Posts Made By: Bennett Burbank

Please help me with my conundrum. I currently am imaging with an ED80 mounted on a CG-5, using an Orion Starshoot.

I want to make a major upgrade, and I see two avenues: Upgrade the mount to an Orion Atlas and get a Canon XTi DSLR. This puts the majority of the cash into the mount, which will allow me to image with my other OTA, a C11, which up until now has seen primarily visual use due to its weight.

The other avenue is to leave the mount alone and throw all the cash at the camera, and get an SBIG ST-2000XCMI or similiar level. My question essentially is whether or not my CG-5 will do the camera justice. I have made 90 second non-drifted exposures with round stars, which surprised me, and I gained new respect for the mount.

Anybody's thoughts would be appreciated. It's a welcome conudrum, to be sure; I just want to do it right!

My friend has an old (25 years, one owner) pair of Zeiss Dialyt 7x42 binoculars in fair condition. I don't know enough about binoculars to advise him adequately, but I certainly know the Zeiss name and I know the prices sometimes attached to their equipment. Could someone advise me if my friend has valuable equipment he could sell or if he should just keep them around the house?

Thanks!

Bennett Burbank

My friend has an old (25 years, one owner) pair of Zeiss Dialyt 7x42 binoculars in fair condition. I don't know enough about binoculars to advise him adequately, but I certainly know the Zeiss name and I know the prices sometimes attached to their equipment. Could someone advise me if my friend has valuable equipment he could sell or if he should just keep them around the house?

Thanks!

Bennett Burbank

I have a new QHY8 that I haven't had first light on yet. I'm accustomed to DSLR imaging and am uncertain about Offset and Gain values. I understand that Gain is essentially ISO, but what is Offset, and what is an "appropriate" value to start with?

Thanks!

Bennett

I just have to say that this is a great thread. Keep it up. Thank god somebody did the world a service by busting those Baytronix telescopes in a Cloudy Nights review.

Thank you, all, for your input. I did the Ebony Star and it certainly improved the azimuth bearing (I don't have a problem with altitude). I wonder why they don't make them with a similiar laminate alraedy installed. I still imagine an affordable, simple if imprecise motor capability, maybe with a string that draws down the end of the scope as the motor winds. I guess I just have to buy it and try it! If I do, I'll post my adventure . . .