Moon April 29

[mikeDnight]

I spent a couple of hours last night playing with my new TakFC100DZ, and thought I'd grab a few shots of the Moon. The iPhone was hand held at the eyepiece, so apologies for the amateurish approach. The sky was milky to begin with but it cleared as the night went on. There was mild turbulence too.  Images were taken at 128X  using a Parks  Gold super plossl, and also at 235X using a Vixen 3.4mm HR eyepiece. 

[Stu]

Cracking shots Mike! Imaging? Whatever next? 😉

[jock1958]

Great effort Mike!! 

I tried photographing Venus last week hand holding my iPhone and failed miserably, I’ve been looking at special holders but not sure which one to get?

[Stu]

4 minutes ago, jock1958 said:

Great effort Mike!! 

I tried photographing Venus last week hand holding my iPhone and failed miserably, I’ve been looking at special holders but not sure which one to get?

Which eyepieces would it be for Jock?

The Celestron NeXYZ is a good one will lots of adjustability. If you have Televue eyepieces which are compatible with the Dioptrix then you can use a Televue Fonemate which is very good, lighter and makes aligning the mount with the eyepiece easy. The Orion SteadyPix EZ is another one worth looking at.

Finding a mode or app where you can reduce the exposure would also really help you.

[mikeDnight]

I know, it shocked me too Stu!  Not sure I'd ever throw money at it. My phone's a bit old and the camera a bit rubbish, but I got it given so can't complain. I might one day buy a phone holder though for my eyepiece to see if I can improve the shots, as some are a bit wonky. 

Edited April 30, 2020 by mikeDnight

[MarkAR]

16 minutes ago, jock1958 said:

I’ve been looking at special holders but not sure which one to get?

The Celestron is supposed to be very good.

[johninderby]

Have the Celestron one and a cheaper one from Amazon. The. Celestron one is easier to adjust but doesn’t actually work any better.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gosky-Binocular-Spotting-Smartphone-Adapter/dp/B075N8J438/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=smartphone+holder+telescope&qid=1588235945&sr=8-10

Few single frame images taken using the cheap holder and a dob,

Edited April 30, 2020 by johninderby

[jock1958]

25 minutes ago, Stu said:

Which eyepieces would it be for Jock?

The Celestron NeXYZ is a good one will lots of adjustability. If you have Televue eyepieces which are compatible with the Dioptrix then you can use a Televue Fonemate which is very good, lighter and makes aligning the mount with the eyepiece easy. The Orion SteadyPix EZ is another one worth looking at.

Finding a mode or app where you can reduce the exposure would also really help you.

Thanks Stu, great info and something for me to look at during lock down.

Used a Vixen 5mm SLV with my Skytee 2 Mount so probably not the ideal combination especially the speed that it travels across the eyepiece 🤣

[johninderby]

Have tried a few holders. Take your pick. 🙂

Svbony, Gosky, Celestron

[Stu]

1 hour ago, jock1958 said:

Thanks Stu, great info and something for me to look at during lock down.

Used a Vixen 5mm SLV with my Skytee 2 Mount so probably not the ideal combination especially the speed that it travels across the eyepiece 🤣

I did a few simple reviews on a number of these, posted on my club website here if of interest.

http://www.waltonastrogroup.co.uk/equipment-reviews.html

[johninderby]

I’ve found biggest problem with the Celestron is not being able to lock the various axis adjustments. So easy to bump it and then have to readjust. Also why only rubber on one side of the clamp jaws? I added some self adhesive rubber and it now grips the eyepiece better. 

Edited April 30, 2020 by johninderby

[jock1958]

Thank you very much @johninderby and @Stu lots to ponder there! 

[paulastro]

4 hours ago, jock1958 said:

Great effort Mike!! 

I tried photographing Venus last week hand holding my iPhone and failed miserably, I’ve been looking at special holders but not sure which one to get?

Excellent for hand held shots Mike.

Move over Peachy I say!

The Celestron neXYZ phone  holder mentioned by Stu is the one I have and mentioned to you earlier.