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Hi erick,
I saw Saturn last night in the same orientation as that photo and your description i.e. the left side higher then the right side. Whilst I was looking intently at the planet I asked myself the exact same question, are those rings or am I viewing a distorted image?
I looked intently at where there should have been a clear indication i.e. the exact point where the oval shape would continue dissecting the elongated 'extra' section.
After awhile I determined the following, despite the clouds I mentioned earlier, when the clouds were not in the way it was quiet clear, so I looked at the planet as a whole or should I say I looked at the image from a point of view of establishing if I was in focus and if the image was crisp and clear. I saw some difference in brightness near the centre of the image where the rings would have been in front of the planet.
Because I believe I was in focus because the curvature of the image was sharp and that I could see differences in brightness within the same image, I concluded that I was in focus and that I had a relatively good view of it.
I then moved over to the side of the planet where the rings would be and studied this area, using averted eyesight as well as direct, after a few minutes my eyes really focused on the exact spot and I believe I saw the rings because there was clearly and 'extra' bit there that was no just a squashed imaged overall.
I can't be sure if I saw the faintest sign of dark between the extra bit and the main body of the image. I doubt that the seeing was good enough for that and I am still too inexperienced to be sure, in a way I doubt myself on several issues as I am a relative beginner.
I can tell you what my gut feeling is however using the bins I have, given a very dark sky with an even better mount (tripod) that I am going to upgrade after just two uses, I believe that with a good half an hour of uninterrupted viewing that the distinction between the rings and the planet will become obvious - I certainly hope so. I hope you can work out what I mean above, I haven't got the right jargon yet, but will get that down pat as we go along.
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