy a clip-in for my camera (a D3300), or something to attach to the T-ring, or any other option available.

I also am not sure what filter I need, and what is a reputable brand or type of filter, how much do I need to spend etc.

Also I understand a LP filter is subtractive, so I will be losing some light - is it even worth it?

Any thoughts, or recommendatioons are very welcome.

3 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

There's always a better way to do it than by black clipping. What processing software are you using?

Ah, your post while I was typing has answered my question! Have you tried the gradient removal tools?

 

Olly

Yeah, it's more or less the only thing I use it for.. apart from stacking.

I use the light pollution removal tool mainly, as this normally helps gets rid of vignetting as well as gradients.

I have had no success whatsoever with the correct vignetting tool.

I'm still yet to find a method for creating flats that gives me stacks without horrible vignetting.

1 hour ago, happy-kat said:

Getting some extended region there.

When you stacked the images did you use kappa sigma clipping, it can help with star shapes.

I used the defaults in APP. I will bear that in mind though. I'm pretty new to this so just finding my way around all the software.

As an aside, I find whenever I use DSS to stack, I find I get a lot of what I can only call large pixelation in the resulting stack. Like someone has been playhing dig dug or some 80s tunneling game on my image.

Not sure what's causing that really.

11 hours ago, Pryce said:

Looks to me like you've clipped the blackpoint a bit, which has probably lost you some detail!  Very good first attempt though! 

It's possible. There was a lot of LP so I ended up bumping the black point up a bit.

I will be having another go at it at some point, so will try to do it when there is no moon next time.

20 x 60s subs at ISO1600

20 x 20s subs at ISO 1600

No calibration frames.

Unmodded Nikon D3300 / EQ5 Synscan / Skywatcher 200p

On 19/10/2020 at 16:12, Waddensky said:

Hi! Lots of great things to see with that telescope, even galaxies and nebulae. The Andromeda Galaxy is lovely but doesn't show much detail. Use the least magnification you can (the 25 mm eyepiece in your case). Other galaxies that are well worth a look are M81 and M82 (a nice pair but can be a bit difficult to find). If your location is dark enough, M51 is a very interesting target.

If you wait a few weeks (or get up early), the Orion Nebula (M42) is always wonderful to look at. Globular clusters are also nice targets, this time of year M2 and M15 are high up in the evening. Cruise around the Milky Way in Cassiopeia and Cygnus, lots of open clusters to 'discover'. Don't skip the Double Cluster in Perseus.

And of course, there is Mars! Good luck!

Last night was completely cloudy so I went to bed early. I awoke around 4am with toothache, and went downstairs to look for painkillers.

After taking them I went out the back garden to check the skies and it was totally clear, and Orion was right overhead. It was so clear I could just about see the great nebula with the naked eye.

I would have got the telescope out but was worried I'd wake the missus and littleun.

Tonight I am going to set my alarm for 3:30 on the off-chance the skies are clear, and if they are I'll be trying to photograph the Great Orion Nebula. 

14 hours ago, rnobleeddy said:

I haven't tried it yet (on a Nikon or Canon) but if your camera supports live view then I'd guess it'd be able to use that to record frames faster.

But if you just want the PA tool then I don't think it'll matter too much (imho sharp caps PA alone is more than worth the £10 fee, it's probably the best bang for buck of anything I've bought for astro).

If SC PA tool works, then I am definitely paying a tenner. Money well spent!

18 hours ago, BrendanC said:

Hey, that's grea to know. It's confusing isn't it, when the camera just keeps taking exposures? But yes, that's how the ASCOM drivers work, I honestly don't know how/why, but it's ideal for the polar alignment feature.

I once installed NINA but didn't really use it. I've been using APT for over a year now and it's great. It automagically detects my Canon, no need for the ASCOM drivers. It might do the same for your Nikon? If not then pop over to the APT forum whether the developer Ivo is very helpful.

Nikon have apparently not released the API or SDK for the D3300, so most developers don't bother to code for it. For ages they said there was no way to do bulb, or get live view working etc., until digicamcontrol came along and proved it could be done. Now the ASCOM driver uses the same method that digicamcontrol uses for the D3300. APT still swear they can't do anything with it though.

Digicamcontrol does bulb and has an AP tool where you can set up however many exposures you want, and it can set the ISO and expsoure time, and it has a basic Live View (no zoom), so I get by with that.

I think I'd need to buy a different camera in order to get APT working. However, I can take photos remotely with DCC, plate solve with AT and now hopefuly polar align with SC, so at the moment I don't really need anything else.

I have got a 10m repeater usb cable that I use with my mount. It has no external power supply, and works great. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NORHCE8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

5 hours ago, BrendanC said:

Be very interested to know how you get on. What I found was that, at first, I didn't think the drivers were working because the camera kept taking exposures, but it turns out that's what it was supposed to be doing. Make sure that, in Sharpcap, you play around with whatever controls you have for exposure ISO and time. I found ISO1600 and ten-second exposures worked fine.

 

Well I got the ASCOM DSLR driver installed, and it picked up my camera. I installed SharpCap 3.3 and when I tried to pick ASCOM driver it would just hang and if I clicked on the screen it crashed.

However, when I just left it for a minute or so, it popped up with a screen asking if I wanted to wait for the program to recover or close it. I clicked wait, and then the camera was finally picked up.

I went to the polar aligment tool, and as you say, it just started taking exposures continually. Eventually I figured out that's what it is meant to be doing. I didn't actually have my telescope set up, as it was cloudy, but it does look like it may actually work!

When the weather is better I will try with 10 seconds and 1600 ISO. Thanks for the advice.

As a side-note, I also installed NINA and APT as they work with ASCOM DSLR drivers, but although they picked up my camera, they did not seem to work very well with it. I get the feeling the driver only partially works, but if it works enough for the polar alignment tool in sharpcap, then that's great!