Hey, what's up everyone Mack Murdoc from OPT and this is my personal rig.
To a lot of beginning Astrophotographers, this might look a little intimidating but
don't worry because in this video, I'm going to be breaking down everything. Common astrophotography
rigs are made up so you can understand the job of every cable camera and attachment.
And yes, this is my actual astrophotography rig that I shoot all my images on and I'm
taking it apart for you guys. So please give this video a like subscribe and hit that Bell
for notifications.
Also, we're going to be making it episode going over step-by-step, upgrade paths and
progressions from someone who has never even owned a camera before to building a rig like
this and even more. If you're interested in building this specific rig for yourself, I've
included all the links to all the pieces of gear in the description below if you seen
or other videos, you know that I'm a wizard sound. Let's take this thing apart.
All right, well, this is my rig all taken apart, let's go over and see what these pieces
useful for supper. If we have two cameras on this rig, the first one is my main Imaging
camera, the ASI 2600, mm Pro. And this little guy is the asi120mm me which is a great inexpensive
camera, the ASI 2600. In my opinion, is one of the top five best cameras on the market.
And for many reasons we made it video explaining all the reasons why that you can click on
right here.
But a general overview of this camera is that it's very sensitive to light. It records 91%
of the light that hits the sensor and it's got a pretty big aps-c with sensor with very
small pixels, allowing you to get the fine details in your image and a much bigger field
of view than you normally would with a micro four-thirds size sensor. On the other hand,
but doesn't need to have a giant sensor. Only function is to pick one star, lock onto it
and when it moves the pixel, send that data to the Mount So it can correct itself to be
extraordinary high-tech camera. Since you're not really Imaging with it. Here we have a
filter Wheel, A-Z, wo 36. Mm 7 position with all my filters nicely installed inside these
filters. Help me photograph, both Broadband targets, like galaxies and narrowband targets,
like nebulas. I'm using a monochrome camera. So I need a filter wheel to be able to produce
the color images inside. My filter will I have 36.
Mm, unmounted chroma filters from position 127, we have luminance red, blue green hydrogen
Alpha sulfur to oxygen 3 position. Gives me the ability to have all the Broadband LRGB
filters and the h, a s 203 narrow-band filter. Is pretty much all that I need. Make sure
that when you're buying filters and a filter wheel that you get the right size filters
for your specific sensor, or else, you're going to have major vignette it.
If you have a full frame camera, you're going to want to in filters or bigger. Then over
here, this big red boxes of Prima Luce Eagle. This is the brain of the rig. At some point,
I was tired of being Tethered to my telescope with a big computer and a bunch of cables
running everywhere. So I invested into the Prima Luce Eagle 3, not only my camera Focus,
her Rotator and guider and controls everything wirelessly.
The eagle is basically a computer that allows you to load on your favorite after programs.
Like you normally would on your Imaging laptop and now be able to broadcast that wirelessly
to your phone tablet or computer. It's definitely been a help with cable management and power
organization.
Guider. Which is an advanced way of doing autoguiding. Autoguiding is essential for
being able to expose for a long, long time without star Trails because it would watch
the star and tells your Mount to make small Corrections. If that star begins to drift,
The effects of guider basically sit in your imaging train like are showing a second and
the light comes through hits the small prism and reflect up into your guide camera and
is a great way to reduce the weight on your scope. Instead of using a guide scope guide
camera, and the Rings to attach it to this guy, to let you guide at the same focal length.
As your main telescope, from more accurate, guiding there are some drawbacks to using
an offense is guiders like not being able to find a star. If you're using a small sensor
and a high focal length in all honesty, I feel like I've only run into that problem.
Maybe once or twice a year. At that point, I just corrected by using a bigger sensor,
like, my ASI 174. This is my field flattener when I first bought my telescope, I have no
idea that you needed to feel flattered if you wanted a nice stars from edge to edge.
So, I ended up taking all my images thinking. My telescope has broken most refractors because
of the lenses. Normally have some Distortion along, the edges due to the concave shape
of the glass. These fields that Distortion and give you nice clean stars from edge to
edge, check out this image of Andromeda. Before I even knew that you had to buy one, you can
notice the elongated stars on the side for larger targets, you can buy a reducer flattener
combo, that will flatten your field as the title suggests, but it will also make your
scope faster and give you a wider field. Of, for example, when I know I'm going to
be shooting a large Target like Andromeda or the Lagoon. I'll put on my PrimaLuce point
six field flattener reducer which will turn my 905. 82 millimeter telescope to do a 571.
Mm telescope and turn it to F 7.5. F, stop into, it's much faster at 4.5. And here, we
have the electronic focuser the optic, ft20.
Focus locks is one of the best on the market, which is why we are so proud to work with
them. Other radian, electronic focuser, many beginners. Don't realize that things like
temperature and other factors like changing filters, can cause images to slightly. Get
out of focus. My electronic focuser is controlled from my eagle and set to refocus itself throughout
the night without me touching it every time. The weather drops 5° and my telescope expands
or contracts. It Focus every time the filter changes.
It focuses every time you smashed the like button, it focuses. It definitely adds to
the convenience but also the accuracy. Also, the Really nice thing about this focuser,
just like the radian focuser is you can engage and disengage it allowing you to focus manually.
And this is my camera, Rotator Ellie Rotator bioptic. I'm one of those images that have
to pack up my gear drive out to a dark location. Every time I want to image my target which
means I have to set up and tear down my scope every time losing my orientation of my Target
in based on the way my camera was positioned night before also in SUV's Framing and Mosaic
wizard.
I can set the right angle and orientation to get that perfect framing that I want instead
of manually having to adjust the camera which can be a pain and a hassle. Here we have a
beautiful set of Prima Luce rings that clamp perfectly onto my telescope and keep it nice
and secure and all this is going on in my explore scientific one. 27 carbon fiber refractor.
Alright, let's start putting together. This Imaging train is going to be a little bit
different for everyone depending on the gear that you using, but overall, it should be
somewhat similar.
The first thing you want to do is install your filters into the filter wheel, which
I've already done for more quality types of filters, like Chrome has the direction of
the filters, don't really matter due to its Coatings, but the last expensive kind, you're
going to want to point the reflective side towards the telescope and away from the camera.
If you still can't tell, if there's sometimes a narrow on the rim of the filter that points
to which side should be facing the telescope. Next two things that you're going to need
is your camera and your filter will some Builder Wheels.
You can screw onto the camera just using bolts but for this one I'm just going to use an
adapter and just going to screw it on just like this. Next comes the Outback sis guider
which can take some work and fiddling around with. But once you set it up correctly, it's
good. And you don't need to do it again for a while. So first, I want to throw it on this
out. Back says Gator adapter. And next you want to put on the Guyver, want to make sure
that your prism is flushed with your sensor and not at some weird angle.
Also, you might need to move this, call him up and down so that is close enough to the
sensor to grab some light. Without blocking the sensor camera, make note of which way
the sensor is facing so that you can line it up nicely with your Imaging sensor. And
next, we're going to attach our field platter. And finally, lets attached are rotator.
Now, that the Imaging session is done. Let's put this aside for right now on to the Rings.
The first, we're going to open up the ring and place the eagle underneath. And now that
is tied in there. We close the Rings and turn it right side up. And now, it's time to put
the telescope in.
Next, we need to install the focuser. We do that, by removing the original knobs that
are on here, and by putting the electronic focuser over and then tightening, easy peasy.
Lemon squeezy into our telescope and plug everything in it.
All right. Now, that everything is all put together, we'll wait for night time and then
put this on a mount for a good night of Imaging. All right, so we're outside right now, the
birds are chirping. The Sun is going down. So, let's finish setting up. These last few
steps. First place, the tripod legs on a stable surface and then screw in the Tripod spreader.
This will improve the sturdiness and then attach them out using the screw at the bottom,
we can now, it has the counterweight which is really important for Acura tracking, along
with the safety of not smashing your scope.
After you set up your telescope. A few times, you should get a good idea of where your counter
weight should be on the counter with Jeff. Do you want to learn some of the reasons why
balancing is so important and learn the correct method on how to balance your telescope? Click
the link right over here? Now that the counter weights are on first attack through telescope
by sliding it in and locking it down the pole Master, which of the Cameron designed to help
you pull her line super easy in under 5 minutes. If you want to learn her step by step tutorial
on how to use the pole masks. Then click right over here.
Finally, in the last, few steps is to give everything power. I personally use this giant
obnoxious, heavy car battery which will last for a good amount of time but I do suggest
something more lightweight and Astro related like a Celestron power tank. Now with my one
chord that hangs down, I plug it into the adapter and everything is set up powered and
ready to go. And just like that, you're done, you've gone from having a bunch of parts gadgets
and gizmos to a fully set up after photography, rig ready to take some amazing images setups
like this, don't have to look so intimidating with all of its parts, once you learn the
different pieces and what to do it becomes just a matter of figuring out what's compatible
and then attaching it under your rig and building it up, piece by piece at a time that about
wraps up this video.
If you enjoy this content, learn something fun or want to get some appreciation for taking
this whole thing apart and putting it back together. Please consider hitting that like
button and subscribe. For more fun tutorials, do you have any suggestions on videos that
you would like to see in the future?
Please leave them down below in the comments. As always, my name is Mack Murdoc here with
OPT and thanks for watching. Clear Skies!