1392 replies to this topic

[kitka]

 

Hi to all,

I am Skyguider pro user for about a year now. Here are some images i took with it.

I use it with my Nikon d7200 and Sigma 150-600c mostly ... Streched and edited in Pixinsight and Photoshop.

At the moment i am looking to upgrade my setup to some proper mount, but that is for another topic

Clear nights to all from Slovenia

 

Hello zvidrih!

 

Greeting from Finland! I actually visited your beautiful city last May. Very nice photos you have there, congratulations! I see you have also guider scope. Could you share how you attached it to SGP? I cannot quite see it from the picture. Also, how did you find tracking accuracy with SGP guided vs unguided?

 

-Tahvo

[kitka]

I have a quick question: once the clutch is released, should RA axis rotate completely freely? In my case, there is a certain position where the rotation is more tight.

 

Also, when the clutch is engaged, it's not parallel to the mount surface, there is a gap on one side of it.

 

The scope seems to be aligned ok. When I rotate RA, the field of view moves, but the crosshair points at the same point.

 

Hi groupoid,

 

I just tried it, and my RA axis is slightly jerky or jumpy when clutch is released. Still, I would say its evenly tight around the full circle. There are no tight sections, just minor "jumps". My clutch sits quite parallel to the mount surface when it is engaged. My polar scope FOV also moves, but crosshair points at the same point. Unfortunately there seems to be some quality variation between different units. How do you find the tracking accuracy? I would not be worried if it still tracks OK. I can track for 1 minute with APSC sensor and 300mm lens unguided. I know some guys can make it longer, but then again I am very very picky considering elongated stars. Might be that some folks are less picky, or then they just have gotten better unit than me. However, I am still happy with the mount, and currently my lens collection limits me more than the mount. It's often freezing cold here in the north, so would rather minimize the time spent out in the cold by using faster glass. 

[groupoid]

kitka, thank you for your response!

 

 

 

 

I just tried it, and my RA axis is slightly jerky or jumpy when clutch is released. Still, I would say its evenly tight around the full circle.

 

Maybe it's the same. I'd say it's evenly tight, but sometimes it gets slightly stuck at certain angle for a short time and requires slightly more force to rotate further. I think it only happens in one direction. My concern is that, if one has to apply force, isn't there a risk of damaging the motor? Maybe I should write to ioptron.

 

 

 

How do you find the tracking accuracy? I would not be worried if it still tracks OK. I can track for 1 minute with APSC sensor and 300mm lens unguided.

This is very impressive!

 

I was going to try my unit yesterday, but it became a mini-disaster. I didn't realize I needed to flip it to polar align, because of my latitude. And I lost the dovetail locking knob somewhere in the snow. I looked for it for 10 mins and couldn't find it. There is a similar knob on the DEC bracket, but I left it at home. So, I didn't have a chance to test it, even though there was a nice view of Orion. When I decided to leave, I realized that my car is stuck in the snow. We managed to push it with help of some friendly person who was passing by.

 

Next time I will use more tested observing spot. But I need to wait for clear skies, definitely not today... And maybe look for a replacement knob.

[zvidrih]

Hello, zvidrih.

 

Looks like you have your SGP mastered, and have produced some very nice images,  I especially like your post-production work on Orion Nebula.  Could you share some of the technical details of these images for the forum, please?

 

Thanks,

Terry

Hi Terry,

The Pinwheel galaxy is a stack of 45 photo - 90 seconds exposure, lights only ISO1600. Nikon d7200 + sigma 150-600 @500mm f6,3

Pleiades are a stack of 30 photos with 120 seconds and 10 photos with 40 seconds exposure, lights only ISO1600. Nikon d7200 + sigma 150-600 @400mm f6

Orion is a stack of 20 photos with 60 seconds axposure at ISO3200 and 10 photos with ISO800 + 10 dark frames ISO3200 and 10 dark frames ISO 800. Nikon d7200 + sigma 150-600 @300mm f5,6

Andromeda is a stack of 10 photos with 90 seconds exposure and 10 photos with 30 seconds exposure, lights only ISO1600. Nikon d7200 + sigma 150-600 @400mm f6

Milkyway wide shot is 3 minutes exposure for sky, and untracked same exposure for ground. Merged together in photoshop. ISO800 Nikon d7200 + sigma 10-20 @10mm f3.5

The blood moon is single shot, 20 seconds, iso100, Nikon d7200 + Sigma 150-600 @600mm f8

 

All tracked with skyguider, processed in Pixinsight and Photoshop.

Zoran

[zvidrih]

Hello zvidrih!

 

Greeting from Finland! I actually visited your beautiful city last May. Very nice photos you have there, congratulations! I see you have also guider scope. Could you share how you attached it to SGP? I cannot quite see it from the picture. Also, how did you find tracking accuracy with SGP guided vs unguided?

 

-Tahvo

Hi,

A have a ball head and on it a 20 cm arca swiss plate. On plate are two clamps, one for guidescope and other for camera.

I have doubled my exposure time with guiding. My problem is that for now i only have standard photo tripod. I hand 10kg weight under it, but it is too flexible.

Zoran

 

 

Edited by zvidrih, 01 December 2018 - 03:18 PM.

[TerryB]

Hi Terry,

...

[details]

...

Zoran

Much appreciated, Zoran!  Thank you, and keep up the good work.

 

Terry

[kitka]

 

Hi,

A have a ball head and on it a 20 cm arca swiss plate. On plate are two clamps, one for guidescope and other for camera.

I have doubled my exposure time with guiding. My problem is that for now i only have standard photo tripod. I hand 10kg weight under it, but it is too flexible.

Zoran

 

 

 

 

Thank you Zoran!

 

This gives me some food for thought.

 

-Tahvo

[kitka]

Hello folks,

 

It's very cloudy season here so I decided to share my setup here. I bought SGP couple of months ago, and have been parctising the art of astrophotography every time weather has permitted (meaning not very often). I live in severely light polluted region, and my backyard is totally useless for AP because of direct street lights. I have been training in gravel pit nearby, and have got things rolling despite of some beginner difficulties. I have 30 minutes drive to reasonably dark spot. I have visited there succesfully only once so far, but will definitely go there more often now when I have the SGP setup in appropriate shape.

 

My gear:
- APS-C sensor Canon EOS 550D / T2i
- Vintage Tair 3S Photosnaiper 300mm f4.5 M42 lens
- iOptron SkyGuider Pro
- Manfrotto 190X tripod

 

I run the camera with "dummy battery", which allows to power it with external USB power bank. It's very cold here in Finland, and camera batteries will drain fast in freezing temperatures. I hacked a couple of scotch tape cradles for the power bank and intervalometer into the tripod legs, and altough it's ugly, gadgets hang over there neatly.

 

I use bahtinov mask for focusing, and after focusing I stop down the lens to about f6 with step down rings. This helps to fight softness, purple fringing and CA with the lens, without causing diffraction spikes around stars.

 

I have attached the lens and camera to long vixen dovetail plate. This gives two points of support for the system and reduces camera shake significantly. It does not improve tracking accuracy, but it's a LOT easier to focus with live view because lens shake is eliminated. Also, I think it is much more wind resistant this way. I hang my backpack with 5 kg of dumbbels under the tripod to give additional stability. I think I could add even more weight, but have not seen it necessary.

 

I am able to pull 1 minute subs with my setup without significant trailing. I might consider autoguiding to make subs longer, but on the other hand I am looking for faster glass to minimize the total exposure length. I think currently I am more limited by the small aperture than the sub length itself.

 

Here are some photos of the setup and a moonlit sample photo of Andromeda.

 

 

 

 

 

Technical specs:
Moon phase 71,1% (!)
Bortle 4 (at least it would be without the moon )
91 x 60s @ iso 6400 (Exposed to 1/3 with in-camera histogram)
300mm @ f6, stopped down with step down ring
Stacked with DSS
Processed in PixInsight and PhotoShop

 

-Tahvo

[blemasle]

Hi all,

 

I've bought the SkyGuider a couple of months ago but sadly have only been able to use it once due to bad weather.

Nevertheless, here is the picture of the Carina Nebulae I got that night, of which I'm pretty happy : https://www.astrobin.com/374762/

 

 

I used an old Super Takumar 200 f4.0 that I bought exclusively for astrophotography, which is WAY better and sharper than my standard zoom (of course).

 

I did have the time to practice southern hemisphere polar alignment between two cloudson several nights but despite the fact I'm pretty sure I was spot on, the mount kept drifting very quickly. Not sure what I'm doing wrong :/

 

I should have an opportunity in the days to come, hope I'll get it right this time.

Thanks all for the tips (the right angled viewfinder) and advice on gear as I plan to add more gear to this beauty soon.

 

Bertrand

Edited by blemasle, 03 December 2018 - 04:31 AM.

[StarCyclist]

Super clear skies last night allowed me to capture the Orion Nebula, using my latest gear iteration using the SkyGuider Pro. Adding a laser pointer was a game changer to properly position the telescope, along with the viewfinder for properly aligning the mount with Polaris. Here is the pre-processed image with about a total 1 hour exposure @ 1600 ISO...

 

 

Cheers everyone!

[groupoid]

First light yesterday.

 

Set up and polar alignment took less than 5 mins. I was using Canon 200mm 2.8 with Hoya Red Intensifier filter, on Canon M50. The camera was just attached to the mount, no dec bracket/counterweights. As a result, polar alignment was probably messed up after attaching the camera. I was using Induro GT204 tripod.

 

Still, I tried a 3 min sub just for fun, and it looked very reasonable! I'm impressed.

 

I'm including a link to astrobin, but may delete the image once I run out of space there. I also didn't try to focus perfectly. Next time I will use counterweights. And I haven't even tried it with a7r3 yet... Lots of potential.

 

It was -7C, so I didn't have much time for experiments, or to do multiple subs for stacking (I had to drive out to a dark site).

 

https://astrob.in/380333/0/

Edited by groupoid, 09 December 2018 - 12:27 PM.

[SHFT]

Finally some clear nights incoming since early september, a lot of targets are obstructed from my backyard hower the classics M42, M45 and the Rosette are in the sweet spot!

 

I'm going the try and put the Z61 on my ballhead so I can use the DEC of the ballhead which should be easier than the standard DEC plate.

Edited by SHFT, 10 December 2018 - 05:01 PM.

[zvidrih]

Here is a two hours timelapse of 46P/Wirtanen. 60 shots, each 120 seconds with Skyguider pro, Nikon d7200 and sigma 150-600 at 200mm. Cropped a bit to 16:9 ratio.

 

https://youtu.be/Obm6SIcnk-8

[groupoid]

I had to delete the image from the previous message, because I replaced it by a slightly better processed one. Not as cool as many users post here, but this is a single sub, with imperfect focus and polar alignment!

 

https://astrob.in/380774/0/

[zvidrih]

Last night was simply perfect.

Nikon d7200, Sigma 150-600 @500mm and Ioptron Skyguider pro (guided)

60 frames x 120 seconds, stacked and processed in Pixinsight.

Ambient temperature was - 5 and seeing was excellent. (on a mountain 1200 meters above sea level).

 

[TerryB]

Last night was simply perfect.

Nikon d7200, Sigma 150-600 @500mm and Ioptron Skyguider pro (guided)

60 frames x 120 seconds, stacked and processed in Pixinsight.

Ambient temperature was - 5 and seeing was excellent. (on a mountain 1200 meters above sea level).

 

Great image, zvidrih.  Your work in post is extraordinary.

[zvidrih]

Thank you, Sputnik.

I shoot this last night - landscape of Cerknica lake and Wirtanen approaching Pleiades. Sky was shot with Skyguider 10x60 seconds. Land is a single shot 120 seconds. Processed in Pixinisight, combined in Photoshop.

 

[blemasle]

I'm really impressed by the mount capabilities !
This one was shot with 104s exposures, and I think I might have went even further than that on that night.

https://flic.kr/p/2cDGosq
(Can't manage to upload to astrobin this time)

Does anyone know how to effectively balance the mount when the camera isn't perpendicular to the Dec bracket ?
I mean, if your lens is say at 45°, a balanced setup with the CW when the Dec backer is horizontal does not mean your setup is balanced at say 10 o clock (am I being clear ? )

[bambootstrap]

Hi Dave24137,

 

I am very surprised about your setup of skyguider. Did you overload your (not cheap) Manfrotto 410 base?

 

The payload of 410 is about 5 kg. In your setup, your Z61 weighs 1.4 kg, SGP head 1.0 kg, camera 0.7 kg, two additional counterweight 1.4 kg * 2, shaft 0.5 kg, ballhead and finder etc 0.8 kg. In total about 6.5 kg.

 

I am considering to replace SGP's original base with 410 because of your success (also for a easier life of polar alignment). But I am really concern about the stability of this setup. Are you still using this combo? thank you

 

Clear skies.

 

Hi, Roscoe. Picture included.

 

I used the CEM25 adapter and it almost fit perfectly: almost.

 

I used longer pliers and gently "convinced" the adapter — carefully squeezing two opposing sides, and then the other two (you'll know what I mean when you have it in hand) until it slid most of the way in, then I lightly hammered it (with a block of wood in-between) until flush. Once installed, it will be difficult to remove, so make sure you're committed prior to installation. Also, once set, tighten the internal screw solidly, and the adapter isn't going anywhere. Just be aware of exactly where the (other) securing screw is located for attaching the camera (placed to the side is best).

 

And importantly, you'll have to grind the camera-securing screwhead for clearance to turn. It's not seen in the photo, but the small screwhead, as it was, was too large to turn in proximity to the DEC mount. So I used a bench-grinder, which took all of 20 seconds, but you could grip the screw in a regular drill and chuck, and then lessen the diameter along a metal file. 

 

That said, it's been working really well. I mentioned my choreography in an earlier post, so feel free to reference that.

 

And as I stated previously, it is overkill. But with the Z61, a better polar-alignment is necessary, whereas wide-field imaging absolutely does not require a Polemaster. (Plus a Polemaster can be used on other mounts you may own, or will own in the future: it just requires other adapters. So it's a long-term investment and not simply for the SGP alone.)

 

(Moreover, I've since replaced the Manfrotto tripod with a CF Benro 3 Series.)

[TerryB]

Does anyone know how to effectively balance the mount when the camera isn't perpendicular to the Dec bracket ?
I mean, if your lens is say at 45°, a balanced setup with the CW when the Dec backer is horizontal does not mean your setup is balanced at say 10 o clock (am I being clear ? )Yup

The problem is clear to me at least, blemasle.  The explanation, not so much.  

 

I'm no physicist, but I believe the issue is that a perpendicular configuration, combined with a short lens, ensures that when balanced by the CW the centre of mass is located as close as possible to the centre of the RA gear, and it remains there as we rotate around the RA axis.  Longer lenses and non-perpendicular camera angles will actually move the centre of mass outside the SGP with the result that it is now physically possible to rotate the gear through the plane of equal balance.  Once we move off horizontal or vertical (where we now have only partial balance), balance is lost.

 

Clear?

[blemasle]

Clear?

Absolutely ! I think the obvious solution for the mount would be guided exposure right ? But as it is out of my possibilities at the moment, I'm looking for small things that would improve the situation.
Maybe balance the mount in-place rather than horizontally ? Rebalance the mount regularly ?

Edited by blemasle, 27 December 2018 - 03:32 AM.

[TerryB]

Absolutely ! I think the obvious solution for the mount would be guided exposure right ? But as it is out of my possibilities at the moment, I'm looking for small things that would improve the situation.
Maybe balance the mount in-place rather than horizontally ? Rebalance the mount regularly ?

I think a periodic re-balancing is your best bet, perhaps combined with shifting your imaging windows earlier or later to allow a more perpendicular configuration on the mount?  For me, I just wish the clouds that settled in in November would lift before April.  Best of luck with your experiments, and clear skies blemasle.

[blemasle]

I'm in the southern hemisphere right now so the season is pretty much over with summer but I'm still practicing when the sky allow me to

Clear skies to you !

[zvidrih]

Orion from my home garden. Nikon d7200, Sigma 150-600 and ioptron Skyguider pro. 60x90 seconds, iso 1600 @500mm - f6, guided.

 

[pkwj]

I'll be purchasing a Skyguider Pro some time in the next month and believe I'll need a much sturdier tripod than I have (little Benro travel tripod) - even just using my DSLR with a wideangle lens straight on the mount for the milkway.

 

I've seen mixed thoughts on the iOptron tripods, any suggestions on particular models? I'll be getting myself a WO Z61 not long after so want to future proof with the tripod.