Posts Made By: Ivan Gastaldo

Excellent!
Well done Tyler!
Beautiful detail & contrast.



Thanks for sharing, and Happy Holidays!


Ivan
8)

It is very hard to believe you can get such nice shots with a webcam... you definitely have grasped the "HOW TO DO IT".
Great shot Jim! Wonderful colors & detail!

Happy Holidays!


Ivan
8)

Merry Christmas and a Safe & Wonderful New Year to all!

Ivan
8)

Freddy, first of all, Thank You, and Merry Christmas to you too!

You have a great setup, no doubt about that. The 14" is a "MONSTER" (literally!) and the 10D camera is a great one to have...

Do you have any less powerful barlows? 5x is a very strong one, and I would consider using it only if my seeing is amazingly good... (would probably recommend starting with a 2x or 3x and working your way up...)
Also, it looks as if your focus is a bit weak...as you are close, but not quite there, and focusing is the most critical and time consuming task...(frustrating sometimes!)

For planetary imaging, I would, IMHO, get a webcam, like the Toucam Pro. It is not that your 10D cannot take planetary shots, but the webcams take hundreds or even thousands of frames, which they get combined at the end to make one "great" shot. The 10D in this case is taking one frame, which would be VERY HARD to make it look as good as what you would get with a webcam... (you would have to take hundreds of shots with your 10D, which could be a "pain in the behind", and then combine them with Registax)

On the other hand, the 10D is an awesome camera for DSO & wide-field imaging (if you piggy-back on top of your scope) since it can take very long exposure shots...

If you would like to get started on taking DSOs through your scope, I would also invest in a f/6.3 or even a f/3.3 reducer/corrector...

I hope this helps you a bit...


Clear dark cool steady skies!



Ivan
8)

P.S.
Did you take these Saturn shots at prime focus, or eyepiece projection?

Looking good Floyd!
Glad to see you are really enjoying your new scope!


Ivan
8)

Hello John!

I just wanted to drop a couple of lines about your question, since I own a DSI myself...

It is indeed a good way to introduce yourself into the DSO Imaging world, and at that price you won't find anything else that will do such job. You could of course wait a bit, put some more money together, and spend close to a $1000 for the next step up.

One word of caution... do not believe all they say about how easy & quickly you'll get shots like in the ads. I have not had much of a chance to use it, due to weather conditions, but I'll tell you that it has quite a steep learning curve (not as easy as 1,2,3) and that you'll spend countless hours either imaging and/or processing. (I've used it probably 2-3 days in the whole month I've had it)

Also, you'll need a good PC, with lots of memory, and USB 2.0 if possible.

Marketing has been very misleading, and I just wanted to make sure you knew how it is in reality ...

All in all, I like it. And I enjoy spending time outside and play with the toys... but I don't expect to get Magazine Cover shots any time soon...


Clear skies, and Happy New Year!


Ivan

One of my favorite Open Clusters!
Beautiful shot Jim!


Thank you, and Happy New Year!


Ivan
8)

Great shot Edward, congrats!


Happy New Year!


Ivan
8)

Ditto!
Thank You Herb for all your hard work...


HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!


Ivan
8)

AWESOME!
I really liked the animation... Excellent work Dennis!


Thank you for sharing, and Happy New Year!


Ivan
8)