Imaging with a SkyWatcher 150/750P. How (If possible) do you increase the FOV ?

[Stellaris]

Hey,

I’ve only recently gotten started in Astrophotography. I’m fairly new to the hobby but I’ve done quite extensive research. My setup is composed of a Sky Watcher 150/750P, an equatorial NEQ3-2 Pro Goto mount, and a Fujifilm x-t2. I’ve taken a few pictures of the Andromeda galaxy, the moon, the hercules globular cluster, and the North America nebula. I’ve noticed that for the North America nebula, I can only capture so much of it as I am pretty zoomed in on it. I was wondering if there is anyway to increase my FOV to capture more of my targets.

Other than that, any tips, suggestions and targets that anyone can help me on would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance

[alan potts]

You can buy focal reducers, I have two of them for my 115mm APO. One is a .79 focal reducer and the other is a 0.6, I think. I say I think because I tried it and it needs shims to get the corners sharp, so it doesn't work straight out the box on my scope which it should. I don't happen to have any shims. I probably should have returned it to FLO but as I live abroad I just couldn't be bothered so it's on the shelf. I am not sure how they would work with your scope but FLO are knowledgeable bunch and I am sure could advise you as to the best choice, just because I have one that don't work well first time, it doesn't mean it won't for you.

Alan

[vlaiv]

There is a technique to increase photographic FOV with any telescope without using additional equipment, but it does require some skill and practice and advanced use of software.

You can always make mosaic image of the target. Shoot several panes and then stitch them prior to processing the image.

However, in order to do that - you need to plan mosaic layout and be able to point the telescope at exact place - which is usually done by plate solving.

You also need software that will stitch the image for you. Excessive gradients from light pollution cause problems if not dealt with properly and binning must be used if one does not want to spend large amounts of time on the target.

[Rallemikken]

8 hours ago, Stellaris said:

Fujifilm x-t2

http://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/?fov[]=53||26||1|1|0&fov[]=53||481||1|1|0&messier=33

Get an old full-frame, like my Canon 5D MkII. A little bit more demanding, but it gives you a huge increase in FOV. The focuser tube on the SkyWatcher you have should be wide enough. Have had my fullframe one season so far, and like the opportunity to mix scopes and different DSLR's. I try to avoid reducers if I can. I have a fast f/4 newt that needs a coma corrector, and those also often increase the FOV. My best pictures are taken with no glass between the stars and the camera sensor.

 

[teoria_del_big_bang]

Unfortunately we all find out that for imaging there is no such thing as a scope & camera setup that works well for all targets due to the FOV.
In the end I think you find yourself wanting 3 setups, or at least 3 scopes, which is not always viable due to cost or space to keep everything.

The  North America nebula is a particularly difficult target to get fully for many setups used for imaging without using mosaics and whilst maybe not for the beginner I always thought of mosaics as my next challenge and so tended to look for targets that suited my setup and try to get those under my belt first with the aim that when I had developed my skills a little more (both in acquisition and processing) then to try mosaics to either get these bigger targets like  North America nebula or there are some areas of the sky you can then capture more than one target in the finished mosaic.
I also intended to at least get a second setup to capture the much smaller targets that my current setup just could not do satisfactorily as the final image was just cropped too much to give any detail.

It is never easy and so far not done mosaics or managed to get my small target setup, these are still work in progress but will get there.
If you do try  mosaics then I really recommend NINA for the acquisition s it is really easy to do.

Steve

[Stellaris]

Thanks a lot for all the responses.
As of yet, I do not have access to a pc and therefore can’t use APT. To plan and setup mosaics do you use APT? The software aspect of Astrophotography is where I’m the least knowledgeable.
Though i think it’s awesome that the Astrophotography community has such engagement on this website. It’s so helpful.

[Elp]

I use the telescopius website and an Asiair, plan on the website, copy the coordinates and paste into the asiair plan all via your phone. Incredibly simple to do. You just have to manually rotate your camera to get the starting framing as you want it to be. It's obviously easy if your mount is a goto with plate solving and autoguided.

Edited July 30, 2023 by Elp

[wimvb]

You can do mosaics without computer, but it requires some planning. First off, align your camera such that the sensor's edge is parallell to RA. Center on a star, and take a 30 s exposure (no guiding). 5 seconds in, slew RA at 1 x sidereal with the left or right button on your hand controller. This will create star trails. After the exposure, rotate the camera, and repeat until the star trail is parallell to either the long or short edge of your sensor.

Next, use a planetarium program to plan your mosaic. You can use the RA/DEC grid as a guide. When it comes to execute the plan, use stars in your field of view to align.

Most astrophotography software will automate this process (except for camera rotation). I use Ekos/Kstars on Linux, but I believe that NINA on MS Windows, can do it too. So can sequence generator pro (SGP), but that is paid for software. Ekos and NINA are free.

Good luck.

 

Btw, getting a camera with a larger sensor probably won't work. The clear viewing circle of most scopes won't cover a full frame sensor, so you will get lots of vignetting instead. A reducer may have the same effect.

Edited July 31, 2023 by wimvb

[AstroMuni]

On 30/07/2023 at 13:14, Stellaris said:

As of yet, I do not have access to a pc

I would say that a computer is essential in this part of the hobby as it lets you do all the post image capture processing. It also can be used to manage your equipment - mount, camera etc. to let you point and capture your images.

If you are familiar with Windows then I suggest getting used to NINA but if you are a Mac/Linux user then Kstars/Ekos is the way to go. For post capture tasks you can use Siril (available on both Win & Mac/Linux). All the above software are free.

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by AstroMuni