Attempting to capture Saturn using a dslr and mak

[Dougie82]

Got superb views of Saturn and several moons through the eyepiece of my Skywatcher 102mm mak on an AZ GTi mount using the 25mm eyepiece. However, when I connected my dslr I could barely discern Saturn on the live view screen. It was just a pinprick and very hard to obtain focus. I thought about maybe attempting eyepiece projection but unfortunately I dropped my extension tube and dented the rim so the nose piece no longer screws into it.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can get a better image?

[rob_r]

Possibly try a x2 or higher barlow lens, you can place this between the scope and the camera. Instead taking a still, shoot a video with the camera. I have the Skywatcher 127mm with the same mount. On the live view screen, zoom in on the camera to get a better idea on the focus. I get pretty much the same result to be fair. I posted a thread not so long ago here with my results from a single shot so may be worth a look for comparison. Saturn is relatively low so your scope has a lot of atmosphere to go through.

 

Edited September 19, 2019 by rob_r

[geoflewis]

Hi Dougie, as Rob says, you need a barlow to increase the image scale. Does your DSLR offer a video mode and better still cropped video? If it does, then capture a couple of minutes video then use something like Autostakkert (AS3!), Registax, etc., to grade and stack the best frames (lucky imaging) and Registax wavelets to sharpen the resulting stack. It's possible to get pretty respectable images of the planets with a DSLR, but be aware that DSLR video is usually a compressed format not readily supported by AS3!, Registax, etc., so you may need to research software to convert the video file to a readable format. Another method is to stream bitmat images from the camera direct to a laptop, then grade and stack those. I've also done that, capturing about 8 frames per second, not the high frame rate of dedicated planetary cameras, but still worth trying if your DSLR and capture software supports that.

Good luck, Geof

[Dougie82]

Thank you both for your replies. I will certainly look to obtain a Barlow. My dslr is a rather old Nikon d3200. Not really familiar with using live view and didn't realise you could zoom. I am dipping my toes into this astrophotography thing and the image I obtained from my attempt was a very fuzzy oval which is recognisable as Saturn but very blurred, hence no pic posted.

The viewing conditions are also less than ideal as Saturn appears right above a streetlight so I am amazed I can see anything.

Post processing is limited as I don't have a pc or a laptop. Using a Mac 27" and running lynkeos and gimp. Even if I don't manage to obtain a decent image, just looking through the eyepiece blows me away.