Whats your spend on camera kit that you take these days....?? Some of the kit ,rigs ,bodies and lens's is far exceeding the cost of the carp gear...!! (Not including the now it seems obligatory top of the range baitboat and accessories).
I'm a Fuji XT2 user with a few lens (16mm F1.4 ,35mm F2 and a 55-140 F2.8) and a decent tripod with an Acratech tripod ball head ...:(
Adds up and its pretty heavy but i don't always bring the lot...And some i've seen bring far more...
Nothing like a decent pic though and got to factor in the Lightroom subscription and storage.....!!
Pricey game these days....
Regards Tad.
I'm a Fuji XT2 user with a few lens (16mm F1.4 ,35mm F2 and a 55-140 F2.8) and a decent tripod with an Acratech tripod ball head ...:(
Adds up and its pretty heavy but i don't always bring the lot...And some i've seen bring far more...
Nothing like a decent pic though and got to factor in the Lightroom subscription and storage.....!!
Pricey game these days....
Regards Tad.
I recently upgraded my camera gear, I have a D5100, the body cost me £80
A 35mm prime, cost £100, tripod was £12 i think.
And i use dark table that is free. Doesnt have to be expensive.
A 35mm prime, cost £100, tripod was £12 i think.
And i use dark table that is free. Doesnt have to be expensive.
In reply to Post #1
You can get some amazing Digi and film cameras on the second hand market no need for all singing all dancing. Even great film cameras from charity shops if you're lucky.
I currently use a Fuji X pro 2 35mm f1.4 and 18mm f2, the 18mm stays on most of the time, if I had some spare change I'd sell the 18mm and buy the 23mm f2 just for it longer and weather sealed.
Tripod stays in the car, I use a bucket where possible or retain the fish and ask another angler for shots.
Free alternates to lightroom, I find the Fuji jpgs to be amazing straight out of camera with their film filters.
You can get some amazing Digi and film cameras on the second hand market no need for all singing all dancing. Even great film cameras from charity shops if you're lucky.
I currently use a Fuji X pro 2 35mm f1.4 and 18mm f2, the 18mm stays on most of the time, if I had some spare change I'd sell the 18mm and buy the 23mm f2 just for it longer and weather sealed.
Tripod stays in the car, I use a bucket where possible or retain the fish and ask another angler for shots.
Free alternates to lightroom, I find the Fuji jpgs to be amazing straight out of camera with their film filters.
In reply to Post #1
I'm a semi-pro wedding and portrait photographer. I also shoot deep space nebula with that kit going 10k. I have my main kit insured for 30k so if it's a dick-swinging competition I'm in... Do all the adobe subs with over a decade of experience in PS and LR blah blah blah. But for fishing a phone camera and a bucket is plenty good enough for my needs if and when I do snap one.
I'm a semi-pro wedding and portrait photographer. I also shoot deep space nebula with that kit going 10k. I have my main kit insured for 30k so if it's a dick-swinging competition I'm in... Do all the adobe subs with over a decade of experience in PS and LR blah blah blah. But for fishing a phone camera and a bucket is plenty good enough for my needs if and when I do snap one.
In reply to Post #4
I'm also a trained audio,visual tech and trained photographer mainly weddings,and social events,I don't do it any more though..
Get asked all the time...to do weddings..
I use a camera phone front facing ,and if I'm feeling it,I use a mirror less lumix..less is more these days..
Miss the old blind self takes on 35mm,got good at it as well,used to ratio 3 to one for a great pic,not bad for shooting self takes with no flip screen..
I'm also a trained audio,visual tech and trained photographer mainly weddings,and social events,I don't do it any more though..
Get asked all the time...to do weddings..
I use a camera phone front facing ,and if I'm feeling it,I use a mirror less lumix..less is more these days..
Miss the old blind self takes on 35mm,got good at it as well,used to ratio 3 to one for a great pic,not bad for shooting self takes with no flip screen..
In reply to Post #4
have my main kit insured for 30k
What mount you got, a Bisque jobby, Astrophysics, PlaneWave?
APO or Cassegrain? Mallincam is pretty cool, don't have to wait hours and hours to look at something like the Veil Nebula near real-time.
have my main kit insured for 30k
What mount you got, a Bisque jobby, Astrophysics, PlaneWave?
APO or Cassegrain? Mallincam is pretty cool, don't have to wait hours and hours to look at something like the Veil Nebula near real-time.
In reply to Post #6
Eq6r Pro with an Esprit triplet and ZWO1600 mono camera and LRGB hydrogen oxygen sulfur 7nm filters. Also just fitted a primluche auto focuser that with APT and remote connection is a game-changer. I do imaging not observing, so my nebula shots could take months to finish after numerous nights shooting narrowband across 3 filters. Most images on average will have a total minimum of 10 hours. Very rare to get a clear sky in the UK and when you do it's capitalized on very quickly.
Eq6r Pro with an Esprit triplet and ZWO1600 mono camera and LRGB hydrogen oxygen sulfur 7nm filters. Also just fitted a primluche auto focuser that with APT and remote connection is a game-changer. I do imaging not observing, so my nebula shots could take months to finish after numerous nights shooting narrowband across 3 filters. Most images on average will have a total minimum of 10 hours. Very rare to get a clear sky in the UK and when you do it's capitalized on very quickly.
In reply to Post #7
For the money, those ZWO camera's are quite something 👍
For the money, those ZWO camera's are quite something 👍
In reply to Post #8
They are excellent. They will comfortably cool the chip to minus 40 below your ambient. Noise after flats darks and bias is non-existent. Looking at an upgrade within the next few months as the nights get darker. Ideally, I'd like to go full-frame with maybe something like a skywatcher 300pds, but I won't sell what I have, ill keep this as a second rig.
They are excellent. They will comfortably cool the chip to minus 40 below your ambient. Noise after flats darks and bias is non-existent. Looking at an upgrade within the next few months as the nights get darker. Ideally, I'd like to go full-frame with maybe something like a skywatcher 300pds, but I won't sell what I have, ill keep this as a second rig.
In reply to Post #9
An there's me getting excited about a cheapo astro tracker
I used to be pretty good, just taking an olympus camera with one lens, one flash, camera mounted on a bankstick.
I still take that, but plus another flash, storm poles to mount the flashes, maybe a second body with long lens. Maybe an ultra wide. Maybe a macro
An there's me getting excited about a cheapo astro tracker
I used to be pretty good, just taking an olympus camera with one lens, one flash, camera mounted on a bankstick.
I still take that, but plus another flash, storm poles to mount the flashes, maybe a second body with long lens. Maybe an ultra wide. Maybe a macro
In reply to Post #9
ZWO full frame? Big money, eh?
I'm more into live view. I've an Edge HD11, HyperStar, Mallincam on a CGE Pro with a William Optics GT81 and Starlight Instruments fucuser and fully automated Starlight Instruments micro focus motors on both scopes. I use the GT81 as a guider most of the time.
The mount is playing up at the moment with a runaway motor on the Dec axis. I should have bought a Software Bisque ME in retrospect.
ZWO full frame? Big money, eh?
I'm more into live view. I've an Edge HD11, HyperStar, Mallincam on a CGE Pro with a William Optics GT81 and Starlight Instruments fucuser and fully automated Starlight Instruments micro focus motors on both scopes. I use the GT81 as a guider most of the time.
The mount is playing up at the moment with a runaway motor on the Dec axis. I should have bought a Software Bisque ME in retrospect.
In reply to Post #10
It's such a cracking nebula the Eastern Veil 👍
It's such a cracking nebula the Eastern Veil 👍
In reply to Post #12
Thats a lot of weight, can that mount handle it? and have you done a balance evaluation and cable management check? Not telling you how to suck eggs, but after I did this I got my guiding down to an average of 0.50 in PHD.
Thats a lot of weight, can that mount handle it? and have you done a balance evaluation and cable management check? Not telling you how to suck eggs, but after I did this I got my guiding down to an average of 0.50 in PHD.
In reply to Post #11
Sorry for the slight derail of the tread
It doesn't really matter what you got duggs. Some of my favourite times was with a cheapo Newtonian and a hacked Xbox camera watching the moon in real time.
I often look up on a clear night whilst I'm out, just looking and taking in the sheer immenseness of it all and all the possibilities.
Sorry for the slight derail of the tread
It doesn't really matter what you got duggs. Some of my favourite times was with a cheapo Newtonian and a hacked Xbox camera watching the moon in real time.
I often look up on a clear night whilst I'm out, just looking and taking in the sheer immenseness of it all and all the possibilities.
In reply to Post #14
It's more than capable of taking it all. I think the CGE Pro has a 90lb payload. It worked flawlessly for ages. It's a known problem with the Pitman motors Celestron decided to use, bloody £500 plus a pop if I can find a spare, literally like hens teeth.
I'll defo take into account what you say. The cable management is spot on and not a tangled mess 😉
It's more than capable of taking it all. I think the CGE Pro has a 90lb payload. It worked flawlessly for ages. It's a known problem with the Pitman motors Celestron decided to use, bloody £500 plus a pop if I can find a spare, literally like hens teeth.
I'll defo take into account what you say. The cable management is spot on and not a tangled mess 😉
In reply to Post #10
Was that taken on a Samsung Galaxy phone... cough......???
Regards Tad.
Was that taken on a Samsung Galaxy phone... cough......???
Regards Tad.
In reply to Post #17
Lol
Lol
In reply to Post #15
Living in London, proper astro kit is a waste imo. Even most of the places I carp fish aren't remote enough for having a crack at all but the biggest dso's. A little tracker I can take fishing for better milky way pics, and hopefully giving decent results, 30 secs with a 300mm lens (on a 2x crop camera) so I can have a dabble at andromeda or the heart and soul nebulae is about all I want...
... For now
Living in London, proper astro kit is a waste imo. Even most of the places I carp fish aren't remote enough for having a crack at all but the biggest dso's. A little tracker I can take fishing for better milky way pics, and hopefully giving decent results, 30 secs with a 300mm lens (on a 2x crop camera) so I can have a dabble at andromeda or the heart and soul nebulae is about all I want...
... For now
In reply to Post #19
Duggs this is my rig without my filter wheel I've since added. I have a friend who images with a similar setup in Tokyo. A Bortle 9 and gets amazing results. Filters especially the high-end 3.5nm narrowband pass are amazing nowadays we have never had it so good. They literally cut out everything and only allow slithers of specific light wavelengths through i.e. Oxegen (blues) Hydrogen (reds) and sulfur (orange)
image gratuite en ligne
Duggs this is my rig without my filter wheel I've since added. I have a friend who images with a similar setup in Tokyo. A Bortle 9 and gets amazing results. Filters especially the high-end 3.5nm narrowband pass are amazing nowadays we have never had it so good. They literally cut out everything and only allow slithers of specific light wavelengths through i.e. Oxegen (blues) Hydrogen (reds) and sulfur (orange)
image gratuite en ligne
In reply to Post #20
I take it the sensors are full spectrum?
I've been looking at getting one of my cameras converted, mainly for some infra red stuff I want to play with, but I think now I should go full spectrum and get narrow band filters.
The light pollution filters don't seem to work very well on my setup
That kit would be wasted on me, astro shots take much more processing effort than I'm willing to do.
The little tracker I got is more for night landscapes, looks to track well to about 3mins with a 45mm lens (90 equiv), and fits in a coat pocket. I did make one mistake tho, I bought a kit with a laser pointer for polar allignment, I took it to a lake in the Colne valley the weekend it came, pretty clear sky, a few hours between sunset and moonrise, and "eeerrrr" I can't point a laser here
Had to order a polar scope, all my trips since tho have been around the full moon
Should be fun for some wide field stuff in winter, ive been too busy this summer to get any decent milky way shots, whenever I've had the time I haven't had the weather
I take it the sensors are full spectrum?
I've been looking at getting one of my cameras converted, mainly for some infra red stuff I want to play with, but I think now I should go full spectrum and get narrow band filters.
The light pollution filters don't seem to work very well on my setup
That kit would be wasted on me, astro shots take much more processing effort than I'm willing to do.
The little tracker I got is more for night landscapes, looks to track well to about 3mins with a 45mm lens (90 equiv), and fits in a coat pocket. I did make one mistake tho, I bought a kit with a laser pointer for polar allignment, I took it to a lake in the Colne valley the weekend it came, pretty clear sky, a few hours between sunset and moonrise, and "eeerrrr" I can't point a laser here
Had to order a polar scope, all my trips since tho have been around the full moon
Should be fun for some wide field stuff in winter, ive been too busy this summer to get any decent milky way shots, whenever I've had the time I haven't had the weather
In reply to Post #21
Its mono. Thats why I have to use filters.
Its mono. Thats why I have to use filters.
In reply to Post #22
That amount of processing would fry my brain!
That amount of processing would fry my brain!
In reply to Post #23
Takes spades of patients and dedication to acquire decent images not just the processing, things like flexture is a right pain, especially with long exposures.
Some of the images I've seen captured on very modest rigs can rival similar captures by Hubble, saying all of that, they're not taking those shots from London 😁
Takes spades of patients and dedication to acquire decent images not just the processing, things like flexture is a right pain, especially with long exposures.
Some of the images I've seen captured on very modest rigs can rival similar captures by Hubble, saying all of that, they're not taking those shots from London 😁
In reply to Post #24
I've got good patience up to the moment I sit at a computer
And rightly or wrongly, I class the calibration frames with the processing.
Stacking hours of exposures for each wavelength, and then combining them is well beyond my patience, skill or desire.
I do like seeing them tho
Something I've enjoyed doing a bit of sea fishing this year is the lower light pollution, I haven't been able to get a clear night but even without a tracker it's just so much easier to shoot and process. Harder to find polaris tho as in London I only see a dozen stars around it compared to thousands from quiet spots on the south coast. I'll have to get better or the tracker will be useless
I've got good patience up to the moment I sit at a computer
And rightly or wrongly, I class the calibration frames with the processing.
Stacking hours of exposures for each wavelength, and then combining them is well beyond my patience, skill or desire.
I do like seeing them tho
Something I've enjoyed doing a bit of sea fishing this year is the lower light pollution, I haven't been able to get a clear night but even without a tracker it's just so much easier to shoot and process. Harder to find polaris tho as in London I only see a dozen stars around it compared to thousands from quiet spots on the south coast. I'll have to get better or the tracker will be useless
In reply to Post #25
That's where a light bucket like and Edge HD11 or Edge HD14 + HyperStar saves the day. Can't remember if it F1.4 or F2.0, either way, saves loads of time once everything is collimated.
At some point I'll have it properly setup in the garden when I finally get around to it with a roll-off roof obs and control it all from my sofa, sod freezing my nuts out in the garden 😁
TheSkyX is a great bit of software once you get used to it. I guess if computer's are not your thing though.
That's where a light bucket like and Edge HD11 or Edge HD14 + HyperStar saves the day. Can't remember if it F1.4 or F2.0, either way, saves loads of time once everything is collimated.
At some point I'll have it properly setup in the garden when I finally get around to it with a roll-off roof obs and control it all from my sofa, sod freezing my nuts out in the garden 😁
TheSkyX is a great bit of software once you get used to it. I guess if computer's are not your thing though.
In reply to Post #26
I didn't pay that much for my car
I didn't pay that much for my car
In reply to Post #27
Neither did I
Neither did I
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