Well I can't say I don't get any new toys. This year, when I added it all up, I can say we're almost even :-), almost.
Christmas I got the new
Losmandy StarLapse (So Cool!)
Instead of an expensive tripod (looking at over $800 to get one to take 15kg), we bought the Astrotrack Wedge (TW3100) and used our trusty crutches tripod previously used for binoculars.
First light for the system was the venus transit and it showed the system worked well. Only needing about 6 adjustments over the 6 hours, excellent I thought, for a very rushed setup.
My Birthday saw a
Canon 50D belong to me. Wow, what a step up from the 400D.
Then just before the camp a
Zenith Star ED APO Doublet 70mm, nice and wide, perfect for the eclipse and some wide field shots at the QLD Astrofest.
For the Astrofest Tony wanted me to have a higher tripod to make it easier to align. So, typically, we were cutting off bolts days before the camp.
I found aligning the mount easy once we worked out what the markings meant. (
http://www.losmandy.com/pdf/polar-finder.pdf Looking at the page was sort of helpful but of course we didn't download it before the camp!) It was quite different to other polar scopes I have used before. I used my phone to take a picture of the diagram, so we could make use of the wider knowledge at the camp.
Terry Cuttle had a losmandy polar scope but it was a bit different (Blue side). But the general layout was the same. Using both eyes open and alternating sides, Crux and Achernar can be aligned to the diagram thus ensuring the correct orientation. Then the trapezium stars in Octans were simple to align inside the dashes. The AstroTrac wedge was a dream to adjust thankfully.
The "upgrade" in the tripod, in the end, created many problems. The new crutches flexed amazingly, nearly 3 inches of flexure. The points were plastic and slipped more on bare ground than on the plastic mat (we had suspected the mat was causing some problems but no, it helped!). Basically once aligned it moved out of alignment very easily. I couldn't even put a hand on it to help myself up from awkward poses needed to get zenith shots. I was constantly re-checking alignment throughout the night. Unfortunately it got worse over the week as we tried various solutions. Ending up only tracking reliably for 2 minutes at a time. Thankfully it was cloudy on the final night and I could pack-up without feeling like I missed out on a good night.
With this being the first year of being stuck in one place and the tracking actually working. I found it very different to my usual untracked wide field photography. It is both frustrating and really rewarding being able to get the shot I wanted and
not having to share a mount. I am
amazed how much time is spent just waiting around for light frames or dark frames to be taken when things go well. And how much can go wrong. Like hard drives disappearing and cameras not talking to computers, taking hours or days to work out why... Before the most trouble I had was dew, battery and some one walking through a shot. That mostly only affected one shot, not a whole night's. I think I will be more organised to do a bit of both next year.
One main benefit to all that time is it allows you to chat, see what people are succeeding in or struggling with. Even who is snoring as you walk past on your way to the kitchen. And falling asleep is the most easiest thing to do while waiting for the camera to do it's job. That and get cold. But it is so easy to stay up all night if everything is going well. I'll just get ...., oh look what's rising... I can start the dark frames afterwards. What is that dawn starting?...
Anyway, even with all these issues I think some of the shots that I succeeded in taking are worth posting. And nothing has put me off trying for some more guided pictures. (Dare I say, it just makes me want a better mount.)
Seeing as I haven't invested in software for my Mac (as I will do now) Tony has kindly processed my images for me to the best of his ability. Of course a lot of issues "can be fixed with more data". That is what seems to be the best excuse for any photo not turning out as good as you hoped. I guess it's just 'the one that got away' so to speak.
Anne-louise
Pipe Nebulae 15th August
Canon 50D @90mm 70-300mm canon lens, F5, 800 ISO, 5min, x9
Crux 16th August
Canon 50D @75mm 70-300mm canon lens, F5, 800 ISO, 5min, x9
Milky way 16th August
Canon 50D @10mm 10-22mm canon lens, F5, 800 ISO, 5 min, x15
Saucepan in Orion 16th August
Canon 50D @140mm 70-300mm canon lens, F5, 800 ISO, 1min, ~10 (have to check)
Rho 18th August
Canon 50D @75mm 70-300mm canon lens, F4.5, 3200 ISO, 2min, x13
also have some happy snaps, but i like anne louise's complete "pot"
for a two camera setup
