THIS JUST IN!

7/7/2004 NEW SECTION for used cameras. I will be offering used equipment that I have received in trade for Yankee Robotics Trifid cameras here. I will also be offering my own cameras here over time as I upgrade and experiment. Check back often for potential bargains!

6/27/2004 Looks like another good night with the single shot color camera. This time the target was M27. I went deep with a 60 minute exposure at F3.3. I subtracted a dark frame and tweaked the color a bit. This image also has a touch of unsharp mask. Click on the image to see the full size version.

6/26/2004 I just put my “Prototype” KAF-6302CE Trifid on the auction block at Astromart to pay for the next Trifid I am having made with the KAF-2002CE sensor. By prototype, I mean the first camera I had made with my sensors. This camera is not so sensitive, due to the color filter array on the surface of the sensor. Based on my testing, it takes almost as long to take a color picture with three filters as it does to expose a single shot with the CE single-shot color camera. Here is M16 taken at F3.3 on my LX200 GPS. This is a single 30 minute shot with dark frame subtraction and a little hand-waving using my color generation utility. This utility interpolates the colors in the Bayer pattern of color filters on the array to create a full color .raw image that can be read into Photoshop or an equivalent program. I’d say, not bad for 30 minutes of exposing! I’d say it rivals my other shot with the monochrome sensor. The KAF-6302CE has the same great H-Alpha response of the other KAF series sensors too. You can click the image to see the full-size version.

6/11/2004 Back out again. Took a false color image of M16, the Eagle Nebula. It was low on my horizon (almost not accessible via my observatory) in the south. I took 40 minute integrations using an H-Alpha, H-Beta and O-III filter. The images were taken at prime focus (F10) on my 12” LX200 GPS. Guiding via NP-101 and an ST-4. The color assignments were Red to H-Alpha, Green to O-III and Blue to H-Beta. Sort of following the actual spectrum. Image after dark subtraction, histogram expansion and a little umask, followed by RGB assignment, is below. Click it to see the FULL SIZE image.

6/8/2004 VENUS TRANSIT PICTURES! My son and I had an early morning on Tuesday, and we took some nice shots of the Venus Transit using a Meade ETX-125EC UHTC and a Canon D60 camera! (First light images for the scope, actually) I’m throwing together an animation with the Canon images as I used the programmable timer remote to take pictures every 20 seconds as Venus neared the end of the transit. Come back again and see it!

6/5/2004 ANOTHER RARE NIGHT AND M57! Out in the observatory again tonight. Trying out the KAF-6302CE Trifid camera some more. I decided on some 30 minute exposures at F6.3. Actually, it was probably a bit higher than F6.3, as the Meade F6.3 focal reducer was screwed right into the camera body. Check out the image below! This was a SINGLE SHOT COLOR image for 30 minutes. A little histogram tweaking, some unsharp mask and color balance and there you are!

5/29/2004 DRY AIR, BABY!!! How to make your Trifid Camera impervious to condensation on the outer surface of the optical window when you bring your temperature WAY DOWN. Build this air dryer for about $20 and never worry about condensation problems again. Click Here for the Air Dryer!