Thanks for great service as usual. Wife coming home today... better hide that lens!

That 20% occasionally makes all the difference to us users and helps keep the market flowing...

Much appreciated SRS!

Hi folks

Well SRS have 20% off until 26th August ...and wife away with friends on holiday, while the cats away so decided to pull the trigger on...

Pentax HD PENTAX-D FA 150-450mm F4.5-5.6 ED DC AW Lens
&
Pentax HD PENTAX-DA AF Rear Converter 1.4X AW

While I have manual fixed telephoto lenses I really wanted this lens since it came out as it's such a useful AF lens in the focal length range on both APS-C and Full Frame.

That's a great image Dan, sequences are often the best way to go and I really like the way you have presented it, standard full at upper left to fully eclipsed at lower right... easy on the eye.

I will probably just try a few telephoto shots on a standard tripod... nothing too serious, just a bit of fun then back to a warm bed!

Mike

Hi Folks

Just a quick heads up for the Total Lunar Eclipse taking place during the early hours of tomorrow morning if anyone interested, some hazy high cirrus here in South Lanarkshire at moment.

Here is a link to time and details for UK...

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/uk/london

Mike

Gwyn, good to hear the lads are interested in astronomy, so many into their Xboxes and Playstations these days.
Here's hoping they both get a chance to see this comet. 🌠

Mike

Thanks for feedback folks, glad you find the info useful.
Remember the Moon will be waxing ....so the week before and including the 16th December will be darkest, moonlight will be troublesome the following week.

Mike

Just in case anyone might be interested there could be a chance to photograph a relatively bright comet in UK skies leading up to Christmas, I say relatively bright meaning it could reach naked eye visibility, certainly it should be easily visible in binoculars and within easy reach of standard camera lenses.

This is a very rare opportunity to photograph Comet 46P/Wirtanen at it's closest and brightest so you may want to step outside for a look and some photos.
It reaches it's closest on the 16th Dec 2018 when it will lie between the Pleiades & Hyades star clusters in the constellation Taurus... but will be visible for many days each side of that date as it moves against the starry background as a small turquoise colour ball which may or may not develop a tail.

A DSLR camera with standard lens, fairly high iso and lens fairly wide open should capture it in only a few seconds exposure.
Go a step further and use Pentax O-GPS1 Unit ...or inbuilt functionality of the K1 to extend exposure time some seconds longer.
A small camera tracker like those from Skywatcher or Ioptron would allow longer focal length lenses to be used more successfully but remember the comet is moving so may itself leave a trail.

Here is a couple of finder charts I made on Stellarium using ephemeris from the Minor Planet Centre yesterday to show the comets position over the period in one day steps as it gets higher in the skies coming up from the south.







More details and finder charts here...

http://www.cometwatch.co.uk/comet-46p-wirtanen/


Good luck and clear skies if you give this project a go!

Mike

Hi Bjørn

Glad to see you're getting further details from Paul regarding the DA12-24mm lens/filters.

Been a difficult couple of years on the family front here including a house move and as a result my photography has taken a back seat so I didn't renew my Flickr subscription but will hopefully rejoin in the new year. I did put a few images on YouPic a while back just to try the site out, if I find some time I may try a basic site on Wix or similar web builder.
I did buy the K1 MK1 when it came out, so far it has had little use but just love it in testing so far, still have my trusty K5 MK1 such a great camera on the telescope especially for lunar detail.

Unfortunately new house has light polluted northern horizon towards Glasgow so my aurora photography would mean travelling elsewhere sadly.

Clear skies to you and hope you get some more great aurora shots this season!

Mike

Hi Bjørn

Hope things are well up there in the frozen north!

Like you I use the Lee 100 filter system for my 67 lenses, just base kit with standard 2 slots, ND & ND grads are the only filters I ten to use on rare occasions.

Tonight I tested your setup on my DA12-24 lens with my 77mm W/A adapter ring and could not see any signs of vignetting when pointing upwards at the white ceiling while alternately fitting & removing the ring and Lee filter holder while looking through the viewfinder or using live view.
The 77mm W/A adapter diameter is well clear of the glass lying just beyond the white lens lettering, the depth measured from lens face ...to adapter face is only 7mm deep. (see picture)

Even if there was slight vignetting (when shooting raw) you can always correct this in photoshop raw by choosing the Pentax DA12-24 lens profile from drop down menu then do a manual tweak in there of the image corner shadows to lighten any vignetting.

Weight wise just one or two filters and basic holder shouldn't cause any strain to the lens mechanism which focuses freely independently of the lens filter thread. Circular filters might be a bit restricting especially if wanting to use grads, I would stick with the Lee 100 system.
The adapter threads are very fine and could easily be misthreaded so just use the lightest of touch until you're sure the threads have caught correctly ...and avoid over tightening, no need.

Hope this helps your decisions.

Clear skies!

Mike

Probably the O-GPS1 would be the first option ...though this uses the sensor movement behind the lens for limited tracking with some limitations on lens focal length used.

Next step up would be one of the tripod mounted options such as the Vixen Polarie ...or Ioptron Skytracker because they are both very portable fitting inside a camera case ...or even car glove box!

http://www.vixenoptics.com/mounts/polarie.html

OR

https://www.ioptron.com/index.cfm?select=productdetails&phid=6b0da2fb-2294-4805-...

OR

http://astrotrac.com/

The Astrotrac is probably the only system that bridges the gap between basic camera drives and small traditional equatorial drives and upwards...
The main difference is the Astrotrac is modular so you can go from tripod mounting and using camera lenses on a camera tripod with their equatorial wedge ....and then upgrade to their dedicated pier and same wedge with additional counterweight shaft and mount brackets allowing a small telescope to be balanced for more serious imaging.
The 'AG' in AstroTrac TT320X-AG stands for Auto-Guider meaning the Astrotrac can be guided in Right Ascension (East-West) direction over and above the tracking rate allowing small tracking adjustments to be made automatically with a suitable guide camera and software.

I already have a equatorial drive but if I was starting out I would probably choose the Astrotrac ...but saying that the Vixen & Ioptron fill a niche in ultimate portability.

See also this link for comparison...

http://www.ioastronomy.co.uk/2013/07/astrotrac-vs-skytracker-vs-polarie/

Finding the South Celestial Pole is not easy but would suggest a Google search for same ...there is loads of information and finder charts to help pinpoint the position.
This will take some practise using the Astrotrac Polar Scope but once you pinpoint the position you should be able to do it without too much difficulty most times after setup with minimal adjustments.
I would suggest first looking through the polar scope at a familiar pattern of stars such as the Pleiades for example so you are familiar with the field of view your polar scope provides ...so when going searching the South Celestial Pole you better understand how far you need to adjust the mount when star hopping to the exact pole position from a known star near by.

Mike