Astrophotography in London

[mpeniak]

1 hour ago, Physopto said:

Not when I bought one. It does depend upon offers or seller and being in the right place at the right time.  Around £1500 is a good price for a really good condition 583wsg. That is less half the original price. As I said built like a tank.

I think it'd take ages to find someone who is selling a QSI though...

[Physopto]

I sold my 583 not long ago and there is always Astro Buy and Sell to look at. They are really good cameras, but so are Atik  you just need to take your time and wait for the right gear. If you are tempted to rush all sorts can go wrong. Pig in  a Poke! Some one else here mentioned Morovian  but they are relatively new and you may not see one of theirs on sale second hand for a while.

You have all the summer months to go do not rush. I am trying to get some of my designs of adapters made but am waiting for the firm I want to get the time. I want it done correctly not a bodge job so if I loose some imaging time so be it. Patience!

Derek

[Galactic Wanderer]

Has any one thought about starlight xpress?

 I found this on astro buy sell website which could be a good buy. It's £1000 and comes with LRGB filters. 

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=112871

Possible?

Seb

[mpeniak]

I totally agree. I was just wondering if buying a second hand camera is really that good when I could get a new atik with a filter wheel and a guider that I can always swap in the future while if I get the camera you mention if will be second hand and might have issues and I will have to use the autoguider it has...unless I buy another one of course...thoughts

[mpeniak]

5 minutes ago, Galatic Wanderer said:

Has any one thought about starlight xpress?

 I found this on astro buy sell website which could be a good buy. It's £1000 and comes with LRGB filters. 

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=112871

Possible?

Seb

Look I have no experience with it but looks like a good deal. Why does he not want to post it though? I understand that it's a delicate equipment but how do other people get their ccds from other companies? Sure they are not travelling to another side of England to pick it up

[Galactic Wanderer]

3 minutes ago, mpeniak said:

I totally agree. I was just wondering if buying a second hand camera is really that good when I could get a new atik with a filter wheel and a guider that I can always swap in the future while if I get the camera you mention if will be second hand and might have issues and I will have to use the autoguider it has...unless I buy another one of course...thoughts

I'm sure that the camera is perfectly fine to use! Astro buy sell wouldn't sell it otherwise.

[mpeniak]

Looks like SX camera has small chip, which could be pain in the ass

 

[Galactic Wanderer]

Good point. I was just looking at the ccds they had on offer.

Check this out though:

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=113417

Seb

[mpeniak]

16 hours ago, Galatic Wanderer said:

Good point. I was just looking at the ccds they had on offer.

Check this out though:

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=113417

Seb

Wow looks like a good deal I guess.

[Galactic Wanderer]

Yeah! Definitely!

[gnomus]

2 hours ago, Galatic Wanderer said:

I'm sure that the camera is perfectly fine to use! Astro buy sell wouldn't sell it otherwise.

I haven't bought anything, yet from Astro buy and sell.  I thought these were just a collection of private ads.  Thankfully most folks are honest, but you get significantly less legal protection when buying privately and caveat emptor applies.

[Galactic Wanderer]

fingers crossed!

[mpeniak]

He replied and sent me few stunning images taken with the camera. I am attaching them here.

Hi Martin, thanks for the offer.

 

If you look on Ian King and First Light Optics websites, you can see that the new price in the UK is £3858.  Most astro gear in very good condition sells for 70% second hand. That would be £2700 in this case. I am asking £2530 including insured delivery, which sounds reasonable.

 

Would you like to reconsider your offer in light of the above?

 

I attach some images taken with this camera.

 

[Pompey Monkey]

11 hours ago, gnomus said:

I haven't bought anything, yet from Astro buy and sell.  I thought these were just a collection of private ads.  Thankfully most folks are honest, but you get significantly less legal protection when buying privately and caveat emptor applies.

Exactly what gnomus said: ABS is just a collection of private ads. The only protection they offer is a heads-up about potential fraudsters and scammers.

There are bargains to be had, but just be careful!  

[Galactic Wanderer]

9 hours ago, mpeniak said:

He replied and sent me few stunning images taken with the camera. I am attaching them here.

Hi Martin, thanks for the offer.

 

If you look on Ian King and First Light Optics websites, you can see that the new price in the UK is £3858.  Most astro gear in very good condition sells for 70% second hand. That would be £2700 in this case. I am asking £2530 including insured delivery, which sounds reasonable.

 

Would you like to reconsider your offer in light of the above?

 

I attach some images taken with this camera.

 

Lovely images from that camera, do consider it...

[gnomus]

Nice pictures, but do get some full size shots to check - especially some calibration frames (darks, bias, flats).

[mpeniak]

2 hours ago, gnomus said:

Nice pictures, but do get some full size shots to check - especially some calibration frames (darks, bias, flats).

What about the price though?

 

[ollypenrice]

Two of the images show some vertical banding. (The second and fourth ones down.) One of the four QSI cameras in our robotic shed had this problem. Initially the only way the owners could defeat it was by taking very long exposures - around 30 minutes. After something of an argument with QSI they received a software fix which has worked. It might be worth asking the owner whether or not has had done a firmware update on it. Since the problem doesn't appear in all the images this may have been done.

By the way, another of our robotic clients has just bought a second camera second hand, an Atik 383L, for £800. I'm just running off the darks on it at the moment and the chip seems very clean. Just a thought on filterwheels but, in narrowband, you tend to work on one set of data at once, Ha on one night, OIII on another, etc. In this case havng an electric wheel does not strike me as being at all important. You could save a lot of money and some complexity by just using a manual one. Sorry, one more thought: I find it much easier and cheaper to mount a guidescope piggybag on a simple strip of aluminium running between the guide rings on the top. Side by side also makes mount collision come earlier after passing the meridian. I see no advantage in it.

Olly

[mpeniak]

2 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

Two of the images show some vertical banding. (The second and fourth ones down.) One of the four QSI cameras in our robotic shed had this problem. Initially the only way the owners could defeat it was by taking very long exposures - around 30 minutes. After something of an argument with QSI they received a software fix which has worked. It might be worth asking the owner whether or not has had done a firmware update on it. Since the problem doesn't appear in all the images this may have been done.

By the way, another of our robotic clients has just bought a second camera second hand, an Atik 383L, for £800. I'm just running off the darks on it at the moment and the chip seems very clean. Just a thought on filterwheels but, in narrowband, you tend to work on one set of data at once, Ha on one night, OIII on another, etc. In this case havng an electric wheel does not strike me as being at all important. You could save a lot of money and some complexity by just using a manual one. Sorry, one more thought: I find it much easier and cheaper to mount a guidescope piggybag on a simple strip of aluminium running between the guide rings on the top. Side by side also makes mount collision come earlier after passing the meridian. I see no advantage in it.

Olly

My idea was to go for Atik and Ha filter to start with. Then later I would get other filters. I am also not that concerned about the filter wheel since collecting data via narrowband is probably going to be a night job per filter as you say. I would also save tons of money too...thoughts 

[ollypenrice]

33 minutes ago, mpeniak said:

My idea was to go for Atik and Ha filter to start with. Then later I would get other filters. I am also not that concerned about the filter wheel since collecting data via narrowband is probably going to be a night job per filter as you say. I would also save tons of money too...thoughts 

Just be sure to mark your camera-scope so that it goes in with the same orientation each time. It is best to align along RA and Dec rather than at a random angle.

Olly

[Uranium235]

Or never remove the camera   (except for periodic cleaning).

Im with Olly on the manual FW... nowt wrong with using your hand!

[Physopto]

I agree that if you cannot afford a filter wheel to begin with, using a single filter and changing is possible. BUT, every time you open the system up there is chance of dirt ingress or damage by dropping  the camera or filter. I can easily manage either without any effort.  When opening the CCD I always try do it in clean environment and on a table indoors, in the light so I can see clearly.

If the system can be left shut all the better.

Derek

[Uranium235]

A good cleaning tip is to use a headtorch on full beam, that will allow you to see even the smallest speck of dust. I usually wear a beanie hat while doing it as well, that will help prevent any bits of fluff dropping out of your hair (if you have any!) onto the things you are cleaning.

[ollypenrice]

18 minutes ago, Uranium235 said:

A good cleaning tip is to use a headtorch on full beam, that will allow you to see even the smallest speck of dust. I usually wear a beanie hat while doing it as well, that will help prevent any bits of fluff dropping out of your hair (if you have any!) onto the things you are cleaning.

I have some but it's round the back...

lly

[glowingturnip]

honestly with our skies (9 on the Bortle scale, as bad as it gets), I'd have thought anything other than bright planetary or solar is going to be disappointing.  (I don't bother here, and do all my AP in Spain).

Might be worth checking round, seeing if there are people out there who have had successes with narrowband in London, before springing for all the kit.

 

you could look at these guys too, if you're looking for a club - http://flamsteed.info/

 

Edit:  oops, posted before seeing the following 2 pages of conversation, apols if I've gone off topic