Sharpstar 61EDPH f/4.5 images

[casstony]

It's been cloudy since I owned the scope and the outlook is for more cloud, but I got a 5 hour window last night and took my first images.
Moon was up so I used the L-Enhance filter.

Lobster/Cat's Paw 9x7min
Lagoon 9x7min
Prawn 11x7min
Eagle/sh2-54 14x7min

[LewisM]

You know what Tony, I think it’s better than the Redcat....

[casstony]

Can't judge it on the images posted here Lewis, but it is a nice scope. The first 2 images were below 200kb so they didn't get mangled by the forum compactor.

The Redcat is possibly sharper having better control of CA, but is sensitive to tilt. The 61EDPH gets a 1/3 stop speed advantage (f/4.5 vs f/5).

Redcat is prettier to look at, Sharpstar has more practical mounting points.

I still don't know which one I'll keep in the long run.

[xelasnave]

Excellent Tony
Alex

[casstony]

Thanks Alex. Have you got your guiding going yet?

I'm thinking I should keep the Sharpstar since, with it's faster f/ratio, a 7 min exposure is equal to a 10 min exposure through the Redcat (I think that's right?) and in summer I'll need to run shorter DSLR exposures anyway.

[Nikolas]

Love how the L Enhance still captures the blues of the triffid, the weather in Melbourne the last 2 weeks has been impossible which is really getting me down!

[casstony]

I feel your pain Nik. I just happened to catch a break between 7 and midnight. We have another arctic blast on the way although the rain will be good.

[xelasnave]

No I haven't got guiding going yet along with a long list of things going wanting.
I have been concentrating on finishing the observatory which is a huge job which gets bigger and bigger...But I am not worrying about sorting so many things until I get everything in a permanent set up..at the moment it's just serious fun.
I am not taking darks or flats either...
But I can't help myself if there is a clear night I go with what is working that night..and sometimes that is only an unguided mount and the Nikon.
At the moment I am taking hopeless subs and wringing something out and getting to know Photoshop better than ever before.
I have a batch of stuff with dashes for stars and I am seeing if I can process them to be acceptable.. and turned out another painting...so busy.
Alex

[Ukastronomer]

I am NOT into imaging but serious question

Nice images, but, if the same images were placed here, UNtitled and no gear stated would anyone know what had been taken with almost any scope between 60 and 80mm as long as it is a decent ED scope

.

[casstony]

All other things being equal, there's not a lot of difference between full apo's and good ED scopes, though even at the centre of the field some CA can often be seen with ed doublets and some triplets. Often the differences between scopes are greater at the field edge.
The Redcat and 61edph are relatively cheap astrographs, good enough for many including me, but some imagers are more discerning - depends on personal preferences.

[casstony]

So long as you're having fun Alex all's well. Once you have an observatory and guiding there'll be nothing left to do :)

I don't use calibration frames either - maybe one day, but I'm happy enough with my images for the moment. There are other processing skills I want to learn in PI.

[Startrek]

Tony
All great images, especially M8 that’s my favourite
Well done !!

[casstony]

Thanks Martin. Getting IC4685 in the frame with the Lagoon really adds to the picture I think - I like the subtle shades in IC4685.

[Atmos]

Good to see some image out of this new comer and competition to the RedCat. I've long been interested in a good quality telephoto lens focal length and both of these do give good image quality :)

[casstony]

I keep changing my mind about which one I like best Colin - bit of a trap buying both but I was too curious :)

I have Stuart's SXD2 on the way - might turn the backyard into an imaging/observing park with mounts and scopes pointing in all directions :)

I was feeling a bit vulnerable with just one equatorial mount though - what if it broke down?

[Nikolas]

You will find that with good post processing the differences between superlative scopes and great/good scopes diminishes. I can eliminate most if not all CA post process Drizzling also assists in cleaner stars, with dithering whilst accumulating data again you can make noise and stars cleaner as well. 60 and 80mm scopes have different fields of view and sometimes the cameras themselves change that further.

[LostInSp_ce]

Tony, I'd be happy with either of those scopes and your images. It's really splitting hairs. :thumbsup:

[Decimus]

Great shots, Tony. I am in the market for a dedicated astrocamera, but your images show that a modded DSLR can match the best of the OSC colour CCD/CMOS cameras being sold. But I don't want to modify my Nikon D850 which is for landscape photography, primarily.

Well done.

[casstony]

Thanks Richard. A cool climate helps certain dslr's get close to a dedicated OSC camera. I like the simplicity of the dslr.