1246 replies to this topic

[MattPenn]

Comet A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) this morning from Tucson AZ... crummy conditions, no tracking, single shot.  Will try to stack more frames after work today. 

 

[swin]

After owning the D2 for about 1 year for me personally it's time to reflect. As I'm now using the unit more and more under better skies I just notice that it's not there for me. When I do 4 hours of 1 object, I expect a decent picture of a cool nebula. Sure the bright objects are easy, but you also want to image those other large objects in the sky. 4 hour exposure also means that I cannot do anything else with the Dwarf, usually goto sleep and wake up a couple hours later, and after 15-20 minutes the stack does not increase that much to be interesting to keep watching.

Even though the results are pretty okay, for me it takes too long and the quality is not good enough. Yes I could get PixInsight, do all the fancy AI and drizzle, cleanup etc tricks, but to me that takes away from the fun. I want to use the Dwarf in 1x1 binning for the extra detail, but this also adds a lot of noise that take a very long time to get rid of. I don't want to do 3 sessions for 1 object. Sorry I didn't get a Dwarf for that. Combine that with the maximum of 999 images and 4 hour exposure per target and I notice it becomes a bit of a drag.

 

So will I get a D3? Probably not, I'm looking to go into a bit more custom EAA with better results. The results I've seen with the D3 seem to address a lot of the issues of the D2, but the aperture is still too small. If you need extreme portability, yes the D3 is for you but I'll be giving Sharpcap ago and making my own setup. In that way the D2 got me infected with a new virus, that I though I'd never get, but here we are .

I agree and feel the same. Dwarf 2 with software upgrade is a pleasure but Deep Sky Object that aren't bright enough will give poor results even with post processing. Doesn't seem like Dwarf 3 will give me the results, I want. Coming from using my Evolution C6 this has been fun. I wonder if the Celestron Origin OTA would work with my Evolution Mount. Still both Dwarfs are so portable there hard to  past up. Just my 2 cents

[GSBass]

In general you can expect quality of images to follow pricepoint… people nitpick but I think that is mostly true in the robotic world… the differences are obvious but not as dramatic as you would think given the price differences… after everyone’s software is mature and flush with ai…the price differences will come down to simply aperture and chip combos and not be as muddy as it is today.

I agree and feel the same. Dwarf 2 with software upgrade is a pleasure but Deep Sky Object that aren't bright enough will give poor results even with post processing. Doesn't seem like Dwarf 3 will give me the results, I want. Coming from using my Evolution C6 this has been fun. I wonder if the Celestron Origin OTA would work with my Evolution Mount. Still both Dwarfs are so portable there hard to  past up. Just my 2 cents

[MattPenn]

Here's a better effort: 23mm Dwarf2, 10x1sec gain=80 IR cut, no tracking; stacked and processed in Siril, noise reduced in GraXpert and tweaked in Google Photo editor.  You can see some stars through the smeared clouds.

 

[MattPenn]

Comet much better in the evening sky from Tucson! Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS: Dwarf2 smart telescope, 23mm aperture, 100x1sec, gain=80, IR pass, no tracking; stacked in Siril, noise reduced with GraXpert.  Big, obvious anti-tail is visible, data taken 14 Oct as we cross the orbital plane.

 

Edited by MattPenn, 14 October 2024 - 10:12 PM.

[Bob Campbell]

Comet much better in the evening sky from Tucson! Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS: Dwarf2 smart telescope, 23mm aperture, 100x1sec, gain=80, IR pass, no tracking; stacked in Siril, noise reduced with GraXpert.  Big, obvious anti-tail is visible, data taken 14 Oct as we cross the orbital plane.

 

Great!

 

 

Pretty super image from the little dwarf. You should send it to the Dwarf team.

 

Bob

Edited by Bob Campbell, 15 October 2024 - 01:29 AM.

[MattPenn]

Great!

 

 

Pretty super image from the little dwarf. You should send it to the Dwarf team.

 

Bob

Thanks!  I'm definitely a fan of this tiny smart telescope...

 

But re: sending to the DL team... ha!  Maybe after they send the Dwarf3 they owe me... 

[Bob Campbell]

Thanks!  I'm definitely a fan of this tiny smart telescope...

 

But re: sending to the DL team... ha!  Maybe after they send the Dwarf3 they owe me... 

Maybe with the image, they'll look up your order and move it up in the queue.

 

Bob

[MattPenn]

Got the D2 tracking in astro mode using comet RA/DEC from Cartes du Ciel.  It was near globular cluster M5 tonight.

 

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS on 15 Oct; 23mm f/4.3 Dwarf2 telescope, tracking in Astro mode, rough polar alignment, 128 x 15sec exposures, gain=80, IR cut with dark correction; stacked in Siril and noise reduced in GraXpert.

 

[bkushner]

Comet A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) this morning from Tucson AZ... crummy conditions, no tracking, single shot.  Will try to stack more frames after work today. 

 

How do you find this in the Dwarf 2?

[MattPenn]

5-panel mosaic of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS from 17 Oct Tucson AZ; each panel is from Dwarf2 smart telescope, 23mm f/4.3, roughly polar aligned and tracking in Astro mode; 16 x 15sec exposures gain=80 IR cut; processed with dark subtraction in Siril, noise reduced in GraXpert and stitched with Microsoft Image Composite Editor.

Pointing was done manually, using the RA/DEC coordinates from Cartes du Ciel.  16 frames were taken at one manual RA/DEC pointing, tracking was stopped, a new set of coordinates was entered, tracking started, etc.

 

[MattPenn]

How do you find this in the Dwarf 2?

Using Astro mode, and the manual pointing feature with RA and DEC coordinates taken from Cartes du Ciel allows me to point to the comet.  This means the Dwarf2 needs to be calibrated in Astro mode before hand, and that the western sky is dark enough for it to find background stars to use during the GoTo searching.  Usually I can see the comet in the sky well before it is dark enough for the Dwarf2 to and I lose some time that I could be imaging the comet... but I don't know a work around.

 

 

Usually I calibrate in Astro mode in the darker eastern sky first, then try to point to a bright object in the west (like Venus or Arcturus).  If the Dwarf2 successfully finds that bright object I can usually then enter the RA and DEC manually and have the Dwarf2 find the comet.  If the Dwarf2 fails to find a bright object in the west, I go back into Photo mode, point to the east, recalibrate and wait a few more minutes for more darkness.

Edited by MattPenn, 18 October 2024 - 12:36 PM.

[bkushner]

I shot the comet last night with my Dwarf 2. I shot both 10 second 80 and 5 second 80. Looking at both files the 5 second image is a little more zoomed in then the 10 second one. Is there a reason for this or just an anomaly?

 

Here's my finished shot of the 5S

 

[Pegli_Veg]

EDIT: sorry, I noticed that this function is not enabled for D2, yet.

Still: is it possible to add objects to the planning leaving them in manual focus mode?

 

-------

 

I'm going to try the planning function for the first time with my D2🤞🏻

 

Is there a way to set to manual (M) instead of auto (A)? Usually before calibrating I check the focus with a Bahtinov mask, and I'm afraid that an "auto go to" will change it using autofocus....

 

 

 

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by Pegli_Veg, 28 December 2024 - 02:18 PM.

[Jeff Stevens]

Hi, apologies if I am posting this in the wrong place - perhaps you can point me in the right direction if this is the case.

 

I recently purchased a Dwarf II smart telescope. As of yet, I haven't had clear skies to be able to test out the astrophotography feature. However, in daytime mode, I have encountered some issues. I wondered if anyone with experience of this telescope has encountered these issues:

 

From all of the tutorial videos I have seen, the cylindrical lens chamber should rotate in altitude manually - whether powered on or off. Mine doesn't do this. It feels physically locked until I use the app and move it in altitude mode using the app joystick function.

 

When I try and align the dual lenses in daytime photo mode, following the instructions, the green cornered guide box, onscreen in the app, will not move when I try and drag it to align the wide angle view with the telephoto view. I wondered if it was a screen sensitivity issue, but I have spend at least 30 minutes experimenting, and I cannot align the lenses.

 

I have taken a daytime photo, and I have to say the quality is really disappointing. I have Canon DSLR that's over 10 years old now, with a standard 55mm lens, which I use for wildlife photography, and the Dwarf II image is about 50% poorer in quality - a very grainy and a very dull image.

 

I am using an iPhone 11, with iOS 18.1.1 to connect with the smart telescope. I have contacted Dwarf Labs and I am awaiting a support session, but if anyone has any thoughts on these issues in the meantime then I would be very grateful to hear your thoughts.

 

Best wishes, Jeff.

[GSBass]

Yes you can rotate  the cylinder manually, if you can’t then there must be an issue, it’s actually easier to move on the d2 vs the d3… you should encounter some resistance but not much… contact dwarf labs directly it it won’t move

Hi, apologies if I am posting this in the wrong place - perhaps you can point me in the right direction if this is the case.

 

I recently purchased a Dwarf II smart telescope. As of yet, I haven't had clear skies to be able to test out the astrophotography feature. However, in daytime mode, I have encountered some issues. I wondered if anyone with experience of this telescope has encountered these issues:

 

From all of the tutorial videos I have seen, the cylindrical lens chamber should rotate in altitude manually - whether powered on or off. Mine doesn't do this. It feels physically locked until I use the app and move it in altitude mode using the app joystick function.

 

When I try and align the dual lenses in daytime photo mode, following the instructions, the green cornered guide box, onscreen in the app, will not move when I try and drag it to align the wide angle view with the telephoto view. I wondered if it was a screen sensitivity issue, but I have spend at least 30 minutes experimenting, and I cannot align the lenses.

 

I have taken a daytime photo, and I have to say the quality is really disappointing. I have Canon DSLR that's over 10 years old now, with a standard 55mm lens, which I use for wildlife photography, and the Dwarf II image is about 50% poorer in quality - a very grainy and a very dull image.

 

I am using an iPhone 11, with iOS 18.1.1 to connect with the smart telescope. I have contacted Dwarf Labs and I am awaiting a support session, but if anyone has any thoughts on these issues in the meantime then I would be very grateful to hear your thoughts.

 

Best wishes, Jeff.

Edited by GSBass, 05 January 2025 - 11:00 AM.

[Jeff Stevens]

Thank you for confirming. Yes, I’ll await the call back from Dwarf Labs. Thanks for taking the time to respond. 
 

Best wishes, Jeff. 

[Jeff Stevens]

I had an online video call with DwarfLabs this morning and a very helpful support session that has resolved all of my current issues. Just in case anyone experiences similar issues - here's the outcome:

 

It seems the cylindrical lens chamber had temporarily "frozen" in place - possibly from sitting for quite a while in storage. The support staff asked me to keep applying pressure as I tried to turn the chamber. After several attempts it suddenly "freed" with a jolt and now it moves manually in altitude. I was really surprised by how much pressure I had to apply - I was convinced it was going to break. Quite why it managed to move when used via the app, I don't know. That said, I did notice the movement via the app is now much smoother too.

 

In terms of the connection issues, it seems I had turned on connection features that I didn't require and were slowing the whole thing down. Basically, the support person got me to turn off all the settings (Activate Wi-Fi at Start Up; STA Mode; Enable 2.4GHz; Wi-Fi Compatible Mode). I believe STA Mode is required if I want to connect to my own Wi-Fi router whilst connected to the Dwarf II. This is has solved my glitchy connection issues.

 

Finally, in terms of aligning the dual lenses, it seems the app has been updated, but the DwarfLabs online guide I was following has not been updated, so it's a slightly different process now. If anyone else is stuck with this let me know and I'll explain it in more detail.

I also discovered that I had left a fine protective cover film over the lens screen - I only spotted this when looking really carefully at the body of the lens chamber to see if I could spot any marks or scratches. I guess this would have a slight impact on the quality of the images being taken.

 

The support people have been excellent at DwarfLabs, and it was really good being able to actually talk to someone in person - unlike the dedicated astronomy company from where it was purchased, who only communicate via email and basically told me I needed to take the issue up with DwarfLabs directly. Admittedly, it was purchased back in September and stored for four months prior to it being received as a present, but nonetheless I expected better support from the company I bought it from.

 

All I need now is a clear sky to test it out in astrophotography mode.

 

Best wishes, Jeff.

Edited by Jeff Stevens, 06 January 2025 - 07:20 AM.

[GSBass]

Nice… glad your up and running, so what is the new alignment procedure?

I had an online video call with DwarfLabs this morning and a very helpful support session that has resolved all of my current issues. Just in case anyone experiences similar issues - here's the outcome:

 

It seems the cylindrical lens chamber had temporarily "frozen" in place - possibly from sitting for quite a while in storage. The support staff asked me to keep applying pressure as I tried to turn the chamber. After several attempts it suddenly "freed" with a jolt and now it moves manually in altitude. I was really surprised by how much pressure I had to apply - I was convinced it was going to break. Quite why it managed to move when used via the app, I don't know. That said, I did notice the movement via the app is now much smoother too.

 

In terms of the connection issues, it seems I had turned on connection features that I didn't require and were slowing the whole thing down. Basically, the support person got me to turn off all the settings (Activate Wi-Fi at Start Up; STA Mode; Enable 2.4GHz; Wi-Fi Compatible Mode). I believe STA Mode is required if I want to connect to my own Wi-Fi router whilst connected to the Dwarf II. This is has solved my glitchy connection issues.

 

Finally, in terms of aligning the dual lenses, it seems the app has been updated, but the DwarfLabs online guide I was following has not been updated, so it's a slightly different process now. If anyone else is stuck with this let me know and I'll explain it in more detail.

I also discovered that I had left a fine protective cover film over the lens screen - I only spotted this when looking really carefully at the body of the lens chamber to see if I could spot any marks or scratches. I guess this would have a slight impact on the quality of the images being taken.

 

The support people have been excellent at DwarfLabs, and it was really good being able to actually talk to someone in person - unlike the dedicated astronomy company from where it was purchased, who only communicate via email and basically told me I needed to take the issue up with DwarfLabs directly. Admittedly, it was purchased back in September and stored for four months prior to it being received as a present, but nonetheless I expected better support from the company I bought it from.

 

All I need now is a clear sky to test it out in astrophotography mode.

 

Best wishes, Jeff.

[Jeff Stevens]

So to align the lenses, the support technician talked me through the following process:

 

Put the app into photo mode (this is to take a daylight picture). Use the wide angle view to locate a distant object. Then press the “focus” icon, and then double tap the object you have in the centre of your wide angle lens. When you do this it centres the same object/area on the screen in the smaller telephoto window. The two lenses are then aligned. I should mention I’m using the latest iOS version of the app. 
 

Best wishes, Jeff. 

[GSBass]

Thanks Jeff, I’ll reshare that around, I’m sure lots of people will find that useful

So to align the lenses, the support technician talked me through the following process:

 

Put the app into photo mode (this is to take a daylight picture). Use the wide angle view to locate a distant object. Then press the “focus” icon, and then double tap the object you have in the centre of your wide angle lens. When you do this it centres the same object/area on the screen in the smaller telephoto window. The two lenses are then aligned. I should mention I’m using the latest iOS version of the app. 
 

Best wishes, Jeff. 

[jprideaux]

So to align the lenses, the support technician talked me through the following process:

 

Put the app into photo mode (this is to take a daylight picture). Use the wide angle view to locate a distant object. Then press the “focus” icon, and then double tap the object you have in the centre of your wide angle lens. When you do this it centres the same object/area on the screen in the smaller telephoto window. The two lenses are then aligned. I should mention I’m using the latest iOS version of the app. 
 

Best wishes, Jeff. 

thanks!   My lens were off and it was a big nuisance for me since it wasn't obvious to me how to align them.  I always had to :"hunt around" a bit for the target that I had "centered" in my wide-angle lens to get it to show-up in my telephoto lens.

 

I just did that step and now my lens are aligned much better! 

 

P.S. when doing this in the day-time, choose a far-away target.