..... scared Ya didn't I? It's May, time to stab your eyes with some mediocre Astro picturds.
Naw, with all the spit and polished pictures, I kinda feel like my drivel can wait.
But once in a while, something new comes into the pile... Like M-5 two nights ago.
So, as is typical for me, and loving the nirvana of EAA, PHD2 guiding, Click and Slew-To of Stellarium, no-touch electronic focusing; I can dabble around in Stellarium, located any of innumerable victims then go suck the light out of them.
I was fiddling around with the Sombrero Galaxy, did my worst with it, and was dabbling around when this little cluster caught my eye. M-5 it said on the screen.
I rolled the mouse's wheel to zoom in, and thought to myself, well, lowly little star mass, I don't remember catching you before. Tag! You're it!
So I spent some time dialing in my usual trapping with time, and fine tuning my focus by single micro-steps, and collecting photons traveling from Deep Space into the lens of my telescope.
So some first burnt offerings for May. (Even some rainbow sprinkels for Pilot Jim. )

Shot from the backyard Open Air Sleepy Dog Observatory, in my increasingly light polluted skies (Bortle 7, Red Zone)
Celestron AVX mount, Orion ED80T CF telescope, Atik Infinity color Camera, Badder Moon and Skyglow filter, guided w/PHD2.
Subject - exposure time - images in stack - total time - w=web image - Other notes.

From what I recall from my G3 tussle, Binning 1x was for imaging. And higher binning was for focusing and faster work.
But Binning 1 was the desired binning to collect color images. 2x, 4x were B&W.

Now, the Infinity camera uses a 1, 2, 4, 8 binning. But all I've ever used was Binning 1 with the fast mode, or the Imaging mode.
I use the fast, or single image, format to find and center a target, or for focusing. But I don't think I've ever saved any of those.
Most recently, I've even been fine adjusting my focus in the video mode, with the stacking unchecked.

I think the control for the Horizon is supposed to be the same as for the Infinity. And you are going to love it.
Given a bit of time to get use to it, you'll be flying around and imaging all over the place.

The CMOS has come of age.

More on Binning here, Craig: https://www.swagastro.com/to-bin-or-not-to-bin.html

I finished off an evening of imaging with the two subject galaxies.

Full spectrum Sony RX10 III on a Celestron Evolution (Alt/Az) mount, no filters, unguided.

I pushed the RX10 III to its full 600mm focal length. Both images are 2x Resampled in PixInsight.

On M51 you may be able to see galaxy NGC 5198 in the lower right of the image.

On M106 you'll see galaxy NGC 4248 immediately below and right of M106 and galaxy NGC 4220 in the lower right of the image.

Enjoy!

bwa

P.S.: I didn't include Downloads because they're too crappy!
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There is still a degree of horizontal banding but you really have to stretch an image a long long way to see it, which you normally won't do.

I've also found dropping the cooler temperature from my original setting of -10C to -20C really made a difference in noise levels. I'm going to give -30C a shot the next time out... The two stage cooler on the camera is supposed to maintain a -45C differential from ambient so might as well give it a shot. I might even be able to shoot at -40C

bwa

Almost a full Moon and smoke in the air but still a pretty decent night...

Sky-Watcher 190 Mak-Newt, Hutech HEUIB-II filter, pier mounted Celestron CGEM DX mount, unguided.

Checked polar alignment with PoleMaster; dead on after sitting all winter. Slewed to Arcturus, did a Bahtinov Mask focus and calibrated the StarSense unit to the scope.

Started the evening by splitting Mizar as a test of scope and camera. Moved on to the Perseus Double Cluster; it was far away from the Moon. Finished off the night by shooting the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51); not a good choice with the Moon and haze in the air (far too much processing to get an image; kinda ugly)!!

Enjoy!

bwa