shropshire lad

@Dantooine .. I dont have a telescope just a Dslr camera and a few lenses, and due to the lockdowns (can't get out to do wildlife/landscape photography) I have started to get into Astro by getting a Sky Watcher AZ-GTI goto mount. Oh and why did you put your phone to the eyepiece, were you hoping to talk with someone out there ... lol ... 🤣

Went out to try and get The Andromeda Galaxy but the cloud kept rolling in, but did manage to get 16 X 20sec shots of the Pleiades (my first ever). No where near as good as most on here but at least I'm getting some practice in.

Ah... Thank you .. I can relate to that.

Hope someone can help ... trying to find out what proportion of the sky is this covering ... in the image below would the full moon cover the inner circle or even the outer one. You see I dont understand seconds and min of arc, degrees but I do know what size the moon is in the sky. Hope this is not a daft question .

@LeeHore7, Hi ... I'm a new user also ..... if you get the chance see if you can join the AZ-GTI user group .... https://www.facebook.com/groups/402745617192175. I have been trying to join for a few weeks now but with no joy ...

@Space Oddities , still no reply from AZ-GTI User Group, but I have joined DSLR Astronomy Imaging Group without any problem, so I think the AZ one have a problem with their Joining routine as I have tried with a different FB account (my wife's) and no joy on that one either, so may be you could ask or open a thread on there to ask if all is ok. Paul

Sorry should have said from the beginning, I'm using a Dslr camera and lens and do not have a scope at all.

Thank you I will take a look at those links, but my first question is Do I need a dedicated polar scope and/or a dedicated eyepiece camera.

Thanks .. I have sent you PM. I also sent a messenger message to one of the two admins but still no joy, and yes I see that the group has had 49 posts in the last month. Paul

@Space Oddities .. you said "There's a group of AZ-GTi users on Facebook, if you're looking for tips: https://www.facebook.com/groups/402745617192175". I have requested twice first many weeks ago and heard nothing ...... Is it still going ???

Thanks for your reply, as I'm new to this can you point me to a good explanation of drift alignment ...

Can someone recommend a laser that I can use for polar aligning as the AZ-GTI does not come with a polar scope.... also suggestions to how to connect it (may be to the slide) Suggestions please ... Thanks

As most Dslr cameras on internet sites .. e.g MPB, Wex ... are sold body only don't forget you have to budget for a lens as well, and lens choice is equally as hard as the camera itself.

I bring my camera and lens in and put in the coldest room, usually the utility room as it only has a small rad in there ... then move into the spare room after about an hour. I do the opposite when taking it outside.

I'm quite new to this as well but I think your iso is probably the reason, I have the canon 80 D and I use iso 800 and have had some suggest that I should go up to 1600.

Can I suggest a Canon 40D ....

Thsanks for the reply .. how about the iso was that ok

My first question is are my settings ok or if not what should I change Skywatcher AZ-GTI in az mode. Canon 80D sigma 150-600mm lens @ 500mm RAW images20 seconds f11 iso 80025 Images ..... 19 Darks ..... 24 Bias .Deep Sky Stacker and Photoshop Light cloud rolled in after the 8th capture and light pollution is fairly poor.

Thank you @MartinB just need some clear skies now. Will try EQ mode when I get a little better at setting things up, then I might be able to get even longer exposures.

When I do my imaging with Canon 80D and 200mm f2.8 lens 800 iso ... on Sky Watcher AZ-GTI in Az mode .... is it best to :- 1 .. Do 400 1 sec images 2 .. Do 200 2 sec images 3 .. Do 100 4 sec images The total image time will be the same so what will the difference in quality be, and will there be a difference in noise level. Hope this isn't a daft question.

The firmware upgrade is done via a computer (laptop or pc) via the inbuilt wi/fi of the AZ-GTI (no need for any cables) .... the files are easily downloaded from the sw site, I have done it and it's quite straightforward. All you need it a friend with a windows laptop. Or possibly ask the shop that you are going to buy it from if they can do the upgrade.

Sorry more newbie questions (trying to get things right in my head while waiting for some clear nights) How long Can I expect to expose a section of sky using my Canon 80D Dslr and 300mm lens without getting startrails ... 1 Using just the tripod. 2 Using AZ-GTI mount in az mode after setting alignment using polaris and sidereal tracking. 3 Using mount in eq mode after polaris alignment and sidereal tracking. Lets assume that my polar alignment is pretty close. Thanks guys/gals And will this depend on what part of the sky I am imaging.

Unfortunately I dont have a polar scope.

If I level my tripod and align my wedge angle with polaris and lock it down, is that the correct angle to connect my AZ-GT! head for eq goto and track.? See my poor attempt at a diagram below.

Sky Watcher AZ-GTI goto mount I have a lot to learn