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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

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XsCode

XsCode

Well-known member
Well, I made an order at Pulsar Optical for the following...

1 x Sky-Watcher Skywatcher Equinox-80 Pro Fluorite ED APO Refractor (Equinox 80 ED Refractor OTA)
1 x Astro Engineering Max DSLR 2 inch camera adaptor (for Canon, Nikon & Pentax) (AC698 for Pentax K)
1 x Astro Engineering AC330 50mm T-thread extension tube

I will look at teleconverters at a later date as the scope comes with a free 2x APO barlow that I will experiment with.

I'll keep this thread updated as the journey happens...
 
After perusing the pulsar website, I realized I'd ordered the 500mm fl version by mistake!!! Luckily their customer service is excellent and a quick phone call sorted out the change to a Evostar - ED 80 DSPRO Apochromatic refractor.

Well done Pulsar Optical!
 
Even though the updated version Evostar 80ED ( 600mm ) has a dual Crayford , as opposed to the old rack and pinion in my previous version Evostar, it doesnt look exactly like the Equinox dual crayford. The Dual Crayford in the Equinox looks exactly like the Dual Crayford i just bought as an upgrade for my Evostar.. so maybe as well as the 500mm FL, and wider aperture, the focuser is slightly different, and i think the hood and tripod mount look much better than the Evos'.

The hood is a retracting / sliding hood, which i think the Evo doesnt have
 
Well, here it is! Unfortunately they forgot to add the free 2x APO Barlow, but a quick call later and they will send it on...

Also I ordered the wrong 2" extension!!! (I seem to be making a habit of that), I ordered a 1.25" 50mm extension, I already have a T-Adapter for 1.25" so I can use that.. I'll order a proper 2" one when i get some more spare cash

I noticed that there was a screw thread on the top of the rings and tried it with my little tripod, and it fit so I've turned the rings round and moved them backwards so it's now perfectly balanced! Added advantage is that the wedge? end works as a good carrying handle.
 

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Looks like you're not using one clamp and the mount rail, so you could dump those and save some weight ;)

Mind you, you'll lose that carry handle
 
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To be honest, I don't think weight is an issue for me. Most of my photography sessions will probably be from hides using a beanbag (cheaper and more versatile than a hide clamp / tripod in my opinion). I will invest in a decent tripod at a later date if i can find a decent price. My shopping list seems to be growing by the day!
 
Looks good and as you say the rail makes a good handle. I've often thought of drilling my scope and bolting on a handle for carrying purposes. I'll get around to it one day lol.

Paul.
 
Bon Voyage on your new adventure. My journey are still in planning stage.

I would have some reservation with your ad hoc tripod mount. The base are not big enough and may not be stable compare with a bigger base. The same thing applies to the tube. Any movement will exert extra pressure on the paint.

Post some pics with the 1.25" tube and again with the 2" when you got it to compare the difference.
 
I've got a 1.25" nose piece and 2" nose piece for my T-mount and I find the 1.25" one to be slightly more contrasty than the 2" one. I don't get any vignetting problems or anything with the smaller one. Because I prefer the 2" fittings I tend to stick with the 2" one and just stop it down to a similar sized hole as the 1.25" one. To do this I used a rubber eyecup off of an old eyepiece and it fits inside my 2" nose piece just nice. It makes the darks in the photo a little darker and not washed out like they can be from and stray internal reflections.

Paul.
 
Vow Paul, you answered my question. Is it similar to reducing the aperture for sharper effect/better DOF in DSLR lenses?

Cheers.
 
alphan said:
Vow Paul, you answered my question. Is it similar to reducing the aperture for sharper effect/better DOF in DSLR lenses?

Cheers.
Click to expand...

I guess it's similar to that effect. You can alter the depth of focus a lot by making a lens cap to go on the scope and make a smaller hole in it to reduce the scopes aperture. The Skywatcher comes with a lens cap with a removable disk which exposes a 50mm hole. This reduces the 80mm lens down to 50mm, increases depth of field, increases contrast etc. I found on a sunny day that a 25mm hole was possible and shutter speeds were still usable. Depth of focus increased by quite a bit as it was basically at f24 or f12 with the 50mm hole.

Trying to do this at the back end of the scope, as in near the camera, will result in vignetting, so it's best to do it at the lens end via a lens cap.

Paul.
 
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Managed a few hours at Mere Sands, Rufford today. Focusing is going to be a practice, practice, practice job I think.

Here's the best of about 30 shots

1 - Grey Heron approximately 60-65 yds
2 - Above image 100% crop of head
3 - Kingfisher at approx 90 yds
4 - Kingfisher at approx 100-110 yds

All images were taking in raw on Samsung GX-20 using Liveview to get best focus with cropping, levels and slight sharpening done in PS CS5.

Altogether I'm very happy... now to wait for the 2x barlow and experiment
 

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XsCode, very well done. You just gave me a boost of confidence in my coming project..

Paul, I think if we can determine the point where the image cross (forgot the term for it), then the aperture control there would be best, as with all lenses.

Cheers.
 
alphan said:
XsCode, very well done. You just gave me a boost of confidence in my coming project..

Paul, I think if we can determine the point where the image cross (forgot the term for it), then the aperture control there would be best, as with all lenses.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Where the image flips or gets reversed, yeah I see what you mean, that would be the right place but would require modifying the scope to some degree I would think.

Something like this could probably be adapted and mounted in the correct position. http://www.edmundoptics.com/onlinecatalog/displayproduct.cfm?productID=1966

Paul.
 
Yeah, by that diagram, it should be very close to the focuser infront of TC or Barlows.

I will try it out too when my scope arrives.
 
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