The Milky Way I took at the IISAC with a modded 40D with stock 55mm lens and a modded EQ3 guided with an ED80 and QHY5.
15 off 5 min exposures.
I didnt expect much, it was just for fun to see if it was possible and it came out OK (just dont zoom in ). There was no framing as such, just point and go.
What supprised me was guiding the EQ3. I fitted a standard option motor drive kit to it, and simply wired a guide lead to the 4 handbox nudge buttons, nothing else. Plugged it into the QHY5 and bingo, guiding .
Theres something wrong with the EQ3, the both axis are as stiff as hell with the gears disengaged, and the clutches make no difference, on or off, but I kind of think this helped guide smoothness. The motors are geared right down (there is essentially no slew function) so they are almost impossible to stall, even running on the 4 D batteries (which lasted 3 days and are still fine). This allowed me to put the balance way out so that the motors always drove, to avoid huge backlash, and infact I set single direction guide correction, to make sure, and it was fine.
After some tuning, I managed to get guide error down to 10 arc secs P/P or so, which is amazing for such a cheap mount, and fine for very wide field (ugg, I did that ).
I considered healing out the stars for a starless image, but figured that would probably take about 3 weeks, so I didnt.
Nor did I Jase, but bringing the PME/RCOS seemed a bit.........hard , and a few beverages makes NF set up difficulty directly proportional to number of bottles per 200mm of FL , a simple formula that allowed a large number of bottles for the 50mm FL used .
Therefore, the EQ3 was not such a handfull, despite its flaws, its a strong little bugger
Rather boring an featureless really huh not bad considering you were drinking and annoying people the whole time that image was being taken too
Nice job you crazy Photoshopper and now you have done wide field you will never look back......
Mike
uuum theres a contradiction there Mike, you accurately describe widefeild there "Rather boring an featureless really", well done, but to then think that would make me never look back is puzzling .
Annoy people?, nah, only if they truly deserved it
uuum theres a contradiction there Mike, you accurately describe widefeild there "Rather boring an featureless really", well done, but to then think that would make me never look back is puzzling .
Ah huh!! so you did a crappy one on purpose then, very cleaver
Quote:
Annoy people?, nah, only if they truly deserved it
Yeh that was all of us...we loved it though, you are so cute
lol, the Narrowminded Narrowbander does Widefield Wuss.
Just kidding.
Glad to see you got something out of your 40D and the EQ3.
Where are Mike and Greg? They should be here sharing their photos! They sounded like they were having a truckload of fun whilst I was battling with my gear.
The conversations that took place on Friday and Saturday nights were sidesplittingly rivetting!
Ah Mike, so thats M8 on the RHS, wondered what that was . Does look fairly shocking .
Humayun, ummm, poetry he.....yeah Ill go with that .
Yes you did seem to be battling, I admire your perserverance during sustained, deliberate, diversion tactics (such as slurred inane critisim, patently dodgy advice, dumb jokes and fireworks) . Look forward to viewing your results .
). There was no framing as such, just point and go.
.
(which lasted 3 days and are still fine). This allowed me to put the balance way out so that the motors always drove, to avoid huge backlash, and infact I set single direction guide correction, to make sure, and it was fine.
).
not bad considering you were drinking and annoying people the whole time that image was being taken too 
and now you have done wide field you will never look back......
.
.
