Even after my worse night ever (leaving my laptop power cord at work, breaking my C11 tripod leg, clouds covering the sky 5min before the full eclipse) I managed to rig up my finderscope on a camera tripod with my toucam and got some decent images. Shots taken every 30min starting at 8pm, 30sec at a time. 1/1500 sec at first, then 1/1000 during the partials, and 1/25 for the full eclipse. I had the brightness set to 50%, gamma/sat at 100% (to get max color, which didn't seem to work anyway...), gain at 20%. Best 100 of 150 for all shots, except for the full eclipse which was 20. Considering the massive clouds moving overhead starting at 10:15, I was lucky to get a small 10sec clearing.
With my C11 tripod out of commission, I am now highly motivated to finish my observatory (2 yrs so far). Right now it's only a buried 12" concrete pier, with a used 7' dome sitting in my backyard. I just can't see spending the $ on another cheapo tripod...
I will post a picture of the setup later tonight.
Regards,
Steve
With my C11 tripod out of commission, I am now highly motivated to finish my observatory (2 yrs so far). Right now it's only a buried 12" concrete pier, with a used 7' dome sitting in my backyard. I just can't see spending the $ on another cheapo tripod...
I will post a picture of the setup later tonight.
Regards,
Steve
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