Hi all,
well after a headsup by one of our local comet freaks, I felt it only fair to take advantage of the miracle that was a clearish night on Christmas day.
One of the advantages of having such a clear head albeit with a full belly I suppose.
Anyway with such clear instructions from the Comet Master I found Linear reasonably easy even with the almost full moon.
Attached is the result, which given the moon surprised me.
Regards to all,
Gary BEAL,
Hamilton
OMG! That's a wonderful shot Gary! Well done. You should send that into S&S. I think the comet turned out quite well despite an interfering moon nearby. What a way to end christmas day!
PS: was that taken from your paddock? do you have dark skies over there?
Last edited by silvinator; 26-12-2004 at 01:22 PM.
Silvie & Guys,
thanks. Yes it was a great day to catch this, and despite the moon I was happy.
Mick, I had trouble actually seeing it as well, and eventually flopped the 30mm widefield into the rear of the scope just to make sure, as the first few frames were of nothing at all, I was in the wrong spot. It was hard to see with the 80mm scope, so this coupled with the nearly full moon made it more memorable.
If the weather clears I will try it again.
The cluster is naked eye, at roughly mag 3 or so, and Linear at about 7 - 8 mag.
Gary
Paul,
simple ED80/840 refractor, with a Mogg .5x reducer, so 420 ish mm.
Nikon D100 on the rear, at ISO1000.
G-11, with Rob Becks, ToUcam guiding interface/remote (full credit)
I can send you a shot if it helps.
Gary
P.S Silvie.
Sort of from the "paddock" and yes semi rural. Not too dark, but OK.
Paul,
in the film scene I have had most, with Nikon being the perennial favourite. I had a few Nikkors, so it was a cinch, Nikon it was. I am thinking though that the Nikon may sell, and I will go to a Canon. Nothing really in it, just more software etc available for astro use with a Canon. Best money at present is the Canon 300D (new), it is NZ$1400 here with the 18-55mm lens. Considering I paid NZ$1800 plus for the (used) D100 I don't think you can go wrong with the 300D, but then again, you can't go wrong with either.
Best bet is buy a second hand one, as someone else has lost the money at sale time. Wanna try a used D100??
Gary
Hehe, thanks for clearing that up for me Gary. I still like your paddock though
It's true that the canon 300D is the best bang for buck around. There have been some great images produced from this little camera. At the AO website, it is selling new for AU$1950 for the astrophotography kit. I've seen cheaper though I can't remember where.
Hey Paul, what nikon camera were you looking at? I've been drooling over the D70 for ages now...*sigh* Try these classifieds: Gecko Optical There's a used D70 up for sale there. So tempting!
The canon 10D also seems like a good camera. There's a few up for grabs at buy-n-shoot.
It doesn't really matter which of the two you get Paul as both brands make and sell wonderful cameras. It all boils down to how much you want to spend. Good luck mate!
Like you Silvie either the D70 or Gary's D100, simply from the good reviews I've read about them.
Though at the moment I'm using a Canon EOS 500 for film photog and I like the idea of not having to buy a new set of lenses fo a Nikon. From what I've been told the Canon EOS lenses will fit the 300D
I currently have a 35mm-80mm f/4-5.6 zoom a 80 - 200 f/4.5-5.6 zoom and a teleconverter, which gives me a good range of focal lengths to choose from though a bit on the slow side. If only it would clear up long enough to actually put them through their paces on the LX.
Gary do you find having the built IR filter a big issue when taking your shots. Ie loss of red end spectrum.
Paul,
if you have existing Canon lenses, then it seems senseless to jump ship, unless the lenses are of poor quality, and the different brand is significantly better. Is Nikon better than Canon? Don't think so, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The 300D is a fine camera, and a cost effective starter. Yes you can probably do better, but at a significant cost. Don't let me talk you out of Nikon though!!!!
No real worries with the I/R filter. I see some 300D mods on the net, and also Huteck in the US offering them I/R filterless, but to me the camera works just fine. I like the N/R facility, saves doing darks, but takes longer to do it's thing.
I shot another round of M42, with the full moon present last night, my good friend Rob Beck had arrived to repair my/his remote unit, and we tried a few guiding experiments, K3CCD Tools and IRIS. I will process and post later.
Gary
Hi Paul,
no worries.
I do believe that part of the success of the Canon line, is the sheer proliferation of them. I don't really believe they are any better, not significantly anyway.
If you search, or wait a bit, or both, you will find them cheaper than that. They are NZ$1400 here at present, with the lens.
Gary
Maybe I should get the Out-laws over there to send me one over
You maybe able to clarify something else for me Gary. As I understand it CCD technology is preferred to CMOS. IF this is the case how is it that the 300D (CMOS) is preferred (according to CN forum (I"ve posted there as well)) over Nikon and other CCD cameras, excluding dedicated astrophotography cameras, ie DSLRs.
Paul,
beats me, and if I was completely honest this is what sold me on the Nikon, over and above my love for Nikon, and the few Nikkors I had. I reasoned CCD is better than CMOS, right?
Now I honestly don't know. If you look at the results from Nikons and Canons, there is precious little (if anything) in it.
Get what you can afford, and if there are other enticements, such as existing lenses, go with that.
Like I have said few times, you can't go wrong either way.
Gary
Looks like I'll eventually go for the Canon. Might wait til after the xmas period though, (patience is a virtue I hear) to see if they come down a bit further in price. Or maybe if I'm really lucky the SBIB ST2000XCM will come down to a comparible price, (in my dreams )
![[1ponders]'s Avatar](../vbiis/customavatars/avatar45_9.gif){kind=avatar}
Someone please help me decide. And no I can't afford both
) to see if they come down a bit further in price. Or maybe if I'm really lucky the SBIB ST2000XCM will come down to a comparible price, (in my dreams
Thanks for the help Gary
