Just received my Hyperstar 3 for the C11 today. So it's probably going to rain for the next 2 months at least... Took a little while to clear customs but it's here now all in good order.
Just finished installing the conversion kit on the C11 corrector plate. It's a pretty cool system where you can clip on/off the secondary. The holder is all anodised aluminium too which is a plus compared to the old one that was plastic threads.
The Hyper star itself is fairly light. It's a huge lens. Nearly 100mm diameter on one end and 60mm on the other.
The QHY8 screws directly on it. There's also an internal thread to fit filters. I checked my Baader 2" filters and they all fit perfectly.
I'll collimate the whole thing tomorrow night and hopefully I can do some test shots this week-end. Looking forward to it now.
Last edited by multiweb; 17-10-2009 at 09:40 PM.
Reason: spelling - added pictures
I can't wait to see what you can do with it. What happens with the wires as far as diffraction spikes go?
I have three wires coming off the side of the camera. 1 USB + 2 power cables. I don't want to bundle them into one (USB next to power...yuck!). I'm thinking of arranging them at 90 degrees from each other to do a 4 vanes spider pattern or curve them out and wrap them to the dew shield. The latter shouldn't give me any defined straight diffraction spike in theory? I don't know at this stage. I guess I'll have to do a few shots and see how it goes. I'm on the fastar Yahoo group now so I'll be picking their brain for sure. I think focus will be an issue too. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Haven't even collimated the thing yet. I'm so excited, I'll probably bypass the whole setup thing and start shooting just to see what it looks like anyway
Sounds good Mark. Very interested to see what you can achieve, and how much effort is reqired. Very good of you to keep us all informed. Good luck and clear sky nights to you.
Congrats Marc.
I always bundled my 12 volt, my S-VHS, and my USB together when I had the QHY8, still do with the SXVF as well.
Gary
I had banding issues during downloading the subs in the past and I narrowed down the problem to the USB being in close proximity to the power cables.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryD
Sounds good Mark. Very interested to see what you can achieve, and how much effort is reqired. Very good of you to keep us all informed. Good luck and clear sky nights to you.
Thanks mate. if the wind dies down a bit and the clouds stay away I should have a few test shots tomorrow night.
Well, I'm all ready to go and test now ... so obviously it's cloudy in Sydney. I might as well take a picture "of" the Hyperstar rather than pictures with the Hyperstar...
Last edited by multiweb; 17-10-2009 at 09:35 PM.
Reason: Added Pictures
Gawd, it is huge. Hope you reinforced the corrector plate, LOL.
Gary
It does look big on the pics doesn't it, mostly because of the perspective. It is heavier than the QHY8. I took these with my mobile phone
Although you're right, I googled many horror stories of broken corrector plates with fastars . That's why mine is snug deep into the solid dew shield and the cables have also enough slack to be pulled on without pulling on the camera... s**t does happen . I'm still to work out a practical system for all this though because it needs to be collimated everytime you use it. I don't have an observatory or permanent set-up.
I need to use it before I can refine the installation. But a solid aluminium cylindrical cage with spider vanes is definitely on the works. It will fit inside the dew shield. I've already drilled and tapped the front of the scope last night. Nothing better to do with the weather of late.
Really, really interested in your progress as I was thinking of getting the updating kit for the C8 and Fastar3. Very nice setup.
Allan
Hey Allan, I'd say just do it! But I haven't had a chance to test shoot yet. Cable problem with the G11 tonight. My face when blue when I saw the 25kg or so slewing west at 1200 sidereal. Just dived on the mount to losen the RA clutch. I'm telling you, something is conspiring against me using this hyperstar... On a brighter note I didn't make it to Ilford this week-end due to work commitment. You can just imagine my face when plugging the G11 up there...
Nah... I don't think so. It looks big on the pictures but it's pretty much the same size as your secondary holder. The corrector plate is a big chunk of glass and the weight of the hyperstar + QHY8 is not enough to slide your secondary holder down on the corrector plate. The danger is if you knock the camera while attached. There is enough leverage to break the corrector if you did give it a good wack. Or if you get the camera cables jammed/tangled up and pull on the corrector this way.
Dude, im wetting my pants out of excitement for you! I hope its everything you hoped it would be! Do you know what its corrected image circle size is? Would it give a flat field across a 35mm sensor? Was thinking how nice it would be, C11 Hyperstar + SX H36 and a 3nm Ha filter! WOOOH!
A friend of mine uses an Idas LPS v3 filter with great results in light pollution with a 14 inch Meade. I have been using a Astronomic CLS with great results but when I saw what the Idas does when I was in his observatory I went and ordered one straight away. I think the Idas might have the edge on the CLS but we have not done some side by side comparisons. Some reviews think these are very close with the same band passes but we will see. When I get mine I will see what performs better but with the Aus dollar the way it is now who can resist buying some accessories.
When I was searching on the web for info/reviews about these filters I came across this guy who seems to get spectacular results using Hyperstar 3 with this filter and a C8, 5min subs shows how fast these systems work and the Idas seems to control sky glow really well with a fast system. This is the filter I need now for what I do. http://www.astrobirdphoto.com/nebulae/hhflamehy3v3.htm
hopefully you can get results like this with yours.
Thanks mate. I posted some test shots in the Helix Ha thread in Deep Space. I have stacks to process from tonight so it's going to take me a little while to post the rest. Probably took over 400 subs in a matter of 3-4 hours.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexN
Dude, im wetting my pants out of excitement for you! I hope its everything you hoped it would be! Do you know what its corrected image circle size is? Would it give a flat field across a 35mm sensor? Was thinking how nice it would be, C11 Hyperstar + SX H36 and a 3nm Ha filter! WOOOH!
They say it covers sensors up to 27mm. I'm shooting flats right now and I get very little vignetting. Just a hint of it with the QHY8 but much less than the 5" newt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by coldspace
Hi Marc,
A friend of mine uses an Idas LPS v3 filter with great results in light pollution with a 14 inch Meade. I have been using a Astronomic CLS with great results but when I saw what the Idas does when I was in his observatory I went and ordered one straight away. I think the Idas might have the edge on the CLS but we have not done some side by side comparisons. Some reviews think these are very close with the same band passes but we will see. When I get mine I will see what performs better but with the Aus dollar the way it is now who can resist buying some accessories.
When I was searching on the web for info/reviews about these filters I came across this guy who seems to get spectacular results using Hyperstar 3 with this filter and a C8, 5min subs shows how fast these systems work and the Idas seems to control sky glow really well with a fast system. This is the filter I need now for what I do. http://www.astrobirdphoto.com/nebulae/hhflamehy3v3.htm
hopefully you can get results like this with yours.
Matt.
Thanks for the tip Matt. I'll look into that filter definitely.
Looks very exciting Mark
look forward to some great shots!
frank
Thanks Frank, last night was great. I has an absolute ball. The system shows a lot of potential. It's so different from conventional imaging because you can collect more data quicker and the chances of something going wrong are greatly reduced. Let's put it this way, you could even put in a decent number of subs before the clouds roll in
Took a little while to clear customs but it's here now all in good order. 
I might as well take a picture "of" the Hyperstar rather than pictures with the Hyperstar...
. That's why mine is snug deep into the solid dew shield and the cables have also enough slack to be pulled on without pulling on the camera... s**t does happen 
On a brighter note I didn't make it to Ilford this week-end due to work commitment. You can just imagine my face when plugging the G11 up there... 
shows how fast these systems work and the Idas seems to control sky glow really well with a fast system. This is the filter I need now for what I do.
