[andyc (Andy)]

So, after months of procrastination (wasn't sure where to go with astrophotography), I went and bought the iOptron Skytracker a couple of weeks ago from the friendly folks at Bintel. I fancied getting into the moderately wide-field imaging, wasn't sure which way to go, but went for this. The Skytracker is a very impressive piece of kit! Polar alignment was straightforward, even from a relatively light-polluted southern suburb of Sydney.

First single images are posted below - Canon EOS 60D, with 55-250mm zoom lens, processed in Digital Photo Professional and Photoshop.

Eta Carinae: 90s, ISO3200 at 250mm, f/5.6. Very pleased with the tracking possible at this focal length. Still some trailing in this image at this f.l. and exposure time, but I think I can improve on this!

Crux & Coalsack: 180s, ISO1600 at 55mm, f/5.6. Probably pushing it with a 3 minute sub in light-pollution, but definitely promising for the future. Some indications of the Running Chicken Neb, and decent definition of the clusters.

I'm well excited about getting this set-up to a dark site! Super-portable, seemed pretty stable, and definitely capable of some high standard images with practice.