To celebrate the cloud.......

[Harb]

Well to celebrate the persistance of these rotten clouds, I have purchased this to mark the occassion..............


Complete with Nikon and Meade DSI Pro adaptors.

[Dennis]

Hmm, looks like you got the deluxe version. :thumbsup:

Be careful with T2 adapters….I had a cheap Pentax K mount ring and it wobbled in the assembly so focus was difficult to get.

Cheers

Dennis

[Harb]

Thanks Dennis........noted

All I need now is a cloud filter ;)

cheers
John

[[1ponders]]

Sweet looking unit John. And thanks for keeping the cloud down there ;) :lol:

[ballaratdragons]

OK, I'll be the dummy.

What is it?

[Harb]

Hi yu Ken,
Its a knife edge focuser.....
Makes focusing for imaging easy.....thats the theory anyway!!
you substitute the camera you use for imaging with this unit....you focus up using special screens, then take it off and put the camera back.....and away you go!!

cheers
John

[ballaratdragons]

ahhhhh! Thanks John.

[Harb]

Watch the video's here for more info..

http://www.stellar-international.com/

cheers

[[1ponders]]

Hmmmmm...more gadgets :D Very tempting for my film cameras :lol:

[ballaratdragons]

yep, videos explain it.

In the 'swap in, swap out' video he is pretty rough with it. I wonder if it still kept focus after he took it out. The focuser seemed to move a fair bit!

[h0ughy]

yep I have one for the pentax, tried to use it once and I had no idea whether or not I was using it right. been in the box ever since. Now I use the canon most of the time maybe I should get the adapter for that??????

[Harb]

Ahh who cares if it works or not...........I got this really neat pen with a red light in it chucked in!.....:thumbsup:

[Dennis]

Good news - it works! I use mine for the Pentax *ist DS DSLR. Care is required when mounting the stiletto, then uncoupling it and replacing it with the DSLR. All adapters, couplings, focusers, etc much be tight or locked to avoid any play or movement, otherwise there is the potential to disturb the precise focus position.

Every time I have thought that I had a precise focus using just my eyeballs through the viewfinder of the Pentax, the stiletto has always proved me wrong when I fitted it, delivering a sharp, focused image.

I did have a problem once when I used a cheap T2 ring and it wobbled in the stiletto which is useless - it should be firmly engaged.

Cheers

Dennis

[Lee]

Nice purchase..... Don't worry Ken, I had no idea what it was either! :shrug:

[jjjnettie]

I want one.

[ballaratdragons]

What?, the pen with the red light in it, or the focus thingy? :lol:

[allan gould]

I went the cheap and versatile option. A long time ago I had a 201xt autoguider that I couldnt get to decent focus for autoguiding. I bought the ronchi screen focuser for the 201xt and guess what it worked perfectly first time right out of the box, but then I did something sneaky. You can use it to test your opticss like any ronchi screen and with an eyepiece parfocal ring set it up for your DSLR. I found perfect focus for my dslr, then used the parfocal ring on the ronchi focuser to get the correct spacing. Now it takes 10 sec to get perfect , repeatable focus for the dslr.

[Ric]

A very neat looking gadget Harb and it works with a DSI as well.
Hmmmm thinking how I can sneak it past the wife and then say it's been there all the time. :confuse3: Nope I'd never get away with it.
If it's not personal, how many children did have to sell to buy that. :D

cheers

[Harb]

only 1, but she was a really loud one...........;)


Auctually was about $500AU I think..........I have a hopless memory.....
It has 2 adaptors one for Nikon Mount stuff and one for The DSI, but they have them for everthing.
This is the delux version with the box etc....

[Harb]

Just checked......

$423.00 US complete with extra DSI adaptor and shipping.

cheers
John

[Ric]

Hi John, quite a reasonable price considering the way some things are priced.

cheers

[Geoff45]

Maybe we should investigate the possibilities of radio astronomy. Pretty much 24/7.
Geoff

[jase]

These are great. I had a Stiletto focuser tuned for the Pentax K1000. You can actually make your own knife edge focuser that work quite well. In the age of computer controlled digital motor focusing through FHWM calculations and others, such a tool is no longer required. I got easily frustrated changing the focuser with the camera and back again. As the night air cooled introducing subtle changes in focus, I did swapped regularly. Drove me insane. Now with temperature compensating computer controlled focusers, this is a thing of the past.