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AVX - ST80 - First Light

idigitize

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idigitize

idigitize

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Thanks to the advice from loads on here and Steve at FLO!

New toys all setup and and some clear skies :)

Amazing how much you get in the box for under £100 for the st80. Great views of the moon, Jupiter was much better than I'd thought, and Mars was pleasant.

The bright moon didn't help too much else viewing but had a good explore.

The mount seems amazing, and setup was straight forward. A quick 2 star alignment and a polar align on Capella. I know I have loads to learn, but had a great first night.

Might be a small smudge, but happy to get a pic on my first night too. Just 4x30 secs and a few darks, getting too late to process so much to learn on that side too.

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hobsey

hobsey

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Good first attempt.

When you feel up to it, how about using the camera strraight onto the scope and seeing what you can get.

I only ask as I will be starting AP with my ST80 and DSLR in the next couple of weeks and I'm curious to see what can be captured.

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idigitize

idigitize

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Thanks.... the Nikon T ring was purchased yesterday for delivery today, so hopefully wont be long to find out...unfortunately the clouds seem to have come too. 

Tried last night, but by the time the scope had slewed  to a star for aligning, it was covered in cloud. Not easy for learning.

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Helite

Helite

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Good first attempt.

When you feel up to it, how about using the camera strraight onto the scope and seeing what you can get.

I only ask as I will be starting AP with my ST80 and DSLR in the next couple of weeks and I'm curious to see what can be captured.

Have a look at this thread http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/180007-startravel-80/page-2 there is a couple of quick shots I took through my ST-80 when I first got it, just having a play about before turning it into a guide scope.

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idigitize

idigitize

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I had a quick try tonight with the t ring. The cloud too bad to try anything too much, but managed about 10 mins in total playing with the moon and Jupiter .

First impression... I found the focuser has to be extended almost fully to get focus. This proved a bit annoying cos when I was trying to fine tune focus, there was a little bit of play, so the moon would swing one way then the other in live view, I swung round to Jupiter, to test CA, (there were no stars out then) and you could clearly see green, then purple depending on which side of focus it was. Didn't get a chance to take any shots to test properly due to the cloud,

I guess the st80 is obviously going to have its shortcomings, but at the same time, it's very easy to manage and to learn the basics of imaging and the mount etc etc.

Hoping for some clear skies to actually get some pics. Saturday night is looking promising :/

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Lodestar

Lodestar

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Interesting stuff indeed. I have a Novaflex 400mm that I use as a scope I would love to compare it to the ST 80 with regards to image quality so more images from the st 80 would be useful. On the st80 focusser there are 2 tiny grub screws that tend to work loose, on my Evolution 90 a little thread-lock and a re adjust should kill most of the slop. Just dont use too much just a tiny bit will let you still turn the screws later if needed.

Regards Steve

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idigitize

idigitize

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Cheers for the tip Steve. The forecast is looking good for tonight, although the current rain and cloud needs to get a move on first.

I've watched the 'pimp my st80' video on AS a few times, flocking, greasing and the marker pen trick, so will look at the screws too.

Be interesting to see how much the tweaks help it from an imaging point of view.

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Lodestar

Lodestar

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I must get to do the pimp mods on the evostar 90 the main issue I had was the said screws coming loose.

I too thought it would be ok tonight. Went out at dusk and polar aligned the EQ2 then the clouds came in :sad: 

I waited for acouple of hours and then put the ota away, the mount is still out ever hopefull.

Wanted to use the d90 on the novaflex to get a reference pic of the moon to compare it to the nikon 300mm moon pics I have.  If the novaflex warrants it i will make a new tube and find a focusser for it but I suspect the cost may be too close overall to another 400mm scope.

Regards Steve

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idigitize

idigitize

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Yes... Forecast said 6-8pm clouds clearing... Then 8-10,, by about 10:30 I could see enough to get Aligned.

I've got a few mins of m81 to play with tomorrow, some taken with st80, some with nikon70-200 & 1.7tc.

I do find the nikon easier to focus, I'm guessing that's where to dual speed focusers shine over the st80 too.

Will try and post some shots tomorrow comparing the 2.

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idigitize

idigitize

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Here is M51 again with ST80 on the D800 direct…. sorry if the processing is OTT, or bad. Ive spent years photoshopping many subjects, but astro techniques are very new and learning as i go. Will try to get some longer M81 shots, getting to grips with alignment, but still a long way to go.

This is 9x90 secs, 6x90 darks - from last night in that very full bright smiley moon. I dropped ISO down to 200 so I could test the longer exposures without getting total white :)

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idigitize

idigitize

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Cheers. I didn't expect to get much at all in my first few sessions so quite happy. Be nice to see how much data I can get when the moon decides its time to help. (The clear nights didn't time that too well)

I'm thinking of making a DIY illuminous cross hair set for my live view screen to help with alignment,

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