Imaging with a Star Adventurer

[wsg]

Neil thanks for the comment and yes I should have listed the flattener that matches the scope.  It is sold separately but is an absolute must

I'm going to try Andromeda tonight for the first time, any advise?  I realize the time difference of course.

Edited December 15, 2017 by wsg

[geordie85]

3 hours ago, serbiadarksky said:

Im sorry to hear a bad experience from you.

Just to ask- did you know that thr SA polar scope is 180° rotated?

If polris is at 11:30 for expample..you will have to set i to 5:30

Maybe it can help 

Is this true? So if the polarfinder app has Polaris at the very bottom, I need to put Polaris at the very top of the circle in the polar scope?

[Alien 13]

5 minutes ago, geordie85 said:

Is this true? So if the polarfinder app has Polaris at the very bottom, I need to put Polaris at the very top of the circle in the polar scope?

No, the apps like polar finder give you a real view i.e. they correct the orientation.

Alan

[serbiadarksky]

8 hours ago, geordie85 said:

Is this true? So if the polarfinder app has Polaris at the very bottom, I need to put Polaris at the very top of the circle in the polar scope?

Nope

I mean if you use the app for the star adventurer mini

I used another app and it doesnt give me the rotated image

[happy-kat]

Louise, I'd try making it tail heavy bias so there is no strain in it tracking the rise from the East.

Edited December 16, 2017 by happy-kat

[Thalestris24]

56 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

Louise, I'd try making it tail heavy bias so there is no strain in it tracking the rise from the East.

I find it a bit of a beast to balance! I've balanced the counterweight bar off the SA but maybe that's not the best way? I think I'll try it with the old 18-55mm kit lens which is an awful lot lighter than the Takumar. Yet some people seem to get good results with 300mm lenses or even small fracs. Also maybe I'll try with the 75-300mm lens which is still lighter than the Tak albeit hopeless for astro.

Louise

[happy-kat]

An idea. Does the new Skywatcher WiFi dongle give goto capability to the star adventurer.

[JemC]

On 15/12/2017 at 16:52, Bobby1970 said:

This one is new, and it's been reduced 

Where was this for sale?

[Bobby1970]

32 minutes ago, JemC said:

Where was this for sale?

Astroboot. Looks like it may have been sold now. 

[Randalloverby]

My Star Adventurer came in yesterday and I was able to get a few shots last night as the clouds were rolling in. After polar alignment, I had no problems getting 240sec exposures. So far I am pretty impressed with it and I can't wait to get back but our weather is steadily going downhill.  Image below was 240s, 3200iso, 17-40 lens at 40mm f/4. Edited in PS.

[Astro Buer]

It's a great little bit of kit, and has an ST4 port which means you can guide (albeit only in RA) but better that than nothing!

I've only been shooting deep sky for 2 months, but this was my first image captured with the SA and although it has plenty of processing problems, I was quite happy with it for my first go! 

120x19 Lights / 15 Darks / 15 Flats / 30 Bias

WO ZS61 / Sony A7S / Guided with PHD

I would not hesitate to recommend it, it's a great little bit of kit to throw in the back of the car (ok, don't throw it in the back of the car) to drive out to those darker skies if, like me, you live under a permanent orange glow... 

 

[Victor Boesen]

46 minutes ago, Astro Buer said:

It's a great little bit of kit, and has an ST4 port which means you can guide (albeit only in RA) but better that than nothing!

I've only been shooting deep sky for 2 months, but this was my first image captured with the SA and although it has plenty of processing problems, I was quite happy with it for my first go! 

120x19 Lights / 15 Darks / 15 Flats / 30 Bias

WO ZS61 / Sony A7S / Guided with PHD

I would not hesitate to recommend it, it's a great little bit of kit to throw in the back of the car (ok, don't throw it in the back of the car) to drive out to those darker skies if, like me, you live under a permanent orange glow... 

 

Amazing photo! What tripod did you use it with? It must have been a beefy one to be able to carry the weight of the WO?

[Astro Buer]

10 minutes ago, Victor Boesen said:

Amazing photo! What tripod did you use it with? It must have been a beefy one to be able to carry the weight of the WO?

Thanks Victor!

I was using a carbon fibre tripod (Eddie - Three Legged Thing) but I have a rock bag that attaches to the three legs, which I weigh down with four bricks. I've also used a few very large bottle of water as well which seems to work well.

It's not ideal but I've found it a good, cheap way to add more stability  

[DorsetBlue]

On ‎17‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 14:42, happy-kat said:

An idea. Does the new Skywatcher WiFi dongle give goto capability to the star adventurer.

No, it can only drive in one axis and that is at guide speeds - not slew speeds.

[M Astronomy]

Hey guys! The thread is looking awesome so far. Just wondering... How big is the box of the star adventurer...?

[Victor Boesen]

8 minutes ago, M Astronomy said:

Hey guys! The thread is looking awesome so far. Just wondering... How big is the box of the star adventurer...?

Depends on what you buy. The bundle is shipped in one big box, but the parts themselves are separated in 4 boxes, as far as I remember.

[M Astronomy]

Say it was the bundle. How big do you think it'd be?

[Davey-T]

Comes in separate boxes so you need a case like this from Maplin.

Dave

 

[Randalloverby]

I decided to redo this target with the SA and managed 210 sec subs unguided with the 70-200 at 95mm. Edited with StarTools. More recently I shot some of the Milky Way and had no problems getting 7 min exposures with pinpoint stars at 40mm. I have to say I am pretty impressed with the unit. The best advice I could give is to have a sturdy mount or tripod,  I am using a Manfrotto with a DIY sandbag for extra stability. Now I just need some clear skies which is looking pretty doubtful according to the weatherman. Merry Christmas everyone !

[serbiadarksky]

39 minutes ago, Randalloverby said:

I decided to redo this target with the SA and managed 210 sec subs unguided with the 70-200 at 95mm. Edited with StarTools. More recently I shot some of the Milky Way and had no problems getting 7 min exposures with pinpoint stars at 40mm. I have to say I am pretty impressed with the unit. The best advice I could give is to have a sturdy mount or tripod,  I am using a Manfrotto with a DIY sandbag for extra stability. Now I just need some clear skies which is looking pretty doubtful according to the weatherman. Merry Christmas everyone !

I like this type of processing, but it looks very dark.

My opinio but still like it

[Randalloverby]

5 hours ago, serbiadarksky said:

I like this type of processing, but it looks very dark.

My opinio but still like it

Thanks. my editing is still a work in progress.

[Randalloverby]

Just curious, I purchased the SA to focus more on widefield and its portability but I am still using my laptop to run BYEOS. If I was looking for something smaller to control my setup, what would be the route to go..a tablet or an intervalometer ?

[serbiadarksky]

18 minutes ago, Randalloverby said:

Just curious, I purchased the SA to focus more on widefield and its portability but I am still using my laptop to run BYEOS. If I was looking for something smaller to control my setup, what would be the route to go..a tablet or an intervalometer ?

An intervalomezer is the best solution if you want to be fully portabily.

[geordie85]

18 minutes ago, Randalloverby said:

Just curious, I purchased the SA to focus more on widefield and its portability but I am still using my laptop to run BYEOS. If I was looking for something smaller to control my setup, what would be the route to go..a tablet or an intervalometer ?

I'd say it all depends on what your planning on doing. If your planning to guide then a tablet. If your planning on just using it as standard with a DSLR and lens then I'd say intervalometer 

[Randalloverby]

56 minutes ago, geordie85 said:

I'd say it all depends on what your planning on doing. If your planning to guide then a tablet. If your planning on just using it as standard with a DSLR and lens then I'd say intervalometer 

Guiding is something I would like to learn more about but it wont happen anytime soon, although I could use the tablet with the Celestron. I would like to mount two cameras on the SA, widefield and zoom and have control of the exposures. The SA also has some of these funtions built in but I have yet to really read up on it.