Hello from Oxfordshire, UK

[Joebob]

Hi All, I have been a bit of a lurker on this very resourceful forum for a few months whilst getting aquainted with my new hobby and decided I should properly register and say hello! I am still quite new to both observing and AP (AP is probably my main focus at the moment) As a Mechanical Engineer by trade the technically challenging aspects of this hobby have been particularly interesting, so much to learn and such a great amount of knowledge on this board, so a big thanks! My current attempts at AP have been laughable, but with every failed attempt there is a slight improvement and lessons learnt, so looking forward to more clear skies!   

[banjaxed]

Hi and welcome to SGL.

[shropshire lad]

Hello Joebob and welcome, can you tell us what equipment you have.

 

[Floater]

Welcome. Hope you have lots of fun and success with the AP. 🙂

[barbulo]

Hi and welcome to SGL.

[Mr Spock]

Hi Joebob, welcome to SGL 

[Joebob]

1 hour ago, shropshire lad said:

Hello Joebob and welcome, can you tell us what equipment you have.

 

Thanks for the welcome. 

As for Equipment, I'm just starting out, so have mostly been using what I had around the house:

Canon 450D (unmodded) - considering trying the mod myself at some stage but am happy to leave as is for now.

Canon 50mm f1.8 Lens, Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar MC 135mm, f3.5

An old Manfrotto DSLR tripod 

Skywatcher Star Adventurer 2i (My main purchase thus far)

Skywatcher Evostar 90 (with EQ2 mount) which was gifted to me, has not seen too much action apart from a couple of nights staring at the moon!

As far as software is concerned, I have been playing around with DSS, Siril and Gimp but post processing is definitely an area for improvement.

I've also installed Astroberry on a RPi 4 and had a bit of a look, but not used properly yet, I think that's a future project. 

 

And that's about it apart from some odds and ends. I've been resisting the urge to throw large amounts of money at it, and have decided to try and focus on what I can get out of the equipment I have for now.

[Sunshine]

Welcome to SGL! you've come to the right place for AP, Imagers here are one talented bunch.

[JRM]

Hello JoeBob, welcome to the lounge.

[shropshire lad]

I've just been given one of those Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar MC 135mm, f3.5 lenses but the apperture blades are stuck wide open so stripped it and got it working up to f11 .. quite a sharp lens actually.

I don't have a telescope at all ... I use Canon 80D  and a few lenses from 10mm up to 150-600mm along with a Skywatcher AZ-Gti goto mount and tripod .... I really enjoy AP and am still learning along the way.

 

[Greymouser]

Hi and welcome to the best astro forum out there.

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi there and welcome. 

[PeterCPC]

Hello and welcome.

[PXR5]

Welcome to SGL, thanks for joining us 🙂

 

 

[bosun21]

Hi 👋 welcome to the lounge and I am from Oxford also 

[Joebob]

On 24/12/2021 at 21:08, shropshire lad said:

I've just been given one of those Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar MC 135mm, f3.5 lenses but the apperture blades are stuck wide open so stripped it and got it working up to f11 .. quite a sharp lens actually.

I don't have a telescope at all ... I use Canon 80D  and a few lenses from 10mm up to 150-600mm along with a Skywatcher AZ-Gti goto mount and tripod .... I really enjoy AP and am still learning along the way.

 

The Zeiss has been my preferred lens, I don't really have any experience to comment on its quality, but it's keeping me happy for now.

How do you find the Skywatcher AZ GTI? I was considering it also, even put some bids in on a second hand one on ebay. I ended up with the SA in the end but wish I had a goto mount, looks really cool.

[Joebob]

9 hours ago, bosun21 said:

Hi 👋 welcome to the lounge and I am from Oxford also 

A local! Great to hear! thanks for the welcome. 

Thanks to all for the kind welcome, looking forward to chatting with you all in the future!

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire 🙂

[shropshire lad]

12 hours ago, Joebob said:

The Zeiss has been my preferred lens, I don't really have any experience to comment on its quality, but it's keeping me happy for now.

How do you find the Skywatcher AZ GTI? I was considering it also, even put some bids in on a second hand one on ebay. I ended up with the SA in the end but wish I had a goto mount, looks really cool.

I find the AZ-GTI really good, but saying that its the only mount I have ever had (being fairly new to AP).... below is a photo of my set up, with the laser light on top for polar alignment.. and my 70-200mm f2.8 lens (buty I mostly use the Sigma 150-600mm now)

[Joebob]

Nice setup, I need to get one of those lasers, may I ask where you got this one from?

[shropshire lad]

On 28/12/2021 at 13:55, Joebob said:

Nice setup, I need to get one of those lasers, may I ask where you got this one from?

Just from E bay  ...  green laser cost about £10

 

 

Edited December 30, 2021 by shropshire lad

[bosun21]

On 28/12/2021 at 13:55, Joebob said:

Nice setup, I need to get one of those lasers, may I ask where you got this one from?

Be careful where you use the laser. Airports and flight routes etc.

[shropshire lad]

20 hours ago, bosun21 said:

Be careful where you use the laser. Airports and flight routes etc.

Yes definitely ... I only use it for polar alignment and always check the area of sky before swtiching it on ... and it's only on then for a few seconds.

Saw Prof Brian Cox using one hand held recently on TV .. would have liked him to warn viewers to be very cautious of their use.

 

 

Edited December 31, 2021 by shropshire lad

[wookie1965]

A warm welcome to SGL

[Starwatcher2001]

Welcome aboard SGL Joebob. Good to have you with us.

Enjoy your ventures into the dark art of AP.