First light for SBIG STL-11000M and Takahashi FSQ-106N (single H-alpha exposure)

[Octane]

Hi all,

I wasn't going to post this but can't contain my pride and wanted to share this with you.

This is the very, very first CCD image I've ever taken. The last five years has been all DSLR based.

Until the clouds came along and spoilt the party, the plan was to spend the entire night capturing this region. All I ended up with was just a single 10-minute exposure.

Focus is slightly off, but, you get that being the first time, and, everything.

So, anyway, this is a single 10-minute exposure, self-guided, through a 12 nm Astronomiks 2" H-alpha filter. Camera was operating at -30 degrees at only 65% cooling power. Could have pushed it further, but, what for?

The potential is there to make an absolute killer imaging combination. Now, if Baader would hurry up and supply SBIG the filters I've paid for (as part of the deal) I might be able to attempt H-alpha+LRGB soon.

Click here (http://scratch.hqphotography.com.au/images/m8.jpg).

I should add, that this wouldn't have been possible without John Glossop's advice and walk through of CCDSoft. He got me going. Thanks, John!

H

[multiweb]

Very sweet shot. On the way to great stuff. :thumbsup:

[Omaroo]

Great result Humayun :thumbsup: Looks beautiful, what a fabulous result first up. I received your email and have been looking at it for a couple of hours. I've been comparing it to my own m8/20 from a couple of weeks ago and it just blows mine away! Looks like you're well on your way:)

[strongmanmike]

Well congratulations Humi, a nice start :thumbsup:

Sorry to hear the deal still hasn't come together :doh: ...I'm sure they will come eventually :rolleyes:

Mike

[Octane]

Thank you, my fine-feathered friends.

Thanks, Marc. Your advice via email has been noted and I'll see what I can do to regulate temperatures. As mentioned, a RoboFocus setup will be on the cards in the very near future, so, I can put my feet up once it's all calibrated and doing its thing.

Chris, you know you need to get yourself an FSQ. Go on, do it! ;)

Mike, I had a look on OPT's site earlier today. If you check out their Baader filter section, it's all backordered! There must be some serious demand for filters or the manufacturing facility just isn't big enough?

Cheers!

H

[DavidU]

I have been waiting for this.
Verrrry nice ! Awesome kit you have now (except filters):thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

Congrats Humayun! Welcome to the club! :) Look forward to your first colour shot!

Cheers, Marcus

[DavidTrap]

You'd have to be happy with that! Looking forward to seeing you apply your talents to this new rig.

DT

[dugnsuz]

Beautiful first light H - very smooth indeed.
Doug

[Octane]

Dave, yeah, I think I've got everything I need until a Paramount ME and a nice big fat RCOS are within reach. :P This hobby is the worst hobby ever created. Whoever first thought to photograph the stars was a sadist!

Thank you, Marcus. I, too, am looking forward to that day! It's been a dream of mine to do Rho Ophiuchus properly. Looks like I'll probably miss out this year. Never to mind!

David, cheers, mate!

Doug, thank you. I'm as proud as punch!

H

[Hagar]

Go for it H..... One hell of a field of view and I know in your hands it will all produce some stunning images. This is a great start, now thye world is yours. When do you get your RGB filters so you can really get things talking?

Nice work for a oner.

[TrevorW]

Well done H great expectations considering your DSLR work

[richardo]

Congrats on your very first single light, and pretty darn fine for one exposure H!
This setup is a winning combo and judging from this single result, you'll rock our socks off..
Damn nuisance about the filters though.

In the meantime, just hammer us with some Ha data.

All the best
Rich

[troypiggo]

Well done mate. That's an impressive single exposure. Can't get over the pin-point stars.

[SkyViking]

Congratulations H, that's a fantastic first shot!
That single exposure is more smooth than 100 of mine stacked haha :P Oh well, I guess I need a proper CCD too some time soon...

[gregbradley]

That's a wonderful shot Humi. Congrats on the new gear.
I just got a Robofocus with a special mounting bracket for my FSQ and I think it is well worth it as the FSQ has a small critical focus zone. Focus will also shift with temperature changes noticeably so keep that in mind. A temperature drop of 2-3C will mean focus will be slightly off. 5C change and it will show noticeably out of focus images.

I like the FSQ106N over the ED version. There are many similarities, but the 106N seemed to be able get richer colours - not sure why that would be but its definitely noticeable when you have used both. The 106N also has the better focuser and focus lock. The ED has better backfocus and better colour correction (the 106N has excellent colour correction).

As to getting -35C I found with my STL -35C seemed to be the sweet spot for the chip and noise. Not a lot of improvement over -30C but dark current on typical CCD chips halves every 6C drop in temp. Images seemed a tad cleaner. -25C though is a temp you most likely will achieve year round. Also my STL cooled to -43C below ambient which was better than the advertised amount of -40C whereas other cameras I have had always fell short of advertised claims. -25C is a useable temp and means you can have one set of darks that can be used almost all year (except maybe one or two hot nights in summer).

Greg.

[avandonk]

Looks pretty good to me H. The only advice I can give you is wrap your FSQ106 in dew heater straps and control the temperature with one of these

http://www.oceancontrols.com.au/CET-004.html

Fit the thermistor to the bulkiest part of the OTA ie near the front of the optic under the dew strap. These thermostats have an adjustable temperature interval to minimise hysteresis.

Set the temperature to just above ambient and wait for equlibration. Then focus and focus will NOT change even if ambient temperature drops by 20C!

I heat my 300mm lens this way at ALL times so it is ready to go. In winter it stops any chance of condensation as well.

Look forward to seeing what you can do with more time.

It is our job to try to understand our Universe. Astrophotography is one of the most masochistic methods.

Bert

[Tandum]

Looks like a winning combo H. Congrats.

[renormalised]

One sub....nice shot, H:):)

Looking forward to future adventures!!!:)

[jase]

Well done Humayun! Pleasing to see more people give the KAI11002/FSQ combo a shot. An all weather 3.5 arcsec/pixel set up - you'll still pull off killer images even when the jet stream is a complete mess. It makes it fun to use. Looking at your previous images, you've got a good eye and the patience to deliver some exceptional work. Eagerly awaiting new images from you. Now its time to get busy.

[Ric]

Congrats on the first light H.

That's a lovely first up image and I'm looking forward to the colour versions when your filters arrive.

Cheers

[Martin Pugh]

Its a great combination Humi, you are going to love imaging with this and you have started off with a bang.

well done mate

Martin

[alan meehan]

H should be VH cause you got to be very happy with that set up,well done cant wait to see some coloured shots
AL

[Bassnut]

Excellent 1st light there Humi, very good indeed, its been a long time comming.

[Alchemy]

What a combo !!!!!!
I can see you are happy with your new purchase.

[strongmanmike]

That's all well and good but to be made to wait many months for filters is still pretty pathetic IMO. Maybe you should just get another set?....:question:... hey I have a perfect but cheap set available :P

Mike

[Peter Ward]

I understand Baader had a death in the family, and filters from him have been nigh impossible to get since.

All Baader suppliers...Oz, USA nd Europe have had the same problem for months.

Sometimes you just have to wait.....

[Hagar]

HongKong dealers has LRGB sets in stock and at very good prices. May be worth ordering from there.

[gregbradley]

I am not 100% sure Baader filters are the go. I have been using mine for a while now and they often give funny colour combines that are troublesome. They are not 1:1:1 for sure.

I am thinking of switching to Astrodon Gen 11's.

Greg.

[desler]

Hey H, Oh what a start!

Can't wait to watch your journey with this combo!
Glad it's all worked out so well, the filters will come!
If this is the result from a single 10 minute HA shot, first up with the new rig. it's almost scary what you will be achieving in the future!

Good luck and clear skies!


Darren

[suma126]

your a lucky bugger all this new gear. you know that its going to rain for a mouth now. nice shot

[Peter Ward]

The notion that a filter set can be chromatically balanced and still deliver a 1:1:1 exposure ratio without regard to the spectral QE of a particular sensor is frankly, pure spin.

Helmholtz did the grunt-work 200 years ago, and frankly not much has changed since. ;)

Claiming a filter set is 1:1:1 is something of a nonsense, as all you are doing is allowing a red, green or blue flux to leak into the exposure of an adjacent channel, which simply desaturates the signal in that part of the spectrum.

I've used a number of different filters (Wratten, Hoya, CS, Astro-Don and Baader) but, for me at least, it was A/R coating quality and hardness that I found to be for more important than less than optimal transmission curves. I've found Baader's filters to be excellent value for money with well controlled reflections and good spectral transmission.

[Octane]

Doug, Trevor, Rich, Troy, Rolf, Greg, Bert, Robin, Carl, Jase, Ric, Martin, Alan, Fred, Clive, Darren, Shane (it's raining right now!) and Peter,

Thank you all so much for your very kind words!

Greg -- thank you for the tips regarding temperature and focusing. All taken on board.

Bert -- thank you for the link to that little gadget. I'll keep that in mind definitely. For the time being I do have a Kendrick Firefly dew strap regulated by the Dewbuster system. Will see how I go.

Jase, Martin, Doug, and Peter -- your FSQ images have been an impetus and catalyst for me taking the step that I have. For that, thank you.

Peter, thanks also for clarifying why there's a delay. My profuse apologies for the pesky emails over the last few months. I understand it's out of your hands and I'm fine with that. Considering that it's been a little while now, and the nature of the delay may mean several months yet, I'll wait patiently for the order to be fulfilled, but, perhaps go another route in the mean time. After all, I did buy the gear to use it! :)

Thanks, everyone.

H

[toryglen-boy]

nice one mate, i expected great things from your first CCD image ... and i wasnt dissapointed


:)

[peeb61]

Humayun,
Very nice first light, smooth, stars nice and tight, I could go on!
I will be watching out for more...

Paul

[leon]

Cool Tak, ;) and superb image H, enjoy. ;) ;)

Leon :thumbsup:


I have PM'D you

[telemarker]

I'll add a cheer to the chorus. Look forward to more from the dream setup (sans filters). Patience.....

[rat156]

Hi Humi,

Looks sweet so far, bit too widefield for my liking, all your stars are square!

Should produce some beautiful images though. Best of luck with it.

Cheers
Stuart

[Peter Ward]

No apology necessary.

The premium astro-equipment world has (relatively) few suppliers...and unfortunately sometimes things get delayed as there is literally no-one else to fill their shoes.

Clearly if nothing even looks like being resolved, a cheque will be in the mail...but I don't think that will be required :) ...thank you for your patience!

[wysiwyg]

Hi Humi,

Great first light shot and great choice in gear.
I also image with an STL11000M and FSQ106N combo, and these two were made for each other.
You are going to be very happy with your results that is a promise.

I have been using a robofocus unit on my setup for a while in conjunction with focusmax and I must say that the robofocus struggles to provide consistent results for me. Due to the weight of an STL with a 8 filter wheel the robofocus struggles sometimes to haul the gear up.
The rack and pinion focuser on the TAK is not ideal either.
I am now opting to change my focusing mechanism to either an Atlas FLI or a Clement bellerephon, this will give the rigidity I need in the focusing train as well as repeatability. As mentioned the FSQ has a very small critical focus zone of just 55 microns and is very susceptible to temp change.
At least that is what I have found in my experience.

I wish you all the best with your new equipment and looking forward to some great images from you!

Cheers
Mark

[Octane]

Duncan, Paul, Leon, Keith, Stuart, Mark,

Thanks, guys! :)

Stuart, I did something silly and applied some deconvolution to the image (never applied deconvolution in the past; first light, some mistakes, etc) hence the weird stars. Will be careful in future not to apply to an individual exposure.

Mark, I knew you had the same setup! I'm hoping that because I don't have any plans to move to the 8-filter wheel system, that the RoboFocus should do the job just fine. Thanks for the heads up, though!

Cheers, all.

H