Lunar imaging, which way to go

[+Stu]

Hi folks. I intend on making the most out of our favourite imaging buzz kill this year so just need a bit of advice. I'd like to get some nice detailed images and the choice I have is the GT81 with a 2.5x powermate or the LX85 6" Mak paired with my Altair 269CPROTEC. Any advice on which setup to go for to get the sharpest results?

[philjay]

Hi Stu, both scopes will perform well, the gt81 for wider shots and the mak for higher mag.

 

I,m not a fan of barlowing on lunar, never seem to get sharp enough images for my liking, I prefer prime focus but thats just me.

 

Not sure what size chip your cam has but bare in mind it will only cover a small area of the lunar surface in the mak, a bit more in the 81 due to differing fls. Ok you can barlow it in the 81 but extra glass means more stuff in the imaging train that can reduce sharpness.

 

I used to image lunar with a 180 mak and qhy planetary cam and the prime focus images were crisp but a lot of mosaicing was required to cover larger areas, but that was fun to do.

Edited April 19 by philjay

[+Stu]

@philjay Thanks Phil. My camera is a 21mp 4/3rds sensor with 3.30m pixels, apparently quite good at planetary imaging so I'm hoping it will get me some good lunar shots. I've had a go at a wide shot with the un-barlowed GT81 which turned out ok. I'll get the Mak set up to hold my hub n stuff and have a go with that. 

[philjay]

Ah, so a 4/3 rds sensor should give you an easy full disc on the 81 so a barlow will help there.

I always liked imaging lunar with the mak 180 lovely crisp images and a full disc with an aps chip only took 4 to 5 panes in a mosaic.

[+Stu]

@philjay What do you use to get the mosaic? I was planning to use CdC for any mosaics I wanted to attempt. 

[+Ibbo]

Thats what I used when I did the sun that way, 20 pane to start with then 9 and now I can do it in a one and a fater frame rate, how things have changed  😀