I had trouble focusing my DSLR back in December. I bought a Kwick Focus Hartmann mask with three circles from Kendrick Instruments. You can make one yourself if you can figure how to space the holes. I think there is an article on CloudyNights how to make one. I just didn't have the patience. When I used the Hartmann mask and a laptop computer to focus I had better success. Now I just need to solve my tracking problem. My M35 is on page 3 of my album. I may even purchase DSLR Focus. It is a neat computer program to achieve precise focus. Many people on the digital-astro group use it with success. Good Luck, Debbie

From: "Kim Hyatt" <kimharch@cut.net> Date: 2005/06/29 Wed PM 05:00:01 MDT To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] nothing serious

I was going to ask, "What is a Hartmann mask?" but then I saw Rob's post. (Thanks Rob - great pics, too.) I still have a couple of questions: Does hole size matter? Distance from center? Distance of mask from refractor objective, or SCT corrector plate?

Oh, and thanks for the help all.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Carnes" <michaelcarnes@earthlink.net> To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2005 4:23 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] nothing serious

| Kim, have you tried a Hartmann mask? | | -----Original Message----- | From: Kim Hyatt <kimharch@cut.net> | Sent: Jun 29, 2005 3:36 PM | To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> | Subject: [Utah-astronomy] nothing serious | | BlankHi all. Some of you know that I recently moved to Mt. Pleasant (and many of you probably don't care). I have a home a few miles east of town, with very DARK skies and great views of the valley and mountains. Our elevation here is about 6400 feet and there's very little light pollution, even from Mt. Pleasant itself, just three miles away. Hope some of you may be interested in visiting sometime. | | I've been experimenting with my Nikon D70 and I've captured some successful wide-angle images. Shortly I'll post them to the gallery. I have also recently tried some prime-focus pics, but I have trouble getting the focus correct. Anyone out there know some cool trick to focus accurately with a digital SLR? Keep in mind that you can't remove the camera back for a knife-edge focus. I also may try imaging with my 8-inch SCT, so tips would be helpful. | | Hope to rendezvous with y'all sometime. How about a star party at the old Skyline Drive site? Also, is Wolf Creek the pick for July's SLAS private star party? | | | Kim A. Hyatt, Architect | P.O. Box 124 | Mt. Pleasant, Utah 84647 | T: 435.462.9207 | F: 435/462.5013 | M: 801.631.5228 | kimharch@cut.net | | | | | _______________________________________________ | Utah-Astronomy mailing list | Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com | http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy | Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com | | ______________________________________________________________________ | This e-mail has been scanned by Cut.Net Managed Email Content Service, using Skeptic(tm) technology powered by MessageLabs. For more information on Cut.Nets Content Service, visit http://www.cut.net | ______________________________________________________________________ | |

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