Hey guys, just saw this

from this thread: http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...0&#entry4886590
Not quite full moon, but who cares. Makes my day.

Can the Nikon 8700 do digiscoping well? The Nikon 990 (i think) was perfect at this, but it's hard to find one in good condition nowadays.

Any other alternatives from Canon?

This post has been edited by March05: Sep 21 2005, 04:07 PM

Wow, suddenly everybody's posting Moon shots......I'm in heaven!

i don't want to buy dSLR because i scared my pics turn out no good_then everyone say i'm lousy fotographer. If i get no so good camera, i can blame the camera.....hehe.

Think of all that air polution is going into our lungs....cough, cough.

If your fingers itchy to spend then enjoy lah. you should be able to find a use for it somehow. Maybe can use as emergency camera strap?
i think the cable release is a must only if you don't have a mirror lockup function in bulb mode. A bit silly to keep your finger on the shutter button for 30 minutes..... The cable release also may not help if you have a `clunky' mirror though, unless you use the lens cap trick.

I'm still itchy for Casio EX S500 - stop me, someone!

That was not me. It was TheVoIP. see post #135.
I think his Canon got shutter/mirror lock unless he superglued the snap button down....

thanks, deepyu, for the support.
but i'm going to need at least 10 good reasons or i'm handing over the cash for that S500 tomorrow afternoon.........

i like the Canon 5D but.........RM13,000.00++? Mr.LKM, i'll join you....faint

Trouble is u ppl spoil me already. Low end dslr maybe not good enough to take good pics. A rotten fotographer like me will need help from highest end camera just to be able to take `reasonable' shots (just like playing pc games with cheat modes).
i think i'll start near the bottom (better for my wallet!) with a compact digicam and get the hang of it and see where it leads to. like TheVoIP said, "since i'm still new to digital....." if he's new, then i'm newer than new.

i sort of like the Casio because of its small size, startup speed, and the mpeg4 movie capture. This means i can finally leave my bulky dinosaur Sony handycam at home. This camera won't really be for astrophotography.....but that won't stop me from pointing it up at the sky and hoping for a miracle.

i think i'll upgrade to the Casio EX Z750 (60 secs long exposure, 7.1 MP, and full manual override). that's as far as my pocket can stretch right now. dSLR is too far off my budget, even the cheapest one.

no more money lah........

Thanks for all your advice! Hope to have some lunatic shots this weekend!

Which one?
Still haven't laid money on the counter yet, so got chance to change my mind.......getting cold feet already.
I sense u ppl disapprove my choice.

Actually I would prefer wider angle than zoom range. But hard to find 28mm equivalent in digital compacts.


Never mind, I'll wait with you.


u'r kidding, right? I'm like light years behind, man.

1/1.8-inch square pixel primary color CCD
(Total Pixels: 7.41 million; Effective Pixels: 7.20 million)
is that good or bad?
I don't think i can use this for much astrophotography.......max zoom only up to 114mm equivalent. I'll try for some wideangle night sky shots, do some stacking and see if it comes out okay. Some reviews seem to rate this a pretty good night shot digicam. Anyway, main-main saja first.
Still not yet buy, trying to find a stockist nearby with good price! Very few shops carry this model....i think not popular one.

My first test run with the Casio:-

Venus and new Friend. Compare this with my earlier handycam shot of Venus.

Mars , about 2.30 a.m. this morning.

Can you see the Andromeda Galaxy? A wild shot which paid off!

The pics have all been resized or cropped, and heavily compressed. 7.1MP makes big big file!

Initial impressions of this digicam: Versatile little fellow!

okay, deepyu. Those of you with star charts should have no problem with this:-

Location of the Andromeda Galaxy I was so surprised that the Casio could cut through the thick haze with its tiny lens. I could only see a couple of stars with my naked eyes. If only the skies had been clearer......

What I wanted to show - a part of the earlier Mars shot showing details of the Seven Sisters (aka the Pleiades) near Mars. Another look at Mars.
Not bad at all for a compact cam.

I've also been experimenting by hooking up this little guy with a borrowed solarscope and the results were startling to say the least. I'll put up a pic later of this morning's Sun activity - sun spot, filament and one huge prominence!

Mr.LKM, does Mars show up red on your monitor? It looks almost white on mine. The shot was taken with the white balance on `tungsten'. This is on Auto White Balance. The camera got it all wrong as expected. Looks like I'll have to recalibrate my CRT

This post has been edited by March05: Sep 27 2005, 05:31 PM

Today's Sun.

Solar Activity on 27th September 2005

Taken with the Casio, believe it or not.

That prominence has been raging for many days. There's a bad long tear in the surface of the Sun, too. You can easily fit more than 10 Earths in that gap. Sunspot 810 shows up clearly too.

Yup, everybody's favorite Galaxy..........after our own, of course.

BTW do you like Robert Gendler?

This post has been edited by March05: Sep 27 2005, 06:45 PM

No, other than the Sun picture, all shots are wide angle.
I get it, the `Mars' u said is too red is not Mars, lah. It's a lens flare artifact from the street light. You were refering to the Venus and new friend picture, right?

Most astrophotos of this type are taken by consumers. But i wouldn't call them normal. I think they're mutant freaks with strange abilities.

why u want to know? I got many favorite places to lepak.....

Well you got one nice pic of a star there (mizz underwood) already

sorry lah, I thot you were checking on my nocturnal activities.

If i told you that i'd have to shoot you. And don't ask what i was doing.....

It was given to me by a star crazy relative many, many years ago (he bought from overseas somewhere) as a Xmas gift. I haven't learnt to ID even 0.0000001% of the stars yet. I forget faster than i can remember.
Seriously, I'd be happy if I can remember and locate 1% of the stars in this set of charts before I die.......but i doubt anyone can do it. Anyone knows how many stars there are in our galaxy alone?
But nowadays easier to use planetarium software to learn astronomy. Using star charts is good if you prefer direct viewing with a large aperture telescope (the old fashioned way). This needs a lot of patience and mosquito repellent.
BTW i'm still using a pair of binoculars......good advice, Mr.LKM!