Crackabarrel

Sharpcap Pro is next on the list once I work out how to use EQMod properly.

Was reading you need to rotate on RA 90deg for Sharpcap to work, is this set in stone or is there some leeway? 

My backyard observing site would preclude me from going the full 90deg due to neighbor's houses

10 minutes ago, Budgie1 said:

The stars look good and sharp so it seems to be fine.

I've not been guiding very long and but I remember, while researching PHD2, seeing/watching someone who said that as a long as the total error is less than 1 arc second then you should be fine, even if the graph looks a mess.

My EQ5 mount is normally between 0.45 & 0.75 for the total and it seems to work fine.

Cheers, I'd seen that recommendation before yeh, once the guiding had settled down initially I was getting values under 1arc/sec, however it seemed to creep up into the 3s and 4s over the session, but the majority of subs were coming out fine which had me scratching my head.

I have this same lens for my Nikon, it gets quite soft I found past about 130mm FL which could be part of the reason you see it as out of focus.

4 minutes ago, MarkAR said:

Very good, maybe more data would help and also star reduction. There also seems to be a magenta caste to the background, easy to fix by inverting the image and removing green then re-invert.

Cheers Mark,

I'll give that a try and see how I get on.

Seeing as its Halloween season I decided to go for NGC6960 this weekend.

First attempt at guiding, trying not to stress too much over the graph as long as subs come out alright.

Moon definitely didn't help contrast though.

Also first experience using PS and the Carboni Astronomy toolset.

Any suggestions or criticism would be appreciated, thanks.

EDIT: Kit List:
WO ZS 73 + 50mm Guidescope w/ ASI120mm , HEQ5 Pro, Nikon D5300, IDAS LPS D2

EQDIR USB Cable, goodbye handset, hello EQMOD.

I can't speak as to whether it would be compatible but First Light Optics seem to have the adjustable version in stock on their website.

I've been using this one on my own Z73 and it works very well

Great colour and definition, nice one.

Looks much better.

Try reducing your exposure time to control roundness.

The crop factor on Canon APS-C is 1.6, so your effective focal length at 35mm is 35*1.6 = 56mm

Rule of 500 give you a max exposure length of 8.9sec

However I have had better experience using the more stringent NPF rule for exposure length to retain star roundness

https://www.sahavre.fr/tutoriels/astrophoto/34-regle-npf-temps-de-pose-pour-eviter-le-file-d-etoiles

4 hours ago, wimvb said:

Quality costs. I used Baader a uhc filter before I moved house to my current location, which is much darker than where I lived before. IDAS filters are considered efficient, and colour preserving. But obviously at a price. The very cheapest may also be the lowest in quality, but such an argument doesn’t always hold. A poor filter can give you unwanted reflections, and you will need to do some investigating begore you buy.

+1 for the IDAS LPS filters, I have been using a D2 recently and it does a great job of dealing with light pollution (Imaging from Bortle 8 skies) and retaining balanced colours.

It is pricey though, another option would be the Optolong L-eNhance, although I have no personal experience with this one.

Be worth looking into a Nikon D5300 and a 50mm f1.8 if you can find it, check mpb, have had success with them in the past.

FLO have 10/20/30mm spacers you could mount between the rings and dovetail.

Alternatively you can rotate the scope 180deg so the focuser is on top, i do this with my own ZS73 and it seems to work fine.

EDIT: Beat me to it, enjoy the ZS73

6 minutes ago, mackiedlm said:

Not bad as a second ever DSO! Its all about time on target and with the skies the way they have been thats never going to be easy.

Good luck!

Thanks, hoping to push up the exposure time this weekend if the weather plays ball

Really nice, dust lane coming through well.

Looks great, good definition.

I attempted the same over the weekend as Ireland's skies seemed to clear up for once

Looks great, thanks for sharing

1 minute ago, MarkAR said:

Nice result. I'd be tempted to add 90s or 120s exposures to it, even up to 180s depending on how noisy your camera is.

Cheers,

Will try bumping up the exposure time next time I get a chance so.

Hi All,

My second ever DSO and the first with my new gear, shot over 2 nights with some rare clear nights from the backyard in Bortle 8.

Pacman Nebula

131 x 60sec @ ISO400

25 x Darks

25 x Flats

25 x Bias

Nikon D5300 (Unmodified)
William Optics ZS73 w/ Field Flattener + IDAS LPS D2

HEQ5PRO

Processed with DSS + GIMP

Any comments or criticism would be greatly appreciated

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the suggestions however clouds interfered and I really didn't get much if any data to play with, maybe next time.

I will be taking a trip to Bortle 2-3 skies this weekend with my new setup which is as follows:

William Optics ZS73 w/ Flattener

Nikon D5300

HEQ5 Pro

No guiding just yet and using APT for capture.

Would anyone have any suggestions as to a good beginner target for this setup, bearing in mind it will be my first time getting anything more than 15 minutes of exposures from the above? I was considering the Eastern Veil in Cygnus but if anyone has any suggestions I'd really appreciate them.

Thank you.

13 minutes ago, feverdreamer1 said:

Yeah, I've seen that tutorial and learnt quite a lot from it. Also have seen the galaxy processing workflow of nebula photos. Do you know of any more astro processing tutorials for GIMP?

clear skies!

Nico, who runs the Nebula Photos channel has some good video and tutorials for GIMP, as well as doing untracked photography using DSLRs.

Clear skies to you too.

17 minutes ago, feverdreamer1 said:

Wow, thats really impressive for your first DSO.

I'm going to a bortle 4 this weekend so looking forward to getting rid of all the LP as I live in a bortle 8/9

That's an amazing image, I had to say it again.

Thank you, appreciate it, Astrofarsography's GIMP tutorial went a long way to making it what it is, worth checking out.

13 hours ago, feverdreamer1 said:

I was wondering doing NGC7000 but I have a stock dslr. Lens is the kit 55-250. Should I try to image NGC7000? Even with a stock dslr?

Thanks for you comments, you provide great information 

I'm a complete beginner at this too, it is well worth having a go.

This is my first attempt at a DSO, was shot with a Nikon D5300 w/ Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 @ Bortle 4 site

Lights: 10 x 8sec @ ISO800

Darks: 20 x 8sec @ ISO800 (not temp matched unfortunately)

Bias: 1 x 1/4000sec @ ISO800

Stacked in DSS and processed in GIMP