Think i am coming to a crossroad...

[paul mc c]

Hello all,and hope all are well.I have been trying my hand,probably for the last 2 years,at deep sky imaging.In that time i have had some success with images that i can show to family and friends,who are amazed at and that makes me happy.

Now to all who know their game here, they are very basic,i know that,and what lets me down is my processing skills.

With my limited software and imaging gear i am increasingly getting really frustrated with my results and the fact that any clear nights i get i am only trying to image and really missing out on observing,which is really giving me a sickner of the hobby that i have loved for well over 40 years.

So i am probably going to sell what imaging gear i have,apart from planetary cams, and go back to visual observing.

This is a hard decision for me as the person i am, i will never give up on anything,but the deep sky imaging,which i have really got bit by the bug, has beaten me.

Will i regret it.......i dont know,but i need to get my mojo back,but where do i end,do i sell the eq mount,imaging laptop,imaging scope ect,that when gone i probably wont be able to replace them.

I think i really need to make a decision one way or an other.😞

Edited April 19, 2020 by paul mc c
typo

[tooth_dr]

Tough one Paul, and sorry to hear that you arent feeling great about imaging. I occasionally feel like that too.  I've done a bit of planetary and solar imaging recently, and I'll be honest it's 100x more enjoyable that deep sky imaging.  There are just too things to go wrong with deep sky imaging, it feels distant sometimes, and then there is the processing side of things.  If I was you, and if its viable to do so, Id keep everything safely stored for a period of time, and then see how much you miss it.  But do what feels right, as all the stuff can probably be bought again in the future if you decide to sell up.  

[JamesF]

5 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

Id keep everything safely stored for a period of time, and then see how much you miss it.

I think that would be my approach, too.  Get out and do some visual instead for a while and see how you feel about it after a few months.

James

[MarkAR]

Don't sell just yet, put them away for a while and concentrate on visual.

If you look at the equipment again in a few months and still fell the same then sell.

[Swoop1]

Kit hibernates at zero monetary cost and minimal time and space cost. Hibernating kit can be recommisioned at zero monetary cost and minimal time cost. Kit disposed of is gone for good and replacement costs more than you sold it for and both the selling and replacing have not insignificant time costs.

Put your imaging kit into hibernation for a while. A trial seperation will guide you on whether to ventually sell it or recommision.

[Jiggy 67]

I agree with the above. I certainly wouldn’t sell the EQ mount, that can be used just as well for observing as it can for imaging( with a newt anyway). I only observe and use an EQ mount as I still like to track without nudging a dob

Edited April 20, 2020 by Jiggy 67

[Gina]

I had similar feelings a few years ago.  Was fed up with the trials and tribulations of DSO imaging and with thousands of pounds tied up in astro equipment.  But, thankfully, I never got round to selling it.  After two or three years break, I suddenly got the bug again and since then kept going.  At the time of giving up I would look outside and breathe a sigh of relief if it was cloudy - means I didn't have to mess about imaging!  I had a good think about where I was going in life and switched to another hobby.  I've since read that a number of members have found the same.  It can do you good to have a break from all the difficult stuff and return with renewed heart.

Edited April 20, 2020 by Gina

[Chaz2b]

The saying is “ a break is as good as a rest”. I made the bad decision to sell up last year, it’s now a decision I regret. The equipment was top notch stuff, Televue, SBig,Baader etc, now that I’ve decided to re-enter the hobby, I’ve had to repurchase, luckily, I still had some dosh over from the sell, but I can no longer afford all what I sold!

Keep what you have, pack it up and put in the attic, spare bedroom, whatever safe storage you have, and forget it for a few months, or until you get itchy fingers to uncover it all.

I have three main hobbies, Paragliding (now seldom), RC aircraft(Mostly in storage) including fpv, and of course astronomy. I bought a TS-optics 130 APO photoline refractor, with the intention of imaging, but only with a Phillips Toucan pro(webcam). My approach now is to take it easy, lunar imaging at first, using the simplest software to process or simply screen capture till I feel I’m ready to explore more...or not.

The consensus says ....don’t sell, hibernate!

 

keep healthy and safe.

chaz

Edited April 20, 2020 by Chaz2b

[RayD]

Don't sell your stuff, you will definitely regret it.  I just took about a year out myself for a coupe of reasons and, whilst I didn't actually miss it too much whilst away, now I am back in to imaging etc. I have a renewed interest and passion for it.

As noted above, a rest is as good as a change.

Edited April 20, 2020 by RayD

[souls33k3r]

Chin up matey, trust me when I say this, I've been down that road many a times and it's a good feeling but then giving myself a break has always helped me renew the passion of this hobby in me. 

If it's the skills that you lack then look at it this way, you did not learn how to speak such good English in a day and this is your natural language. Give it time, the more you process, the more you'll want to learn. We're all in this together. 

[Gina]

Sage words there! 

[carastro]

All good advice above.

Maybe take time out and also perhaps use the time to improve your processing skills.   Get some of your old data out and try re-processing.  Also when the IKI Observatory starts feeding us data have a go at that.  

I have a number of image processing tutorials on You tube, take a look at them and see if you can glean any useful info, (see a page on my website listed below for the relevant link).  Look at some other tutorials on the web, though some I find are too techie.

Carole 

Edited April 21, 2020 by carastro

[Xsubmariner]

I fully understand your statement Paul mcc. I have been slow to learn Pixinsight processing tools to improve my images and find I spend more time problem solving the observatory system hardware, connectivity and software issues than actual imaging. My early image successes (to me) seem a long time ago and my current productivity is poor.

All that said, the wise responses offered above have allowed me to reflect on my own position and I agree a rest is probably best. Don’t sell your kit unless you need to.  All the best for the future what ever you decide.

[ApophisAstros]

7 hours ago, carastro said:

All good advice above.

Maybe take time out and also perhaps use the time to improve your processing skills.   Get some of your old data out and try re-processing.  Also when the IKI Observatory starts feeding us data have a go at that.  

I have a number of image processing tutorials on You tube, take a look at them and see if you can glean any useful info, (see a page on my website listed below for the relevant link).  Look at some other tutorials on the web, though some I find are too techie.

Carole 

Totally agree as i have been reprocessing 2 year old data and am very pleased with results, mainly because i lost images on the astrobin meltdown, suffice to say i backup now before posting anything.

Roger

[Greymouser]

On 19/04/2020 at 21:50, paul mc c said:

Hello all,and hope all are well.I have been trying my hand,probably for the last 2 years,at deep sky imaging.In that time i have had some success with images that i can show to family and friends,who are amazed at and that makes me happy.

Now to all who know their game here, they are very basic,i know that,and what lets me down is my processing skills.

With my limited software and imaging gear i am increasingly getting really frustrated with my results and the fact that any clear nights i get i am only trying to image and really missing out on observing,which is really giving me a sickner of the hobby that i have loved for well over 40 years.

So i am probably going to sell what imaging gear i have,apart from planetary cams, and go back to visual observing.

This is a hard decision for me as the person i am, i will never give up on anything,but the deep sky imaging,which i have really got bit by the bug, has beaten me.

Will i regret it.......i dont know,but i need to get my mojo back,but where do i end,do i sell the eq mount,imaging laptop,imaging scope ect,that when gone i probably wont be able to replace them.

I think i really need to make a decision one way or an other.😞

Can really understand where you are coming from here, even though I have not attempted imaging, I am beginning to feel the same about just observing. I have several scopes, but wonder if they are suitable really for where I live and the amount of light pollution. ( Bortle 6. ) For me it is not so much about gear, except for considering how much I have spent on it, but how it is pretty much wasted gear at the moment. Between the light pollution; tiredness; pain and just the plain lack of opportunity, I find I am just not using the gear.

I did intend selling some of it anyway, some never gets used now, but increasingly I have been thinking of just selling the lot and trying a different hobby. I know I would regret it later, so will probably just trim it right down to a minimum and sell the rest, hibernate it to some extent.

I do understand though, it is a difficult decision and for me, I consider it a silver lining of the social isolation cloud, that it is hard to sell stuff on the second hand market at the moment, otherwise I suspect it would already be long gone. The decision does not/cannot be easily made at the moment, but it does need to be made, as I do not know how much longer the expensive gear lying around, can be justified. It would proably be easier if I could get away from home occasionally.

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Greymouser

[alacant]

Hi

After two years, you probably already know. If you have clear skies and time to spare fighting the many variables which astrophotography throws your way then I'd say persevere.

If OTOH you have precious few clear nights during which in hindsight, you'd rather have been something which will guarantee your personal satisfaction, sell on and start enjoying.

Cheers and good luck whichever way you go.

 

[paul mc c]

Thanks everyone for the encouraging words..... taking the good advice i will do as all have said and keep hold of my gear.

I put the dob out last night and had a very enjoyable night,although had to resort to the star map to find my way round the fuzzies again.Among the list was Bodes,getting both in the 8.8mm uwa,then on to the Owl nebula,then on to m3,look amazing in the 8.8,as was m13 both resolved to the core,then had a search among the galaxys in Leo/Virgo with so many to see.Finally finished off with Atlas.....finally seeing it visually.So all in all had a great night going back to basics with the dob....but have to confess i had the 80ed in the obsy snapping away on Bodes and Cigar just in case i needed a fix,lol.

Again, thanks all for the words of wisdom and i will maybe if i get the confidence will invest in some proper processing software and see where it goes.

 

[SyedT]

I've had several runs of frustration with my equipment and processing. When guiding would work, autofocusing wouldn't, then platesolving would fail or something else would happen. I finally managed to get all the gear I wanted, and now it works (relatively!) well together. There were times when I just felt like selling everything off and giving up the hobby, but I'm so glad I didn't. There's something very special about being able to capture what the naked eye cannot see, and that for me is something that draws me towards AP. Processing is a steep learning curve, and I'm sure everyone who is an expert now started off with a very basic workflow and just continued to build on that. 

If you go for software, I would recommend AstroPixelProcessor and Pixinsight. APP has made stacking very smooth, and Pixinsight does have a steep learning curve but there are many excellent tutorials online (that's how I've learned). I'm still working on my processing and learn something new pretty much every time I process an image, but that's the best way to develop good processing skills!

Good luck!  

[tooth_dr]

15 minutes ago, paul mc c said:

Thanks everyone for the encouraging words..... taking the good advice i will do as all have said and keep hold of my gear.

I put the dob out last night and had a very enjoyable night,although had to resort to the star map to find my way round the fuzzies again.Among the list was Bodes,getting both in the 8.8mm uwa,then on to the Owl nebula,then on to m3,look amazing in the 8.8,as was m13 both resolved to the core,then had a search among the galaxys in Leo/Virgo with so many to see.Finally finished off with Atlas.....finally seeing it visually.So all in all had a great night going back to basics with the dob....but have to confess i had the 80ed in the obsy snapping away on Bodes and Cigar just in case i needed a fix,lol.

Again, thanks all for the words of wisdom and i will maybe if i get the confidence will invest in some proper processing software and see where it goes.

 

Good to hear Paul, thats a great image, and I think it would be a waste for you to give up AP.

[Chaz2b]

Well if that’s your result, I don’t know what you are worried about. If I’d taken that, I’d be damned chuffed!

Maybe if someone was willing to have you email the raw image, they perhaps could further process, show you a final image, and then go through the stages of how they got it?

chaz

Edited April 23, 2020 by Chaz2b

[Gina]

Lovely image for sure