6 replies to this topic

[John Wunderlin]

Hi Everyone,  I've been mostly away from imaging for over a decade now.  My old workflow tools are mostly gone or not supported any more.   Next week I'm traveling to the site of the Nebraska star party and I'm hoping to dust off the rust and do some imaging.  What would you recommend for data acquisition, guiding and some post-processing?  I still have my old trusty photoshop.   My guidescope is the original starshoot autoguider- I hope something still supports that.

 

Thanks in advance,

John Wunderlin

[scanner97]

Hi John,

 

I was in Nebraska quite a bit many years ago, but I still remember the amazing horizons.  (Compared to New England...)

 

Things have changed a bit.  (I came back after 20+ years.)  Here's something you might find useful on the starshoot: https://www.cloudyni...autoguider-fix/

 

For acquisition, I use NINA, but there are other options.  NINA will work with several guide apps, of which phd2 is the most commonly used.  For pre and post I use Siril, but you could calibrate and stack with that, do some post, and then finish in PS if you want.  NINA and Siril are freeware.   

[Drothgeb]

I was away for almost 20 years, and got back into it. To get a running start I would get an ASIair to control the scope, camera, and mount. And probably Siril for processing.

 

The ASIair won’t give you as much control as NINA, but it’s much easier to get started with. If you ever want more control, they’re easy to sell later on. First night out of the box, I was getting excellent guiding with my old LXD75. And it was very easy programming it too.

 

I’m still regularly using Siril for pre-processsing and Photoshop for post-processing, even with having Pixinsight. Siril is free, and has excellent documentation on their site. I use Siril up to a mild stretch, then move to PS for tweaking.
 

I’ll be driving through Nebraska in a couple of days, on my way to do some camping and imaging in NM and AZ.

[jml79]

I was away for almost 20 years, and got back into it. To get a running start I would get an ASIair to control the scope, camera, and mount. And probably Siril for processing.

 

The ASIair won’t give you as much control as NINA, but it’s much easier to get started with. If you ever want more control, they’re easy to sell later on. First night out of the box, I was getting excellent guiding with my old LXD75. And it was very easy programming it too.

 

I’m still regularly using Siril for pre-processsing and Photoshop for post-processing, even with having Pixinsight. Siril is free, and has excellent documentation on their site. I use Siril up to a mild stretch, then move to PS for tweaking.
 

I’ll be driving through Nebraska in a couple of days, on my way to do some camping and imaging in NM and AZ.

ASIair won't work with the StarShoot and if he has an older camera it also may not work. Easy button yes but only if everything is purchased from ZWO.

[bobharmony]

Welcome back to the craft, John.  I also use the StarShoot autoguider, with PHD2 for guiding.

 

Bob

[jml79]

I am not sure if I have the same thing but I have an Orion StarShoot Auto Guider camera that I was using with a 30mm guidescope and an OAG. It worked, a lot of noise and huge pixels but it worked natively with PHD2. I had seen someone say they had removed support in the latest version so if it doesn't connect just download a version from 2023 or so and it will work just fine. What's the rest of your gear? If you can find ASCOM drivers for it then it should work just fine with NINA. Siril is a great starting point for stacking and processing but GraXpert and Seti Astro are also free and can add some tools to Siril when you are ready for more complexity. StarNet is great and if installed per the instructions works from within Siril.

[ntph]

NINA, PixInsight and a Windows laptop. Sadly the last one is the weak link. If your Ps skills are rusty, just stick with PI and the new tools available. Brush off the rust from Ps and you'll be golden. PI is not that hard...