New mobile setup(s) while waiting for a clearer sky...

[Vroobel]

We all suffer from bad weather for months. And if the sky is cloudless, there is not enough data collected and the sessions has to be continued indefinitely. What if I could multiply my chances of any success in astrophotography, and also give myself a chance for the acquisition under a darker sky than Bortle 9+?

In January, I came up with the idea of buying a Sigma 40mm F/1.4 Art lens, as I already have a modified Canon 6D, and in February I already had it in my hands. For some time now, I have been taking shots only in two sensor positions relative to the mount: horizontal and vertical. Taking advantage of the universal solutions of the Arca-Swiss system for photography, I created the basis for a setup based on ASIair Plus. A couple of weeks later I bought an interesting Carl Zeiss Jena DDR 135mm F/3.5 lens from our forum fellow and decided to use it with the ASI 2600MC-Pro camera, for which an appropriate fastening had to be made, also based on the Arca-Swiss L-bracket. 

Knowing that I would buy additional glass, in January I started adapting the SW EQ5 mount to OnStep GoTo and I made a fairly light and very precise mount as a result, capable of shooting up to 120 seconds without elongating the stars at a focal length of 242mm (SW Evoguide 50ED) without guiding. I'll write about this modification later in this thread, but for now, I want to focus on what's at the top of the rig.

The pictures below show two different lens/sensor configurations, and the sensor can work both horizontally or vertically in each configuration. Any change takes literally seconds, everything is based on Arca-Swiss clamps. I should mention that it required well-managed cables fastened to designed and printed frames: data cables on the left-hand side and power cables on the opposite side. Like always, only two cables run down from the setup: a 12V power cable and a USB cable connected to the mount.

There is also a third option: a ZWO Canon EF filter drawer, which will be useful when I move from the experimentation phase to regular astrophotography with a faster 105-135mm lens with a Canon EF bayonet.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WTC333V?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details (the Sigma 40mm F/1.4 Art mount ring)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SQHG23Z?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details (the Arca-Swiss L-bracket)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CF8ZYVDV?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details (a big Arca-Swiss clamp safely holding the expensive lens with the 6D body and all accessories around, which is over 2.8kg in total)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071FBXHNN?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details (a small Arca-Swiss clamp is screwed to the Svbony guider)

 

 

 

 

Edited March 15 by Vroobel

[Vroobel]

Below is a quick first light of the Sigma 40mm lens and the Canon 6D from the city, centered on Capella (80 x 15s subs, ISO 400, F/1.8, Optolong L-Pro FF clip). It's just a test, the FoV is so big that it quickly covers high trees around. Maybe I should reprocess it... 🤔

 

Edited March 14 by Vroobel