AZ-GTI

[Stu1smartcookie]

Good evening , i bought a Star Adventurer and an AZ-Gti .. mainly to compare the two mounts and then make a decision on what to keep . The trouble is , i am getting nowhere fast with either  . 

Th AZ-Gti is great but it " slipped " a couple of times , as if there was too much weight (i only had a dslr on a ball head , fixed to the L bracket with a 1kg weight when it first happened ) so , any thoughts on that would be appreciated .

As for the SA .. what a lovely bit of kit .. it sits really well on the Wedge and a really sturdy steel tripod ... but ... why cant i find any of my targets ?.. I have a laser pointer which i use but to no avail . When i look at images taken with the SA  i feel im doing something wrong ! .. Any thoughts please .

[MarkAR]

Is your laser pointer mounted securely in line with your optics ?

[Stu1smartcookie]

9 hours ago, MarkAR said:

Is your laser pointer mounted securely in line with your optics ?

Hi Mark ... i placed the laser pointer on top of my refractor , there will be some margine for error there im sure .  But as the z61 is quite a wide field scope i thought i would get something in the frame .. i have stars of course , but not what im looking for . Another problem is , because its a small refractor and im viewing everything through the camera i cant see much , even after zooming in . That probably releates to my area which is qhite light polluted . I do use the app , Night Sky , to roughly see where i need to be . 

I am just about to post a farewell to astro photography ... i am so frustrated . i think i would be better served going back to visual using an 8" Dob , i actually took some cool one shot pics with  a dob , and better success than i am having now .  

[knobby]

I'd stick with the AZ-GTI, I did the same as you ... Couldn't frame anything with the star adventurer 😁 I love my AZ-GTI (in EQ mode) learnt to plate solve and now can frame even faint objects. I'd be more concerned as to why yours slips ? Mine holds a 72ED / OAG / ZWO 1600 mm and flattener , but it does need 2 counter weights to balance.

Edited May 9, 2020 by knobby
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[Stu1smartcookie]

2 minutes ago, knobby said:

I'd stick with the AZ-GTI, I did the same as you ... Couldn't frame anything with the star adventurer 😁 I love my AZ-GTI (in EQ mode) learnt to plate solve and now can frame even faint objects. I'd be more concerned as to why yours slips ? Mine holds a 72ED / OAG / ZWO 1600 mm and flattener , but it does need 2 counter weights to balance.

I only used the 1kg  counter weight maybe that wasnt enough ? I really do like the mount ... its so convenient , tell me do you use a guide cam? And do you Polar align this mount in EQ mode ? i thought about getting the polemaster or an ASIair . (More Expense zzzz) . 

[FaDG]

53 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

I am just about to post a farewell to astro photography ... i am so frustrated

You could give it another go... Do you have a laptop? 

Just download a free Platesolver or connect to Astrometry.net and submit your image. You'll get a precise information on the centre and field of view. 

Using that knowledge and your planetarium software it will be much easier to find the target. 

[fireballxl5]

I've gone the ASIair Pro route with my AZ-GTi in EQ mode.  60mm refractor with ASI071MC guided using a 50mm finder scope with ASI224. PA easy,  plate solving to find any target easy. Just tried three minute exposures so far at 256mm and 630mm focal lengths with good results.

 

[MarkAR]

One method I've a couple of times with my SkyGuider/DSLR is to put my phone square on partly across the front of the lens with Stellarium on the phone.

Can be a bit tricky to hold square and see how far off you are from your target. Once you think you have it take an image. If your target is in frame then it's easier to judge how much to tweak it to get it centred.

[knobby]

1 hour ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

I only used the 1kg  counter weight maybe that wasnt enough ? I really do like the mount ... its so convenient , tell me do you use a guide cam? And do you Polar align this mount in EQ mode ? i thought about getting the polemaster or an ASIair . (More Expense zzzz) . 

Yes, it's guided (managed 300 seconds ok) I polar align with Sharpcap.

[Bobby1970]

2 hours ago, fireballxl5 said:

I've gone the ASIair Pro route with my AZ-GTi in EQ mode.  60mm refractor with ASI071MC guided using a 50mm finder scope with ASI224. PA easy,  plate solving to find any target easy. Just tried three minute exposures so far at 256mm and 630mm focal lengths with good results.

 

I am seriously considering the AsiAir Pro. May I ask. How long can you go unguided with your AzGti??  I'm hoping to get 1min with my 432mm focal length scope. Am I being realistic? Or not. 

[Stu1smartcookie]

3 hours ago, fireballxl5 said:

I've gone the ASIair Pro route with my AZ-GTi in EQ mode.  60mm refractor with ASI071MC guided using a 50mm finder scope with ASI224. PA easy,  plate solving to find any target easy. Just tried three minute exposures so far at 256mm and 630mm focal lengths with good results.

 

i looked at the ASIair , but i wanted the older model , just to keep the cost down . There will be very clear skies here tonight so i am going to pull out all the stops and give it one more go ( no pressure ) i havent got a guide scope yet so i cant guide .. i do have a zwo120mc-s camera and of course a dslr so ive been using my 100d camera . i tried out the zwo on venus the other night .. it was ok , but its not a target im interested in . Oh and i also am in the apple eco system so sharp cap isnt a solution i can use . i presume the ASIair will work with Mac. 

[Stu1smartcookie]

3 hours ago, MarkAR said:

One method I've a couple of times with my SkyGuider/DSLR is to put my phone square on partly across the front of the lens with Stellarium on the phone.

Can be a bit tricky to hold square and see how far off you are from your target. Once you think you have it take an image. If your target is in frame then it's easier to judge how much to tweak it to get it centred.

i am going to download stallarium for the phone .. i really like the program , Nigh Sky is ok but a bit sensitive . It does seem that all of us have had or are having problems trying to frame DSO'S . How do you rate the Skyguider Pro ? it was either that or the SWSA . In the end i went fpr the SA only because it has a nice L bracket rotator and it can be upgraded to do more indepth time lapse.. but i havent tried that yet . I like the look of the Ioptron model .

[MarkAR]

Haven't really had a chance to play with the SkyGuider, been concentrating on my main rig.

I did take a few demo shots with it and the tracking was excellent. I also got the Williams Optics wedge, it's loads better than the iOptron.

[Stu1smartcookie]

3 minutes ago, MarkAR said:

Haven't really had a chance to play with the SkyGuider, been concentrating on my main rig.

I did take a few demo shots with it and the tracking was excellent. I also got the Williams Optics wedge, it's loads better than the iOptron.

yeah i saw the reviews on the wedge , Peter Zalinka trashed it and advised either the SW one or the real deal WO.. WO make good stuff , i love my little refractor , but my patience with that is getting tested at the moment . I used to have a 250 Flex dob and i sold it to get an EQ5 mount which i really hated . Ive spent a lot of money finding out where i want to be in this hobby , and it aint over yet , thats for sure £££££££££

[Stu1smartcookie]

Just had another go with the AZ-Gti ... same thing happened .. i was (hopefully) taking shots of M81, and then i told the mount to go to M101 .. at which point i heard a series of clicks , followed by alot of clicks as the camera slipped ... its almost as if the mount got stuck but then freed itself . One things for sure ... its going bak on Monday to the nice telescope man and lady ... i will keep everyone posted about the outcome lol

im now trying to take shots of the pinwheel , on the star adventurer , but i doubt if its in the frame .. also i hastily did a polar alignement .. never a good thing !

[Stu1smartcookie]

oK , so i need to post an update to the above ... everything was sharp last night , as in stars ... i only took lights , because my aim (joke) was to frame everything ... i failed.  I will accept that the astrophograhy side of things is not for me and i will happily go back to visual . So , all of my gear will be put on the FOR SALE section . I will buy a light bucket ( hopefully with a goto system ) probably an 8" Dob. A sad day , but heres to a new , and in my case , happier begining . My god this astronomy hobby puts you through the ringer lol . 

[MarkAR]

Sad to hear you're giving up on it, was it just the inability to point to a target ?

 

[Bobby1970]

Sounds to me as though it's slipping. My first AZgti went back because of something that sounds very similar although not as extreme as yours. Fortunately the replacement is much better. 

[MarkAR]

Mind posting an image to see if you were near the pinwheel.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

25 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

oK , so i need to post an update to the above ... everything was sharp last night , as in stars ... i only took lights , because my aim (joke) was to frame everything ... i failed.  I will accept that the astrophograhy side of things is not for me and i will happily go back to visual . So , all of my gear will be put on the FOR SALE section . I will buy a light bucket ( hopefully with a goto system ) probably an 8" Dob. A sad day , but heres to a new , and in my case , happier begining . My god this astronomy hobby puts you through the ringer lol . 

Rejoice! You've released yourself from a lifetime of ever increasing expenditure, hours and hours of staring at a screen, isolation from the rest of society, potentially a funny walk and a nervous tick!

[Stu1smartcookie]

14 minutes ago, MarkAR said:

Sad to hear you're giving up on it, was it just the inability to point to a target ?

 

its partly that , but , to be honest Mark , i am an impatient astronomer ... i realise those two things do not readily go together but i sure you know what i mean . If i have now found my niche in this wonderful hobby then the time trying astrophotography has been well spent . i will still take photos , but of course they wont be of the standard that i see on here. But , i am ok with that ... i actually , for probably the first time ,realise what i want from astronomy . Namely a fairly large Dob that gives me quick gratification . For some that my seem a bit simplistic , but as we ALL know . Astronomy has many paths and thats the beauty of the hobby 

[Stu1smartcookie]

21 minutes ago, Bobby1970 said:

Sounds to me as though it's slipping. My first AZgti went back because of something that sounds very similar although not as extreme as yours. Fortunately the replacement is much better. 

i love this mount ... i actually had one a couple of years ago ... but i must have bought the wrong one this time . I aim to go down a different route now .. when i return this mount  i will use the money  wisely ( hopefully  ) I was going to just get a replacement but im now a bit wary .

[Stu1smartcookie]

23 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Rejoice! You've released yourself from a lifetime of ever increasing expenditure, hours and hours of staring at a screen, isolation from the rest of society, potentially a funny walk and a nervous tick!

lol .. im sure i will stll hanker for the next lovely little refractor ..( i did have my ey on the red cat ...NO STU ,STOP IT!!) .. but seriously .. Some people DO , some LOOK ... for me its now the time for looking . Quite excited again ! My poor wife has been astronomyed out for the last couple of months lol

 

[Stu1smartcookie]

34 minutes ago, MarkAR said:

Mind posting an image to see if you were near the pinwheel.

so sorry Mark , i deleted my images in disgust , at 1am this morning  ! I was defo in the right area , although as it turned out i wasnt right where i should have been .

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

7 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

lol .. im sure i will stll hanker for the next lovely little refractor ..( i did have my ey on the red cat ...NO STU ,STOP IT!!) .. but seriously .. Some people DO , some LOOK ... for me its now the time for looking . Quite excited again ! My poor wife has been astronomyed out for the last couple of months lol

 

But looking is doing. Observational astronomy is a joyous activity, with plenty of scientific relevance too if that's your bag.

AP is great and I appreciate the time and effort it takes to artificially recreate something that's been done before, but it's just not for everyone...