Our First Setup
Our first setup is a Newton Reflector Telescope ONTC 12" f/4 Carbon Newton from Telescope Service in Germany. This Newtonian is equipped with a TS 2,5" Wynne Coma Corrector and a 2.5" MoonLite Focuser with a High Resolution Stepper Motor from Moonlite as well. The Newtonian is placed on the iOptron CEM120 Center-Balanced Equatorial Mount. The polar alignment is done via iPolar from iOptron. The Lacerta MEGN-3 is our preferred guider in combination with a TS Optics guidescope 60mm.
Our Second Setup
Our second setup is a Skywatcher ESPRIT 100/550 APO, optical design by Lacerta/Telescope Austria. The APO is equipped with a 3“ Linear Power Focuser with a High Resolution Stepper Motor from Lacerta (MFOC). The refractor is placed on the iOptron CEM60 Center-Balanced Equatorial Mount. The polar alignment is done via ALccd-QHY PoleMaster. The Lacerta MEGN-2 is our preferred guider in combination with a Skywatcher guidescope 50mm.
Our Third Setup
Our third setup is based on the second setup. Instead of the APO we use a Skywatcher Quattro 8CF 200 DS Fibre OTA Newton Carbon with 2" dual speed focuser, stepper motor from Lacerta (MFOC) and a Skywatcher Newtonian F4 Coma Corrector.
Our Main Camera
Our main camera ia the NIKON DSLR D810A. It is Nikon's first full-frame DSLR dedicated to astrophotography. A specialized infrared cut filter captures the red tones of H-alpha emission nebulae.
The Kind of Session Control We Use
We tested many tethering tools and learned from each of them. For over three years now we are very happy with the Astro Photography Tool APT. APT is a very versatile software that has the right tools for planning, collimating, aligning, focusing, framing, controlling/tethering, imaging, synchronizing guider, scheduling, meridian flipping, analyzing and monitoring. All its features are packed in one comprehensive interface. The underlying software to connect the devices like mount, focuser or planetarium software is based on the ASCOM platform version 6.
APT - Astro Photography Tool: Superb Tool and a wonderful team around Ivo. Great support. ASCOM - Standards for Astronomy.An Alternative Session Control We Use
A superb alternative to APT is NIGHTTIME IMAGING 'N' ASTRONOMY N.I.N.A. N.I.N.A. offers a broad variety of capabilities. The astrophotography imaging suite spans from choosing, framing, focusing, centering and imaging one or multiple targets and much more. The project is fully free and open source.
N.I.N.A. - Superb imaging suite with many innovative features and plug-ins.The Type of Power Supply We Use
Power supply is essential out in the field if no power plug is available. We are very happy with our Goal Zero Yeti 400 Solar Generator.
Excellent Astro Shops
AOKswiss - Astro Optik Kohler: A rich source for astro equipment.
Teleskop Austria: Top Equipment from Lacerta, excellent customer support, fast delivery.
Teleskop Service: Excellent shop, very responsive and knowledgable, fast delivery.