First Light Image for Gary Honis Modded Canon T2i

Two weeks after getting my camera back from Gary Honis the clouds parted, the moon was out of the sky, and my schedule permitted me to try it out. Finally!

As a target I chose The North American nebula, something I'd imaged before with my ST-8300 in LRGB. The imaging site had light green sky brightness, not nearly as dark as for the CCD image. The telescopes were nearly the same, an AT72 at f/6 vs. my current AT65EDQ at f/6.5. Total exposures were 81 vs 100 m so it's almost a dead heat in terms of expected brightness. Because of the high humidity and the lack of a window heater the CCD was cooled only to about 0C.

Here's the T2i image:

NGC 7000 with Canon T2i and AT65EDQ at Cherry Grove 2015

and here's the ST-8300M image:

NGC 7000 with SBIG ST-8300M and AT72 at Iowa Star Party 2013

The difference is mainly one of brightness and contrast, which is almost certainly a result of my processing. I think the CCD image is a little washed out. I like most aspects of the DSLR image except for the vertical bands that are most apparent on the right portion of the image. These appear to come from the dark frames (I shot only six) and my inexperience processing DSLR images.

Related to those bands, one big change I'm going to make this year is learning how to dither. Based on what I've read it's helpful to let the camera cool after the image is read, and that "lost time" is perfect for dithering.

For this image I powered the camera using the Neewer AC power adapter and controlled the acquisition with the Neewer controller. Both worked perfectly.

---

Only a little over three weeks remain before the Nebraska Star Party. I've prepped three images for the astrophotography contest, one from Jeffers on the way to the 2014 NSP, one from my first night at NSP, and one from last fall. I need to give my binocular mount a couple more coats of varnish and it will be ready to go.

Canon T2i Returns from Gary Honis; Some Accessories for It

My camera is back from Gary Honis, its Baader modification complete. Now stop me if you've heard this before: The imaging weather looks to be bad for the next week or so. *sigh*

So let's talk accessories. Last time I wrote a little about the Neewer shutter control. Now that the camera is back I've been able to give the controller a try. I'm happy to say that it works flawlessly with the T2i.

Three other things I've gotten for the camera work great, too.

The Photive battery charged nicely, but only time will tell how well it serves for astrophotography. I've got three batteries in all (two are original Canons) and my hope is that together they can supply enough power for one full night of imaging.

The Neewer AC power adapter also runs the camera nicely. After the batteries fail I can switch over to an inverter or my Duracell battery with its built in inverter.

An M42/Canon EOS lens adapter also seems solid and lets my ancient Vivitar 28mm f/2.5 fixed-focus lens focus at infinity. I also have a big old 400mm lens that can use the adapter. I'll probably never image with that lens because it's so similar in focal length to my AT65. That and its optical quality is nowhere near that of the little scope.

---

When the skies finally clear it will be time to test Honin's work. I hope to travel north to a friend's home (with darker sky) and see what it does with the AT65 and IC 1396.

LBN 20 and 22, Neewer Digital Timer Remote First Look

Last night was a nice one. Cool, breezy, dry, no mosquitoes, and best of all clear. Okay, there was that almost-full moon, but the narrowband Ha filter dealt with it just fine.

LBN 22 (left half of nebulosity) and LBN 20 (right half)

These are my #93 and #94 of 100 on the ALBN. Two clear nights at the Nebraska Star Party and I'll be done. Maybe sooner if I pick up a few during the June new moon.

My Honis-modified Canon T2i will be delivered in two days. My plan is to use it for imaging at NSP while I'm also imaging with the SBIG CCD. This means bringing down my CG5 mount and running it off one battery. The camera will run off its own batteries (I have three). Rather than try to control it using the laptop, I've purchased a corded remote control. Which brings me to:

Neewer Digital Timer Remote First Look

In the past I've used a simple corded shutter control while DSLR imaging. This required me to keep track of the elapsed time. If I'm doing other things that kind of distraction isn't good; a programmable control would be much better. The Neewer is one of many models that allows you to set up an image-taking program. It gets very good reviews on Amazon, is priced under $20, and resembles a slender TV or DVD player remote. You can pay more--two or three times as much if you want to go with a name brand--but I don't see much point in that. The Neewer does what I want.

Now to some specifics:

Features:

• A manual shutter button with lock
• Programmable initial delay (the time between when you start the program and the shutter first opens
• Programmable exposure time (zero to 99:59:59 with one second resolution)
• Programmable time between exposures (same limits as exposure time). This is good for letting the camera cool between shots, or for time lapse imaging
• Programmable number of exposures --select an exposure count of 1 to 399 images or continued imaging until manually stopped (or the battery dies). Neewer says the batteries will last two months shooting 5s exposures alternating with 5s delays. The control does not have an automatic power-off, but it's easy to turn off the three settings that could consume power.
• The LCD shows the exposure progress, number of exposures, and counts down time while in delays
• An LED changes color according to whether the program is shutter is open or closed. It's not bright enough to bother anyone
• A soft beep that marks the seconds during exposures (it can be disabled)
• A backlight button that turns on a dim backlight for the display.
• A lock button that allows you to lock all functionality except the shutter release.

As delivered, you get the control and an instruction pamphlet. The instructions are well written and clear. My Neewer came with only English instructions.

My Neewer came in a flimsy cardboard box and plastic sleeve. The plastic cover of the LCD had a couple of light scuff marks that won't affect performance and don't bother me in the least. Buttons on the remote are clearly labeled and the case has a hole for attaching a strap (no strap is included) It was otherwise unmarked and seems to work just as advertised. Neewer says the remote will work between -20° and +50° C (-4° to 122° F), limits I can live with! I'll know more when I get my camera back and can test it.