dsi 2 pro

[astrokat]

hello

ive had this for a bit now and still find hard to use the ccd,any one have any tips or advice on using it would be so helpful this is my best yet .. dumbell..thanks

[ATTACH]27224[/ATTACH]

[RobH]

What are the problems you're having specifically?

Cheers

Rob

[omneferuss]

Hi Astrokat, I just had a quick glance at your posts from the last few days..(via your profile, without reading the threads)

I think impatience might be your Achille's heel... that and taking a very big bite to chew perhaps ??

Enthusiasm can be a curse... scalding hot and blazing fast can the sooner arrive at frustration, while satisfaction like revenge is a dish best served cold.... and savoured in sippets. We are each different and must run our own race.. I've learned to accept my own snail's limp.. and my head feels much better (and the brickmarks are fading )

[RobH]

Just had a look at your threads too.

Be patient. The DSI pro2 is a good camera, and you can get fine results from it, but astrophotography has a very steep initial learning curve....I remember spending over 50 hours learning how to stack and process my first image, and the results were pretty shabby!

This is an image of the dumbell taken with narrowband filters using a DSI pro 2.....stick at it

Cheers

Rob

[astrokat]

What's the best way to get good focus,do I have to play about with the contrast,also need help on how to get a colour images whaen using the filters the colour ones the detail deterates , would I be better of with a colour ccd ,from what you can see am I on the right track ,thank you toby

[RobH]

Hello AK.

Looking at your M27, you are certainly on the right track.

You will often see more detail in your luminance data, simply because it's brighter.

There should be no loss of resolution with filters though.

Are you using the supplied Meade filters?

If so, are you also using an Infra red blocking filter?

Meade colour filters are not IR blocking, so this will result in bloated stars in your colour channels if you aren't, which may be why you seem to be losing detail.

I very soon realised that the supplied Meade filters are rubbish, and bought a set of Astronomik LRGB filters, which are all IR blocking and dramatically improved my results.

I also got rid of the filter slide, which lets in light, and got a low profile nosepiece adapter and a manual filter wheel.

Regarding the meade colour camera. You will get less sensitivity and less resolution from this. Consequently, you will need longer exposure times and/or more subs to go as deep as the mono camera, so the amount of time you save isn't as great as it first appears.

Personally, I would stick to the camera you have and get to know how to use it properly. The DSI's are pretty unforgiving, but will teach you really good imaging practice which will stay with you and be of great value as you progress.

Regarding focus....Get or make a Bahtinov mask.

Perfect focus every time in seconds!

Cheers

Rob

[astrokat]

than you very much for taking the time to reply to the tread one more thing what are good objects to use the dsi on ive tryed use with my 70 zenithstar on andro glx am i wasting my time all i get is the bright fuzzy patch (core)

ps i cant wait for nothing lol thank you once again

oh if i have a nother go at colours in prossing what do i have to do to get the colour out i know i stack r g b then add colour for each one then put all together im using elements where do you ajust colour ?

[vladutz]

Hello Rob,

I just came across this thread and saw your M27 - its fab! I don't think I have seen a better one in all the Meade series . Most impressive in this is the stars: how did you manage to get them like that, is it post processing? I've read the post about the IR, still I get the same on my DSI-c which has the default IR blocking filter, plus the Celestron UHC/LPR filter, and stars still come out like this :

http://www.petealbrecht.com/blog/M1 Nov 6-8 2008 color2.jpg

This is just a random example I found on the web, but all Meade Images , from all Meade models (except the III series) have the same big fat unatural stars - yours is the first I see that doesnt

How did you do it?

[Takahashi]

Hi Vladutz, your link has been "clipped", probably due to the spaces in it. Let TinyURL come to the rescue!

http://tinyurl.com/yc3r6xj

(TinyURL.com - shorten that long URL into a tiny URL - great innovation)

[RobH]

Hello Vladutz,

Thanks for the kind words....I was pretty pleased with M27 when I'd done it I must admit

It was imaged with a DSI pro2 and a meade LX200GPS 14 inch.

I didn't do anything special, just got lots of data and made sure that it was focussed correctly.

There are plenty of examples of the great results that can be had with these cameras,

Check out .....

Deep-Sky-Imager : DeepSkyImager - Meade's DSI CCD

It's well worth joining the group. There are a lot of very helpful people on there who will be happy to help with any questions you have

Cheers

Rob