Too much zoom!

[recceranger]

Guys,

Im using a CPC 1100 with a ZWOASI034 and when I'm imaging the planets or the moon the magnification is was too much.  I removed the barlow and placed the camera straight into the nose piece but its still far too high.  Am I missing a step, can I bring down the mag?  

Rick

[Dave In Vermont]

You could use a Focal-Reducer to take it as far down to a F/3.3. Here's a good paper to doing this. Though written around the MallinCam line of cameras, the principles remain the same:

http://www.mallincam.net/uploads/2/6/9/1/26913006/focal_reduction_for_dummies.pdf

I hope this helps -

Dave

[Cornelius Varley]

1 hour ago, recceranger said:

Guys,

Im using a CPC 1100 with a ZWOASI034 and when I'm imaging the planets or the moon the magnification is was too much.  I removed the barlow and placed the camera straight into the nose piece but its still far too high.  Am I missing a step, can I bring down the mag?  

Rick

I'm not sure why you would want to make the planet size smaller, by doing that you also reduce the amount of detail captured by the camera. For lunar imaging try not to think of the camera as being the limit of what can be recorded in a single video clip. It is possible to take several overlapping video clips and the final stills combined in MicrosoftICE to give a bigger image. By using this method you get the larger image area without losing detail.
 

[vlaiv]

From your equipment specs, I would say you are quite undersampled for planetary work if not using barlow.

ASI034MC has pixel size 5.6um, and your scope has 2800mm focal length. Calculation gives that you can use x2.5-x2-7 barlow to achieve maximum resolution of your setup.

What tells you that you have too much mag? This camera has very low resolution of 728X512 and small sensor size so maybe you are talking about Field of View being too narrow?

If you think that you have too much magnification because you can't fit Jupiter and it's moons in a single frame - then go for focal reductor.

If you think that you have too much magnification because you can't fit enough of the Moon into a single frame - then go for focal reductor and/or Mosaic making

If you think that you have too much mag because things are too blurry then: check your collimation and insure you have decent seeing for planetary work (let scope cool properly, don't shoot over hot surfaces - like concrete things, pavements, avoid shooting over houses in winter, especially if they burn something for heating and have a chimney, check weather forecast for your observing location - pay close attention to jetstream).

[ollypenrice]

If you are not getting sharp results it might just be that the seeing is bad. If the air is optically unstable, as it often is, there is nothing to do but be patient.

Olly