LaurenceT

Thanks @Budgie1, I was able to achieve focus on distant trees this morning.

2 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

55mm is the general rule of thumb for most zwo cameras, though mine is around 62mm for my set up. So hopefully 55mm will be the one for you and will sometimes be plus or minus 1 I've read before. 

So the back focus of the field flattener of 17.5mm is not a factor in adding a camera that requires 55mm? You can see the depth of my confusion😅

4 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

Is there supposed to be 55mm of back spacing between the FF and zwo 553 mc pro? I could be and probably wrong 

You could well be right Lee, the image train diagrams I have seen all mention 55mm but I was unclear whether that was the maximum hence my complete confusion. How does this tie in with the back focus of the Skyguider FF with it's available 17.5mm?

I'm just finalising my first imaging train since migrating from a star tracker and mirrorless camera/lenses but I'm not really getting to grips with backfocus. My scope, an Evoguide 50ED has a backfocus of 20mm. I'm connecting a Skywatcher field flattener for this scope which has a back focus of 17.5mm and I'm connecting a ZWO ASI533 mc Pro. Because I have added the FF the back focus of the scope+FF is now 17.5mm, is this correct?

When adding my ASI533 mc Pro camera in order to achieve focus I can simply screw in the camera with the 11mm T2 extender in place, is that correct? Could I, should I so wish, add "anything" between the camera sensor and the FF as long as doesn't exceed 17.5mm and still reach focus?

Thanks for looking. 

I don't know if this has been mentioned but I use a photography levelling base to level my tripod. It's something I've used for years as part of my landscape photography.

2 hours ago, wongataa said:

I have settled on Astro Pixel Processor.  I have tried Siril and Pixinsight.  Pixinsight was so user unfriendly I swiftly gave up on it.  With APP I got a useable result with my first try out.  Then investigating further got better results.  This resulted in me thinking it was useful and buying it.  I finish off images in Photoshop and Lightroom but I already have those so aren't new to me.

What was your view on Siril? I've looked at APP on  YouTube (yes, I know 😀) and liked the step by step guide, just like to know before pulling the trigger on a year's subscription or trying Siril.

23 minutes ago, Adreneline said:

I am sure many people do this but I seem to recall reading somewhere that it was better to plug the guide camera into a PC/ASIair/etc. directly and use the camera usb hub for things like the EFW and EAF - but I really don't know for sure. Try it and see I guess

 

ZWO recommend connecting the guide camera to the usb port on my 533mc Pro but I can't really see the difference to your suggestion.

1 hour ago, Pitch Black Skies said:

Are you familiar with this Laurence?

The AAP powers it too, really handy.

I did consider that but decided on the router instead partly because of the reason below 👍

17 minutes ago, Adreneline said:

I use the AC750 version and it works perfectly. It too can be powered from an ASIair usb socket (it draws just 330mA so well within the USB specification).

HTH

Adrian

I bought the lower powered and cheaper version simply because the Marital Financial Controller is keeping a beady eye on me, we've just spent £500 on repairing the fridge in our motorhome so needs must!. I have a spare usb socket on the AAP but will probably power it from my power brick.

I've just bought a used Asiair Pro and a wondrous device it is except for one thing, the wifi signal it broadcasts is atrocious. This a very common and discussed problem with several "solutions". I've been looking at a portable wireless router:

TP-Link TL-MR3020 V3 Portable 3G/4G Wireless N Router : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

as possible solution. I'm wondering whether any users on here have any experience of this kind of module for this purpose. I'd be looking to connect the portable router to the Asiair via a network cable and power the router from a power bank.

On 08/03/2022 at 13:05, RobertI said:

Nice new Baader Zoom and dedicated barlow. Beautifully made. Had a quick comparison between the Baader and my existing Seben zoom and I think the additional FOV will make a big difference, and seems much more noticeable at the 24mm end (48 degrees compared to 40) than the 8mm end (68 degrees compared to 60 degrees). Looking forward to testing under the stars. May be ordering another for my binoviewers. 
 

I've just got that pair, absolutely brilliant!

Thanks @Elp,  I'll have a play today. One thing, my mount is connected to the Asiair with EQDIR cable so I've selected EQMOD

mount and not as you suggested in #7.

Is this wrong? I know the Asiair communicates with the mount as it made an adjustment when I selected "home".

I've been setting up my (new to me) Asiair Pro and looking at the list of ZWO manuals I saw one about linking the AZ GTI  with the Synscan app but it didn't say why one would do that.

Any pointers gratefully received.

After much consideration and re-reading the posts in  this thread I bought the L-Enhance filter this morning. When it arrives my lightweight and relatively low  cost DSO imaging setup will be complete. 

My thanks to all those who contributed to this thread.

Thank you for that very detailed reply.

6 minutes ago, Paul Holdsworth said:

I've got both the L enhance and the L extreme paired with my 294 mc pro and have to say there's a real problem with halo's with the L extreme so if I'd have known then what I know now I would have stuck with the L enhance. I may of course just got a bad l extreme copy but thought it was worth mentioning. 

Cheers 

Paul

I have heard about star halos with the Extreme so I'm set on getting the Enhance.

Thanks for that, impressive for a single sub. It wasn't the L-enhance that someone had trouble focusing with it was the L-extreme.

For my purposes I think that I will go for the L-enhance despite what Cuiv has to say about it 😆

Got it now, many thanks for taking the time to do that.

6 hours ago, Budgie1 said:

If you're using the 11mm adaptor on the front of the ASI533, you should have or can buy a 1.25" filter holder to go inside the adaptor ring. This will take the 1.25" L-eNhanse or L-eXtreme filter and enable you to use the SW field flattener. 

I don't think I'm going to need an 11mm adapter, FLO have said this:

either this or the ZWO version should enable you to add the filter inside the M42 T thread built into the camera. It would also be very close to the window of the camera to keep any vignetting to a minimum.
I'm getting a bit confused lol.

57 minutes ago, adyj1 said:

 

Not sure what has happened, but my nebulosity was a lot redder when I finished Affinitying it. I'll see if I can repost the original when I get home.

I'd like to see that.

2 hours ago, Budgie1 said:

If you're using the 11mm adaptor on the front of the ASI533, you should have or can buy a 1.25" filter holder to go inside the adaptor ring. This will take the 1.25" L-eNhanse or L-eXtreme filter and enable you to use the SW field flattener. 

Update: I contacted FLO and they updated their advice and I've ordered the filter holder and cancelled my order for the Starizona FF! Thanks once again @Budgie1 

14 minutes ago, Budgie1 said:

If you're using the 11mm adaptor on the front of the ASI533, you should have or can buy a 1.25" filter holder to go inside the adaptor ring. This will take the 1.25" L-eNhanse or L-eXtreme filter and enable you to use the SW field flattener. 

Thanks for that information, oddly FLO didn't suggest that fix.

Thanks for that, I've just discovered that I can't use filters with the Skywatcher field flattener so that's going back to FLO, I've had a buy the Starizona FF which apparently takes filters. So far it's been 2 steps forward and 1 step back with this setup. I don't think anyone would laugh at your processing.

Excellent image, I have that camera and I'm torn between the L- Enhance and the Extreme, your image is certainly going to influence my choice.

I've almost completed my equipment for a lightweight and low cost setup for widefield DSO imaging. Essentially it's an Evoguide 50ED with field flattener and a ZWO ASI533mc Pro on an AZ GTI mount in EQ mode. I also have an Astrokaken bracket, guide scope and guide camera. I'll be running it on Stellarmate OS on a cooled Raspberry Pi. I'm now faced with the choice for a narrowband filter for emission nebulae.

I've narrowed it down to either an Optolong L-Enhance or an L-Extreme. I'm allegedly under bortle 5  skies in Camberley, Surrey although it doesn't seem very different to the bortle 6/7 skies where my children live in West London/Surrey borders. I'm not too concerned about the price differential but I've heard that focussing can be tricky with the L-Extreme if I go to darker skies. I'd be grateful for any comments or experiences.