[DavidTrap (David)]

Hi Colin,

If you set the focus with an eyepiece, it won't be in focus for a camera (unfortunately!).

The best way is to use a focusing mask (Bahtinov) - you take several brief exposures and assess the focus on each, adjusting until it is right. I had a mask made for my LX-90 by a fellow IIS member - fantastic quality.

As for photography during a new moon - filters won't really help, unless you try narrowband imaging (but that's not for beginners).

It's quite a challenge to image at 2000+mm focal length. I had a crack at this with my LX-90 and then went back to 400-600mm with much more success.

Do you have your LX-90 on a wedge? If not, you'll get field rotation unless your exposures are quite brief. I found an article on the web that went through the maths of it all - basically if you shoot object that are due east or west below an altitude of 45 degrees, you won't get too much field rotation with an Alt-Az setup. Tracking is also an issue for the LX-90. Maybe try starting with some widefield piggybacked exposures using a 50-200mm lens.

Keep at it - it's addictive.

DT