Deep Sky First Light 72mm Apertura & ASI533MC Pro (1 Viewer)

[Tracy]

Gain:  100
Offset:  30
Exposure Time:  60 seconds
Camera Temp:  -5°C
Camera:  ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Telescope/Lens:  Apertura 72mm refractor

First attempt at processing anything with the color camera. I decided I'd shoot the biggest and easiest target to start with. Found some balancing issues with the scope and the EQ35 Pro mount since it sites fairly close to the mount and is a really short scope. I'm going to have to figure a way to add some weight to it to balance it as the auto-focuser on the left and the focus knob on the right impact the actual mount when you get near center balance for it.
A mosaic would do it justice I think... but tonight was mainly about getting it ALL working together!!!

 

[Tracy]

Ended up removing the scope from the Vixen mount, removed the guide scope from the mount on the actual focuser area itself and removed the red-dot base. Then I turned the focuser where it's on the top of the telescope... which now allows me to access the full 11 inches of travel of the aftermarket Vixen mount I purchased, knowing this would be an issue with a 6 inch rail.

I WILL say... processing mono imaging is MUCH more involved that using an OSC.

 

[OhNo]

Try an offset of 50

 

[Tracy]

Try an offset of 50

I tried that with some... and it seemed to blow the image out a tad bit more for Andromeda looking at the stretched images as they were captured. I did 50 of 100/50 and the core was slightly brighter and you couldn't make out as much. It may be the fact that I'm in a Bortle 5 area? When I increased the gain or the offset, the "noise" seemed to increase.
Those stars on the inside of the disc were barely visible with the 50. It's why I dropped down to 100/30.

 

[Tracy]

I'll try processing the 101/50's I captured tonight... spent WAY to much time this morning on fixing the issue that I found with the rig last night.
Can't do any more captures for a few days as clouds and storms are forecast.

 

[OhNo]

There is a rumor out there that the Offset of the ASI533MC Pro isn't adjustable. I find it difficult to believe. What I find with mine is the colors get amped up, leaving a green tinge to the overall image especially if the sky is less than average. Green is one of the easiest things to fix in post...

 

[Tracy]

What I find with mine is the colors get amped up, leaving a green tinge to the overall image especially if the sky is less than average

I'll see if I kept them or not... but I DID notice when doing some darks before shutting down at 101/50 that there were green speckles in the stretched image of the FITS viewer in Stellarmate.... almost like a ton of hot pixels.

I didn't notice the issue so much when I was doing 100/30.