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Astroscope + DSLR = Setups! (1 Viewer)

shake reduction

Musoman said:
Thats something i will experiment with, as i have a K200D too. Never thought of doing such a test. Soon as i stick my scope on, i set IS to 600mm

I'll try 200 and see what IQ is like on my monopod
Click to expand...

Wanted to reply to this even though I am not using a scope yet, am doing this experiment based on the idea of getting one this year. The attachment was taken with my Pentax K200D+300mm SuperTak+1.7xTC (stopped down to f/8 on the lens) on a monopod which was then shoved into a water bottle pouch attached to the front of my belt (had to lean hard down into the pouch to get more stability). The Shake Reduction was set to 250mm even though the lens focal length adds to 510mm (as I understand manually set SR, you do not add-in the crop factor). Bird was somewhat far, not sure, did not measure it off of google. Also, it is a 100% crop and was judiciously sharpened with PSP XII and Focus Magic. Not too bad for an experiment. Looking for an f/6 ED scope that is not more than 5 pounds in weight, hard to find. The new Orion triplet is f/6 but comes in around 6 pounds. Will be experimenting soon with the telenegative I tore out of that tamron lens last week.
:eat:
 

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I think Fernandos TS TL804 is around 5Lbs and f6 or maybe f6.6 but FL is only 420 or 430mm. Though he gets good IQ with TC's

I have a very similar arrangement with my Manfrotto 681b Monopod, but i have a rucksack type belt attached to the Pod, and leave it slung round my my neck, and simply swivel the the thing round to take a photo. I have the legs out just long enough to brace against my own leg.

Of course this is not for my scope. Its too long and too weighty for that, but i have a 400mm hoya and 320mm Pentax lenses that this system works fine with
 
Musoman said:
I think Fernandos TS TL804 is around 5Lbs and f6 or maybe f6.6 but FL is only 420 or 430mm. Though he gets good IQ with TC's
Click to expand...

TS TL804 is 480mm F6 80mm objective 2.3kg (5lbs from TS website) although users say it is a fraction heavier than the quoted weight on the TS website, one user weighed his OTA at 2.4kg (5.3lbs).

The new Orion ED80T CF is the exact same scope as the TS TL804 but in a carbon fiber tube, although at 6lbs this makes it slightly heavier than the aluminium tube TS version.

Paul.
 
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Musoman said:
I knew i'd got some of it wrong :smoke:


As for the Orion CF - its hard to imagine how a similar scope in CF is weightier than an Ally one
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Yeah, I thought the CF would be lighter but users have confirmed it's heavier. Depends how thick it needs to be to be stable, then add the weight of the resin and I suppose that's where the weight is.

Paul.
 
It seems then the only advantage is that CF colour - it doesnt stand out like a christmas tree, as opposed to the pure white scopes
 
Tmb92

I didn't purchase it for taking photos http://www.pt-ducks.com/cr-telescopes.htm#CR-binoviewing but since I have it, I use it for photography...;)
Combined with the Siebert PMW (0-3x) it works great - in the photo enclosed I'm also using a Brightstar http://www.bstar-science.com 1.6x element of the modular barlow from 1.6 to 2.5x since 506mm is too short for my field conditions - it also increase de image quality of the 3x position of the PMW.
For photography the version with the 2" would be better since is less expensive, a bit less heavy and allow better balance than my 3" version.
The TMB is a true APO and since I have it I notice well the CA of my Optolyth100 scope in some situations...
The NEX5 with the 7fps option is also great for action photos!
 

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David, does that cartridge contain the various Barlows or different iris. How heavy for the whole setup? Your NEX looks like a fly on the jumbo. Very impressive setup. Post some shots at the gallery thread.
 
Alphan, the PMW has 4 different barlows and an empty hole. It weights 354g if you use it with the T connections. I have to show some sample photos of different magnification positions.

The TMB92 is very heavy - listed for 8.5lbs but with the tube rings and dove tail bar is weighting more than 5kg - my scale only weights until 5kg...

I included a couple of sample photos in the other thread.
 
Can't remember the post that mentions Fernando made a slideing lens hood, what material he made it out of - could you give us more info on it
 
I used a machined teflon part inserted on a 125mm pvc tube.
The photos bellow should explain it clearly ;)
 

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My revised setup. Celestron 80ED + T2-Sony Mount Adaptor + Cheapie China Extension tube + Sony A550. Mounted on DIY Manfrotto 393 Head with DIY Flash jacket, DIY Flash Cable, DIY Flash extender on Sony F42 Flash. Whole thing sitting atop a DIY tripod extendable to 2M height.
 

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Al - when you mount the flash unit, surely your shutter speed goes right down to your flash synch speed ?

Mine is a poor 1/180th maximum if i use flash
 
Musoman said:
Al - when you mount the flash unit, surely your shutter speed goes right down to your flash synch speed ?

Mine is a poor 1/180th maximum if i use flash
Click to expand...

Not sure about the Sony, but with mine, Olympus (fl50r) I can get higher sync speed than the max of 1/250s of the incamera flash, (with FP TTL. However I need to match iso accordingly, since all is manual)
 
I'm a bit thick when it comes to flash, and i use an old manual unit, (Centon FH95.... not a dedicated Pentax flash ) so i dont know how to make the flash fire at a faster shutter speed than 1/180th
 
Pete, I am using the Sony F 42 flash. Normal flash syn at 1/160 s but with HSS 0n my flash, it does up to my top speed of 1/4000s....o:D though maybe at lower power. So far no problem with my scope + flash extender to hit my bird from 60m.
 
Al ,

Is high speed sync a feature of the flash unit itself, or the camera body ? I dont know if my Centon FH95 has HSS, or whether my K200D has HSS
 
Has anyone here used a Manfrotto 393 Heavy Telephoto Lens Support with the 80ed on a tripod? I was looking at getting one for mine as long as it works well with the scope.
 
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