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Showing results for tags 'astrophotography'.
Found 216 results
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Skywatcher 100 ED Pro Esprit - Great Performance
Selborne posted a topic in Member Equipment Reviews
Hi Guys, I thought I would share with you my first hand experience of the Skywatcher ED100 Pro Esprit Telescope, I have only had it a few months, but so far I am extremely happy with the results, it is so sharp and the contrast is very high. I live in a small town, Stowmarket, Suffolk, UK, where the light pollution is not to bad, but still I have to be cautious with the direction I choose to point the telescope. All my astrophotography is done from the back garden on my patio. I have had a few different telescopes over the years, but I always found myself moving more and more into astrophotography, so after some research I selected the Skywatcher ED100 Pro Esprit, as many of the other users had commented on the sharpness and contrast. As I wanted to focus on more wide field astrophotography the F5.5 speed giving 550mm seemed the right choice, I also use an ED50 Skywatcher Guide Scope with an Altair Astro ASI130mm camera for the guiding and of course PHD2 software, all mounted on my Skywatcher HEQ6 mount. Here is a shot of the Andromeda Galaxy, 20 x 30s stills at ISO 800 on my Sony A7Rii, no filters just RAW images processed with Photoshop, Stacked Mean option. I used the Trevor Jones video on his BackyardAstro You Tube page for processing DSO's and it seems to work very well. What you will see from the image is just how sharp it is, something that really surprised me when I processed the images. This has inspired me to spend more time outside in the garden to photograph more objects, plus I have recently purchased an Astronomic CLS Filter for my Sony A7Rii, so I am looking forward to using this to see if it improve the contrast. I will keep you informed. Also I am looking forwarded to trying my Olympus EM1 MK2 camera, yes I know it does not have the capabilities of the Sony A7Rii for light gathering, but it does have a really clever mode where it can stack the images in camera to reduce noise, so I will also let you know how this went as well. Best Regards Jamie- 53 replies
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Shutter release cable vs computer software
Lachlan posted a topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
Hi everyone, im about to purchase my first astrophotography rig and was wanting some opinions on the best method to capture subs. I’m looking at using backyard EOS on my laptop to control the DSLR, but would using a shutter release cable be better/easier? Thanks. -
The shortlist has been announced (winners to be announced on October 23) and is available here: https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronomy-photographer-year There might even be a name or two that people recognise!
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Apologies if you've seen this. Some stunning images on show here though so worth flagging up again. Winners of the Royal Observatory's 2018 astronomy photograph of the year contest are revealed. https://a.msn.com/r/2/BBOQyY9?m=en-gb&referrerID=InAppShare
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Hi all, here is my first image for this website and first challenge here M1 (Crab Nebula) - SNR in Taurus Narrowband image (Ha - 3 hours, OIII - 3 hours, SII - 3 hours) Taken with GSO RC 6" + ZWO ASI1600MM with ZWO EFW + Optolong NB filters. Thank you
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- astrophotography
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Here are my attempts at Astrophotography with a smartphone. Taken thought a 10 and 20inch Dobsonians. Most of the photos have been processed through photoshop. The eclipse photos where taken with a smartphone with a small screw on Samsung lens and a home made white light filter. I have more on my Instagram https://www.instagram.com/astroramblerphotos/ Venus Messier 13 (Hercules Cluster)
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Good Beginners Astrophotography Set Up for £150 - Video
rorymultistorey posted a topic in Getting Started With Imaging
HI All, I have an entertaining video to share with you which is perfect for those just starting out and wanting to taste a bit of astrophotography without spending a lot of money. I image from London and managed to get a pretty good shot of Orion for just £150. This video runs through where I bought the equipment, why I bought it and how I used it to capture a Orion and some of the trials and tribulations I had to deal with on the way. Any questions please ask! Enjoy! FYI I shot this last year but with Orion now beginning to rise over the rooftops of London I thought this would be a good time to share it.- 6 replies
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Hello Everyone, I have 7x 36mm Baader filters in my QHY Filter wheel. I use a simple Orion 80ED with a manual focuser. I have two questions basically. a) How important is refocusing between the LRGB Ha OIII and SII filters? b) If important, then how do I manually calculate the offset distance between them assuming the filters aren't parfocal?
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Hi Everyone, I have been trying to connect my QHY FW2 to APT and even though it establishes connection, I am unable to rotate the wheel with the software. No clue whats happening. The wheel is powered, connected to CCD and APT. But nothing after that. Someone please help
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Technosky quadruplet flatfield 70mm apo
Ulysses31 posted a topic in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups
Hi Guys, any one had any use of a Technosky Apo or know anything about them. I am looking at getting my first apo as usually I am Astrograph man and seen this 70/478 mm quadruplet flatfield for £482. It seems a good deal but was just wondering about the build quality? As this seems cheap for a quadruplet!!! https://www.astroshop.eu/telescopes/tecnosky-telescope-ap-70-478-quadruplet-flatfield-ota/p,57327#tab_bar_1_select -
Tried capturing M42 and horsehead nebula last night with my new Astro-modified EOS Rebel XT. During post processing I noticed these weird spots and lines across the image. Would you happen to know if this was because of the mirrors of the telescope (i.e. dirty mirrors) or is something wrong with the camera? What's weird is that this 2 images were taken with the same exact camera at the same exact position but some artifacts visible on M42 did not show up on the horsehead nebula. Btw I checked the mirrors of the telescope but I cant find the weird long spots
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Hello I bought my first telescope last year (Celestron Nextar Evo 8), I've used it several times already and never had any problem with moving it/putting it together. Last night I was out doing some photography with my scope and at one point my glove came in contact with the corrector plate. I noticed a small smudge when I came back in. As it's my first scope I've tried to be very careful and got a little scared that it would affect the performance of it. Looking for a professional opinion on this. Does this need to be cleaned? Will it make a difference in my photography/visual? Added two pictures. Regards Brant
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Hi All, So I am new to astrophotography and was looking for some advice on what to buy, mainly the mount as I don't have a huge budget. I am currently using a SkyWatcher 102mm Telescope (500mm Focal Length) with a Canon 550d along with a EQ2 mount, so no motors as of yet. Any advice on what mounts to get would be great. Thanks
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Prime focus on Star Discovery 150p
Ulysses31 posted a topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
So, I have gone and got myself a Skywatcher Star Discovery 150p, which has so far proved to be a very good little scope and I've had some very good results. I have now got the bug for imaging and have gone out and got myself a second hand Nikon D5100 and verious other equipment needed to do this, only to now find I can't get Prime Focus!!!!!!!! So the only way I can image is using a barlow x2 which obviously changes the F ratio from F5.5 to F11 slowing everything x2 this isn't to bad for planetary imaging but for DSO images not so good!!! After searching through lots of videos on to do this all I can find is...... I can either butcher the standard rack and pinion focuser that's fitted on it by cutting it down and rethreading it or by moving the primary up by 20-25mm, which seems a shame to do a brand new scope still under warranty! The only other option I have come up with is changing the focuser to a Skywatcher Low Profile Dual Speed Focuser For Newtonian Reflectors. Could anyone out there shed any light on this before I spend another £130 on the new focuser. Thanks -
Is the Canon 1300D or 600D a good starting camera for Astrophotography?
DanielRDB posted a topic in Getting Started With Imaging
Hey guys! I'm looking to get into astrophotography and have been researching different camera models lately to get started. My eyes landed on the Canon 1300D DSLR to start with (or Canon 600D) , but I'm wondering if there are any better cameras between the price range of $300 - $800 (second hand is fine too) that you guys know of? Any good budget lenses would be appreciated too. I'm not using a telescope at the moment. Right now I'm leaning towards the 600D that got advised here -
Hi, I would like to share my design of a smart barn door tracker. It is a simple to build isosceles barn door tracker with tangent error correction through a Arduino micro-controller. I have shared all the details about the tracker including the mechanical design, electrical circuit and the software source code here: https://barndoor.spa...ference-design/ If you are interested in the math and other details about a barn door tracker, more details are there in the blog. Also find an online calculator which helps in calculating various parameters while designing a barn door tracker. The blog is here: https://barndoor.space/ M46 and M47 shot with this tracker. 135mm lens, ISO800, 15sec X 200 subs (50 minutes) exposure. Cannon 500D. Comments and suggestions most welcome! Regards, Arun
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Hi All, I purchased a GSO 6" f/4 Newtonian "Astrograph" late last year and eventually found that stars on one corner were egg shaped while taking images. I narrowed it down to improper centering of secondary mirror from the factory and resulting tilt. Long story short, after numerous iterations, I used the Advanced Newtonian collimation technique by Astro Shed guy and ended up with the below pic of the optics. Does it look ok or do I need to do more? I will be checking with a Howie this weekend too.
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COMPLETED - Canon Rebel xsi astro modified *SOLD*
stevebb posted a topic in Sold / Expired Classified Ads
Having recently replaced my astrophotography camera, I now have the old one up for sale on an astro site. However, doesn't hurt advertising it here Here is an astro modified Canon Rebel xsi which is the Canon 450D equivalent. It is "good" condition and fully working order but does have some light scratches to the rear screen. I have tried to photograph these but they do not show up when the camera is switched on Shutter count is 3860 which is extremely low. Also included are the following : Astronomik CLS clip filter which really is fantastic and makes a huge difference. It also adds additional dust protection. Battery system / dc coupler - connects to a figure of 8 lead (IEC C7 Power Lead) - I might have one spare if deemed absolutely necessary. This device provides permanent power to the camera for those long nights - brilliant ! 3 batteries and multi-voltage charger (mains / 12volt / 24volt) I do not have the original box but it can be posted to UK address. I would prefer collection (near Filey, North Yorkshire) but willing to post if you cover Paypal fees. I might have a couple more batteries in other camera bags !! Reason for sale is purchase of an astro modified Sony A7S with canon lens adaptor. Including a few photos taken with this camera. Two of these images were placed 1st and 3rd in two separate Astrofest competitions in Yorkshire (York and Hull). £120 -
Well, after struggling for a few years in a fairly light polluted area I have moved to the edge of Dalby Forest just outside Scarborough and the sky's are just magical. A shame my neighbour has a security light that is permanently on as soon as a hint of darkness approaches - I offered to buy him a PIR operated one but - it is a touchy subject so best left alone ! Anyway, just laid a concrete plinth and trimmed some top branches. Clear view to Polaris north and an uninterrupted southern view which is great. I have just set up an Astronomy Imaging UK group on Facebook which is a sister group to our Aurora UK group - two groups worth joining ;) Hope to post more soon. Steve
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I am in the process of setting up an astrophotography and imaging group just outside Filey in North Yorkshire. Having recently taken delivery of an observatory together with a fixed pier and currently awaiting a quote for the concrete plinth. I am hoping to break ground next month with the observatory being "functional" by the Summer. Please note this will NOT be a visual astronomy group as such and instead, will primarily be for astrophotography with the intent of learning and sharing techniques together. Lots of work ahead and this post is more of a "feeler" to discover nearby interest. I met a wonderful chap in Bridlington around 3 years ago having bought a dual saddle from him but sadly, cannot remember his name or exact location as a hard drive crash meant I lost all contact details. It is knowing someone like this relatively close by who could assist with the "little things" like EQMod, oversee the pier placement (before I cement the bolts in incorrectly), drift alignment .... ie someone who has already been through the initial stages. My end goal will be one of fully remoting the observatory and this may even progress to remote sessions over the internet. I do like a good challenge I will be charting progress in a blog on my homepage. Best wishes, Steve ps with huge thanks to York Astronomical Society for their help and advise getting me this far
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Hi everyone, I recently got myself a GSO 6" f/4 astrograph, but seems like the secondary mirror was quite off. I then tried collimation using Astro Baby's tutorials, and others around the net. I've had a few Nets during the past 20 years, but this one seems to be a bit of a pain to get right. The secondary holder is a bit stiff. Anyone here done any mods for the scope and have reasonably good performance? I'be attached an image with Mire De Collimation circles. Image shows the reflection of primary, followed by the edge of secondary and followed by the grey card placed behind the secondary, which ends with the focuser tube. Any help will be appreciated. Edit: If I were to move the secondary towards 2'o'clock position, could it solve the problem?
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Hi, I've been meaning to get out and try to get some Milky Way shots with my 18-55mm kit lens but I've been struggling to find any sites nearby that are actually dark enough to produce anything meaningful. I live in the Medway area and was hoping someone could point me in the right direction as light pollution here is awful. Thanks, Billy
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For sale 450D camera modified for astronomy, the IR filter has been removed to allow the important red emission nebula to come through. This camera has a low shutter count of 3977, in very good condition, comes with 1 battery/charger, USB connecting lead to computer and manual, I don't have the original box, but will pack, very well. The price is £165 and includes special delivery. This is for the camera body, no lens. Any questions please email me any questions........
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For sale canon 450D camera modified for astronomy, the IR filter has been removed to allow the important red emission nebula to come through. This camera has a very low shutter count of 2793 (at this time), and is in very good condition througout, comes with a battery and charger, manual, box, and cables. The price includes special delivery. This is for the camera body, no lens. Any questions please email me for guaranteed response........clear skys
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HI All, I have nikon d3200 , is it good for astrophotography? i tried with 18-140mm lens but the shots are too much white not good..do i need to upgrade to d3400 or d5300 or d5600?
