help Help - I Don't Know What I Did Wrong :( - Andromeda

[Elp]

Think the best thing to do is get a tracker/goto mount. Other than open clusters and Orion nebula, I'd think you'd struggle to capture DSOs with detail any other way, unless you had thousands of images to stack.

Tracker doesn't need to be expensive, a lot of people have diy'd a barn door tracker. Cheapest commercial one I had was an Omegon LX, not sure if it'd cope with 200mm, you also will need an EQ wedge to go with it.

Edited May 21 by Elp

[900SL]

1 hour ago, Elp said:

Think the best thing to do is get a tracker/goto mount. Other than open clusters and Orion nebula, I'd think you'd struggle to capture DSOs with detail any other way, unless you had thousands of images to stack.

Tracker doesn't need to be expensive, a lot of people have diy'd a barn door tracker. Cheapest commercial one I had was an Omegon LX, not sure if it'd cope with 200mm, you also will need an EQ wedge to go with it.

Yep, I'd agree.

Whichever way you cut it, untracked with APS-C and a long kit lens isn't going to be rewarding. Frame drift, star trails, coma, CA, noise, it's just insurmountable odds

 

 

 

Edited May 21 by 900SL

[Chuleton08]

Thanks 900SL and Elp for all the info!

I will have a look see if I could make a diy tracker or get a different lens.

Btw, here is someone's attempt at editing the same stacked image I had

[900SL]

1 minute ago, Chuleton08 said:

Thanks 900SL and Elp for all the info!

I will have a look see if I could make a diy tracker or get a different lens.

Btw, here is someone's attempt at editing the same stacked image I had

No probs. Don't give up, it's surprising how ones images can improve once you have some understanding (and spend too much on the necessary gear..)

[Chuleton08]

I just had all the stuff laying around from a long time, so I didn't buy anything specifically, except some memory and a remote timer. 

[Swillis]

1 hour ago, Chuleton08 said:

just had all the stuff laying around from a long time, so I didn't buy anything specifically, except some memory and a remote timer. 

I think using what you have to start with is a great way to get into the hobby.  Whatever level we are at there is always more investment we would like to make in upgrades. This is however not a cheap hobby, but you can be budget conscious along the way. Certainly while you work out if it is for you or not

As suggested above a barn door can be a cheap alternative and is a good project to keep you busy on those cloudy nights.

There is always second hand gear to consider.  Once you get to enough posts you get access to the classifieds section. And mostly the stuff sold on here is well looked after.

 

Edited May 21 by Swillis
missed something