jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Out last night observing with my DSI Pro III
#5312635 - 07/11/12 10:20 AM
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I suffer from astronomical ADD... I enjoy so many different things in this hobby and there are so many different things to do. You name it, I've done it at one time or another over the past 45 years. And not just equipment, but also observing styles and targets. Years ago when I bought my first CCD camera I discovered immediately how it could also be used for real-time observing. I was utterly amazed what I could see from my back yard using a DSI on my little Orion StarBlast on a DS-2000 mount. Ever since then I've used my cameras for both imaging (and spectrocopy and photometry) and real-time observing. At the moment my favorite observing system consists of my DSI Pro III on my LXD75 SN6 with everthing being controlled from inside my house. (I also have a color DSI III, but for observing I usually prefer the monochrome Pro III.) It just so happens that I recently refurbished my homebuilt 16.5" f/6.5 Newtionian, a scope that I specifically built for visual deep sky observing. The night before last I was out with my 16.5" exploring the region around Lyra. Last night I did the same thing, but with my LXD75 SN6 DSI Pro III in observing mode. What struck my funny bone was that I found short stacks of 1 second exposures (10 or so) was roughly equivalent to my 16.5" visually. Stretching the exposure out to 10 seconds was simply wonderful and I went after faint fuzzies I could never attempt with my big scope, at least not from my back yard.
Like I said, I suffer from astronomical ADD so I still like getting in some serious eyepiece time and there's no substitute for the subtle beauty of the real thing, but I also enjoy going really deep using my cameras in real-time from the comfort of my back room.
What a neat time to be an amateur astronomer!
Enjoy.
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jbell
sage
Reged: 04/09/10
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Re: Out last night observing with my DSI Pro III
[Re: jgraham]
#5312839 - 07/11/12 02:02 PM
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Quote:
I suffer from astronomical ADD...
What struck my funny bone was that I found short stacks of 1 second exposures (10 or so) was roughly equivalent to my 16.5" visually. Stretching the exposure out to 10 seconds was simply wonderful and I went after faint fuzzies I could never attempt with my big scope, at least not from my back yard....
...so I still like getting in some serious eyepiece time and there's no substitute for the subtle beauty of the real thing...
What a neat time to be an amateur astronomer!
amen, and amen.
and for guys like me who are somewhat "eyepiece challenged" it is a particularly neat time to be an amateur astronomer... because for me -- it can finally happen....
However you can observe the universe... almost universally... "it changes you"
clear skies all.
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Dragon Man
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/07/06
Loc: Snake Valley, Australia
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Re: Out last night observing with my DSI Pro III
[Re: jbell]
#5314091 - 07/12/12 11:05 AM
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As long as we are looking up, the method becomes moot 
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Re: Out last night observing with my DSI Pro III
[Re: Dragon Man]
#5314783 - 07/12/12 05:51 PM
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Absolutely. In addition to just the enjoyment of observing observing with my cameras helps me to identify targets for follow-up imaging. For example, I found I neat little planetary in Lyra I want to go back a take a closer look at. This is also a great way to scope out targets that I may want to track down visually. The images I record while observing make the best finder charts ever. (Whenever I stop to look at a field I go ahead and let Envisage save the source images so I have a record of my observations.)
Neat stuff.
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genedalton
member
Reged: 12/10/05
Loc: South Louisiana
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Re: Out last night observing with my DSI Pro III
[Re: jgraham]
#5319414 - 07/15/12 09:12 PM
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John, I go after faint fuzzies in real time with my DSI II pro. Are there any advantages in using the binning mode with the DSI III pro for real time observing...are images assembled quicker, brighter. It seems the resolution would still be acceptable with binning. GeneD
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Re: Out last night observing with my DSI Pro III
[Re: genedalton]
#5319426 - 07/15/12 09:22 PM
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Oh yes, the binning mode can be very effective, increasing the effective sensitivity by a factor of 4. I've made heavy use of 2x2 binning when using my little ETX-60. The downside is that binning reduces the image size by a factor of 2. I keep a magnifying glass on my desk to help compensate (and help with my aging eyes). The binning mode is also very effective with the DSI III, though you lose the color.
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genedalton
member
Reged: 12/10/05
Loc: South Louisiana
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Re: Out last night observing with my DSI Pro III
[Re: jgraham]
#5319883 - 07/16/12 08:15 AM
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Thanks for the information John, sort of what anticipated. I am on the lookout for a used DSI III mostly for that purpose. Depending on your PC and it's software and OS, you can right click and go to properties and then settings. Adjust the slider and click save or apply. You can virtually fill the screen with the DSI image. GeneD
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nytecam
Postmaster
Reged: 08/20/05
Loc: London UK
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Re: Out last night observing with my DSI Pro III
[Re: genedalton]
#5321387 - 07/17/12 03:17 AM Attachment (38 downloads)
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Binning improves cam 'speed' so 2x2 binned mode on my Lodestar-M is super x4 fast. My Lodestar-C cam used almost exclusively to 1x2 binned mode for fast x2 speed plus full image size and colour as below 
Edited by nytecam (07/17/12 03:45 AM)
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Raginar
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/19/10
Loc: Rapid CIty, SD
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Re: Out last night observing with my DSI Pro III
[Re: nytecam]
#5321521 - 07/17/12 08:33 AM
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I wish I'd bought a color lodestar now  . I do like setting up for guiding and being able to 'see' my target with 2-3s exposures usually.
Beautiful picture!
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Re: Out last night observing with my DSI Pro III
[Re: Raginar]
#5322277 - 07/17/12 04:47 PM Attachment (34 downloads)
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For real-time observing I sooooo much prefer a monochrome camera. It could be the fact that I'm observing under red-zone skies and the real-time image processing of a monochrome image can be more effective. One nice feature of using Envisage for observing in color is the ability to automatically adjust the color balance. This goes a long way to fixing things, but if I get really aggressive with the brightness and contrast it can get a bit dicey. With the DSI III you can go both ways; bin 2x2 to kick the sensitivity up to about where the Pro III is (without binning) and ditch the color or leave it in its native 1x1 mode and have color.
The next time I have my 'twins' set up I'll have to spend some time comparing the DSI III and DSI Pro III. So much to try, so few clear nights...
The Twins; two nearly identical LXD75 SN6s. The one on the left is my original LXD75 SN6 configured with a DSI Pro III. The one on the right has a pier extension for when I use my AR-6. It's shown here with a SN6 and my DSI III. Both cameras are fitted with the Meade cooling fan. I usually use the Twins to image in color and monochrome at the same time, but I can also use them both in observing mode from inside my house; color on the left side of my desk and monochrome on the right. They're an absolute blast to use.
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