First Batch of Images with Modified 350D

by Jim Solomon

It's summer time, which means Halpha time, which means I've succumbed to the "modified camera" craze and gotten a new Hutech-modified Rebel XT (350D) with Type I filter replacement. Here's my first batch of images with that camera on a guided AS-GT mount, some with a coma-corrected f/5 8" Newtonian, some with a 200mm lens.

NGC 6820 (Emission Nebula) and NGC 6823 (Open Cluster) in Vulpecula. Modified 350D with coma-corrected f/5 Newt. I'm happy with this one -- my previous attempt with the unmodified camera failed to capture any of the emission nebula. And while, yes, the exposure time is vastly different, an individual 4min exposure with the modified camera shows more nebula than the 4x10min stack with the unmodified one:
http://www.SaratogaSkies.com/ngc6820.html

M20 (Trifid Nebula) in Sagittarius. Modified 350D with coma-corrected f/5 Newt:
http://www.SaratogaSkies.com/m20-new.html

M16 (Eagle Nebula) in Serpens. Modified 350D with coma-corrected f/5 Newt:
http://www.SaratogaSkies.com/m16-new.html

M16/M17/M24 in Sagittarius. Modified 350D with Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM operating at f/2.8. I'm amazed at how well this came out, since the fog wiped me out after only 8 exposures. Gotta love fast optics!
http://www.SaratogaSkies.com/m16m17.html

M8/M20 in Sagittarius. Modified 350D with Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM operating at f/2.8:
http://www.SaratogaSkies.com/m8m20.html

I also gave SH 2-64 a try, but got almost nothing after 100min of exposure, so I deemed it outside of the reach of my camera, mount, optics, light pollution, or all of the above. The DSS image looked very inviting and suckered me in. :)

In case it's not obvious, I now have a new domain (www.SaratogaSkies.com) which gives me a bunch more space, where I'll be able to post more full-resolution images. Same crummy layout for now, but I'll be rearranging it soon. Please start using the new site and update any links you might have to the old site, which will go away soon. And please let me know if any of the links are broken. Full image details at the links above.

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Posted on sf-bay-tac Sep 04, 2005 11:24:18 PT
Converted by report.pm 1.2 Mar 09, 2006 22:09:31 PT