asset189

Good info on the heavens above web site for anyone looking to see them. Saw them fairly easily from Dumfries last month 

Here one of mine , 20 minutes from home clear low horizon to West and added bonus of wickerman for foreground interest 

3 hours ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Using one as we speak on a camping trip in the southwest of England. I'm keeping to two mins sub's which I'd say is about right with my modded 1000d Canon at iso800. First time I've really used the mini mount, I've found polar alignment fairly difficult or should I say fidly. Last night messed up 6x2min sub's as I realised I wasn't polar aligned properly, got star trails. Second lot of 15x2min sub's seem good, I'll see when I'm home and able to process then. I captured m16 and m17 quite by accident as I was trying to aim for the lagoon nebula, lol. I'm using around 100mm telephoto. 

I found when the drive runs out turning the winder takes the camera off target and you have to realign. Fine if you've finished that shoot on that object but a pain if you want more subs. Moral of that story is rewind and align with each new object you wish to image, that will give probably 40 to 50mins of subs, which is plenty. My brief take on it, seems good but proof of the pudding will be what comes out of my images when home. 

Thanks for this info

4 hours ago, Mr niall said:

No just let it run, keep snapping until the timer runs out then wind it up and start again! 

Thanks so much and apologies for being a bit thick. This is an upgrade on an old manual barn door mount for me so wee bit more technical

48 minutes ago, Mr niall said:

It means you wind it up and it runs for an hour. 

Recommended exposure length for 100mm is 1 min. I was getting 90 secs at 100mm easily enough.

Formula is 100/focal length gives you recommended exposure length in minutes. 

7 hours ago, Mr niall said:

No Crop factor isn't an issue, 90% of DSLR's are APS-C these days anyway, but it doesn't matter massively at the intended focal lengths anyway. Good polar alignment is the trick.

There's a really good review on a german website that goes into quite a lot of detail.

https://sternenhimmel-fotografieren.de/test-erfahrungsbericht-beschreibung-omegon-mini-track-lx2/

Thanks , I'll give it a read . An other daft question - the blurb boasts 60min tracking time yet based on the 100/focal length equation only around 2 minutes tracking is recommend which is a fair difference , or have I got this wrong ?

So do I have to adjust track every 90sec or simply shoot next exposure and align with software , ta

6 hours ago, Mr niall said:

No Crop factor isn't an issue, 90% of DSLR's are APS-C these days anyway, but it doesn't matter massively at the intended focal lengths anyway. Good polar alignment is the trick.

There's a really good review on a german website that goes into quite a lot of detail.

https://sternenhimmel-fotografieren.de/test-erfahrungsbericht-beschreibung-omegon-mini-track-lx2/

Thanks , I'll give it a read . An other daft question - the blurb boasts 60min tracking time yet based on the 100/focal length equation only around 2 minutes tracking is recommend which is a fair difference , or have I got this wrong ?

When calculation max exposure before star trailing becomes an issue , is the crop factor relevant for  Aps-c sensor ?

Cant help with any groups but ive previously been at Playa Blanca and skies were fantastic, got my first view of Scorpius down there , worth packing the bins

these three book are a bit dog eared now but its where it began for me in early 1960s as my grandfather used them to show me the night sky.

Title of the thread is misleading, for a beginner like me the sonyvA5000 is more than adequate . the attached image is a 30 sec+ exposure and does not appear to have eaten many stars.  All in all for the price its a smashing wee camera.

Thanks Mark, appreciated, less than 30 secs should keep me busy for a while

Part of me wishes I'd read this thread a,month ago before I got the A5000. That said I got it principally for a day camera and so far it been real value for money. I've now started to consider using it at night. As a novice it's likely ill stick with A-focal and prime work so hopefully camera will perform ok. Has anyone had much sucess using this camera in this fashion ? I take it I need an e-mount tring adaptor to mount it for prime photography ?

Thanks in advance for any views / advice.

My first telescope was probably a 66TR , it was relatively expensive back then (late 80,s) too, it worked ok for a while then i threaded one of the two bolts on the yolk and could never lock the elevation properly after that. Good introduction to the world of telescopes though.

Got it now ( or enough for my wee brain anyway) thanks

Thanks Olly, I'm getting there now. Regarding the methods of determining the true brightness of a star (wattage in your analogy) I take it there are a limited number of different types of stars out there in the first place which make comparison and assessment of brightness less of a guess ?

Can some one explain in simple terms how stellar distance is measured please. I've got high school maths and have got my head around parallax however I'm lost once things move on to cephid variables and beyond. Anyone care to simplify things a bit? Be gentle please

started way back in the early 1960's .

with this

some of this and a liberal helping of a grandfather who could point out most of the northern constellations.

later excitement at the moon landings then dissapointment at not seeing Neil Armstrong when he visited langholm in 72 all shaped my interest. like most i drifted away for a few years.

Got my first "telescope" a Tasco of all things , when i stopped smoking in the 1980's. Hunted for and found comet halley after weeks of trying with an old pair of 10X50 binos - still one of the most exciting experiences ive had stargazing. lost interest again then got back into it again in the last couple of years.

ive said it before but its true, the thrill never leaves you with this hobby.