Jump to content

Narrowband

Matt61

Members
  • Posts

    77
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Matt61

  1. I didn't touch the spider vanes at all. Personally using a Cheshire collimator it was a case of adjusting the central philips head screw to get the secondary mirror under the focusser correctly ( this was out on my 2nd hand scope)and rotating it in tiny increments. Then balancing and tweaking the 3 Allen bolts to get the mirror as circular as you can . I'd say this is easier than concentrating on the 3 mirror clips.

  2. I've just looked and realise that the focusser differs between our telescopes .Yours being more basic. One site recommends putting some ptfe tape( the white plumbers tape available cheaply in any diy store) If when adjusting your focus it all feels a bit loose and imprecise a couple of turns of tape around the screw thread could help in making fine adjustments. 

  3. Focussing on them was no problem although obviously the more magnification used the more crucial it becomes. If I rember correctly best view was via 5mm bst starguider eyepiece. The rings of Saturn clearly defined. At best feint bands on Jupiter of different colours. 4 distinct moons all different colours. ( you could check collimation mines spot on now. Pay attention to getting the secondary mirrors centred and looking as circular as possible under the focusser. I got there with a Cheshire tool fairly easily. Corrections are tiny on those 3 Allen screws. After that getting the black dot central on main mirror is pretty easy . Do allow time for any vibration to settle when changing focus too.Iwould also say don't over magnify expecting to see more and concentrate at first Jupiter looked like a bright disc it took time to tune in and see more.

    • Like 1
  4. I've got a skywatcher 150P on Equatorial. Since purchase in September only once have I had good viewing of Saturn and Jupiter with any detail. Conditions in Gloucestershire have just been poor worsening since they've got lower . I upgraded to Bst eyepieces which are stunning elsewhere in sky. I'm resigned to waiting for better conditions

    • Like 1
  5. There's photography and there's photography. I am not going to kill your dreams though. For £200 I picked up nearly £400 worth of scope used just 6 times. It's capable of giving me excellent pictures. Second hand could be an option to explore. OK at the top tier you are looking at thousands but don't think you can't drive because you can't afford a Ferrari. 

    Before buying do your research ,ask around and to be honest waiting won't hurt. My guess is come the New Year many disillusioned Christmas telescope owners sell up.

    He's never going to see things as the Hubble telescope sees them. ( I've been delighted to pick out Saturn's rings and seeing even our own moon in detail is breathtaking. But since purchase in September the weather has given just 3 windows to view in.) Good luck in your search 

  6. My skywatcher Explorer 150P is an 750mm F5. To be honest I was worried about collimation. However with a Cheshire collimator it was painless. The most difficult being getting the secondary aligned under the focusser. That done the rest is simple . Personally I found laser hopeless as it wasn't aligned itself and doesn't help with that first step of centering the secondary. 

  7. I got the skywatcher 150P on an eq3 pro mount. I've been impressed so far. It's the 750 f5 . I also looked at the 200p but for me it appeared a little unwieldy for transport and storage ( interesting to see comments above). My dslr attaches easily and there's no problem focussing. The weakest link for me is the tripod so I'd say the eq5 would cope admirably. I'd also budget for eyepiece. I picked up 2 bst starguider that make a huge difference. They are very well built and have retractable eye cups that I imagine would be good with glasses. 

  8. I've often found the marked infinity point on a lens isn't always the sweet spot. My advice would be to work around that point. 

    It's time consuming but what you can do is take test shots review magnified on camera lcd and fine tune focussing.  Once happy tape the focus ring . You can afford to do do that at high iso.

  9. Canon live view should have exposure simulation . So yes whatever parameter you alter shutter speed or iso should be obvious on screen. Certainly on my 5d mk2 I will deliberately set it to over expose  for low light focus or composition then reset to to my desired exposure.

    Note also you may be getting zoom movement on the 100 to 400 if it's the older version of the lens with the push pull zoom action. If tripod mounted turn all lens stabilisation off.

  10. 13 hours ago, MarsG76 said:

    I agree, don't underestimate the (full spectrum modded) 40D just because it's a DSLR and because it's "old" tech... this DSLR has delivered some great images at various focal lengths, and is no where near as noisy as what has been stated, and when I cooled it, the noise almost all disappeared, in even 20 & 30 minutes subs.

    The 40D is a APS-C sized sensor equipped camera which is only 10 megapix, meaning that the physical pixels on the chip are bigger than in newer cameras which are double or even quadruple the resolution, and a bigger surface area is bound to get hit by more photos.

    I actually compared my unmodded 40D to my unmodded 7D DSLRs capturing a galaxy a couple of years ago, comparing with the same ISO and same exposure time and the 40D subs were noticeably brighter, with more of the fainter galaxy features in the subs.... and the 7D is only 8 megapixels more in resolution, with not smaller sensor pixels surface area than on the 40D.  

    That doesn't really help someone who by their own admission doesn't really understand the camera. Perhaps you could run through how live view works on a 40d seeing you own one. Is it possible ( I've read online) that live view only works in one of the creative modes and not full manual.

  11. 2 hours ago, spacedog said:

    Thanks for that i googled and got it back in,bought scope in as weather closed in.Tried using camera on M with a 8 tl 55 lens  on live view,nothing appearded on screen assumingii have done job correct and not made things worse.

    Double check your live view settings. Pay attention to exposure simulation in live view. Its all tucked away in one of the sub menus . Lens needs to be on manual focus . Make sure liveview is set in the menu. Finally it's not obvious but you don't press the shutter button to turn it on it's done via the set button ( the one in middle of large rotating ring on back ) 

  12. It looks like a focussing screen. They're made of hard plastic. It will go back in . Try not touch it. They come with a special tool which is effectively plastic tweezers. If you google changing canon focussing screen it comes up. I think there's video too. You haven't wrecked the camera at worst it may be scratched which you may see through the viewfinder. It's a bit fiddly to do but takes no time. Make sure you work in as clean an area as possible to avoid getting dust on the cameras sensor whilst lens is off

  13. 5 hours ago, spacedog said:

    Thank you Matt not sure how high my ISO goes,i used 100 ISO which way is higher low numbers or above 100 ? silly question i know still learning.

    100 is very low so no wonder you didn't see anything. The 40d goes up to around 3200 .at that level any image will be full of digital noise. Upping iso makes the camera more sensitive to light. It's largely going to be trial and error . 

  14. I'm just down the road in Dursley. I've been getting reasonable views of Saturn and Jupiter. ( they are fairly low and set quickly so you need to get out soon after sunset.) Why not try Minchinhampton Selsey or Roborough common ) I'd be tempted to manually find things if you can . I'm new to this too but both Jupiter and Saturn are easily seen relatively close to each other. Make sure finderscope is aligned and home in with widest eyepiece and gradually up magnification. As you zoom in and field of view narrows the more accurate alignment needs to be. 

    • Like 1
  15. If on Facebook then follow BBC sky at night . The website itself is handy . They also do a YouTube summary of things to see in the month ahead.

    I found a really good guide to solar system by looking up Patrick  Moore on YouTube. 

    Astrobackyard website and YouTube has good photo advice. As a start you could try just using the dslr on a tripod. 

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.