Imaging with the 130pds

[Stub Mandrel]

I'm having a go at the cave nebula tonight, first 130P-DS session for months.

Hopefully the collimation isn't too bad...

[Jamgood]

2hrs 30m on Andromeda last night. Next clear night I'll add some more data to this. I think another session of the same length will really bring out more of the detail.

Happy with this one though. Gives me something to really practice post processing on. I've tried a few time to get this and it's never looked very good. 

150 x 1min subs
30 Flats
30 Darks
30 Bias

130PDS - EQ3Pro - Canon EOS60Da - Astronomik CLS - Baader MPCC

[Stub Mandrel]

Couple from last night, and 20 mins each of RGB on Andromeda, after an hour each of SHO on a rather noisy Cave. Collimation wasn't too good...

 

 

[Spaced Out]

There are a number of ‘firsts’ for me here.

Got my first ever image with the new V-power focuser on my 130PDS, it’s my first step into imaging with a dedicated mono camera (ZWO ASI 1600) and it’s also my first ever use of any calibration frames. It has been a steep learning curve and lots could have gone wrong, however, I am just happy to have produced this colour image !

The processing isn't great, I still have much to learn and I’ve found it quite difficult tbh. I have struggled with star bloating when stretching, wasted hours trying to produce star masks (but just produced ugly  halos), then wrestled with colour balance and battled some nasty noise as I tried to stretch the image to bring out the dark dust clouds (I’m guessing I need more data to smooth things out ?).

Anyway, this is the result so far. I will have another night on this target soon hopefully and see if adding more data helps improve things a bit.

 

[Jamgood]

@Spaced Out Looks pretty damn good to me. 👍

Out of interest, what focuser are you using? I'm going to upgrade to something similar when I go the dedicated camera route.

[Spaced Out]

4 hours ago, Jamgood said:

@Spaced Out Looks pretty damn good to me. 👍

Out of interest, what focuser are you using? I'm going to upgrade to something similar when I go the dedicated camera route.

Thanks

As far as I am aware the only easy 'off the shelf' option for upgrading the 130PDS focuser is the Moonlite CR2. All other options I explored seemed to involve drilling holes and focuser bases that didn't match the tube size properly.

I'm using the TS-Optics V-Power focuser. It was an experiment really and is fitted with a custom 3D printed base for now to see how it performs.

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p6522_TS-Optics-2--UNC-V-Power-Newton-Crayford-Focuser---short.html

More info here....

 

 

[Whistlin Bob]

Lots of debate on focusers here. My experience is that the standard one works well with DSLRs but struggles a little with the weight of camera and filter wheel in a dedicated set up. However, with a bit of fiddling (making sure everything is adjusted well and locked once focus is confirmed) I think it does cope. The photos below all came out of an ASI1600 with filter wheel on the standard focuser.

Edited September 24, 2020 by Whistlin Bob
Autocarrot

[Spaced Out]

5 hours ago, Whistlin Bob said:

Lots of debate on focusers here. My experience is that the standard one works well with DSLRs but struggles a little with the weight of camera and filter wheel in a dedicated set up. However, with a bit of fiddling (making sure everything is adjusted well and locked once focus is confirmed) I think it does cope. The photos below all came out of an ASI1600 with filter wheel on the standard focuser.

I do wonder if the focuser/heavy camera issue might vary between OTAs, so people get slightly different experiences ?

My own experience (on 2 different 130PDS OTAs) was gravitational tilt that I couldn't fix properly. The best improvement I made was by removing the SW autofocuser I had fitted and tensioning everything up as tight as I could. It was a lot better then but on close inspection I could still see some tilt in images. 

[John78]

On 24/09/2020 at 08:10, Spaced Out said:

There are a number of ‘firsts’ for me here.

Got my first ever image with the new V-power focuser on my 130PDS, it’s my first step into imaging with a dedicated mono camera (ZWO ASI 1600) and it’s also my first ever use of any calibration frames. It has been a steep learning curve and lots could have gone wrong, however, I am just happy to have produced this colour image !

The processing isn't great, I still have much to learn and I’ve found it quite difficult tbh. I have struggled with star bloating when stretching, wasted hours trying to produce star masks (but just produced ugly  halos), then wrestled with colour balance and battled some nasty noise as I tried to stretch the image to bring out the dark dust clouds (I’m guessing I need more data to smooth things out ?).

Anyway, this is the result so far. I will have another night on this target soon hopefully and see if adding more data helps improve things a bit.

 

Thats a brilliant image!  For star masks - try starnet++, easy, free, accurate starless images and mask.

[cuivenion]

If you have Pixinsight Starnet is native process in the latest version.

[Whistlin Bob]

Couple of different  processes of the Wizard nebula.

The acquisition details are:

R,G,B – each 20x 30s (Stars)

Ha,Oiii,Sii – each 100x 60s (Nebula).

All at Gain 250 on ASI1600mm with ZWO filters, HEQ5 with, of course, 130pds using SW Coma Corrector.

There’s 2 presentations: the first is SHO, but with the green channel then mostly re-distributed into yellow and blue, the second is more naturalistic with Ha and Sii fed into Red and Oiii into blue and green, with a 50% multiplier on blue and a reduction in Red where Oiii is present. So not very naturalistic!

[sagramore]

On 05/10/2020 at 22:40, Whistlin Bob said:

Couple of different  processes of the Wizard nebula.

The acquisition details are:

R,G,B – each 20x 30s (Stars)

Ha,Oiii,Sii – each 100x 60s (Nebula).

All at Gain 250 on ASI1600mm with ZWO filters, HEQ5 with, of course, 130pds using SW Coma Corrector.

There’s 2 presentations: the first is SHO, but with the green channel then mostly re-distributed into yellow and blue, the second is more naturalistic with Ha and Sii fed into Red and Oiii into blue and green, with a 50% multiplier on blue and a reduction in Red where Oiii is present. So not very naturalistic!

This is a bad post for my wallet... I've been considering the 1600MM for a few months and tried this target with my Canon 550D recently (very unsuccessful without any modding, and big camera connectivity issues).

Great pics, I really have a thing for SHO pallette....

[Jamgood]

Last time I got to a chance to go out I tried the same target with my 60Da.  Only managed to get 55 x 1min exposures though.  Hoping to get more sometime soon. 

Upgraded from EQ3Pro to a HEQ5Pro on Sunday and will be guiding as soon as I have a chance to test it all out and make sure everything is ticketyboo.  Looking forward to longer exposures. 👍

[kaelig]

I am a beginner in visual assisted, I have started one month ago.
My setup is: SW130PDS - AZ goto Orion Starseeker Mount - Atik Infinity colour - no guiding

It is a beginner setup, in the future, I want to take a EQM-35 mount & an another Atik Camera (mono). I will work hard to obtain better results

It is useful for beginner than me to see image of another beginner. I see amazing images on this post, but they are made by experimented people.

 

Edited October 9, 2020 by kaelig

[kaelig]

I am a beginner with 130PDS & I want to improve my setup, but I need your experiences as guidelines

 

Setup now:

---------------

Mount: AZ goto Orion Starseeker

tube: SW 130PDS (of course, I will keep it, it's my base for a long years)

Camera: Atik infinity colour (with 130PDS, it gives 2.05" for resolution, wich is good for DSO objects)

 

Future:

--------

I want to ad and/or change this element (my priority, the order i

1) a equatorial mount will be better (the accuracy of the starseeker is bad)

=> due to the weight, I have selected  EQM-35 or CEM25P

2)  a CLS filter (like baader neodynium)?

3)  a coma corrector (as the baader one)?

4) a focal reducer (but I need to stay between 2,5 & 3" of resolution).

and

next year a B&W Atik camera: Atik Infinity Mono? or Horizon?

Is anyone know where it is calculated this resolution of "between 2 and 3"/pixel"? I do not find the origin of this information.

Thank you for your understanding and to give me your feedbacks

[steviebee]

Bonjour et bienvenue chez SGL. l also have the 130PDS but due to work commitments and the weather have not used it that much and not at all for imaging. so l will be following this thread closely. l live part time in the Lot (dept 46) and enjoy Bortle 3 skies. l am sure someone will be along soon to help, this is a great forum with people always willing to help.

 

Cordialement

Steve.

[rotatux]

3 hours ago, kaelig said:

I am a beginner with 130PDS & I want to improve my setup

Hello Kaelig and welcome here. I'm sure you'll find a cheerful hand to help here, just as I got a few years ago.

Not answering directly, but just a few remarks...

1) I am afraid CEM25P production has stopped, if I understood correctly, so it's getting difficult to get anywhere.

2) CLS ≠ neodymium; neodymium or "moon and skyglow" are a very wide band, glass-tinted kind of filter, which efficiency I found has dropped these past years with new generation led-based lighting (but is still good depending on your conditions); while CLS is a kind of interferometric filter, between wide and narrow band, much like UHC but more dedicated to cameras rather than visual.

(won't comment on others)

Edited October 10, 2020 by rotatux
forgot precision on CLS

[kaelig]

Thank you for your answers. I am lucky, two french people who answer me.

So for the mount, I will for SW EQM-35 mount. I know, it is more recommended HEQ5, but the light weight is a criteria for me. I do not want to do astrophotography,

but I want to do Visual Assisted (so short time exposure < 10mn). It seems, we could obtain 30 mn with EQM35, so it could be sufficient for me.

I understand than CLS is better than Neodymium. The light change with LED is the bad way for us.

Have a good sky.

Here is the original photo of M57 (without crop), I like this color circle in the deep:

Save as seen - 5s x 80 = 400s - Atik Inifinity soft

 

Edited October 11, 2020 by kaelig

[StamosP]

Has anyone else encountered this issue?

This is a crop of 45image stack (450s in Ha @unity gain) taken with my 130pds, TS GPU coma corrector, Qhy183m and Baader Ha filter.

Oiii looks approximately the same...

Here is another crop of the stack:

And an aberration inspector mosaic of a single 450s frame:

[Uranium235]

@StamosP wow.... newtons rings.... ive never seen that before in a reflector!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton's_rings

http://www.365telescopes.com/how-to-deal-with-newtons-rings-in-cmos-imaging/

It only usually affects solar H-alpha images, so Im a bit clueless as to why its appearing in a DSO image. Remove the corrector and try imaging again, if it disappears - youve found the culprit.

[Adam J]

3 hours ago, StamosP said:

Has anyone else encountered this issue?

 

This is a crop of 45image stack (450s in Ha @unity gain) taken with my 130pds, TS GPU coma corrector, Qhy183m and Baader Ha filter.

Oiii looks approximately the same...

Here is another crop of the stack:

 

And an aberration inspector mosaic of a single 450s frame:

 

Maybe a reflection within the corrector. Have seen it before with a TS branded corrector, its possible you have a missing coating.

In the smaller stars  its like a reflection of the out of focue airy disk overlayed on the star.

Adam

Edited October 12, 2020 by Adam J

[kaelig]

Problem of collimation or the eyepiece holder moves in extra-focalisation state (like Airy) or reflection effect (filter, corrector). 

Could you give us the results of your investigations, thank you.

Edited October 13, 2020 by kaelig

[Jamgood]

A nice bit of clear sky last night, gave me a chance to have a play around with PHD2 and do a bit of fine tuning of my guiding on the HEQ5Pro. A lot of testing and not much imaging. Not perfect but getting there. Had a bit too much tilt on the focuser. (That's the next thing to tackle)

Iris Nebula 19x5min Subs at ISO1600. 5 Darks, 30 Bias, 30 Flats.

Will be adding more data to this in the near future.

End of the night and clouds rolling in, I thought I'd have a quick look at the Horses Head as it rose over the trees at 4:30am. I didn't bother re-focusing. Managed to get 3x5min Subs. Wow! I can't wait to image this one for a good length of time.

[kaelig]

@Jamgood I have a beginner question, in my setup, I have a Canon 600D & a baader MPCC3 (buy with 130PDS, but I have not use). I want to know, your setup  between the coma corrector & your Canon, I need to buy the elements between us, and I want to be sure it sucess. Thank you for your help.

Your images are amazing, congratulations 😀

[Jamgood]

16 minutes ago, kaelig said:

@Jamgood I have a beginner question, in my setup, I have a Canon 600D & a baader MPCC3 (buy with 130PDS, but I have not use). I want to know, your setup  between the coma corrector & your Canon, I need to buy the elements between us, and I want to be sure it sucess. Thank you for your help.

Your images are amazing, congratulations 😀

I'm only a beginner myself @kaelig. I've only been doing this since July and everything is new to me. I'm learning as I go.

With the Baader, I still haven't got mine perfect and I adjust it slightly each time. The flange of the MPCC is currently 13mm away from the face of the Canon. (Canon's sensor is 44mm back.) That gives me 57mm which is close. I only have a cheap T Ring between Camera and MPCC.

The problem I'm finding, which others have/do too, is that there is always some tilt between the focuser/camera giving what looks like Coma in one corner usually. I have another adapter to try and see if it helps with that.

Edited October 13, 2020 by Jamgood