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Thread: New Rig for Astro Imaging

  1. #21
    Join Date: Feb 2010

    Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness

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    I'm Dave.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony View Post
    Hi Tony, time is 6.50 am, and looking southwest(ish) there is the crescent moon, and to the right and up a bit, at about 45 degrees to the moon there is one really bright star - what is it? Mrs. P has been wondering for some time, as have I
    I think you have got the directions wrong. You were probably looking in an easterly direction. You would have seen Venus about 45 degrees and up a bit as you say. There's a nice tool called Stellarium which you can download to see what the sky might have looked like at different times. If you'd been looking westerly you might have seeen Mars - which is what I thought you meant at first, but it was not in the same region of the sky as the moon.

    http://stellarium.org/en_GB/
    Dave

  2. #22
    Join Date: Apr 2017

    Location: Manningtree, Essex

    Posts: 1,722
    I'm Tony.

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    Quote Originally Posted by dave2010 View Post
    I think you have got the directions wrong. You were probably looking in an easterly direction. You would have seen Venus about 45 degrees and up a bit as you say. There's a nice tool called Stellarium which you can download to see what the sky might have looked like at different times. If you'd been looking westerly you might have seeen Mars - which is what I thought you meant at first, but it was not in the same region of the sky as the moon.

    http://stellarium.org/en_GB/
    What Dave said....

    Another great tool is Sky Safari. If you use it in your phone, you can point it at the night sky and it will show you what you are looking at ( using GPS/compass). It’s very good.


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    A mainly digital setup with a musical amplifier and endearing 1970's speakers. A CD player that hardly ever gets used and a turntable that is good enough to remind my how enjoyable my old vinyl is. Some cables and things.

  3. #23
    Join Date: Apr 2017

    Location: Manningtree, Essex

    Posts: 1,722
    I'm Tony.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Haselsh1 View Post
    I bought a Samyang 14mm f2.8 lens back in 2017 to use for my coastal photography but sold it a few months back to concentrate on my Nikon 20mm. I also bought at that same time a Samyang 85mm f1.4. That lens is quite simply stunning.
    They are producing some of the best value lenses in the world at the moment. The 135mm f2 is astounding, a definite keeper.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    A mainly digital setup with a musical amplifier and endearing 1970's speakers. A CD player that hardly ever gets used and a turntable that is good enough to remind my how enjoyable my old vinyl is. Some cables and things.

  4. #24
    Join Date: Dec 2008

    Location: East Riding of Yorkshire these days

    Posts: 4,779
    I'm Shaun.

    Default Samyang 14mm f2.8

    Quote Originally Posted by mightymonoped View Post
    They are producing some of the best value lenses in the world at the moment. The 135mm f2 is astounding, a definite keeper.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    The only thing that stopped me using the 14mm was the amazing lack of sharpness around the edges and in the corners. The images required so much cropping that I was better off using my 20mm but that 85mm f1.4 is one of the sharpest optics I have ever owned. In fact the only thing I have owned that was as sharp was a Zenzanon 75mm f2.8 E lens. Bloody lovely lenses, both of them.

  5. #25
    Join Date: Apr 2017

    Location: Manningtree, Essex

    Posts: 1,722
    I'm Tony.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Haselsh1 View Post
    The only thing that stopped me using the 14mm was the amazing lack of sharpness around the edges and in the corners. The images required so much cropping that I was better off using my 20mm but that 85mm f1.4 is one of the sharpest optics I have ever owned. In fact the only thing I have owned that was as sharp was a Zenzanon 75mm f2.8 E lens. Bloody lovely lenses, both of them.
    I haven’t used the 14mm much really, only a few test shots of Milky Way. I’d stoped it down quite a bit though.

    It’s very popular with people who like to do Milky Way landscape shots.

    Surprised to hear about your issues with it really. Maybe a dodgy one? If it was an early model (2014) it may not have been subject to the same QA standards? This is sometimes the case with volume Asian optics until they start to prove popular.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    A mainly digital setup with a musical amplifier and endearing 1970's speakers. A CD player that hardly ever gets used and a turntable that is good enough to remind my how enjoyable my old vinyl is. Some cables and things.

  6. #26
    Join Date: Dec 2008

    Location: East Riding of Yorkshire these days

    Posts: 4,779
    I'm Shaun.

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    Tony, I have noticed that the 14mm lens I owned is no longer listed. It was an ED UMC model with stunning looking glass but that resolution at the edge of the frame was shocking. It was manual focus but had connections to the camera for all of the functions. Even used at f11 the corner sharpness was dreadful. I'm sure the new models must be good given the massive hike in price.

    It was this one:

    https://www.parkcameras.com/shop/sam...BoC_-0QAvD_BwE

  7. #27
    Join Date: Jun 2014

    Location: Chorley Lancs

    Posts: 14,602
    I'm Steve.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mightymonoped View Post
    What Dave said....

    Another great tool is Sky Safari. If you use it in your phone, you can point it at the night sky and it will show you what you are looking at ( using GPS/compass). It’s very good.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Yes, thinking about it, I think I got the direction wrong. More like southeast. Cheers guys for the suggestions. That Sky Safari sounds handy.
    I just dropped in, to see what condition my condition was in

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  8. #28
    Join Date: Apr 2017

    Location: Manningtree, Essex

    Posts: 1,722
    I'm Tony.

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    Things have moved on a bit in the last few months. I wasn’t prepared to lose another imaging season (Winter) so treated myself to a new mount for my 60th. It’s an updated version of the one I sold when I moved to the flat, not realising I could actually get some half-decent images.

    Now I can get the trusty old 80ED scope out of mothballs and go in a bit deeper.



    All of this now means that I can pretty much control everything from the sofa using my phone, once the covers are off.

    Here’s a few examples of recent captures..



    M31 The Andromeda Galaxy



    The Rosette Nebula



    M42 The Orion Nebula



    The Horsehead & Flame Nebulae in Orion



    M45 The Pleiades or Seven Sisters


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    A mainly digital setup with a musical amplifier and endearing 1970's speakers. A CD player that hardly ever gets used and a turntable that is good enough to remind my how enjoyable my old vinyl is. Some cables and things.

  9. #29
    Join Date: Oct 2008

    Location: Glasgowshire

    Posts: 9,656
    I'm Gary.

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    Kudos Tony.
    Appreciate the final result, admired images like these since I was a Kid, but never thought about what goes in to making it.

    Outstanding.
    Wow.
    AC POWER
    Hardwired 10kVA balanced mains powering entire system
    AMPS
    Meridian 557 power Amp (Modded) / PS Audio BHK Preamp (Modded)
    SPEAKERS
    Wharfedale Evo 4.4
    DAC
    PS Audio Directstream (Modded)
    TURNTABLE
    Pro-Ject X8 balanced output via XLR / Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge
    PHONOSTAGE
    Pro-Ject DS3 B balanced Input (TT and Phonostage powered by Pro-Ject Power box RS2 linear psu)
    DIGITAL
    OPPO 203 (Modded: Linear PSU, i2s output to Dac) - Roon Endpoint, HDMI input used for all things Streaming/ PS5 /AppleTV ... also good for movies apparently?
    MUSIC PLAYBACK
    Tweaked AP-Linux based Roon Server into Oppo 203 as Roon endpoint
    Ipad Roon Remote.
    Apple Music/ YouTube via AppleTV, fed to Dac via Oppo HDMI input/i2s output to Dac.
    SPEAKER CABLES
    Biwired: Duelund DCA10GA (Bass) Duelund DCA16GA (mid & treble) Duelund 12DCA used as jumpers (On
    "Blackcat Cable" Chris Sommivigo's advice - yup, even with biwire it sounds better - and it does)
    INTERCONNECTS
    All Balanced: Ghost+ recording studio XLR cables

  10. #30
    Join Date: Jan 2009

    Location: Essex

    Posts: 31,861
    I'm openingabottleofwine.

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    Absolutely stunning images Tony. Do you print them off and frame them? They are certainly good enough.

    And to think the original photograph of the Horsehead nebula taken at Mount Palomar required an exposure of 7 hours.
    Barry

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