13 minutes ago, Ohgodwherediditgo said:

Very nice. Have you processed it at all after stacking? 

Thanks.

I just did a curve adjustment in Affinity photo and cropped it a bit.

Its going to be cloudy tonight so I might have another go and spend some time on it, last night was very rushed as I had to be up early for work.

So I finally got some clear sky last night and had a go at Andromeda.

My setup is a Skywatcher ED100 on a AZ-EQ6 mount with a 0.85 field flattener and a Nikon Z6ii, 

I took twenty five one minute exposures at ISO 1600 plus dark, flat and bias frames and stacked in Deepskytracker.

I know it’s not very good and I think the exposure times were probably too short but overall I’m pretty happy with it as I’ve learnt from some of the mistakes I made while doing it and I think I rushed the stacking side of it a bit as it was getting late so might have another go at that tonight.

13 minutes ago, Lee_P said:

FLO have just listed them here. My guess is that supply / demand issues mean you need to get an order in quickly if you want one this side of Christmas.

Thanks, I’ve just been on and preordered one. Now all I’ve got to do is get my head around the camera side of things, so many to choose from and so many different options, I’ve got some research to do but a few weeks to choose.

I’m very new to astrophotography but I’m definitely interested in acquiring one of these when they are available to the general user complete with a ZWO guide camera and main camera.

I’ve yet to determine which main camera I want/can afford and hoping that RVO will soon be open to go in and browse where I can get some advice.

Could be a few items to put on my Xmas wish list.

On 18/09/2021 at 16:21, Second Time Around said:

 

They look similar, but contain just alcohol as opposed to a combination of ingredients in the Zeiss ones.  

I’ve used those for a few years with my Nikon camera lenses and they do a good job. I also use Eclipse optic cleaning fluid and Pec Pads.

They all do a good job on my eyepieces.

I’m contemplating getting a dedicated astro camera setup but confess I’m clueless and after looking at different cameras and specs I’m baffled. 

I’m very new to astronomy in general but like the idea of a ZWO full setup including the ASiAir Pro, filter wheel, etc so I can control everything from my IPad.

My telescope is a Skywatcher Evostar 100 ED on a AZ-EQ6R mount. I’d like to be able to take photos of DSO’s.

I realise I’m going to have to spend quite a bit and I’m prepared to do that but what I don’t want is to take a guess and end up buying something not suitable. My budget would be up to £2000.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Bob

21 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

I like John's logic, and I think you could achieve a set to suit your scope, but with not too many eyepieces as follows: ( I should mention that I have the 17.5 and 9mm Morpheus units, and rate them both very highly)..

As the core of your set I'd suggest the 6.5mm, 12.5mm and 17.5mm Morpheus's. These are pretty much parfocal (ie each eyepiece can be interchanged with little or no need to re-focus).

The Morpheus's do Barlow very well, so if you get a Baader Hyperion zoom 2.25X Barlow, you would end up with the following magnifications in total in your scope:

6.5mm - 311x (with Barlow) and 138x eyepiece only

12.5mm - 162x and 72x

17.5mm - 51x and 115x

Or, in order of low to high magnification..

51x, 72x, 115x, 138x, 162x, 311x

In addition, I'd recommend a low power widefield eyepiece of between 24mm and 32mm focal length. If you want an all 1.25" barrel set (so you don't need to buy a 2" diagonal as well, you'd need to stick to c24 mm focal length. A very good eyepiece often available used for c£100 is the Explore Scientific 24mm with a wide 68degree field of view (there is one for sale on UKABS currently for £110, nothing to do with me!). This would give you a very nice 37.5x in your scope, and show you lovely views of clusters and nebulae such as M42 (the Great Nebula in Orion).

HTH and good luck with your new hobby!👍

Dave

Thanks for advice, the 12.5 followed by the 6.5 seems like a plan to me. I’ve just got to raid the piggy bank again!

1 hour ago, GoldTop57 said:

Have you thought about the baader hyperion zoom mark IV?

Thanks, yes I have but wasn’t really sure if it would be the same optical quality as the individual ones.

I’m a complete newbie, I bought a Skywatcher 100 ED Pro a couple of weeks ago that came with a 28mm EP, I knew I’d have to buy others and decided to go for the Baader Morpheus.

I’ve just purchased the 17.5mm one and would like advice on which one to buy next, 14, 12.5, 9 or 6.5.

I'm still unsure as to what I want to view, as a newbie I’m just hoping for some clear sky so I can go and have a look at anything, eventually my goal would be some astrophotography but I just want to explore for now and get used to the scope.

All advice welcome.

Bob

59 minutes ago, Philip R said:

Hi @BobInYorkshire and welcome to SGL. 

I may not be the best qualified to give the best advice, but depends on what you wish to observe. For DSO’s then wide field. I have two TeleVue Nagler’s [as per my signature] images below. They give 82deg. AFOV. They are expensive, but the views are worth it.

 

I find this SkyWatcher 28mm is good value…

and is actually quite good compared to some budget e/p’s that are supplied with some ‘scopes.

I used to be anti-zoom e/p. I own a 7-21mm which was sent in error from an overseas astro-outlet. It was to much hassle to send it back for a replacement 8-24mm… so I decided to keep it. It does me for those ‘grab & go’ sessions or when I travel with a few fixed length e/p’s and minimum weight in a backpack/rucksack and with a small Maksutov, a photography tripod & ball head and/or small manual alt-az mount.

Thanks Philip I’ll check them out, the SW28mm was actually supplied with the telescope.

1 hour ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

Bob in Yorkshire - advice for people like you can be found at

Eyepieces - the very least you need.

in the  Getting Started -general advice section of this forum.

generally a set of three eyepieces of differing focal lengths is required.  The actual focal lengths will depend on the focal length and maximum useful magnification of your scope.  The degree of benefit you will get from exotic eyepieces rather than Plossls depends on the focal ratio of your scope.

You could get a budget Zoom eyepiece to determine what focal length you find most useful in practice.

What is your budget for fixed Fl eyepieces? £50 per eyepiece? £75? £100 £200? £400?

 

Thanks for your input Cosmic Geoff,

I don’t really have a figure in mind but the scope and mount have cost me well over £2,000 so it would be silly to not spend extra on decent eyepieces to compliment that, I could always buy them one at a time so I’d say up-to £150 each but I could stretch to more if necessary.

42 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

In which case you're likely to buy something I haven't any experience of (yet), so I'll leave you to play with the big boys and girls.

Though I'll offer one beginner's perspective: based on my reading of previous reviews, in my mind I have a rough scale of cost/performance :-

- under £20: don't

- under £100: a large number of people recommending the BST Starguider range (with the possible esception of the 25mm) for a decent medium/wide FOV that you probably won't beat in this range. Various decent plossls for the same money or slightly less.

- £100 to £150 : opens up the field to quality wider field options like the Explore Scientific 82 degrees, or the narrower Vixen SLVs.

- £150 to £200: much support for the Baader Morpheus range in widefield

- big £££: various TeleVue ranges, the more exotic of the Explore Scientifics, and more, some of these offering ultrawide FOVs.

(Prices have gone up quite a bit in the last year or two; these are new prices - second hand is roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of new)

My impression (again, a beginner's view) is that:

- the more you spend, the less incremental improvement you see (though this is obviously very subjective and also, as your experience develops, that extra performance will become more noticeable to you)
- there is perhaps less consensus to be had among the more expensive ranges than with the budget end

Also, an F/9 scope is reasonably forgiving on eyepiece designs, so you wouldn't need to avoid those EPs that come with caveats about faster scopes (say, F/6 and below). That also means that you won't necessarily get all the benefit of any (sometimes quite expensive) correction in an eyepiece design that might have been done to help them perform in faster scopes. Though of course, you won't be sticking to just an F/9 'frac, will you? 🙂

Finally, don't ignore zooms, which can be very handy. Of course, they also range hugely in price:

Hyperflex 7.2mm-21.5mm, a very good cheaper option at £85

Tele Vue 3-6mm Nagler 50º at £367, quite a different beast

 

Thanks once again, I’m intending to drive to Rother Valley Optics one afternoon and get their advice (they’ve supplied my scope and mount) but I’m hoping to have a rough idea myself before I turn up.

25 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

That's a nice scope, and investment in decent eyepieces will not be wasted.

I presume the 28mm you mention is this one? In which case, I doubt at £29 that it will be anything special (and that's quite normal for eyepieces bundled with scopes, even expensive scopes).

One question: yes, the scope can take 2" EPs, and they deliver nice, wide fields (and your scope is F/9, so it would benefit from this when used on the largest targets). But they cost quite a bit more than 1.25", so are you happy to spend the extra? (you can still spend huge sums on an exceptional 1.25" if you really want to!)

Thanks for your reply.

I’m happy to spend decent money but I don’t want to waste money either so 1.25” will be fine, I just need some idea of what are the best options and I can buy them over a few months so cost isn’t as  important as getting the right ones.

I’m an absolute complete newbie to astronomy.

I got my first telescope yesterday, a Skywatcher Evostar 100 ED, it takes two inch lenses but there are a couple of reducer adaptors included.

It came with a 28mm eyepiece but I’d be grateful for recommendations as to what else I should buy.

I’ve no specific need, I just want to see stars and planets as best I can and will eventually get into the astro photography side of things.

Cost isn’t too big an issue and I’d rather pay for something decent once than buy cheap and buy twice.

Many thanks in advance.

Bob

29 minutes ago, SlimLine said:

Thats great bob your on the right track then👍.

As for scope the Esprit 100 will get you excellent results coupled with a sturdy mount like a Heq5 and upwards i would maybe start with this if money allows.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/sky-watcher-heq5-pro-with-rowan-belt-mod-upgrade.html

 

It comes with the Rowan Belt modification which reduces tracking errors whilst guiding. Have you thought about a quide scope and guide camera?

Spending a few quid is going to hurt but the wife is onside so that’s the biggest hurdle out of the way.

She’s offered to fund part of it for my coming birthday and Xmas presents.

I’m not in a big rush and think I’ll have a ride to Rother Valley Optics one day just to see what they think and advise, it’s only an hour from my house.

41 minutes ago, SlimLine said:

Hi Bob

 

Im also on the steep learning curve that is Astrophotography. My advice to at the moment would be stick with what you already have and start with your DSLR and maybe a Skywatcher Star Tracker and a sturdy tripod and just jump in the car on a clear night and get out to a dark site ( if possible).

You will learn so much about Astrophotography by just using a camera as a starting point.

Good luck.

 

Thanks, I bought a Skywatcher Adventurer 2i a couple of weeks ago and managed to use it for half an hour last night in between cloud cover.

The results weren’t brilliant but at least I got a bit of practice in and learnt a few things.

I would like a telescope too so that I can do visual observations and later do some astro photography with it as well.

Good luck with your attempts.

Hi everyone,

I have been a keen amateur photographer for many years and have some very good Nikon cameras and lenses.

I'm contemplating Astro photography and have been lurking here and other forums for a week or so.

I've no real preference for the type of astro photos I’ll take, I just think it would be another skill to learn for my general photography and something I’m fairly keen on.

Of course I’ve been drooling over gear and looking at stores that sell it.

Would a Sky Walker Esprit 100 and a suitable mount be a good starting point. I’d rather pay for something I’m likely to keep rather than buying something cheaper then finding I want to upgrade in a few months.

I would be grateful for suggestions for the mount which will be used most of the time in my back garden but occasionally I’d like to put it in my car and go elsewhere.

Thanks,

Bob.

12 hours ago, mikemarotta said:

Well, not being a photographer, my experience is that those who have The Eye do well and others are on a learning curve. As a photographer first, you bring to this much of the learning that is otherwise hard-won (and sometimes hardly won). I managed some snapshots, but that's it. As a writer, I have worked as a reporter and had seminars in photography for news. Other than that, it's not what I do. But I know how it is done and, again, I know that those who have experience and talent are rare and highly regarded. So, welcome. We look forward to the fruits of your new hobby.

Best Regards,

Mike M.

Thanks Mike, 

I hope I can get some decent results to show when the sky clears but we’ll have to wait and see, fingers crossed.

21 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

Hi Bob, welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have some nice kit, will work well on your star adventurer if you can get out to dark skies. 

Just FYI astrology is most definitely NOT the right term....that's what Mystic Meg does! 🤣 We do astronomy (or we try to at least)

Thanks Craig and thanks for giving me the right term although I could do with Mystic Meg giving me tonight’s lottery numbers.

Hi,

I’m Bob and I live in North Yorkshire.

I’ve literally just put my toe in the water with astrology (is that the correct term?). I bought a Skywatcher Adventurer 2i Pro on Thursday and I’m hoping to get some tips here. I’ve watched loads of experts on YouTube and now I’m itching to have a go myself but Sod’s law has intervened and we have a lot of cloud cover forecast for the next week or so!

I’m a keen amateur photographer and have some top of the range Nikon cameras and lenses but have never attempted photographing anything in the sky so welcome any advice.