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Old 17-08-2008, 08:59 PM
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Scope's-R-us

Not wanting to take anything away from recent, and very high calibre, images showcased on ISS.....my curiosity was piqued, so I decided to see what a few hours on a 24" RC would cost me.

In short...it is not cheap.
it would easily run $1000+

A bit like running a big boat...learning to fly, or a second wife

This begged the question...was a single..albeit very good...deep sky image worth a cool grand to yours truly?

Nah....think I'll put up with the light pollution...plus the occasional trip to pristine skies with a smaller rig.

So I'm even more curious as to whether my decision to stick with the status quo (my own scope/problems/location/weather) is really just sticking my head in the sand....
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Old 17-08-2008, 09:13 PM
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it's all relative isn't it Peter. how much do we put into our hobby in monetary terms? you, going by your equipment list obviously take it fairly seriously and may l say it shows in your images but l do agree upwards of a grand for a couple of hours imaging, no thank you. personally l don't consider $1000 a great deal of money but it can buy me some equipment that will last longer than a couple of hours so my head will remain in the sand for now.
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Old 17-08-2008, 09:14 PM
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This debate is going to be intresting, I'll just sit on the side line and watch the action unfold . But I admire the first grade images Jase,Mike,Peter,Fred and everyone else posts up here. Its these images that make me just stop and wonder how beautifull the universe really is. So no matter how you get them, keep posting them for us all.

Matt.

Last edited by coldspace; 17-08-2008 at 09:52 PM.
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Old 17-08-2008, 09:32 PM
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Bassnut (Fred)
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Oh Peter, your such a wind up .

Light buckets I dont know, but that sounds wrong to me (whats a "few" hours mean anyway?)

For a rig similar yours on GRAS, its WAY less than that .
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Old 17-08-2008, 10:18 PM
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but that sounds wrong to me (whats a "few" hours mean anyway?)
Mega-data and narrow field rules Fred!

At least 2 hours per channel
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Old 17-08-2008, 10:28 PM
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Everybody knows that Data is where the party is at

Personally I like the idea of setting it up, being next to the scope as it runs off its images... And I like seeing physical benefits of me spending a grand... Ie. If I spend a grand, and dont have a new camera, or a lens or a scope or a slew of new gadgets and do-hickies I feel somewhat ripped off...

I know for a fact, I would not drop $1000 into getting one incredible image from a remote scope. I would happily (and have) drop 10k into gear in the hopes of one day capturing that one incredible image... At home.
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Old 17-08-2008, 10:34 PM
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Mega-data and narrow field rules Fred!
Anyway, thank Christ someone gets it . The others will take a while .
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Old 17-08-2008, 10:36 PM
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Everybody knows that Data is where the party is at
quod erat demonstrandum!
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Old 17-08-2008, 10:42 PM
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Old 17-08-2008, 10:46 PM
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Yes, I Had a look at the Light Buckets site too and although I didn't join from what I could establish from their prices page (I'll stand corrected if I am in error), the prices seem quite affordable for shortish images say LRGB = 60 30 30 30min = 250 points or $235 for the 6" APO (like I have). This assumes of course that I only have to pay for the "actual imaging time" and not the pointing to my target, framing time, focusing, filter changes etc. but I would imagine I would have to pay for this also so the total cost would then likely be closer to about US$300 or about AU$350 I guess? Is this tollerable as an outlay occassionally? For some people I would think so..?

But it looks to be on the expensive side to do bigger deeper imaging projects...? My three night deep Cen A image I did with my 6" APO for example took 20hrs of "actual" imaging time over three consecutive clear nights that had to be done with no moon. Now from what I can work out from the LightBuckets website and using their TOA 150 (basically the same scope as mine) cost of 100pts/hr and buying these points in bulk at US $0.90/pt this would equate to US$1800 or about AU$2200 but will cost even more if I have to add the extra time to do all the other things required during each imaging session, so I'm thinking..?.Oooh? about AU$2500 or so all up? Hmmm?...I think this would have been out of the question? ...and my wife would have left me had I secretly done it, especially since I didn't even win my category at the DM awards with it...a $2500 Honorable Mention huh? hmmm? ...my other awarded image was 16hrs of imaging time... so two Honorable Mentions would have cost me over $4000 )

I imagine once you are savy you can cut corners a bit to save on costs and using higher QE cameras would help too so it certainly might be worth considering for some...but it ain't exactly cheap

Plus...and I'm not sure if I have said this before? ...it's cheating IMO if you then enter this proffessionally acquired image in an imaging contest anyway

Mike
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Old 17-08-2008, 10:55 PM
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I often shudder at the amount of money I've already spent on this hobby and what I intend too!!
But to spend $1K+ on 1's on 0's seems like way too much!

Still, to each his own...I'll enjoy looking at the results regardless!

Doug
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Old 17-08-2008, 10:59 PM
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Make a little room for my head too please.

But before i plunge, what about those that go on thousands of dollars holidays ?. They come back with nothing more that pictures too (Maybe a suntan as well).
Like Jase said, he doesnt do it too often and he likes the end result, being getting what he always wanted and how he wanted it.
But im like many of you guys, i prefer tangible items for my money.
I give you money, you give me something i can feel and use again and again.

I agree with Mick, but how much is too much money.
I dont view it on an individual dollar basis, but more the ratio of how much it costs compared to how much income (Or combined Income) one generates.

Spending $1000 is alot of money to some and to others its not, mainly because they can recoupe the costs or absorb the amount due to the speed in which they can recover the funds over their yearly income.
Of course the total income involves removing expenses due to family size bills etc.

Theo
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Old 17-08-2008, 11:39 PM
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If you've got it to spend and want to spend it ...do so!
Full Stop!

If I had ****-hot gear and believed I had exhausted the possibilities with said gear, then using someone elses ****-hotter gear remotely might be the go, and an exciting development in one's imaging.

Right now I've only scratched the surface and I still love my limited gear!

But, I think the "going on holiday" analogy is flawed in that remote imaging does not involve the "buyer" in actively engaging in the process of the "holiday" apart from processing his or her holiday snaps!

But I've never done it, so the last part is a guess!! Probably much more involvement!!????
As long as we enjoy the journey...
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Old 18-08-2008, 12:33 AM
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some good points Theo. every cent l spend on astro gear comes from after hours work, hence the 7 day working week "for me anyhow". l am working on a 4 year plan for the high end setup, l already have a 16" RC all packed away that l bought a couple of years ago but no point setting it up yet as l have no permanent position that will do it justice although when l buy a place a bit further towards that really dark site it will finally see starlight.
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Old 18-08-2008, 12:43 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dugnsuz View Post
....

But, I think the "going on holiday" analogy is flawed in that remote imaging does not involve the "buyer" in actively engaging in the process of the "holiday" apart from processing his or her holiday snaps!
...
You missed the whole point. People spend money, but have nothing tangible to show except pictures and some experience. Spend hundreds on renting the imaging sessions, and in the end only have images to show for it. This is what im saying. So to those that do it, good luck to them, its their business.

Theo.
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Old 18-08-2008, 12:47 AM
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some good points Theo. every cent l spend on astro gear comes from after hours work, hence the 7 day working week "for me anyhow". l am working on a 4 year plan for the high end setup, l already have a 16" RC all packed away that l bought a couple of years ago but no point setting it up yet as l have no permanent position that will do it justice although when l buy a place a bit further towards that really dark site it will finally see starlight.
If i had the RC, i would just get a decent mount and at least use it visually and even do some imaging. To just sit there and do nothing is a waste of glass and alloy.
I wouldnt be able to cope with this situation. You have patience and dedication to a dream. I hope you get to use it soon.

Theo.
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Old 18-08-2008, 06:03 AM
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I see a lot of people complaining about the cost, and the morals of using RC telescopes. Some say that the gear is no different than theirs.

Why not set up your own gear to be net accessable and cash in?


Seems people are willing to buy the plane tickets on the net, sit back and wait for the Hasselblad images of where their money went to arrive on their screen. -some holiday?

If you have the cash its up to you what you do with it. Probably better than P***ing it up a wall.

There, its out of my system.
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Old 18-08-2008, 07:07 AM
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This topic is such a personal decision, so there is no right or wrong answer, only our personal preferences. The underlying aspect to consider then is what each of us feels is the VALUE of such a purchase or for that matter, ANY purchase we make, and its our perception of value that steers the decision.

Now, to answer the topic question ... For me, I wouldnt see spending, lets just say $1000 on a once of image as value, but good luck to those that do !!!
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Old 18-08-2008, 07:44 AM
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You missed the whole point...Apologies

So to those that do it, good luck to them, its their business...Agreed

Theo.
Doug
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  #20  
Old 18-08-2008, 08:18 AM
Dennis
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If I had the processing skills and talent of Jase, I would love to work on images taken on remote ‘scopes.

I just love the detailed descriptions and explanations that Jase provides. His passion for doing what he does, doing it so extraordinarily well and his helpful comments in encouraging others also make up the man.

How each one of use chooses to practice our hobby is a personal choice and I respect everyone’s choice.

Cheers

Dennis
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