Bit cloudy last night but my last chance to do any imaging this week as poor weather rolls in.
After some success the previous night with 3min subs I decided to ramp it up to 5 min subs which the eq5 handled very well with the 8inch lump on board.
16x300sec
Iso800
8in f5 newt
Nikon d5300
Stacked dss, small process in gimp.
Steve,
Great image of M20 Trifid considering long subs with a DSLR , just over an an hour of data , a descending target into lower altitudes in the west
Well done !!!
I still find it hard to believe your got this big long newt sitting on a peeny weeny mount and perfect round stars with 5 min subs, great stuff !!
What’s your guiding figures total rms in arc sec ??
I think your being held back in the processing department , this image would have so much more to expose
Startools !!!
Haha, unfortunately it’s the only mount I have at the moment. Be looking at getting a eq6 in the near future.
With my refractor the guiding total error sits around .9”
With the newt I average around 1.10”-1.30”.
I have my polar alignment and balance pretty good, and my eq5 has been belt modded and I’ve cleaned and greased and replaced all the bearings. So it’s a good runner.
I did download star tools this morning but I need to make my .nef files a tiff or fits somehow.
I must admit, it does look a teency bit undermounted!
Steve
I just checked out the specs on the eq5 and it’s max payload is 10kg ( therefore in theory Astrophotography max payload should be about 60% of that which is 6kg )
You certainly throw that theory out the door , your 8” f5 would weigh around 9.5kg + DSLR 0.5kg + guide scope and camera 1.0kg + dove tail bar etc.. 0.5kg
Total around 11.5kg ( in theory your overweight on that mount , incredible!!! )
Your guiding error is really good for that payload at around 0.90 to 1.20
I noted your counterweights are not together , they are spread apart , once again you defy physics. In theory your moment of enertia should be terrible , in practice the counterweights should be together and as close as possible to the mount when balanced
What’s your secret ??
I regard to a new mount , can I recommend the EQ6-R mount, I have two of them , one in Sydney and one down the south coast , they track and guide beautifully, max AP payload around 15kg , best all round 20kg class mount for the money ($2,500 )
In regard to Startools, I’m happy to send you info on DSS settings for Startools plus a demo work flow ( there are plenty of tutorials on the Startools site to help you navigate through the software ) Don’t be phased by Startools, is does get easier after a few sessions but there’s no limit to what it can do , I’m still finding great features after 3 years and 3 version upgrades
Cheers
Martin
i probably ought to weigh it i guess.
i have no secret, just spent some time working on the mount to try to improve it.
haha, i had no idea it went against convention to have the weights seperated! i just plonked the one right at bottom and balanced it with the white one.
only theory i have is that the better balance, the less significant the weight. to a point of course.....
I too am a serial undermounter. I’m running a 200mm f/4 on a HEQ5 pro. I think one of the key things that you’ve done which helps your guiding is running your guide scope under the OTA. Despite the excessive weight, I can attest to the difference moving the weight closer to the mount makes. I moved my focus tube directly down so my camera weight is almost on the RA axis. Of all the tuning I did to my setup I think that was one of the biggest differences. Well done for what you’ve achieved!
Adam, sorry mate, I really have no rhyme or reason to my processing.
I follow a very very watered down version of a YouTube video I watched.
Basically futz with the levels, black point, then I just experiment with things in gimp. Lots of doing and undoing.
Then I’ll fiddle with the jpg on my iPhone or in photos to add a bit more colour.
Thanks Ryan.
I reckon your right about mounting things closer to the mount down low.
I also eliminated tube rings which are floppy as me grandads ‘you know what’
There is definitely much less movement without them.
Thanks Ryan.
I reckon your right about mounting things closer to the mount down low.
I also eliminated tube rings which are floppy as me grandads ‘you know what’
There is definitely much less movement without them.
Eliminating the tube rings has certainly given me food for thought. I’ve got quite robust rings on mine which don’t flop around but add about 1.5kg. I thought about drilling them but I calculated a reduction of only about 200g while maintaining integrity. I may have a look at tube saddles. Loosing 1kg is a 10% gain which isn’t insignificant. Good on you for thinking outside the box and making what you have work.
