Tal


The Tal 1 has been an excellent lunar-observer's 'scope for nearly 5 years now. Here it is set up for sun-projection for a change	Special cap for solar work, though I'd never trust the 'filter' which came with it.	Sturdy, robust - takes knocks, quick to set up for those fast moving-clouds nights.
Came with 25mm, 15mm plus x3 Barlow which give a good selection of magnifications	Also has a set of coloured filters which I use infrequently	Most of the lunar/planet photos on my websites are with the Tal - often using the 25mm with the x3 Barlow to give about x 96
Very steady viewing - easy to 'nudge' on when (if?) set up properly!	Stand not very adaptable - I often have to stand on a couple of bricks to get the right viewing position ;-)	The Tal has no motor which makes it difficult to take long 'videos' of planets etc. but causes few real problems

My 'techniques' for Astrophotography on the Tal 1 - such as they are!

I'm no photographer - but I like some record of what I've been looking at, however fuzzy. However, I don't want it to take over from looking at and enjoying the Moon and Night Sky.

The camera used for most of my photos is a 3mb x3 zoom Ricoh Caplio G3 digital, using point and shoot! I have it on Scenery Mode and hold it while pointing the lens at the telescope objective with the camera usually on full zoom to avoid the dark vignetting. If the Caplio is held at the same distance from the e/p that my eye would have been, the moon/planet is usually in focus for the camera too. I take stills (lots of them!) and videos via the Caplio. The stills then need sharpening and maybe some contrast altering in PaintShop Pro. The videos need more work (see Planets below)!!

Lunar photography

For photos of the whole moon I use the 25mm e/p which came with the Tal. The clearest close-ups are usually with the 25mm + x3 Barlow - or with a 20 mm and x 3 Barlow. The 15mm and Barlow gives closer views but rarely clear ones but can be useful for getting to know the craters on the Moon. I have taken videos of parts of the moon, but as their size is limited to 320 x 240 and just 30 secs length I prefer to wait for a decent still photo!

Photos of Planets

For the planets I've found that using the video on my Caplio gives far better results than just attempting single shots, hand held to e/p as with stills. They need more processing though, which I don't enjoy. As the Tal has no motor I usually 'lean' gently on the Tal to try to keep the object in view longer when taking videos. Sometimes this works :-) sometimes it doesn't :-( If I want a still photo then the 15mm and x3 Barlow seems to give a large enough, just light enough view. I also have a cheapish zoom (20 - 6 mm) e/p which can be useful with planets.

The Caplio gives the video as an avi file. This I look at in Virtual Dub, take off any audio, remove any fuzzy frames and resave it - again as an avi.

I then pick this avi up in Registax. To lessen the processing I put it on Automatic and it runs through the stages and produces an image for me. I play about a little with the sliders etc., enlarge it, crop it, save it then look at it in PaintShop Pro. The size of the video doesn't matter with planets - I was pleased with the fuzzy Mars results as they at least showed some of the detail I could see through the Tal, simple stills were too small.

General

As I said earlier, I do as little 'processing' of the photos as possible. Often I over-process them in my haste to get to the end. More careful work in PaintShop Pro or whatever picture editor is used would probably get you better results.

I have a SteadyPix to hold the camera to the 'scope eyepiece but find it just too fiddly yet to bother with - will give it another go sometime! There are also other ways to fix the camera to the 'scope - again, you need someone who has tried these methods.

As I write (Spring 2007) my Caplio is damaged and the replacement camera (Lumix x12 zoom) will not work in the same way on Lunar photographs - though it works on Saturn videos. Am still thinking my way round this one!!! Watch this space!!

Details and Links to Virtual Dub, Registax and other software can be found on the Original Backyard Moon web here


Eclipse of the sun - projected on to special extension	Mars 2006 stacked from video, faint smudges seen through Tal	Mars again, hand-held camera poked down eyepiece. Videos stacked, enlarged

Never got good photos of the Gas giants yet	But can see rings, bands, moons	Photos on zoom, enlarged. Clearer but smaller through Tal.


The Tal-1 was great for watching the whole moon change (25 mm)	Had difficulty capturing the darkest phase with the Caplio (photo lightened)	And also at getting a photo of the extremes as the shadow passed whilst still getting the red tint


A good sized Saturn here - with clear rings. Taken with Nokia phone via 120 achro refractor	A large view of Jupiter showing two main bands of cloud. Taken with a Nokia phone via Skywatcher180 mak	The Mare Nectaris on the terminator. Taken with Nokia phone via 6 inch Skywatcher reflector


Nokia phone again - The crescent moon shows the 4 big walled plains from Langrenus south along the terminator via 6 inch Skywatcher reflector	Nokia phone - Close-up of Langrenus with the central mountain - and battered Vendelinus via Skywatcher180 mak	Nokia phone- Two seas - Crisium and Fecunditatis and plenty of craters via Skywatcher180 mak

Tal 1 - 110 mm Reflector - plus a little 'Astrophotography'