1st steps towards imaging.

[CheshireChris]

 

 

I've taken the plunge and acquired a 2nd hand (never been out of its box) SW Star Adventurer GTi and a used ZWO ASI 533MC Pro for good prices. Can't afford a telescope - yet; that will have to wait until later next year. However l can start using the GTi with my DSLR and Canon lenses: a 70-200 f2.8 L and a 85mm f1.8 L.

Initially I'll probably keep it simple and use my EOS-80D rather than the 533; learning to use the mount and SynScan app seems a first priority. Although understanding how to polar align is the first step - l have bought a right angle adapter for the GTi as l doubt if my knees would stand up to much crouching to look through through the finder. Some clear nights would be nice...

The computer side l have covered: A HP EliteDesk Mini 800G2 with W11. I've loaded Synscan, N.I.N.A plus the necessary drivers and it all connects OK. Also installed Siril & DSS. My main PC has an AMD Ryzen 7 5800Z, 64GB, GeForce RTZ 3060. if l need the processing power.  Loads of disk space with a SynologyNAS (24TB)

Equipment wise is there anything else that might be beneficial (or even essential!)  in the short term? I've got the ZWO IR/UV cut & light pollution filters on order for the 533.

Where I live (Cheshire East) is perhaps Bortle 6-7 - the view south & east is much better than north & west where there is light pollution from Wilmslow & Manchester

Any guidance would be very much appreciated.

Chris

 

Edited July 11 by CheshireChris
Typos

[wimvb]

Welcome to the wonderful world and bottomless moneypit of astrophotography.

For polar alignment you really don't need the polar scope, NINA has a polar alignment routine for that. But in all fairness, if you choose to use all the functions in NINA at once, you're in for a very steep and high learning curve.

A tip which makes life easier in the beginning. Rotate the optical train (camera with lens) in its ring so that RA is aligned with one edge of the camera sensor. To do this, start an exposure of about 15 seconds (longer if you have a short focal length). After about 5 seconds, slew the mount in RA at 1 x sidereal speed for the rest of the exposure time. This will give star trails. After the exposure, rotate the optical train and repeat untill the trails are aligned with the image's edge. This simple procedure will make it easier to identify any misalignment and guiding  issues. It will also make it a lot easier when you collect data over several sessions, as all your exposures are aligned much better, without excessive rotation.

Good luck, and clear skies

[woldsman]

Welcome & good luck!

I'd use the prime lens rather than the zoom lens you have - here's a link to some examples of what can be imaged with the Canon 85mm f1.8: https://app.astrobin.com/equipment/explorer/telescope/1481/canon-ef-85mm-f18-usm

Worth checking to see if these images have commentaries -  drawing on te experience of others be very helpful. You can also see the ISO, f-stop and exposure times used along with the filters. 

+1 to using NINA with the plugin called Three Point Polar Alignment. Note that if you can get Polaris roughly in the centre of the screen when checking focus, the process will be easier. 

Suggest you also consider purchasing the low-cost software BackyardEOS to capture imaging on a laptop: https://www.otelescope.com/store/category/2-backyardeos/

You may need a driver for your Canon DSLR to enable it to communicate with the ASCOM. To the best of my knowledge, this is still the only option: https://github.com/vtorkalo/ASCOM.DSLR

Edited July 11 by woldsman

[CheshireChris]

1 hour ago, woldsman said:

Welcome & good luck!

I'd use the prime lens rather than the zoom lens you have - here's a link to some examples of what can be imaged with the Canon 85mm f1.8: https://app.astrobin.com/equipment/explorer/telescope/1481/canon-ef-85mm-f18-usm

Worth checking to see if these images have commentaries -  drawing on te experience of others be very helpful. You can also see the ISO, f-stop and exposure times used along with the filters. 

+1 to using NINA with the plugin called Three Point Polar Alignment. Note that if you can get Polaris roughly in the centre of the screen when checking focus, the process will be easier. 

Suggest you also consider purchasing the low-cost software BackyardEOS to capture imaging on a laptop: https://www.otelescope.com/store/category/2-backyardeos/

You may need a driver for your Canon DSLR to enable it to communicate with the ASCOM. To the best of my knowledge, this is still the only option: https://github.com/vtorkalo/ASCOM.DSLR

Thanks for the replies

Yes, I'm sure your right the prime will undoubtedly be better and easier to deal with. I'll try both.

Wow! That BackYardEOS looks good - I've downloaded the trial version. Hadn't heard of that until you added the link- for less than £40 i can't see a reason not to buy it.

I consider myself (age notwithstanding) to have a good grasp of technology ( l was a storage specialist with IBM until retirement) but astroimaging is bewildering for someone starting out. However being retired means l have plenty of time to get even more confused.

Chris

 

[wimvb]

30 minutes ago, CheshireChris said:

astroimaging is bewildering

Check this resource. A bit dated, but it explains the basics

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

[woldsman]

4 hours ago, CheshireChris said:

Thanks for the replies

Yes, I'm sure your right the prime will undoubtedly be better and easier to deal with. I'll try both.

Wow! That BackYardEOS looks good - I've downloaded the trial version. Hadn't heard of that until you added the link- for less than £40 i can't see a reason not to buy it.

I consider myself (age notwithstanding) to have a good grasp of technology ( l was a storage specialist with IBM until retirement) but astroimaging is bewildering for someone starting out. However being retired means l have plenty of time to get even more confused.

Chris

 

Don’t think you’ll regret using BYEos. Among other things, it makes taking flats easy using the AV-flat setting on the camera & software.