cameras etc

[willow]

Hi Guys and Gals

being new to this i would appreciate your input for equipment

present equipment
10 inch skywatcher newt
electric focuser
skywatcher eq6 pro wide ( yet to arrive )
sony alpha a 100 dslr ( had some success with moon images )

what would be a reasonable video cam
was thinking about the dmk 41 usb or g-star
auto guiding ??
80 mm ed
cam ???
software ??

i was thinking of remote control from the shed ( distance approx 15 mtrs )
what are the problems that need to be taken into account

any advise would be most welcome

reading the forums it is apparent that we have a wealth of knowledge to call upon

thanks

willow

[bmitchell82]

Hey there richard. I should be able to give you a fair bit of a hand as you basically have the same equipment as me.

First of all one question to answer for yourself. What is it that you want to be taking images of.? This greatly impacts what equipment you will go for.

[willow]

thanks Brendan for your reply
beginning to think no one wanted to talk

i would like at this stage to image planets and some nebs
i would prefer to buy the right gear now rather than have to upgrade at a later stage reasonable budget available $1.5 to 2k
i am waiting on a eq6 pro mount wide for my 10inch skywatcher collapsable i have made the dovetail mount ( pic attached )
have figured out prime focus with sony a100 ( ok i know that most people use canon i am planning to upgrade later this year )
question are i suppose to guide or not to guide if so what the easy way ??
main imaging cam at this stage would appear to be dmk 41au02
i have got quite reasonable computor and extensive mechanical /electrical
background quite handy with a soldering iron as well

i suppose all in all i looking for guru/mentor to guide me thro the battlefield of astrophotography

regards and thanks for the reply

[Bassnut]

Guiding?, 80mm ST80, standard.
Guide cam?, QHY5, standard.
Guide software?, PHD, standard, or Maxim DL.

[bmitchell82]

Well if your thinking of going down the planetary + DSO range, there are a few different things that you have to take into account. one is for sure that you will need absolute accuracy when it comes to collimation get high end good quality gear its the only way to travel.

The second thing is that theres not a catch all camera, don't get me wrong there are cameras that will do both, but at a sub standard level.

The DMK mono that you have stated is very very good at doing what it does, but i believe that theres another one that outclass's it by a fair way. FLEA i think? look though the planetary/Solar imaging section and you will quickly get a feel for what produces what. Do remember however that alot of the time capturing the image is about 30% of the task, processing is a different beast all together and it can make or break a image! Hopefully somebody with planetary exp pipes up if not ill hunt somebody down :D

For DSO imaging a camera that has recently been released is the kodak 8300 chip, models from QSI, FLI, SBIG, QHY just to name a few though they arnt cheap. with the QHY being the "bang for buck" but not at the same quality as the first three. but you will be looking at 3-5k for a "Good" imaging camera setup it all depends on what your budget allows and if your just here for a yes i took a happy snap, or if your here to print out a photo for your poolroom.

As for programs ect ect, im a huge advocate of MaximDL 5. it does your capture control, guiding, stallarium and mount control and has some very nice features, coupled with EQMod for the mount modelling and pulse guiding control, its a winner in my eyes.

Guiding is a absolute must when looking at DSO imaging, not so much for planetary as your capturing at 30-60 frames per second.
When it comes to guiding there is a plethora of options.

OAG (off axis guiding)
AO (adaptive optics)
Guide scope

are the three main culprits, all with their merits and pit falls

OAG - one of the best options, though you have to have a good focuser (see Feather touch or Moonlight) as it adds weight of the unit itself + a guide camera this can introduce focuser flop and flexure to the focuser if it isn't upto scratch.

AO - a step on from OAG, there is a lense that analyses the guide star and makes micro adjustments from 1 - 5 times per second or depending on the particular unit. the ultimate really but once again, Backfocus + Weight on the focuser requirement is a good focuser.

Guide scope- As it basically implys, another telescope piggy backed to your main scope. often the cheapest easiest way of getting guiding happening, but... it adds weight to your setup, introduces flexure if your mountings arnt stiff and depending on your imaging focal length you kind of have to match to make sure that movements in the guidescope don't overshoot movements in the imaging scope.

To be honest there are things that you will need to do to the SW scope to get it humming, but this again is all a matter of what your budget includes and what your willing to do.

If you want to shoot me a Private message i can go though alot of different things and help you with setup of the big beasty and other things.

Good luck and welcome to the IIS site:welcome:

[marki]

Do I read this correctly? I don't fancy your chances of getting a collaspable tube on the EQ6.

Mark

[willow]

Thanks Brendan

PM sent

regards

willow

[willow]

Thanks Mark

I just love problems
the dove tail plate which i made is 475 mm long and 105 wide
the machined curvature is a slip fit to the skywatcher lower tube .
load distribution is spread over approx 430 cm^2 , mass of tube assembly 14 kgs load capacity of eq6 20 kgs

if it does not work back to the drawing board

regards

willow

[marki]

It will be an interesting experiment in any case but I fear the flex will win in the end.

Mark

[Terry B]

Nice bit of machining.:thumbsup:

[willow]

Thanks Terry

not quite finished yet need to get the mass down so a bit of lightning is called
for.
Tomorrows job

would realy like to manufacture it from titanium got a nice piece in the store looking for a good home ( maybe in phase two 16 inch newt but alas her in doors may notice the dip in the super fund ! )

regards

willow

[Manav]

For imaging with Newtonian you also need to take into account the amount of backfocus available especially if you consider using MPCC. QSI have an built in autoguider and filter wheel which may help with the 583wsg model..