2600MC Pro First Light

[smashing]

So...the ZWO sale meant the trigger had to be pulled on a 2600MC Pro...this was an upgrade from my trusty Canon 600D which had served me well over the past 18 months.

First impressions...it is much bigger and heavier than I imagined it would be, not sure why as it isn't supposed to be that much heavier than the Canon...then came the worry that my back focus wouldn't work (see my other thread) and then, obviously, the cloud cover meant first light had to wait.

Well that was until Thursday night, the forecast was mmmmm mediocre here in the East Midlands but sod it. The kit was taken outside and setup well before it got dark. Again, the thing looks big on the rig and I was slightly apprehensive with the standard focuser on the equinox but I needn't have been, it worked just fine.

As I wasn't sure where the focus would be I assumed it would be close to that of the DSLR so I set that up and cooled the system to -5 and took my first shot...and we have stars....granted out of focus but good enough to get something that would work for plate solving.

I was still trying my l-extreme out which, tbh, the DSLR struggled with (even more so on these warm nights) but this thing was ace...absolutely no issues seeing stars with a few seconds of exposure and 10 second exposures to plate solve. It was a breeze to focus as well, brilliant.

And then I just set it off and it did it's thing on a new target I haven't imaged before...I managed to grab about 2.5 hours of poor data (clouds rolling in so some poor subs and general haze) and this is the result of a very very quick process this evening.

2.5 hrs of 5 min subs (Gain 100, offset 50), darks, flats and dark flats through an Equinox 80 and L-Extreme filter on an HEQ5 and very quickly processed with DSS and photoshop (I've also added my stacked image incase anyone wants a go as I am sure there is much more in there).

It was such a difference to process compared to the DSLR and with only 2.5hrs of data I am pretty impressed and really looking forward to seeing what this thing can do (I'm also glad I upgraded the SSD and RAM on the PC!!!!)  

Oh...and my other half did finally notice that the camera attached to the telescope was different...flowers have been ordered. 

 

 

Autosave002.tif

[callisto]

Thats a very nice start 

 

Mark

[callisto]

12 minutes ago, smashing said:

Oh...and my other half did finally notice that the camera attached to the telescope was different

Fortunately mine thinks all my stuff "looks the same"  🤣

[CCD-Freak]

You managed to catch the Soap Bubble. (^8

 

 

[CCD-Freak]

Are the flowers for her or for your funeral?  (^8

[smashing]

5 hours ago, CCD-Freak said:

Are the flowers for her or for your funeral?  (^8

They are for the former to try and delay the latter

[Lee_P]

That's a brilliant result! I use that camera and filter too, it's a very capable combination.

[CCD-Freak]

I am lusting for an ASI-2600MCp.  A friend of mine just got both the mono and OSC versions and he is turning out really nice images.  I am saving up for the purchase.  I already built a new PC with a big SSD and 32GB of RAM to handle the "gianormous" image files. (^8

[Jerry Barnes]

Nice, I'm going to have to get one of those myself.  Not sure flowers will do it though!

[smashing]

1 hour ago, CCD-Freak said:

I am lusting for an ASI-2600MCp.  A friend of mine just got both the mono and OSC versions and he is turning out really nice images.  I am saving up for the purchase.  I already built a new PC with a big SSD and 32GB of RAM to handle the "gianormous" image files. (^8

An upgraded PC does help lol I've been looking at one since it came out and after doing battle with a DSLR on a hot summer evening after months of cloud I just had to get one

[Ouroboros]

Marvellous picture … and very encouraging since I have only recently bought an ASI2600.  I’m looking forward to the opportunity to use it. 

[smashing]

3 minutes ago, Ouroboros said:

Marvellous picture … and very encouraging since I have only recently bought an ASI2600.  I’m looking forward to the opportunity to use it. 

Thank you...given the sky conditions and being my first use of it I'm very happy with it now id like just a few clear nights 

[Sterrenland]

Stunning image...sharp focus and amazing contrast. Beautiful!

[mackiedlm]

That's a great image. The 2600mc is an amazing camera.