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[katodog]

Here's a shot I got tonight of M42 with the William Optics Megrez 110ED Doublet and the Canon EOS 10D. My fist chance to do some prime focus stuff on a DSO. The shots didn't come out too shabby. Once I get a remote shutter, I can mount the WO on the LXD75 and take longer exposures without having to worry about field rotation. Since I'm not that serious of an imager, I don't think I'll be getting a wedge for the SCT. Not yet anyway. They're pretty pricey, and since I have the EQ mount, it's kinda silly to pay for a wedge when I don't really need it.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Kdog,

That's a great looking gas cloud there.

I like the color capture.

How long of an exposure?

This was my first nebula observed as a kid in my trusty Mongomery Ward 60mm refractor. Nothing but a small black and white smudge, but it was facinating to see something for myself in real time. This was during the time where I would spend many hours out in the bitter cold...not any more.

Thanks for sharing...it's quite cool.

[katodog]

Glad you like it. It was a 30 second exposure, ISO200. I just ordered a remote shutter for the Canon, so I can take longer exposures. When it gets here, I can start taking flats and darks, and longer exposures. I shot a few with the 110ED on the LXD75 tonight, and not having to worry about field rotation will make it a lot easier. I can take longer exposures, fewer actual shots, and stack them. Adding the flats and darks will make the overall shot look much better.

Here's one from tonight, a stack of 12 frames, 30 seconds each, most at ISO200, two at ISO400. I didn't do anything after stacking, except for one of the wavelets a little bit. Once I start adding flats and darks, the background will darken, without loosing the brightness of whatever object I'm shooting.






Of course, it's not my plan to become a serious astrophotographer. I would just like to get some decent shots for myself, and I'd like to see how far I can get without going bankrupt.

[katodog]

Well, I now have a remote shutter and ac adapter for the Canon, so I can take some long exposures through the scopes. But, of course, there's clouds everywhere. As soon as I get some cooperative skies, I'm going to try some long exposure shots through the Megrez, and with the camera by itself. Should be fun.

Unfortunately, I am feeling this little tap in my mind telling me that I'm going to want to image through the SCT, which means that sooner or later, I have to drop a small brick of cash on a wedge. Hopefully, I won't be too bitten by the imaging bug to really worry too much about it. The Megrez on the LXD75 should keep me happy for a while.


So, we'll see. Hopefully we all won't have to wait too long for some nice long exposures shots to post.

[katodog]

Oh, crapola. I tried tonight, but it was not a good night. I didn't expect to be out very long, just long enough to play with the remote shutter. I could barely see Orion's belt, and couldn't see any stars around M42 at all visually, and could only see three stars of the Trap through the scope. But, I tried anyway. The good news is that the remote shutter works perfectly. I can even have my hand in my pocket, and the wireless will work through my pocket. I took a few shots around 60 seconds and a little longer, and when I put them on the computer I could see I was out of focus. Not good enough to see if any extra detail showed up in the longer exposures, so I dumped them. But, more good news is that if I take the extra minute or so to level the LXD75 and polar align it good, it tracks dead-on. I didn't see any trailing at all in the shots.

So, it wasn't a total bust. I have to make sure I get focus down better, and I also have to try the SkyGlow filter, too. I've been looking at some right-angle viewfinders for the camera, so I don't have to get on the ground to look through it. I thought about putting the camera in the diag, but I don't know if it will come to focus like that. Haven't tried yet.

But, as always, we'll see.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Kdog,

Did you post the pics of your remote yet?

If not, I would like to see what set up you got.

[katodog]

Ask, and ye shall receive.











The first photo is of the unit and remote. It's wireless, and has user settable channels. The 3rd and 4th pics are of the unit on the camera. It attaches to the shoe, and has a wheel to tighten it onto the camera. It slides on pretty snug, so I imagine the wheel is just for added hold. It works perfectly. You can use it for regular camera stuff, just as you would use the shutter button on the camera. Hold it halfway to auto focus, and then press it all the way to snap pics. It has its own 2 second timer setting, and its own bulb setting. The bulb setting on the unit pretty much runs for whatever time the camera limit is. I haven't figured out a way to shut it off when it's activated. To use the camera bulb setting, you just click the unit to the "On" position, and then it runs off of the camera settings.

It also doesn't interfere with any camera settings. You can run the camera as you would without the remote shutter. It was cheap, and seems to be pretty well made. It doesn't feel shoddy, and doesn't look like it's going to fall apart.


This is one like the one I ordered, but the one I have is what they sent. There was a piece of paper with it that explained that the one I got was an upgraded version and was better than the one in the photo. I didn't care, as long as it worked. It does, and I'm very satisfied with it.


tinyurl.com/2hzrpu


Now, the only problem is focusing right, and making sure I'm aligned. I went out last night for a while, and all I got was star trails, and some goofy tracking. Either I wasn't level, or aligned properly, or there's something wrong with my mount. Either way, I'll figure it out.