My first ever astropic on a PD colour cam.

[compassrose]

Well I got it all set up on thurs as it seemed reasonable conditions, but my garden in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan is limited with LP and narrow field of view. M57 was possible and seemed a reasonable first target. Slewed my CPC 800 and got it centred. Put the cam on connected to lappy via the supplied grabber but only managed to find the target with integration turned on fairly high, which of course further complicated focus. Went for capture with integration at 1024 for 20 seconds. Not sure if I've got my method right and would appreciate comments/advice particularly regarding focussing.  Anyway really pleased I got something to record even if not centred in frame! Lots of fun.

Did a quick and basic stack (no darks or photoshop etc).

Loads of practice and a steep learning curve to master so need help (as brutal and critical as necessary!)

David

[johnno]

hi David, that's a good shot for first attempt with cam, I don't have a PD but normally have shutter to manual at 1/50 and work up the integration, takes a bit to get use to the cam as there is other settings that can help to getting a better picture.

SSDR .  DNR3..AGC.. manual white balance , you'll just have to play around with them and see what effect they have and when you have the shot how you like it make a note of the settings so next time you go to it your be more or less spot on,

each target will normally have a different setting,  this might help you,

dso paper.xls

[Carl Reade]

I second that great first shot! When Im focussing I have the intergration well down probably around X32 or so and get the stars as sharp as I can. Then crank up the integration for the target.

Cheers Carl

[shirva]

Maybe try a bahtinov mask and focus on closest brightest star to your target. ..great shot for first light on pd cam....all learners on here Davy

[compassrose]

Thanks guys. Will continue to play around with the settings and make a record for future reference.  Would it be possible (and if so how) to use a small monitor (lcd or crt) at the tripod to carry out focussing before doing the capture on the laptop somewhere warmer - or am I just being a wuss?

Cheers

David

[johnno]

that's what I do, all you need is a monitor with av inputs, I use a splitter at the camera, monitor at  the mount on a short lead, and laptop indoors,

[Dragon Man]

Fantastic first result David! Well done mate.

Can you please show us one frame, totally un-processed so we can see what your camera sees Live, not stacked.

And, yes, you can have a monitor out at your scope as well as the feed to your computer.

They sell T-pieces at electronics shops so you can plug in 2 video cables.

[compassrose]

Hi and thanks again for your comments - what a great forum!

Ken - I've taken a snapshot of a frame as requested  from the video file and converted it to a jpeg. Hopefully it will be attached to this message. Grateful for all comments good and bad as I am very much a newbie feeling my way. 

Cheers

David

[Dragon Man]

Snapshot M57 copy.jpg

Hi and thanks again for your comments - what a great forum!

Ken - I've taken a snapshot of a frame as requested  from the video file and converted it to a jpeg. Hopefully it will be attached to this message. Grateful for all comments good and bad as I am very much a newbie feeling my way. 

Cheers

David

Wow David, if that is what you are getting Live, straight from the camera to your computer screen then you are doing extremely well!

Next time you get the LIve feed on your screen, take a screen grab (prt sc) and save that.

That way you get to show everyone exactly what the camera displays when showing an audience standing around watching your Live feed 

It helps others see if they want to get that particular camera for Live work.

You are off to a flying start. 

[compassrose]

Thanks Ken.

Will look at getting a monitor set up at scope using a splitter as you suggested. Is there any signal loss and can the output go to laptop and monitor at the same time without switching? For focussing I tried using a bahtinov mask with the camera but the image of a star on the laptop screen was so small it was difficult to discern the diffraction pattern - I must have got lucky with M57 - I took a series of 3 captures, making a slight adjustment of the focusser each time either side of what I thought was the optimal focus and ditched the 2 worst. Skies here are dreadful at the moment but thanks to this site, when they do improve I'll be able to try out a few ideas. In the meantime having loads of fun with just the basics. As a general beginner to astronomy I'm  still enjoying learning the visual side but it does seem that the video branch of the hobby can only grow and grow. 

David

[Nibor]

that's what I do, all you need is a monitor with av inputs, I use a splitter at the camera, monitor at  the mount on a short lead, and laptop indoors,

+ 1 for this set up as well - although I am about to make up an extension cable for my S/W Electronic focuser for my Orion (US) ED 80.

I think the extra monitor is a relatively easy solution - I was beginning to dread trying to find electronic focuser solutions for my other scopes.

[DoctorD]

Hi David

Great first shot - welcome to the wonderful world of video astronomy.

You'll find a reducer very useful fora tithed targets with your CPC800 but some targets like the Ring Nebula are bright enough to see without the reducer.

Clear skies

Paul

[Dragon Man]

Thanks Ken.

Will look at getting a monitor set up at scope using a splitter as you suggested. Is there any signal loss and can the output go to laptop and monitor at the same time without switching? For focussing I tried using a bahtinov mask with the camera but the image of a star on the laptop screen was so small it was difficult to discern the diffraction pattern - I must have got lucky with M57 - I took a series of 3 captures, making a slight adjustment of the focusser each time either side of what I thought was the optimal focus and ditched the 2 worst. Skies here are dreadful at the moment but thanks to this site, when they do improve I'll be able to try out a few ideas. In the meantime having loads of fun with just the basics. As a general beginner to astronomy I'm  still enjoying learning the visual side but it does seem that the video branch of the hobby can only grow and grow. 

David

No David, no signal loss by splitting it. No switching involved. They run at the same time.

With your Bahtinov mask, find a really bright star and try it. You should be able to get the focussing spikes about 2" long or more on a PC screen.

The brighter the star the better.

Small stars don't give of enough spike to see it properly.

[hoops86]

Great first image David! So much detail well done!