Well, I bought a camera...

[davesellars]

So approx 5 years after selling all my AP stuff (EQ6 and modified DSLR, guide cam etc etc etc), I thought I'd dip my toe (perhaps just the pinkie...) into AP shark infested waters again...

So, it started with purchasing the RA motor for my EQ5. Having found it to perform excellently while using it observing with binoviewers I thought I'd give it a shot with my DSLR (Canon 70D) and to my surprise I was able to get 1-minute exposures using the 80ED despite the Dec axis being badly balanced because the heavy DSLR causes too much weight shift to the back.

This was approx 45 x 1min @ 1600 ISO subs with only bias applied.

Not too shoddy really for an EQ5...

As I've had a bad cold for the last few weeks and to limit exposing myself to the cold and damp outside for too long - I'd just setup the mount and 80ED and used the finder to point to the object take a few shots to make sure it's in view / focus and then head back inside and remote connect using TeamViewer to the laptop running APT (camera connection) taking the shots. Lazy astronomy!

During this "foray" back into AP, I did find out quite quickly though that this is not really my thing... taking lots of exposures but not really being able to see the result until its processed I was just quite bored. Visual astronomy is my thing and making pretty pictures most definitely is not...

So, EAA which has intrigued me for a while - being able to see essentially the invisible or extremely difficult from a Bortle 5 site - Now that's more active and also something I can include my family in as they're interested in astronomy. An additional weapon to the "visual" arsenal apart from just using the scope with eyepieces rather than a replacement.

The DSLR wasn't going to cut it for EAA... far too much read noise, heavy to boot and also unmodified (family camera) so I started having a look at the plethora of CMOS cameras now available - wow, certainly things have moved on quickly! It was clear that the speed of mono meant it was going to be the smart choice which also cut down the choice available by a considerable amount especially around my measly budget... :p

So, a recent offer on First Light Optics came up and luck would have it a mono ZWO ASI 178 which suits both the 102ED and the 80ED for the focal length and also make for a good size for planetary / lunar shots as well especially with a barlow. After permission from the CFO, I put the order in today along with a much needed 4" dew strip and shield for the 102ED to combat further the soggy autumnal nights.

Looking forward to putting it to use and see how it goes with Sharpcap. The FOV isn't massive but still feasible to find objects with my finder and the DSO into the view to start stacking.

So, like I said... dipping my toe in...

[Bigzmey]

You did get a pretty picture of Pleiades , but I see your point. AP is also not my cap of tea either.

Let us know about your EAA experience. It seems that less people do it vs AP or visual, but those who do seem to love it.

[JayTee]

Once you've jumped into the AP pool and have been totally submerged, it is possible to get out of the pool. Problem is, whether you know it or not is, that there's now an elastic band tied around your waist and at some point that band is going to snap you back into AP.

EAA does sound like fun especially when you can do live stacking in Sharp cap. Let us know how it goes.

[Juno16]

Nice M45 dave!

Yeah, EAA really does sound like fun.

Looking forward to seeing your results!

[davesellars]

Camera arrived this morning! Installed and tested quickly with the all-sky lens that came with it. All good... Obviously it's cloudy now but it is forecast to clear tonight so should get an opportunity to give it a go.

The USB 3 cable is nowhere near long enough at 2m but it should work fine with the long USB 2 cable I have - just slower but not too much problem I think.

I realised that an IR block filter is necessary it doesn't have on... So I've just purchased an Astronomik IR-block and also with it *cough* an Astronomik 12nM Ha filter for some H-alpha imaging. At least the prices were pretty good at Rother Valley Optics as they seem to have shot up everywhere else!

[davesellars]

After lots of rain in the afternoon and early evening it, the clouds cleared so I took the opportunity with the 80ED and the new camera. Using my 60mm finder it was easy to enough to centre the object (M13 in this case) in the FOV of the camera and then centre using Liveview. Using Sharpcap I then spent a good while getting used to it and playing with the various exposure and gain settings. This is certainly a sensitive camera! M13 showed excellently very quickly using just 8 second shots. I moved over to nearby NGC 6207 and it picked that up very nicely for only 80mm of aperture and full Moon... I couldn't actually have a go tonight at imaging the Moon because of my position being restricted with the length of the cable. 5m USB cable has been ordered which should arrive tomorrow.

Definitely needs the IR block filter as with longer exposures they were getting quite bloated although the seeing was pretty bad as well which may have made things even worse.

[davesellars]

Had quick session last night. The sky was very milky so pretty much no chance of DSOs but the seeing seemed reasonably steady. I used the 80ED but should have had the 102ED out really... Anyway, I took a 5000 frame video of Jupiter and stacked with Registax and got this:

[davesellars]

First session tonight with the Halpha filter as it's a full bright Moon so I chose the Pacman nebula. 30 x 60s subs stacked/ stretched in SharpCap - no other image manipulation. Still getting used to what are the best settings for the camera in terms of exposure, gain and offset...

[yobbo89]

very nice!, you have the non cooled mono with a standard rgb and ha filters ?

pacman looks very promising with more data

[pakarinen]

Gotta love those mono shots!

[davesellars]

very nice!, you have the non cooled mono with a standard rgb and ha filters ?

pacman looks very promising with more data

Yes, it's the non-cooled version. temps were down quite low last night, and the camera was running at around 9 - 11 degrees.

I just have a Ha Filter and an IR-Block for use with this. Although, I've also got a visual Astronomik OIII and UHC as well... For now, I'm not considering doing long AP with multiple filters although I'm tempted to do a Ha + OIII + L mix perhaps and assign Ha = red and OIII=green and L as a general luminescence for stars. I am going to have to get a filter wheel though as changing filters is a pain and I'd like to quickly change between OIII, UHC and Ha as well as the IR-Block depending on the target.

[Makuser]

Hi Dave. Wow, I love that M45 (Pleides) image with the Canon 70D that you processed. This is my favorite DSO object and you have excellent contrast and reflection nebulosity details and color. And your new ZWO ASI 178MM camera did a great job with Jupiter and the Pacman Nebula. Thanks for sharing these captures with us on here Dave and keep up the great work.

[davesellars]

Many thanks Marshall! It's a bit of a learning curve but getting there...