. Further to that, I don’t like the diffraction effects that come from the lens iris so rather than stopping the lens down with the internal aperture controls, I leave the lens iris wide open and use step down rings on the front of the lens to reduce the aperture.
I'm assuming the iris blades gave diffraction spikes, or was something more than simple aesthetics?
I'm assuming the iris blades gave diffraction spikes, or was something more than simple aesthetics?
Yes it is the iris blades that give the diffraction spikes. In the case of camera lens though the diffraction spikes tend to be flat 'fan' like blades on the bright stars which I feel are somewhat of a distraction. Different to the diffraction spikes from a Newtonian reflector for example which are much finer and (in my opinion) look ok.
Yeah, two great systems there Rod ...In my case, I'd love the third, which would be basically your wide field system, then I would have all bases covered...except planetary
Mike
Great idea Mike. Of course that would mean installing another pier & mount and maybe a second obs to complement the new dome. You could then have simultaneous image capture sessions running. Think of all the photons that could be grabbed then
...In my case, I'd love the third, which would be basically your wide field system, then I would have all bases covered...except planetary 
