iPhone Moon - 1st May 2020

[Stu]

These are some Moon pictures taken later on last night through the Takahashi FC100DC on my Vixen GP mount, operating at about x300 I think! They came out quite well. I used a Celestron NeXYZ phone mount with my iPhone 11 Pro, images captured with ProCam 7 and processed on the phone using PS Express.

Before packing in I had a look through my 8” f8 Dobsonian to get some more detail. The views were a bit more wobbly, not surprising as I was up at x300 again. I managed three, perhaps four of the Plato craterlets but best was Hadley Rille which showed up very clearly for nearly its whole length. This is near the Apollo 15 landing site which is marked with the small circle on the fifth image. These last two are just downloaded from the web to show you what I was looking at.

[wheresthetorch?]

Very impressive.  This is my attempt last night at the Apollo 15 site through my Opticstar AR80s achro.  It was beautifully sharp to the eye, but my phone just couldn't get sharp focus.  I think I need to get a holder rather than holding it up manually. 

 

[Stu]

1 hour ago, wheresthetorch? said:

Very impressive.  This is my attempt last night at the Apollo 15 site through my Opticstar AR80s achro.  It was beautifully sharp to the eye, but my phone just couldn't get sharp focus.  I think I need to get a holder rather than holding it up manually. 

 

That’s an impressive shot for an 80mm achro! Nice one.

[DeanCJ]

Lovely photos everyone, my wife and I were also looking at the moon last night, mainly to try out some new Vixen eyepieces we have purchased, three used lv’s and a brand new Vixen 30mm npl purchased from FLO this week. 
This was taken hand held, iPhone 5 se. Celestron 8se, Vixen 30mm npl.
I would very much appreciate your opinions as we were using our new to us Celestron 8se, and I have struggled to get to grips with the collimation side of things, in fact, I have perhaps become a little obsessed, ie I have good star tests but start to doubt myself 🤪. 
I must admit though, I am very happy with the results.

[Stu]

3 minutes ago, DeanCJ said:

Lovely photos everyone, my wife and I were also looking at the moon last night, mainly to try out some new Vixen eyepieces we have purchased, three used lv’s and a brand new Vixen 30mm npl purchased from FLO this week. 
This was taken hand held, iPhone 5 se. Celestron 8se, Vixen 30mm npl.
I would very much appreciate your opinions as we were using our new to us Celestron 8se, and I have struggled to get to grips with the collimation side of things, in fact, I have perhaps become a little obsessed, ie I have good star tests but start to doubt myself 🤪. 
I must admit though, I am very happy with the results.

Great shot Dean. The only comment to make would be to try to find a way to reduce the exposure so you don’t over expose the brightest parts on the left side. Either use a Pro mode or a camera app such as ProCam 7 or Nightcap to reduce the brightness using shutter speed or ISO.

For collimation its best to start a new thread in the getting started section I think, but if your star test is good, it sounds like you are sorted.

[DeanCJ]

Thanks for the quick reply Stu, and the suggestions with regards to the apps, I will definitely have a look on the App Store and maybe look at buying a decent phone mount.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Great pics everyone.

Stu do you rate the Celestron NeXYZ? Is it worth the extra?

I use one of these:

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GXHLSY1?tag=duc08-21&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1 

I've tried my spare phones; a Samsung S6 and Moto G5, but it's a chore just trying to line up the camera with the eyepiece. Especially the G5 which is unfortunate as it has some extra nice features with Open Camera installed.

My current Moto G8+ I won't even risk, it's a beast.

Edited May 21, 2020 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[johninderby]

This type is a lot easier to use as it has a self centering eyeiece clamp. Unfortunately no one seems to have stock in the UK.I tried the one you are using but found it a real pain to adjust.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GH4YWTH/ref=dp_cerb_2

The celestron one isn’t the most solid smartphone adapter. Would have expected a metal chasis not plastic. It is easy to adjust but there is no locking on the axis adjustments so easy to knock out of adjustment. Love the design and ease of adjustment but not the build quality. If only they would bring one out with higher quality construction but the same design.

Edited May 21, 2020 by johninderby

[Stu]

7 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Great pics everyone.

Stu do you rate the Celestron NeXYZ? Is it worth the extra?

I use one of these:

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GXHLSY1?tag=duc08-21&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1 

I've tried my spare phones; a Samsung S6 and Moto G5, but it's a chore just trying to line up the camera with the eyepiece. Especially the G5 which is unfortunate as it has some extra nice features with Open Camera installed.

My current Moto G8+ I won't even risk, it's a beast.

The simple ones do actually work surprisingly well. I found the one @johninderby linked to very good, and it even worked on larger 2” eyepieces by gripping onto the top rim once the eye guard is removed.

I agree that the NeXYZ could be more rigid. It would by better if you could lock it in place, it’s too easy to shift the position accidentally as it is, an it doesn’t always hold the phone square to the eyepiece. The major benefit it offers is adjustment in the Z direction ie distance from the eyepiece. Being able to adjust this really helps you capture the whole field of view on eyepieces with longer eye relief by moving the phone away from the exit lens enough. The cheap ones struggle with this I’ve found.

The clamping mechanism works quite well, although I’ve added a strip of foam to the clamp for better grip. It locks down quite securely. The phone holding element is simple but secure. One annoyance is that you have to angle the phone if you want to keep a charger cable or headset connected (on an iPhone with a central connector) but it still works like that. I use an 11 Pro with a case on it with no problems.

So, if you are able I connect to the eyepieces you want and are capturing the whole field of view, then it’s probably not worth the extra cash.

The other one worth checking out is the Orion SteadyPix EZ (I think!) that has a self centring eyepiece holder which work effectively, and also gives you some ability to adjust away from the eyepiece, though not as much as the NeXYZ.

There are some Mickey Mouse reviews and pictures of a few of them here I did for my club website which may help.

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

[johninderby]

Although doesn’t have height adjustment this adapter from TS looks interesting as  screws directly onto a T2 thread. You need an eyepiece with a T2 thread on it though. 

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p8655_TS-Optics-Smartphone-adapter-with-T2-thread--for-telescopes-and-spotting-scopes.html

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

The NeXYZ is tempting as it seems to be the only one which will hold a larger phone well, and/or allow use of a phone case. Also the Z adjustment is a plus.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Guest]

On 22/05/2020 at 12:22, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

The NeXYZ is tempting as it seems to be the only one which will hold a larger phone well, and/or allow use of a phone case. Also the Z adjustment is a plus.

Thanks for the info.

 

I bought one . I have tried it out with birds in our garden. I am hoping to take pictures of Venus before it goes. I have just downloaded an app for my android. This is to try to adjust brightness etc.

A learning curve for me.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

53 minutes ago, Grumpy Martian said:

I bought one . I have tried it out with birds in our garden. I am hoping to take pictures of Venus before it goes. I have just downloaded an app for my android. This is to try to adjust brightness etc.

A learning curve for me.

Let us know how you get on. 

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Let us know how you get on. 

I will. Just looking at downloading the Deepskycamera for android app. There is a youtube about adjusting the settings to shoot Venus.

[Supernova74]

moon pics 

skywatcher 150mm maksutov (iPad mini 5 megapixel camera with panorama eyepiece )

first ever attempt 😂 

Edited May 23, 2020 by Supernova74
Correction

[Sky-searcher]

On 22/05/2020 at 12:22, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

The NeXYZ is tempting as it seems to be the only one which will hold a larger phone well, and/or allow use of a phone case. Also the Z adjustment is a plus.

Thanks for the info.

 

Hi, I got a NeXYZ a few weeks ago. Not had a lot of chances to use as yet, but picked it as heard good reports & it’s movement in all axis’s was the decider. Good clamping range, fits on my Baader Morpheus eyepieces easy & clamps ok. Good idea from John to add a strip of foam/rubber to add more grip. Adjustment was loose when arrived, but there are small screws for adjustment. But hit & miss, but makes it better. Had a play on looking at the top of a hill around 3 miles away & using it was easy compared to placing phone on eyepiece. I use the phones own exposure adjustment & edit the pic, but also have nightcap app also. Would recommend the NeXYZ & FLO was the best price I saw & in stock at the time. Hope that helps!