A NEW HOPE

[Stu1smartcookie]

Hi everyone , I've been a bit quiet on this forum over the past 6 months but now I have resurfaced after changing my scope ( not for the first time) . I now have a WO z61 , on a lightweight az-gti mount ( im getting the skywatcher wedge for this mount ) . I love this little scope ...its so portable and , because of the fantastic optics is actually very good for visual , although its main use will be for photography .

I haven't got a flattener for it yet .. so my first question is , do I need to buy the WO one , or are there other (slightly less expensive ) ones out there? I know my mount isn't great for photography but i really don't want a heavy EQ mount , due to lack of space (no pun intended).

My last scope was a skymax 180 p … a really nice bit of kit , but , a bit bulky ...especially with a weighty mount . I have to travel to get truly dark skies so it wasn't practical , for me , at least . After owning a Dob , a couple of cheap refractors and the Mak i have come to the conclusion that  my heart lies with refractor scopes . I want one for visual .. but i really want a short tube refractor … does anyone have any suggestions … i saw a startravel 150mm which looked great , but its good to get advice , especially from people that have used short tube refractors . Any feedback would be much appreciated .

I am nervously going to attempt deep sky photography with my Z61 and a canon 100d … i know absolutely nothing about this area of this fantastic hobby , so it will be a bit hit and miss and i expect many failures , let alone the processing of images which is something ive never done . All in All its exciting times again .

[DaveS]

The WO scope sounds a good option, but I'm going to be terribly boring and advise you to buy This Book first. It will save you a world of pain and much wasted money. Steve is a mod here, AKA steppenwolf.

[Nigella Bryant]

Hiya, I've only done a couple of DSOs with a modded Canon 1000d and impressed of what can be done even at 30sec subs at iso800. I'm still learning too. I use the free Deepsky stacker and that does all your stacking, dark and light's calibrations all in one go. Attached are my attempts, but along way to go. I have to image in a light polluted bortle 6 sky cus I've a heavy 12inch f4 Newtonian and neq6 mount. Good luck with your imaging, the results of your own work is rewarding enough. These attached image's are the only ones I've done so far. 

[Stu1smartcookie]

6 minutes ago, DaveS said:

The WO scope sounds a good option, but I'm going to be terribly boring and advise you to buy This Book first. It will save you a world of pain and much wasted money. Steve is a mod here, AKA steppenwolf.

Thanks Dave , good advice on the book... i did purchase one on astro photography but its a bit of a "hard " read ( although i think its because i want to run before i can walk ) . i guess the key to this is patience and persistence … ( things that test me greatly lol) but once i get started i will be hooked im sure .

[Stu1smartcookie]

7 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Hiya, I've only done a couple of DSOs with a modded Canon 1000d and impressed of what can be done even at 30sec subs at iso800. I'm still learning too. I use the free Deepsky stacker and that does all your stacking, dark and light's calibrations all in one go. Attached are my attempts, but along way to go. I have to image in a light polluted bortle 6 sky cus I've a heavy 12inch f4 Newtonian and neq6 mount. Good luck with your imaging, the results of your own work is rewarding enough. These attached image's are the only ones I've done so far. 

Nigella , those pics look great to me … my camera hasn't been modded … though . I will share my first efforts (honestly) … that's the great thing about this site ...NOBODY judges you ..but EVERYONE wants to help .

[Nigella Bryant]

25 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Nigella , those pics look great to me … my camera hasn't been modded … though . I will share my first efforts (honestly) … that's the great thing about this site ...NOBODY judges you ..but EVERYONE wants to help .

It is great about this site, everyone helps and no judgement. I was on a couple of Facebook Astro site's and I'd posted a pic and all I got was other's posting their own pic's saying look at mine. Saying you've a long way off. Talk about discouragement. I've since come off those. No encouragement, no offers of how to do it better just people who want their own gratification. Thankfully I found this site with helpful people and lots of encouragement. 

Looking forward to seeing your image's, darker night's are around the corner. 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

I can't help regarding imaging, but I do own a short refractor, the Startravel 120.

It weighs around 5kg with accessories attached and it serves me well as an all round wide field scope which is easy to carry into the garden and take camping. Initially it was mounted on an AZ5 kit, but the supplied lightweight aluminium legs were pushed to the limit. Purchasing a 1.75" steel tripod transformed the scope's use but made it a little less grab and go... However, this mount and tripod combo suits the scope perfectly.

The Startravel 150 ota costs £480 vs £225 for the 120 and weighs 6.8kg vs 4.1kg. Adding maybe 1kg with accessories the 150 becomes quite a heft to mount comfortably. It also won't show you much more than a 120 and will have more CA.

I did consider the 150, but I'm glad I picked up the 120 instead. If nothing else, the money saved payed for a sturdy tripod and decent eyepieces.

 

 

Edited July 2, 2019 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[Nerf_Caching]

5 hours ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

I am nervously going to attempt deep sky photography with my Z61 and a canon 100d … i know absolutely nothing about this area of this fantastic hobby , so it will be a bit hit and miss and i expect many failures , let alone the processing of images which is something ive never done . All in All its exciting times again .

Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be alright with the z61 and 100d combo. I took this 8 minute image of the M9 globular cluster at iso 800 with an alt-az tracking mount using a 72mm f/5.8 refractor and 650d (similar to your situation) , and mind you, this is only the first couple times I've even dabbled in dslr astrophotography. The z61 is probably far superior in terms of wide field images where tolerance is higher for tracking imperfections.

[Stu1smartcookie]

Thanks for your input ScouseSpace ...i think its a good call about the ca on the 150mm , and as you say the price difference is there too . Whatever happens it needs tobe a STR(short tube refractor ) . And of course although apperture is important there are other things to weigh up...literally . 

One question , what is the focuser like on that scope ?

Edited July 2, 2019 by Stu1smartcookie

[Stu1smartcookie]

Ok ... i've encountered a problem , which im sure can be sorted very quickly on here... i haven't got a 48mm t-ring so im using a standard canon t-ring with  a Baader 2" nosepiece connected to my WO z61 . The trouble is , i cannot achieve focus .. any ideas would be helpful please . 

Thanks in advance .

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

50 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Thanks for your input ScouseSpace ...i think its a good call about the ca on the 150mm , and as you say the price difference is there too . Whatever happens it needs tobe a STR(short tube refractor ) . And of course although apperture is important there are other things to weigh up...literally . 

One question , what is the focuser like on that scope ?

The focuser is the same as most of the cheaper Skywatcher fracs. A cheap rack and pinion. Some people don't like it, but I get on with it OK.

Another thing to consider, is the 120 could probably be mounted on your azgti for visual goto use. It just about makes the weight limit. Although others may advise caution. However as you already own the gti, it won't hurt trying once. Just don't use the aluminium legs! Either use a common steel tripod with 3/8s to m10 adapter, or buy the 3/8s bolt steel tripod.

Edited July 2, 2019 by ScouseSpaceCadet