Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

[chrisp9au]

I'm wondering what sort of AP results I could get with equipment I already own.

1. I have a CG-4 equatorial mount with drive motors.
2. I have a Fujifilm Finepix S9500 camera, 9mp, with full manual control and a 28mm to 300mm zoom lens.
3. I have reasonably dark skies, 80km North of Melbourne.

If I'm careful about setting up the mount I can track the stars.
The camera limits me to maximum exposures of 30 seconds.

Questions...

Do I take a number of exposures of 30 seconds, zoomed to 300mm, with the shutter at f2.8, then stack them?
Doing this, would I get over exposed bright stars?

What would be the best settings to start off with, choosing for example, to point the camera in the direction of Orion?

What should I avoid doing?
What should I not waste time doing?

I guess I should get out there and try different things, but some basic guidelines would be appreciated!

Cheers :thumbsup:
Chris

[jjjnettie]

Orion would make a great first target. A nice wide wide field. Capture at least 50 or 60 images, whack it through DSS and see what you get.
To I'd swing over to Canopus first though and use it to focus your camera.
You should be able to break your 30 second barrier with a hack. I found one to suit my little Canon S3IS, it brings my exposure time up to 65 seconds instead of 15 secs. It also allowed me to do ICNR, added a histogram function, ebook reader and all sorts of lovely stuff.
Good luck, and have fun cause that's what it's all about.

[chrisp9au]

Thanks jjnettie!

Quick Google... ICNR... In Camera Noise Reduction, ok, DSS ?, sounds like software?
I'll have to do some research for hacks on my camera, software hacks I hope, that can be reversed?

One other question...

I also have a Logitech Quickcam Pro 4000 with the 1.25" adapter.
So I could hook it up to my Orion ST90 on the same mount and take avi videos.

Which is going to give me the best or most satisfying results, the webcam or my Finepix camera?

Cheers :thumbsup:
Chris

[jjjnettie]

DSS = Deep Sky Stacker
It's very intuitive to use.
The hacks stay on the card and it doesn't change any settings permanently. You need to activate the hack each time you turn on the camera.
I wish I could give you the link to the website but for the life of me I can't remember what it was called.

[chrisp9au]

If anyone knows of the hack that can be used on a Fujifilm Finepix S9500 to extend maximum exposure above 30 seconds I'd appreciate it.
There seem to be hacks for Canon cameras, but I've failed so far to find anything for the S9500.

I also now realise that my 4GB compact flash card is not going to be anywhere near big enough shooting in raw mode! Each shot finishes up as 19mb!

Cheers :thumbsup:
Chris

[jjjnettie]

To start with, you'll do ok shooting in lge .jpgs.

[chrisp9au]

I'll be giving it a try as soon as I get rid of a wicked cold that I think I managed to catch from Sheeny at IISAC!

I've downloaded the DSS software, it looks like a freeware version of what h0ughy was using at Lostock. I like freeware! :D

And, as you suggest, I'll start off with jpegs, at 2mb each.

I've also posted a question about the Fuji hack on a digital photography forum so maybe I'll find it that way.

Thanks jjnettie! :thumbsup:
Chris

[michaellxv]

Chris,

How were you planning to mount the camera?
I have the Finepix 5600 but couldn't see any easy way to attach it. Playing with the webcam for now (see other post).

Michael

[chrisp9au]

I shall be mounting the camera either beside my Orion ST90 on an extension bar I have made up, or alone bolted on a piece of dovetail bar.

Cheers :thumbsup:
Chris