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Old 03-04-2015, 04:25 PM
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Meru (Michael)
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6" Achro first light - Two targets

Hi all,

I had a chance last night to give my 6" Achro a go. Initial impression - heavy fringing (as expected for a f/5 achro), but for what it is it's quite an amazing scope! The moon looked just spectacular through it, very happy with it.

I normally image with my 80ED or 120ED but now that my CCD is being sold ( ) and this is a 'fast' scope, was keen to see what it was like shooting with this scope. So here's my first image, taken with a DSLR (how I miss NB!) with no correctors and at ~90% moon


General setup
Mount: NEQ6 Pro
Imaging Train: Skywatcher 6" f/5 Achro - DSLR
Effective Focal Length: 750mm
Guiding: N/A
Image processing: Calibrated in DSS, Edited in Photoshop
47*30sec subs - ISO3200 - DX Crop


Processing was tough with so much moon wash and LP but overall I am very impressed with the image quality (given that this is an achro) The field is not as curved as I expected which was nice, I currently lack the adapters to use my field flattener so that's next on my list. Just waiting for the new moon and dark skies now

Thanks for viewing and feedback/comments welcome!
Attached Thumbnails
Click for full-size image (Img4226 - Edited.jpg)
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Click for full-size image (Autosave.jpg)
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Last edited by Meru; 04-04-2015 at 11:15 AM.
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Old 03-04-2015, 05:11 PM
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Joshua Bunn (Joshua)
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I do like the result Meru, The colours are appealing and the stars are well resolved.
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Old 03-04-2015, 05:28 PM
glend (Glen)
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Get yourself a Baader Semi-APO filter it will clean up the fringe.
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Old 03-04-2015, 07:08 PM
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Meru (Michael)
More stars please!

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Thanks Josh and yes definitely Glen, just hunting one now
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Old 04-04-2015, 01:00 AM
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cometcatcher (Kevin)
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Good stuff. Came out well.
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Old 04-04-2015, 01:13 AM
kosh
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Wow meru, omega centauri itself looks really good! Brighter stars as expected from an achro but overall you have to be happy with it
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Old 04-04-2015, 08:43 AM
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scagman (John)
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Very nice image Meru. You wouldn't know it was almost a full moon looking at the final image.

Cheers
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Old 04-04-2015, 11:07 AM
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Meru (Michael)
More stars please!

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Thanks guys! Wish the new moon would come quicker

It was clear again last night so had another attempt, this time good old Carina. No guiding (becoming lazy ) but used my field flattener this time. Single 2min sub and final version attached.

General setup
Mount: NEQ6 Pro
Imaging Train: Skywatcher 6" f/5 Achro - Orion FF - DSLR
Effective Focal Length: 750mm
Guiding: N/A
Image processing: Stacked in DSS (no darks or flats), Edited in Photoshop
(20*60sec + 10*120sec) @ ISO1250 DX Crop


Thanks for viewing
Attached Thumbnails
Click for full-size image (Autosave edited 2 - Edited.jpg)
219.6 KB60 views
Click for full-size image (Img4382 - Edited.jpg)
78.6 KB32 views

Last edited by Meru; 04-04-2015 at 12:53 PM.
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Old 10-04-2015, 03:53 PM
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cometcatcher (Kevin)
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That came out well also. A bit of star bloat from the achro but you might be able to process that out with Starshrink or a minimum filter in PS.
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Old 10-04-2015, 05:26 PM
raymo
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Simon's version was very blue; yours seems to be very red, for what I assume is an unmodded camera. Simon had his white balance on tungsten, what do you have yours on?
raymo
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Old 12-04-2015, 11:41 AM
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Meru (Michael)
More stars please!

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Thanks Kevin, I never thought/tried a minimum filter in PS. I might see if I can do a re-pro (including Starshrink).

Yup Raymo it's an unmodded D800, whitebalance was manual at 5350 Kelvin. When stacking in DSS I tried to make sure that all three RGB channels were aligned as the blue channel was sneaking ahead (probably due to the moonwash)
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Old 12-04-2015, 12:33 PM
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Meru (Michael)
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Alright here is another attempt, using minimum filters (no Starsrhink). The bright stars have less 'edge' to them and are slightly smaller. In the comparison image the repro is on left, original on the right
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