I enjoyed your video. Very interesting and educational. Encouraging to see how you did everything simply and within a very reasonable budget. You are very good at this. Thank you.
Those are some awesome final images. For lunar and planetary viewing/imaging, you really can't beat a good Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope. The ZWO ASI120MC-S planetary camera is legendary. I love mine. They're not expensive either. Team it up with a good Mak and mount and you've got something really special. I bought my Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 2nd hand from a Dutch site called, Marktplaats. It's very similar to ebay, only in Dutch. I got a great deal on my scope too. I set myself a budget of €200. I got it for €150. It's an older one in the blue livery. The guts of it are the same as the newer black ones. It's in perfect working order. There's not a mark or ding on it. Even the collomation is on the money. Okay I had to wait for nearly 2 years for the right one to show up. It's was worth it though. I've now a fantastic Mak. My Sky-Watcher EQM-35 PRO SynScan GoTo mount carries it perfectly too.
I recommend fitting a Skywatcher focus motor, particuarly if used with a kit from our good friend Vasco Ribeiro in Portugal (google him or search in TH-cam) allows fine and coarse fucusing without making the mount vibrate and cheaper than the ZWO EAF (which I have on my 9.25" SCT)
There are stratosphere weather reports you can get that aircraft use. Tells you when you get a rare calm spot up there. That's when I go to my Bortle 2 spot and crank it to 250x on my refigured Newtonian with Takahashi quality optics. Best $500 I ever spent. Need a heftier mount if the wind is blowing it around like that.
Hey Trevor. I was curious, as I just got my 2i Pro, but what is the visual capability of the MAK? As much as I am wanting to image, I also want to just look sometimes. Does it get real close up image of the moon? I still have to grow the testicles to actually take my T3i apart to remove the LP filter. Great videos!
My Goodness! What kind of mounting are you using? My first, home-made mounting didn't jump around that much, and I made it from a plan clipped from an old magazine with spare bits and pieces savaged from the family garage and basement!
Hey Trev! Great vid. Any dew issues in the cold? I'm in B.C. and we have a lot of a moisture with our winter months and the lens for my Dob-Newt fog up within an hr of being outside.
Hi Trevor. Does your Williams Optics dovetail adaptor stay tight when you attach to the Star Adventurer? I have a similar adaptor but, when I screw it on to the SA mounting, it keeps revolving loose so I can't mount a scope onto the SA.
Thank you!! Lol yeah I noticed the same thing when I was processing, not sure, it was probably on the camera itself, I cleaned it and didn’t seem to be there anymore so I think I got it😃
As a newbie - finding it difficult to connect bits - like herding cats! Appreciate your clear explanations of how things go together and how they work together. Know where I need to go - thanks!
Exactly what is the extra weight you put on the end of the counterweight bar like and how? It would help me a lot since I have the same team. Thanks and greetings from the Canary Islands
So I have a photo ball head attached to the end of the shaft, I modified the ball head adapter that came with the star adventure and flipped the 3/8th thread around so I could simply screw it into the shaft then attach anything with a 3/8ths thread to it. I could make a video on it now because lots of people have asked me about it, it’s a very useful little mod if you need a little more weight, thanks and all the best from Kentucky😁
@@AstroPilotchannel Thanks. I saw it. The info was useful. BTW, I'm toying with the idea of mounting the guidescope to the unused 3/8" thread on the declanation bracket. If I were to do so, the guidescope would be focused north rather than wherever the imaging camera will be pointed at. I think it would help balance out the weight. Do you think this would impair the guidescope's ability to track properly?
@@operatingprincipals9606 thanks! That’s a great idea, I’ve thought about doing that before too, personally I don’t no if it would do any harm if it’s pointing in the other direction, I think it would work just fine since I’ve seen a couple of pictures online of people doing the same thing. It’s worth a try! And WOW! greetings from Kentucky as well my friend, best of luck to you and clear skies😁
Hello , nice video im thinking to buy that telescope but im un sure if i could take pictures of the Moon, some planets and some bright deep space objects with my DSLR , did you tried to do that ?
You can’t go wrong with a nice Dobson, iv currently used my 8 inch Newtonian I use for imaging now for visual a few times and WOW, it’s amazing. A nice pair of Binoculars around the 70 to 80mm ranges are very nice too, iv got a pair of celestron 70x25s and their very nice too
@@AstroPilotchannel good! Thank you! I was hoping to get a telescope that could do both imaging and visual, but I'm learning that it is not likely to find a scope that is good at both. I am really liking what I'm seeing with the 127 and 9.25.... how good is the 127 on planetary?
@@kevinashley478 for planetary, any of the Maks are great, I wouldn’t go any smaller than 127, if ur looking for one for good planetary, I’d go for the 150, but the 127 is great all the same, I feel like the 150 would give just a bit more power and resolution
@@kevinashley478 I’d go for the 9.25 for resolution, and a camera with very small pixels, especially if u want big prints. More mirror= more resolution
Great to see younger dudes into astronomy
I enjoyed your video. Very interesting and educational. Encouraging to see how you did everything simply and within a very reasonable budget. You are very good at this. Thank you.
Great job. Clear skies, and thanks for sharing.
Those are some awesome final images. For lunar and planetary viewing/imaging, you really can't beat a good Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope. The ZWO ASI120MC-S planetary camera is legendary. I love mine. They're not expensive either. Team it up with a good Mak and mount and you've got something really special.
I bought my Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 2nd hand from a Dutch site called, Marktplaats. It's very similar to ebay, only in Dutch. I got a great deal on my scope too. I set myself a budget of €200. I got it for €150. It's an older one in the blue livery. The guts of it are the same as the newer black ones. It's in perfect working order. There's not a mark or ding on it. Even the collomation is on the money. Okay I had to wait for nearly 2 years for the right one to show up. It's was worth it though. I've now a fantastic Mak. My Sky-Watcher EQM-35 PRO SynScan GoTo mount carries it perfectly too.
Great clear explanation and nicely paced videos - thanks!
I recommend fitting a Skywatcher focus motor, particuarly if used with a kit from our good friend
Vasco Ribeiro in Portugal (google him or search in TH-cam) allows fine and coarse fucusing without making the mount vibrate and cheaper than the ZWO EAF (which I have on my 9.25" SCT)
Great job. Beautiful images. Keep em coming.
Well done, Clear explanation is appreciated
Nice job! Thanks for explaining during the imaging session!
Thank you!!!
Excelent job! I see your channel growing so quickly! Keep up the excelent effort!
Thank you!, I will!
There are stratosphere weather reports you can get that aircraft use. Tells you when you get a rare calm spot up there. That's when I go to my Bortle 2 spot and crank it to 250x on my refigured Newtonian with Takahashi quality optics. Best $500 I ever spent.
Need a heftier mount if the wind is blowing it around like that.
Great video, Beautiful images!
Thank you!!
Nice job. I didn’t expect the tracker to hold that scope.
Haha thanks!!! I had the same thought when I first got it!
Congrats on the growth!
Thank you so much!!! Got a 500 sub video coming out tomorrow!
Great music.
I'm genuinely surprised you have so few subscribers. I really appreciate you commenting as you image, which is really helpful.
Thank you! I really appreciate it, hopefully we will keep on growing!!!
@@AstroPilotchannel Keep on at it mate. Really engaging, interesting and accessible to a dunce like me.
you should like it. I had one i regret having sold it. but i might buy a 150mmMak
Great video, thank you!
Thanks!!
Good video, thx, nice crisp images
Thank you!!!
Beautiful images. It has inspired me to dig out my Skymax 127 and pair it up with the 120MC-S.
Awesome!!! And thank you!!
A Mak should be mounted much closer to the primary mirror end as they are back heavy. The 120MC won't work for deep sky.
Good Job - thanks
Hey Trevor. I was curious, as I just got my 2i Pro, but what is the visual capability of the MAK? As much as I am wanting to image, I also want to just look sometimes. Does it get real close up image of the moon? I still have to grow the testicles to actually take my T3i apart to remove the LP filter. Great videos!
My Goodness!
What kind of mounting are you using?
My first, home-made mounting didn't jump around that much, and I made it from a plan clipped from an old magazine with spare bits and pieces savaged from the family garage and basement!
Hey Trev! Great vid. Any dew issues in the cold? I'm in B.C. and we have a lot of a moisture with our winter months and the lens for my Dob-Newt fog up within an hr of being outside.
Really impressive, just not the wobbling mount. I'm going to avoid that combination. Thanks for the insight.
Probably a combination of the mount and a phenomenon known as "atmospheric wobble."
Hi Trevor. Does your Williams Optics dovetail adaptor stay tight when you attach to the Star Adventurer? I have a similar adaptor but, when I screw it on to the SA mounting, it keeps revolving loose so I can't mount a scope onto the SA.
Why not use the ZWO soft ware, works just as good or better and easier for stacking and post processing
Great shots! On the camera live view, it looked like there was a dust mote or something on the lens. Was that on the camera or in the telescope?
Thank you!! Lol yeah I noticed the same thing when I was processing, not sure, it was probably on the camera itself, I cleaned it and didn’t seem to be there anymore so I think I got it😃
Well done alright.Might get the 150 gets great reviews too
As a newbie - finding it difficult to connect bits - like herding cats! Appreciate your clear explanations of how things go together and how they work together. Know where I need to go - thanks!
Exactly what is the extra weight you put on the end of the counterweight bar like and how? It would help me a lot since I have the same team. Thanks and greetings from the Canary Islands
So I have a photo ball head attached to the end of the shaft, I modified the ball head adapter that came with the star adventure and flipped the 3/8th thread around so I could simply screw it into the shaft then attach anything with a 3/8ths thread to it. I could make a video on it now because lots of people have asked me about it, it’s a very useful little mod if you need a little more weight, thanks and all the best from Kentucky😁
Please do show us how it works. I bought 1/4” to 3/8” adapter that didn’t fit well. I needed a wrench to unscrew everything.
@@operatingprincipals9606 lol I’ll make the video today and have it out tomorrow!😀
@@AstroPilotchannel Thanks. I saw it. The info was useful. BTW, I'm toying with the idea of mounting the guidescope to the unused 3/8" thread on the declanation bracket. If I were to do so, the guidescope would be focused north rather than wherever the imaging camera will be pointed at. I think it would help balance out the weight. Do you think this would impair the guidescope's ability to track properly?
@@operatingprincipals9606 thanks! That’s a great idea, I’ve thought about doing that before too, personally I don’t no if it would do any harm if it’s pointing in the other direction, I think it would work just fine since I’ve seen a couple of pictures online of people doing the same thing. It’s worth a try! And WOW! greetings from Kentucky as well my friend, best of luck to you and clear skies😁
Hello Trevor. Does the Skymax focus knob have a "hard stop" at/near infinity focus, similar to a DSLR lens? Thanks.
I guess it does....or not?
the picture with the apo , did you use photo or video and eyepiece projection ! cheers. great shot
Thank you!! I shot video just like with the Mak, and I’m happy to say it turned out well!, thanks again and clear skies!
Hello , nice video im thinking to buy that telescope but im un sure if i could take pictures of the Moon, some planets and some bright deep space objects with my DSLR , did you tried to do that ?
It’s going to be less focal length with the larger sensor but I’m sure you could do it, it’s not going to be as much resolution though.
@@AstroPilotchannel thanks!
What is a good visual telescope?
You can’t go wrong with a nice Dobson, iv currently used my 8 inch Newtonian I use for imaging now for visual a few times and WOW, it’s amazing. A nice pair of Binoculars around the 70 to 80mm ranges are very nice too, iv got a pair of celestron 70x25s and their very nice too
@@AstroPilotchannel good! Thank you! I was hoping to get a telescope that could do both imaging and visual, but I'm learning that it is not likely to find a scope that is good at both. I am really liking what I'm seeing with the 127 and 9.25.... how good is the 127 on planetary?
@@kevinashley478 for planetary, any of the Maks are great, I wouldn’t go any smaller than 127, if ur looking for one for good planetary, I’d go for the 150, but the 127 is great all the same, I feel like the 150 would give just a bit more power and resolution
@@AstroPilotchannel what size image could I expect with a 130 or a 9.25? A clear image with no pixelation, would I be looking at an 8x10 or 10x13?
@@kevinashley478 I’d go for the 9.25 for resolution, and a camera with very small pixels, especially if u want big prints. More mirror= more resolution
Fabulous.