Ikharos 80ED has arrived!

[AstroMum]

Hmmm.. let's see if I can remember.

ISO: 100

Exposure: 1/100

White Balance: Auto

A touch of colour correction in Photoshop (was a bit reddish/brown due to the haze) and a slight increase in sharpness.

I didn't use software control, have only just started fiddling with that. Used the live view function, though to be honest I found I could focus better looking through the viewfinder.

[Adz]

Nice picture Becky, the moon is looking gorgeous tonight even with think cloud

[Catweazel]

Hmmm.. let's see if I can remember.

ISO: 100

Exposure: 1/100

White Balance: Auto

A touch of colour correction in Photoshop (was a bit reddish/brown due to the haze) and a slight increase in sharpness.

Thanks! My settings were completely different. Image was very bright

I didn't use software control, have only just started fiddling with that. Used the live view function, though to be honest I found I could focus better looking through the viewfinder.

Yep, I found that the viewfinder focused things nicely too.

[AstroMum]

Yes, I took a few bright ones to begin with too! Then I took a few that were too dark lol. Plenty of trial and error going on here....

Would have liked a shot at M42, but fat chance with the moon sat right next to it and all those wafer-thin clouds.

Made an avi of Mars in APT but have absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to do with it now.

[AstroMum]

Nice picture Becky, the moon is looking gorgeous tonight even with think cloud

Thank you. It does look very nice tonight, I've even been observing it as it crossed the sky this afternoon.

[Black Knight]

That's a great picture!

[Chris]

Hi Starfox, anything to report on results from the zs66 yet? CW

Hi CW:) yes last week I had the scope out and imaged M51, its better than my previous M51 attempts but still plenty of room for improvement. My 7 quid AstroBoot Bahtinov mask came through today so I'm looking forward to having better focus on my pics:) Also, just picked up a second hand Mod'd Canon 350D so bring on the nebulosity!

See link below for first light with the WO zs66:

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-deep-sky/177502-first-light-wo-zs66-ds-apo-3rd-m51-attempt.html

p.s. lovely Moon pic Becky, great first pic:)

[Adz]

Becky dont forget to have a go at photography of the moon early evening and afternoon. I have taken some shots I am please with at that time of day. You can always edit them later if you prefer the dark sky look. It also just helps the whole getting to know your kit process. Check out my pic gallery and I think you will see what I mean.

[AstroMum]

Becky dont forget to have a go at photography of the moon early evening and afternoon. I have taken some shots I am please with at that time of day. You can always edit them later if you prefer the dark sky look. It also just helps the whole getting to know your kit process. Check out my pic gallery and I think you will see what I mean.

I took a few shots early afternoon today. They came out a little over-saturated though (just started learning the ropes on the camera) and I haven't fiddled with them in Photoshop yet. I'll have a look at them tomorrow and see if I can salvage any good ones.

[paul j]

lovely photo becky :-) i need a dslr camera

[AstroMum]

lovely photo becky :-) i need a dslr camera

Thanks Paul. I can heartily recommend the Canon 1100D when you come to buying one.

Too nervous to post this in its own thread, so hiding in here instead.

My first shot of M42, with a bright moon nearby and an un-aligned scope!

16 exposures of 5 seconds each at ISO 100. Stacked in DSS and tweaked in Photoshop. No darks/flats etc, this was just a quick trial run.

[Sarah]

Great start Becky! Pics are looking good. You may want to consider a higher ISO setting for M42 and adding some more exposures. I was amazed by the pic my hubbie got from 38 mins worth of 5 seconds shots a while back - see this thread. Although 450 pics to stack may have been overkill!

[AstroMum]

Thanks for the tips Sarah, I will try a higher ISO next time. Your husband's pic is absolutely incredible! I'd have loved to give it another try this evening, but by the time I got back out, Orion had started to disappear behind the house.

I did get to see Saturn for the very first time though. Took a quick video with BackyardEOS and stacked the frames in Registax. Clearly not brilliant, but I wanted to capture it so I could remember my first time.

Also looked at the moon again, also took video and stacked. Amazing how much detail came out!

And now I am off to bed after a fun-filled evening on the patio.

[Black Knight]

That's a nice picture of the moon you grabbed there!