Upgrading to a modded D5300

I’m really lacking the h-alpha response in my Nikon D3200. But more annoying is the fact that I can’t use BackyardNikon with it. I’m left with using a remote shutter for my imaging sessions. This leaves me using only the view finder of the camera for focusing. More importantly, I can’t setup a dithering routine […]

Nikon True Dark Current Hack

I’m having some difficulty with my flats. After integrading the masterflat and stacking using DeepSkyStacker, I noticed two dust motes even more pronounced than in the original light frames. After some helpful insight from cloudynights (https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/556028-trouble-with-flats-that-overcorrect-my-lights/), I was finally steered in the right direction. It appears quite a few Nikon cameras including my D3200 do […]

The path to Guiding

Entry level equatorial mounts don’t tack accurately for longer than 60 seconds. It gets even harder to track precisely with longer focal lengths. Guiding is the answer and my next major goal in improving the astrophotography setup. By guiding, you can keep exposing for much longer times (5-15min and even beyond). That will allow you […]