Oh dear - my equipment is naff.

[hjw]

Hi Spacehead,

You don't NEED a modded camera for Ha but it makes it easier. The IR filter removes some/most of the Ha bandwidth but not all. I don't have a modded camera and I can get results for the horsehead:

I am looking forward to add some more data without the filter to get a better color for the flame nebula. Just give it a go and see what happens - much better than ruling out an opportunity because someone said so!

Good luck!

HJ

[The Admiral]

On 29/11/2016 at 20:22, Spacehead said:

I was really hoping to get the horsehead - it didnt have to be fantastic - just an outline even.  But no - I am advised I would be better with a new camera and guiding instead of tracking.

The best advice I can give is to ignore what people advise, if that isn't a contradiction in terms  Try it, nothing ventured, nothing gained! But either way, you will need to take a lot of frames and stack them. DSLRs do not by default have a poor H-alpha response, some though are much better than others.

Those of us who don't even use an EQ mount, let alone guiding, and with our DSLRs stuck on the end of our telescopes, can reveal an amazing amount of stuff out there. OK, it may not be of the salon quality of many of the pics you see on this forum, but hey, getting to see it in the first place is what it's all about!

Ian

[Ouroboros]

I tried this 4 year's ago with my unmodded Canon 450D.  Here's the result of 18 x 30s exposures at 1600iso from my 200P on my old EQ5.  There's a lot wrong with it but it also shows it's possible at least to have a try anyway.  

 

[GeoffB]

Spacehead, I know where your coming from and can say I need to learn how to improve my skills to match my budget and kit. I get disappointed by my results and then look at what I managed last year and look at the improvements I have made and how by spending a little the rapid gains can be made. For example £20 on a cheap intervalmeter meant I could get better stacks and therefore better pictures. I admit I need to save for abetter mount but I aint got those bucks available at present and it will take a year to save for that. But working with what I have has made me a better photographer and appreciate what I have in my arsenal at present. 

I hope I can improve my basic astronomy skills to further enhance my kit as better Polar Alignment means greater tracking precision and therefore improved framing of my subject. This is one area I know I need to improve and no matter how much I can or can not spend on better kit will not solve my short comings in this area.

[iapa]

21 hours ago, GeoffB said:

Spacehead, I know where your coming from and can say I need to learn how to improve my skills to match my budget and kit. I get disappointed by my results and then look at what I managed last year and look at the improvements I have made and how by spending a little the rapid gains can be made. For example £20 on a cheap intervalmeter meant I could get better stacks and therefore better pictures. I admit I need to save for abetter mount but I aint got those bucks available at present and it will take a year to save for that. But working with what I have has made me a better photographer and appreciate what I have in my arsenal at present. 

I hope I can improve my basic astronomy skills to further enhance my kit as better Polar Alignment means greater tracking precision and therefore improved framing of my subject. This is one area I know I need to improve and no matter how much I can or can not spend on better kit will not solve my short comings in this area.

+1 for using what you have and stretching to your limits as suggested by many previouslye.g. targets that don't require the mod to the camera.

Get the techniques sorted before investing significant amounts - and in the mean time you can be saving for your next investment; making "Every photon count" as first stop. A lot is obvious - in hindsight after reading for the 3rd time  but still indispensable.

Personally, I would suggest really considering what you really want to image, yes you have mentioned several preferred targets (I didn't do that properly so many mistakes made ) but one class of targets- e.g. emission nebulae - may require different equipment. This is not a 'one size fits all', it is more'700 sizes fit one'.  

Read a lot and determine the equipment you thing you need for that - ask people here for advice; there are lots of people with plenty of experience.

Consider your first real investment to the a mount suitable for equipment you decide on. Buying an OTA and putting it on a mount that is inadequate is demoralizing - believe me

In the meantime, with respect to @GeoffBan alternative to an intervalometer may be to use a laptop with a USB cable to connect to the camera and the capture software that was supplied with the camera.

If you do not have a laptop this is probably your first significant outlay to support this money pit hobby, or - some boosted USB cables ( I use Bluerigger 10m USB cables - I've had three strung together with success but this is still cheaper than a laptop. I believe in sitting in the comfort of the warm lounge to standing outside freezing my 80!!0x off).

I used the Canon EOS utility (free on both MAC and Windows machines) for a several months to take my first lot of images.

Started with Celestron SLT130 - which is where I learnt about OTA on inadequate mount; the combination of the 130mm reflector and that mount is fine for observing but needs care when imaging but there was a lot learnt there. Then moved to a Celestron AVX mount, then later upgraded the OAT. 

I started with my then existing Nikon D90 both piggybacked on the mount and at prime focus, and SofotBild (free) on my MacBook Air - but I was planning to replace the Nikon anyway so I don't count the investment in the purchase of the Canon 700D as Astro related as I was going to do that anyway. You already have a Canon.

You can upload your images to ASTRONOMETRY.NET and it will show you the centre of your image so you can check you are pointing the right way - oh, the number of times I havent been pointing at desired target:( ). Teaches you the importance of alignment the mount.

When it starts come together it is indescribable - that first image of M27 Apple Core nebulae with its colours.......