First Attempt - Astrophotography is HARD
Jan 28, 2022 10:00:59 #
Captured this last night, M42 in Orion. In Borrego Springs, California
Mount is Skywatcher AZ-GTe (first mistake), camera Nikon D850 with Williams Optics RedCat 51 (fantastic device) all supposed to be controlled by an ASIAIR Plus. Could not plate solve it to save my life, realized the limitations of an Alt-Az mount pretty quickly. Could not, using the SyncSan interface direct to the mount get it to track.
I finally manually pointed the camera at M42, cranked up the ISO to 2000, and took this 4-sec exposure, which is the longest I could get with minimal star trails
Oh well, if it was easy, everybody could do it.
Mount is Skywatcher AZ-GTe (first mistake), camera Nikon D850 with Williams Optics RedCat 51 (fantastic device) all supposed to be controlled by an ASIAIR Plus. Could not plate solve it to save my life, realized the limitations of an Alt-Az mount pretty quickly. Could not, using the SyncSan interface direct to the mount get it to track.
I finally manually pointed the camera at M42, cranked up the ISO to 2000, and took this 4-sec exposure, which is the longest I could get with minimal star trails
Oh well, if it was easy, everybody could do it.
Jan 28, 2022 10:30:05 #
Sidwalkastronomy
Loc: New Jersey Shore
rgrenaderphoto wrote:
Captured this last night, M42 in Orion. In Borreg... (show quote)
Need a GEM mount with tracking and guiding. It's tough aspect of photography
Jan 28, 2022 11:27:09 #
Paul Diamond
Loc: Atlanta, GA, USA
Excellent first start. Congrats. I had not been concerned about tracking as needed for long time exposures or multiple exposures that would be stacked. Lesson learned.
You will go through a steep learning curve. But it can be worth it. Keep up the good work.
You will go through a steep learning curve. But it can be worth it. Keep up the good work.
Jan 28, 2022 14:53:53 #
That's a great start. 
Yep, if you want sharp pin-point stars, unfortunately it takes better mounts.
GEM is usually your best direction.
My first was actually a mistake. But I ran it to it's early death of only 4 years of service. When I upgraded I got a lifetime mount I can hand down to one of my Grandsons.
Guiding is a prerequisite for accuracy in getting pin-points. PHD2 is a well respected program for guiding, and what I use. Guiding doesn't require a lot, I'm still using the 50mm guide scope I started with. But I upgraded my guide camera about a year ago.
The better the mount, the greater the accuracy the guiding that can be seen.
It's a vicious circle. But the better the equipment, the better the results.
When studying to get started, I came to the conclusion I wanted to go the dedicated route, with a dedicated astro camera. There again, I went low buck and paid twice.
I do have my DSLR set up to use on my telescope, and also with my Tamron 150-600mm lens, on my mount. Which actually works nice for comets.
But here again, it is thanks to a good mount.
You can work with what you have, do shorter exposures, and stack. Keep working at it, because you do have a great start.
Yep, if you want sharp pin-point stars, unfortunately it takes better mounts.
GEM is usually your best direction.
My first was actually a mistake. But I ran it to it's early death of only 4 years of service. When I upgraded I got a lifetime mount I can hand down to one of my Grandsons.
Guiding is a prerequisite for accuracy in getting pin-points. PHD2 is a well respected program for guiding, and what I use. Guiding doesn't require a lot, I'm still using the 50mm guide scope I started with. But I upgraded my guide camera about a year ago.
The better the mount, the greater the accuracy the guiding that can be seen.
It's a vicious circle. But the better the equipment, the better the results.
When studying to get started, I came to the conclusion I wanted to go the dedicated route, with a dedicated astro camera. There again, I went low buck and paid twice.
I do have my DSLR set up to use on my telescope, and also with my Tamron 150-600mm lens, on my mount. Which actually works nice for comets.
But here again, it is thanks to a good mount.
You can work with what you have, do shorter exposures, and stack. Keep working at it, because you do have a great start.
Jan 28, 2022 20:15:25 #
Sidwalkastronomy wrote:
Need a GEM mount with tracking and guiding. It's tough aspect of photography
Do you have a recommendation for something under $1600?
Jan 28, 2022 20:55:16 #
Jan 29, 2022 12:40:40 #
Ballard
Loc: Grass Valley, California
Hi rgrenaderphoto
Your color came out well. But tracking is needed to take even a 4 second exposure at the 250mm FL of the RedCat 51. Alt-AZ mounts can potentially do tracking, however image rotation will start to become a factor after a couple of minutes and eq mounts are usually less expensive than buying a de-rotator. At that focal length you would not want to go longer than 1.5 seconds, but you could crank up the ISO a bit and take multiple exposures and then stack them to get a good image without trails. DeepSkyStacker is freeware that you can use to do the stacking.
Your color came out well. But tracking is needed to take even a 4 second exposure at the 250mm FL of the RedCat 51. Alt-AZ mounts can potentially do tracking, however image rotation will start to become a factor after a couple of minutes and eq mounts are usually less expensive than buying a de-rotator. At that focal length you would not want to go longer than 1.5 seconds, but you could crank up the ISO a bit and take multiple exposures and then stack them to get a good image without trails. DeepSkyStacker is freeware that you can use to do the stacking.
Jan 29, 2022 13:22:32 #
Sidwalkastronomy wrote:
Celestron AVX
Watch the weight of scope and camera
Watch the weight of scope and camera
Light enough to easily move around / set up and will handle about a 25 lb load. And it doesn't mind cold weather... It also does a very good job of tracking without guiding if it has a good polar alignment.
bwa
Jan 29, 2022 13:30:56 #
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