Very confused wet-darkroom photographer

Hi Bill,
You mentioned that you get an error when you plug in the
LPI.
Maybe un install the software and re-install it ??

WOW!! looks like I have an awful lot of learning to do in this field. It took about six months for me to learn how to perfect the intricate tequnique of the perfect orchid pollination, looks like perfecting DSI/LPI is going to take me a tad longer. My plan now is to forget the planets with the DSI, I - most likely mistakenly - thougt that the DSI would be an improvement on the LPI for planets as well.
Dave Lillis:

Maybe un install the software and re-install it ??

This I'm going to do tonight. Everytime I open up Autostar suite on my laptop, everything has to be reset, including the planitarium, I don't have this problem with my PC. Tonight I'm getting out my old PC which I intended selling, and putting it in the shed. I've bought 50 miles of USB " cable and I'm going to install the software in that. I'm now 100% certain that my laptop can't deal with it. Instead of selling the PC I'm going to use it for the astro stuff. Focusing I suppose will be a pain in the neck until I can afford an auto focus. But hey, even with all this frustration, it's all part of the fun anyway
One thing I have noticed, my focusing technique has improved dramatically even if my pictures are cr*p, I've reduced focusing time from about 40 mins to about 10.
I shall take on board what everyone tells me and use the DSI for deep space, LPI for planets. So we shall see what happens on the next cloudless night, which I think is due in 2007.
Thanks for everyones advice, keep it coming.
Bill H.

Bill,
You used to spend 40 mins to focus the image ??
I spend about 30 seconds, take some images, take it way out of focus and focus again and take more images, this way I've found that I usually hit the focus at some stage and if I get it wrong, its only wrong for a small number of images and not for the entire night.
I used to find that I was "trying to hard" at the start of the night so I sub-consiously focused my eye on the image as opposed to focusing the image on my eye.
If you wear glasses, you must use them for this.
I'm going to make a hartman mask later on.

I know some might think it is wastefull, but it works for me

Bill - sounds like a good plan! I find the PC much easier to use and more responsive than the laptop - especially if its inside. Cold and dew makes the laptop sluggish.

Like you, I'm getting better and better at focusing. It used to take me an age - now I can get it pretty much spot on in about 10 mins. But what I have found is that if you keep your telescope setup and don't fiddle with the focus, the next night you are out, its even quicker to focus - if you have to do it at all. Oh, and my pictures are crap also - but like my focusing, they are getting better too!

And just a final word on the LPI vs DSI - the DSI *can* be used for planets/moon but that is not its strong point.

Given your horticultural prowess, perhaps a picture of this would tie in both your interests...

antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050214.html



Dave

Dave - I used a Hartman on the ETX70 and found it very very good. I just need to make an 8" version now...

I find that with the DSI, since it gives a live image (well, updated every second or so) I don't need to take an actual image to focus. I look at the screen (image), throw it out of focus, then tweak the focuser - check the refreshed image and then tweak again until I've tweaked into good focus.

Another tip I read in my Celestron manual is to tweak your focus in a manner which the mirror moves against the pull of gravity - this minimises mirro shift. In the case of a Celestron SCT, this means moving the focuser anticlockwise. Not sure about Meade but the manual should help.

I'm not sure what you mean by image/eye eye/image though?

One thing I have come to realise quite quickly though is that Astrophotography is not for the faint of heart!

Cheers

Dave

I find that with the DSI, since it gives a live image (well, updated every second or so) I don't need to take an actual image to focus

Hi Dave,
I think you mis-understood me,
I focus to what I think is the best focus, take images for a while and deliberately re-focus later anyway and take more images.
I do this as one night I thought I got a good focus to find that I spent the entire night taking blurry images :x
It can be difficult to focus using a laptop TFT screen and very much prefer a CRT monitor.

Another tip I read in my Celestron manual is to tweak your focus in a manner which the mirror moves against the pull of gravity - this minimises mirro shift. In the case of a Celestron SCT, this means moving the focuser anticlockwise. Not sure about Meade but the manual should help.
Dave

The 12" you need to turn the focuser clockwise, its the only SCT that you do this, this is because there is a massive spring supporting the primary mirror, this helps reduce image shift, I have it down to 2/3 the width of saturns rings.

I'm not sure what you mean by image/eye eye/image though?
Dave

You can use your eye to focus the image!
Obviously, you use you eye to observe the image through the eyepiece while focusing, BUT its not the same thing.
If you do this while you focus an image, then look away at a distant tree on the horison (obviously not through the telescope) and look back into the eyepiece at your "focused" object, the object will be completely blurred, what happened to your focus ??
I found that when the object is nearly focused, your eye can finish the focusing for you, its equivilant to focusing a telescope without wearing your glasses (if you need them), it'll be focused for your eye at that time but not for a camera.
So never let your eye focus the image, do it using the focus dial on the scope. Let your eye completely relax while focusing.
You're also open to eye strain and tiredness if you let your eyes do all the work.