Lunt 50: first light

[GreatAttractor]

What a lovely little scope. Very successful first light, apart from a slightly drooping focuser (which I'll replace) everything works great.

Images shot with PGR Chameleon 3 mono (ICX445), stacked in AviStack 2, post-processed with ImPPG.

4-pane mosaic:

Animation of 2:17 h, 45-second intervals (ImPPG's limb alignment mode was used):

[MarsG76]

nice detail

[Pete Presland]

Very nice 1st light. The focuser really is the weak point of the scope which is a shame considering the cost.

[baggywrinkle]

Nice. I get a lot of use out of my PST...more social hours too...

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Very nice indeed

[David Smith]

Wow, those are very nice images. Shame about the focuser but otherwise sounds like a nice piece of kit.

[jabeoo1]

Well done mate thats some excellent results.  Yeah the focuser is tatty to say the least.  You may know already but there are currently a few solutions, one is a borg replacement with an adaptor (there is another thread on it somewhere on here).  There is also a moonlite focuser in the pipeline which I should be testing the prototype of in the near future.  After its passed the test I am assuming you will be able to order one direct or via normal channels.  

What is your imaging set up ?  The more I see these images the more I am tempted to give solar imaging a go.

[mert]

Fantastic images. Love the 3rd pic.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Very nice images and well done on first light with the Lunt 50. I have owned a PST for over 10 years and I would like to upgrade. Unfortunately the reports on the focuser on the Lunt 50 has put me off. I hope that Lunt address this apparent dissatisfaction to an otherwise great Ha scope.

[Montana]

    wonderful views

Alexandra

[Owmuchonomy]

Well done mate thats some excellent results.  Yeah the focuser is tatty to say the least.  You may know already but there are currently a few solutions, one is a borg replacement with an adaptor (there is another thread on it somewhere on here).  There is also a moonlite focuser in the pipeline which I should be testing the prototype of in the near future.  After its passed the test I am assuming you will be able to order one direct or via normal channels.  

What is your imaging set up ?  The more I see these images the more I am tempted to give solar imaging a go.

Looking forward to updates on the Moonlite.....

[laudropb]

Very nice set of images. You are capturing some nice detail. The problems with the focused have made me think twice about getting a Lunt. I will await developments before taking the plunge.

[Drop Of Sun]

Lovely shots. Congrats on the new scope!

Moonlite focuser in the works sounds interesting. A pricey add-on I suppose but you can get a lot of solar done in a year. I would have bought a Feathertouch for my SolarMax 60 but I don't think they could supply it at the time. Have fun with the new views!

[paulastro]

Wonderful images and I love the animation, thanks for posting.

[GreatAttractor]

Thanks everyone.

there are currently a few solutions, one is a borg replacement with an adaptor (there is another thread on it somewhere on here).

Right, I already have a non-rotating Borg (T2 low profile) I've been using with LS35.

What is your imaging set up ?  The more I see these images the more I am tempted to give solar imaging a go.

Camera as noted, otherwise a Barlow in camera's nosepiece (effective 1.6x), this way the sweetspot covers almost whole FOV (despite the focuser droop) and image scale is optimal (for my 3.75 μm pixels). For this session everything seated on my trusty old MON-2 (rebranded EQ5) with RA drive.

[jabeoo1]

Looking forward to updates on the Moonlite.....

No worries.  I will be posting my findings as soon as I get the chance.  Currently waiting for the item to be made & dispatched.  Then no doubt the even longer wait for the clouds to go away. I am looking forward to doing away with the stock one for sure. 

The problems with the focused have made me think twice about getting a Lunt. I will await developments before taking the plunge.

Unfortunately the reports on the focuser on the Lunt 50 has put me off. I hope that Lunt address this apparent dissatisfaction to an otherwise great Ha scope.

laudropb & Mark at Beaufort:

I would not let the focuser reports put you off at all.  What you get for the cost is absolutely brilliant, the focuser is completely useable and is still serving me fine after nearly a year.  I am looking to upgrade now as I have a moonlite on my dob and therefore have a higher expectation of what a focuser should feel like, so its got to go.  However If I had never touched a premium focuser I would probably just keep using it.  Its not something that is big enough to hinder the enjoyment of the scope.  I am thinking if they included a higher end focuser it would then put the scope package above the £1000 mark, which would push it into a different marketing territory.   I think that Lunt have done a great job marketing this at the current price point.   The lure of the double stack module will prove difficult to resist for some, for me the DS was the major selling point & pales the stock focuser to insignificance.    

[GreatAttractor]

laudropb & Mark at Beaufort:

I would not let the focuser reports put you off at all.  What you get for the cost is absolutely brilliant

Absolutely. I pointed out the drooping mainly because it strongly affects full-disk images (without the Barlow): sweetspot is too much off-center. But with Barlow it's fine, as it is for visual.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Thanks jabeoo1 and GreatAttractor for that information on the focuser. I am really just a visual observer so your comments are very reassuring. Perhaps I will have a closer look at the Lunt 50 when I attend Astrofest early next year.

[cshahar]

Lovely and impressive detail!

[Tyson M]

Amazing shots and ani! A nice first light.

[ollypenrice]

Those are great results.

Olly

[MilwaukeeLion]

Amazing captures & detail !   Really like the animation.

[DRT]

Thanks jabeoo1 and GreatAttractor for that information on the focuser. I am really just a visual observer so your comments are very reassuring. Perhaps I will have a closer look at the Lunt 50 when I attend Astrofest early next year.

Mark,

As you might recall from the eclipse party earlier this year I also have a Lunt 50 and have experienced the same sloppy focuser problems as described above. I find that so long as you utilise the focus locking screw it ceases to become a problem for visual use providing you are using parafocal EPs. I tend to use my 8mm and 6mm Ethos EPs and previously used some of the Delos range, all of which were bang on parafocal and did not require any focus adjustment when swapping the EPs in and out. With the focus lock engaged there is no slop

That said, I am delighted to hear that a MoonLite option might be available soon as it is the week link in this otherwise fantastic little scope.

Derek

[Mark at Beaufort]

Thanks Derek that is very helpful. I do recall looking through your Lunt 50 and the view was very good. It was partly that reason I wanted to upgrade my PST to a Lunt 50 but the negative reports on the focuser was putting me off.

Derek hope to see you again in March at SGL11.

[Owmuchonomy]

I wouldn't describe my Lunt 50 focuser as sloppy, in fact probably the converse.  The more serious issue with it is its lack of range.  It seriously lacks in-focus such that none of my 2" EPs work with it. The Baader Hyperion zoom won't reach focus either.  Roll on the Moonlite.  I will be bringing it to SGL 11 though.