300mm F2 telescope?? I got HYPERSTAR, BABY! Let's SET IT UP!

[@ChucksAstrophotography]

Excellent, Cuiv. Congrats on your new toys. I know you don't worry too much about star shapes, but one of the things people advised me on with getting a RASA is that I would get a better image edge to edge (it even gave me a better edge to edge picture than my Orion ED80T CF refractor that it replaced). I hope you can show your pictures edge to edge when you start using it - just out of curiosity.

[@avipatil8400]

Better comparison would be hyper star and RASA. As a KZbinr (I think your channel is very popular among astrophotographers ) it might not hurt to contact Celestron to get a 8 inch RASA. Either they may send you for free or they may sell at a discount. Chuck can guide you. I don’t know how Chuck got his but he might be able to guide you. Celestron are you listening?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Chuck! In my next video I will show the first light - I'll also post the raw stack in the description - it's a small sensor, but edge to edge I don't seem to be having any issues!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I wish! I did contact them, but they said they don't currently have special programs for content creators...

[@ChucksAstrophotography]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Great!

[@kylecoral]

This is incredibly creative. The price point for this is wayyy friendlier and accommodates people who want to get into the f/2 without the weight or price tag!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Exactly! Something small, light, and portable is exactly what I wanted and needed!

[@tomwall8403]

You have been reading my mind! Looking forward to your first light review.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha I like reading minds!

[@daniellockhart8594]

It’s about time! I used my C8 for years at f/6.3. The HyperStar is amazing. You’ll love it.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Haha, thank you Daniel!

[@HollomanUFOLanding]

The screws that you mentioned on the outside of the front cell, are actually for adjustment of the corrector plate and not the secondary mirror. Adjusting the secondary mirror in relation to the primary mirror is done by adjusting the 3 small screws on the nose of the seconday mirror. Adjusting those scews to be bring the seconday mirror into alignment with the primary mirror is called collimation. I watched your later video of getting images of Triangulum galaxy - they turned out great!

[@javiercuellolopez5610]

Yes !!! I've the same train scope (but NBZ IDAS filter f2) and I love it !!!. I'm waiting your first light. This channel is amazing. Congrats !!!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you Javier!!

[@steveweintraub1113]

Glad to see you’re excited about HyperStar. I’ve got one for my C11. I recommend an Astrozap dew shield w/a dust cover. Works perfect to protect your HyperStar when not using it as well as shooting darks, flats (I put a light panel on top of the shield as it’s pointed to the zenith) and dark flats and or bias. You’re going to love how many photons you collect in such a short amount of time. Dean and the team at Starizona are awesome! Clear Skies, looking forward to your follow up video and your wow factor.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks for this Steve!

[@astroattorney]

I've gotten some fantastic images from my C6, Hyperstar and filter drawer that I just purchased an 8" SCT and the new Hyperstar will be here Thursday. It makes imaging so much more fun (less time) for me! Clear skies and enjoy!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks for that feedback Linda! Yes, that thing is just a lot of fun!

[@rickcudmore8156]

What camera do you use with the 8" SCT?

[@astroattorney]

@@rickcudmore8156 None yet. My Hyperstar was delayed and won't arrive until Tuesday plus clouds, rain & snow have made for gloomy days/nights. I intend on using my Altair Hypercam 183c until I can afford something "better". But that Hypercam has been pretty decent on the 6".

[@mattestabrook]

Cuiv, I just bought the Starizona filter drawer and discovered that you can remove the screw from it to minimize any chance that it will interfere with imaging.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh right! Thank you! Plus less reflections from stray light! I will do that!

[@luboinchina3013]

Also you can arrange the cables in 90 degrees to get Newtonian like spikes.

[@alanalain4884]

@@luboinchina3013 Cool little trick...👍

[@Jason-qt8bm]

Congrats on the new scope and may you have plenty of clear skies to enjoy it ! :)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you Jason!

[@mgastronomy]

Congratulations Cuiv. Nice and portable setup your new 6 SCT and Hyperstar. Have fun!

[@avt_astro206]

Great Video Cuiv!! Wow!! 300mm Fl at F2 and That Little C6, looks Very Portable!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you! Yes indeed! Small, light, and portable!

[@conradsanders8475]

You will love it. I have had mine for three years starting out on my Alt-Az mount since it’s so fast but now I run my C8 scope on my CGX equatorial mount.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

For now I'm lovin' it! (parapapapa-), it's a bunch of fun!

[@karolitadotcom]

How did it go with the alt-az mount? I have a nextstar evolution 8 and just ordered my hyperstar :)

[@mattestabrook]

Good video, Cuiv. I bought a Hyperstar v4 for my C6 and love it--I love owning a 6-inch RASA. It has enabled me to take meaningful strides in astrophotography while still using an alt-az mount. The one downside has been that replacing the plate that holds secondary mirror has thrown my scope out of collimation and it is hard to restore it. That said, I have been so impressed with what I can do with the Hyperstar that I have rarely been tempted to restore the original configuration!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It's really a cracking little setup! And yes that's one of the reasons I decided to not replace the plate that holds the secondary!

[@deep_space_dave]

Get some Bob Knobs for your secondary mirror, that way when you want to look at stuff close up, moon, or planets, you can quickly re-collimate and be ready. It is very easy to collimate a SCT. The instructions that come with the Bobs Knobs also show you how to collimate and then you also have KZbin :-)

[@mattestabrook]

@@deep_space_dave Thank you!

[@davidf9494]

Great Video as always Cuiv - thank you! I bought a Hyperstar for my EDGE 8 but waiting 9 months for my new f/2 highspeed Baader filters. Enjoy your new fast system!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks David! I hope you get those filters quickly!

[@lalitac]

When I first saw the title, I assumed, "God, he's got a 12" f/2 telescope!" Then got to know it's 6" f/2 with 300mm focal length. And oh boy the sound the filter drawer makes is just SO SATISFYING! At 6:47 it almost sounded like you pulled out a Japanese sword to attack the damn telescope! I'm so excited for your new setup and can't wait to see the first light! Edit: And I can relate to the prices of astro equipment in Japan as in India it is a similar (actually much worse) situation. We have to import almost all the products as there is no local supplier (a few, but limited supply and options) and we have to pay a hefty customs duty effectively making it 2 to 3 times more expensive!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha I love that filter drawer!! And yeah importing equipment really is a problem... but yeah India seems even worse off... Good luck with getting all the equipment you need!

[@Sifugord]

Great choice! I’ve been using the Hyperstar on my C11 for years. Consider getting a hard dew shield and cover to avoid any accidental bumps that could damage your corrector plate. Subs are anywhere from 7-30s with the C11 allowing for a greater number of images in less time and the ability to discard less than quality subs rather than hold onto them. You’ll be impressed I’m sure! Have fun!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

For now I'm using the Celestron flexible dew shield, which seems to work well, but yeah I'd love a hard dew shield...

[@douglasfleming1]

Thanks Sifugord I also have a C11. Which hyperstar model do you have?

[@WizzRacing]

The lower the f stop the more light is collected. But the depth of field increases. So for every F stop. You are either letting half the amount of light in or double the amount. And these Hyperstar adapters allow SCT telescopes to be used for Deep space.. That is the beauty of them. You get both Planetary and Deep Space telescope in one short body, light weight telescope...I suggest if you buy one. To get the filter slider with it. It allows so much more functionality for a little more money...

[@peterbriggs3408]

I called it! Congratulations that your hard work has been rewarded :-) Looking forward to see when you produce with this rig.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Peter!

[@jongoldsby]

I have the Hyperstar 8. The screw on the filter draw can be removed. I can remove the filter draw without the screw by just grasping the draw itself.

[@marvinwhisman3333]

Glad Starizona gave you some nice equipment to use and test. We know you always give honest reviews so I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I have a Celestron EdgeHD 9.25 and had considered at some point in adding the Starizona but wanted to wait till I got better at guiding. Those fast scopes are a little more than more poor skills should be messing with right now.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Marvin! You know I have the C9.25 as well, so I was originally thinking about that - but the C9.25 is a biiiig scope, so not quite super portable! There is definitely a transition period going on with hyperstar!

[@HollomanUFOLanding]

The faster the scope IE the lower the focal ratio, the less critical guiding becomes. I use my 11" RASA all the time without guiding. I can achieve 90 seconds - 2 mins most of the time. It's great not to have to factor in guiding into the imaging set up.

[@Spaced_Out_Bill]

Wow, that is so cool! I'm looking forward to your first light video.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you Bill! Coming soon!

[@AstroWithRoRo]

Looks great Cuiv! The cable routing can also impact the star shape. Having the cables straight from centre to edge may give you diffraction spikes, you can try curving them in a spiral to remove this if you find it displeasing.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks! It's hard though to curve those cables with such little surface area! I'm shrugging and letting it be for now!

[@AstroQuest1]

Awesome Cuiv. Congrats on your new toys. That filter holder is a great idea - I might get it. I am really liking my Hyperstar 8 (v4) so far and Dean from Starizona is really helpful even after you purchase one of these. I had trouble with the corrector plate and I still think I do a little as my stars are not perfect from corner to corner but they are better. Chuck is probably correct that the RASA will give you better stars right out of the box but with a little adjusting this could give you really good stars as well (or hopefully it will be fine). Listening to you about Vixen makes me want to start my discount distribution company, maybe it would be cheaper for me to buy it and send it to you. - Cheers Kurt

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks for that feedback Kurt! It's definitely a fun toy to play with. And yes indeed Kurt, please do start such a company haha!

[@rodrigogutierrez2882]

That Altair filter seems interesting, specially at 7nm. Seems to work with f2 but also up to f7. I have tested the L extreme with a RASA 8 and it mostly blocks all emission. You can even see it in a single shot looking at the histogram and a quick stretch. IDAS NBZ works excellent at f2 and f2.8. I haven't tested at f5 or f7. Thanks for sharing your experiences. It is always good to see you.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yep, I'm looking forward to seeing how the Altair filter works! Thanks Rodrigo!

[@peterlaubscher3989]

Congratulations - so looking forward to your first images!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you!

[@PhilipLeichauer]

This is so much more professional than my setup. I've an old 300mm Tokina f/2.8 manual Nikon mount lens converted to Canon RF mount. Cost $180 used (very old). Awesomly fast and grest with a skyguider. It can take scre in filters and the camera can accept clip ins. Just starting out though so quite happy with budget kit.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Camera lenses can work so well! There is definitely variability between samples though!

[@Astrokhels]

Congratulations on the new Hyperstar toy. I’m pretty lazy getting long integrations, 2-5hrs. Speed it is

[@williamhouse5081]

Nice set up Cuiv! My next telescope is going to be the Celestron HDEDGE 8, and I plan to get the HYPERSTAR later, so I'm really interested in how this all works.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Awesome William! I'm currently very pleased with the Hyperstar, I find it quite amazing. I think the EdgeHD + Hyperstar will be a great, great combination!

[@psuaero100]

Really nice acquisition Cuiv. Can't wait to see what you can do with it. I had a NexStar 6SE and thought about going the Hyperstar route.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you! This scope is being a lot of fun!

[@Tim_the_Astronurd]

the joy you get from the sound slotting a filter drawer makes reminds me of how much I always liked the sound of inserting a cassette tape into my boom box in highschool!. totally understand that

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha yes exactly!

[@johnomahony3489]

Great video. You get F2 and still have the option of going back to F10 and using an eyepiece. As I am mainly a visual observer who likes to do astrophotography occasionally, I would struggle to justify the cost of a RASA. The Hyperstar is a good compromise.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Exactly - you really get a multi-purpose scope, which is really, really neat!

[@brod5352]

Welcome to the club! I have an 8" Edge HD with the Hyperstar. 390MM F1.9 is what is says on the Hyperstar. Their are so many benefits of going this route. With my Edge I get native Focal Length at 2032 mm and F10. Add the 70% Reducer and you get 1422mm at F7 and then of course with the Hyperstar. What I found out is that you can shoot multiple targets in the same night. You can get 400 subs in just 200 minutes. Maybe a little longer but I can start imaging around 8PM and be done by midnight with 400 subs. and then pick another target for another 300-400 subs. Dark frames are only 30 seconds long, so your Darks only take about 30 minutes to do. I used my Astrozap heated dew shield and string the USB and power cable down the Velcro. I think I'm going to cut a notch in the top of the dew shield so my flat panel can lay flat. IF anyone knows how to do this without cutting the dew shield let me know. But I really enjoy my Hyperstar. I got the IDAS NBZ filter which has the same flat top design. I have a ZWO Dual Bandpass filter that actually works pretty well with my Hyperstar. It pulls out the Ha quite well, but has issues with the OIII. Anyway, I'm sure you'll fall in love with the Hyperstar like I did. ;o)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you! For now I went with the Celestron dew shield, since it's available easily in Japan, we'll see how well it performs! Thanks for the tips!

[@woody5109]

Great stuff, I’m so jealous. Star spikes are always my goal, love them. Built my own dew cover with struts just for the spikes. Love your videos and thank you.

[@prnzssLuna]

You're really having fun with the thumbnails lately. They look awesome!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha, thank you!

[@MayfieldCreekObservatory]

Beautiful set up! I can’t wait to see first light. Good luck!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you!

[@MayfieldCreekObservatory]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek I have a C11 that I thought about doing this with, but the size of the C6 is way more attractive, and more than enough to get the job done. I might be hunting a C6 now thanks to seeing what you have done and put together the same thing. Love your channel man. Keep up the great stuff!

[@ivanraichev2419]

Congrats Cuiv. I had the C6 with Hyperstar v3 and Zwo Asi 533. Performance at the corners was quite poor and I wasn't able to fix it. Starizona didn't provide any meaningful support. Tried several times to improve, got frustrated and went for a RASA 8. Best decision I have ever made. Sold the hyperstar and that was it. Now it is interesting how v4 performs with its bigger chip size support. V3 was excellent for a Zwo 224 MC :)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

V4 on the 533 seems to be perfectly fine, including in the corners :)

[@ivanraichev2419]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Glad to hear it. Then you have a great scope :)

[@AswinSastrowardoyo]

Wow! Congratulations 🙏🏼! I cannot wait for the imaging results of this set up.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you Aswin!

[@anthonygraham6449]

You videos can’t be to long ! Can’t wait to see results.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Haha, thank you!

[@astrocapetown4955]

Cool! - I was close. Forgot you had a C6. Welcome to the f/2 club. A trick with star shapes it to remove the stars and replace them with stars captured with a refractor. You could also get a cable router, which minimizes the diffraction spikes. Good luck!!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

You were indeed! Thanks for the feedback! :)

[@EODHammer]

Excellent! Looking forward to seeing the results! Very cool little rig. Perfect for you’re circumstances. Very practical too. Very curious about that filter too. I’m on the cocoon as we speak with M1 after that for some additional data.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Good luck and clear skies!

[@larryhibbitts2099]

Great video Cuiv, looking forward to seeing how well this works for you. I want my second scope to have a shorter focal length, so this is very interesting to me, especially at the price point.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Larry! For the moment I'm having some insane fun with this scope!

[@xe1zlgg]

Excellent choice.... please tell me if you see some mirror flop ?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

A slight bit of mirror flop, but not so much that I can tell!

[@tmrdarkstar85]

Cuiv. I have a love hate relationship with the Hyperstar. Collimation via artificial star helps alot for this. Refocusing every +/- 1°C temp change is a must so auto focus becomes a necessity however as you know there are not many Auto focusers on the market for these Scopes "Focus Cube Zero , EAF" or feathertouch focuser which is expensive but allows other focusers to be used. As far as the celestron focus motor goes. Loctite the screws that mount the focuser otherwise the screws will back out and bind the motor causing tons of problems. I have the V4 for my C8. I jumped to F/1.9 way to early in the hobby but I learned alot from it. Then I went backwards and got a 80mm Stellarvue APO. I still have the hyperstar but until I can pick up a used Focus Cube Zero. It sits packed away... Maybe I will sell it and some other gear an go mono. One last tip. if you snug down the tip/ tilt screws on the hyperstar after collimation, you can remove the hyperstar and put it back on and collimation should remain. As far as Hood goes I use the astrozap aluminum dew sheild designed for the C8 I dont remember if they make one for the c6. OSC filters NBZ is the way to go over the L-extreme due to bandpass shift and the NBZ is already pre--shifted for fast optics. Collimation and Focus is extremely tight on the Hyperstar. I personally do not recommend it for beginners. If you want to clarify anything just DM me on Discord "last thing i sent you was the Smokey Iris nebula"

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Steve! Up to now I'm being very lucky with my hyperstar. It's almost perfectly collimated by default - probably because the secondary is so well centered to the primary. I had to turn one screw by 1/8th of a turn, and that was it! Oooh I haven't opened Discord for a while - I'll reach out if I need help!

[@shepbook]

Congrats! I love imaging at such fast focal ratios. I also just got the Baader f/2 filters you mentioned, and the 3.5/4nm bandpass is so nice. It really makes the nebula pop out of the background. The star park I go to is at the back of a baseball field, and as a stress test, I shot some while the lights were still on. The Baader filters cut through that mess of light pollution with only slightly less contrast than later that night. Now I'm trying to get my hands on the standard focal length versions (f/3.5+), but they are still backordered with no date in sight.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Awesome on the filters Jared! Mine arrived with imperfections (SII chipped near the center, OIII with ink spill near the edge), so I'm not too happy with that for now...

[@shepbook]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Oh no! Hopefully your dealer or baader will get them replaced for you. :(

[@Riror9845]

Thank you for a great and objective video. Thank you too Starizona. As an owner of the Hyperstar - for the C8 - as well as the RASA 8, I confirm that both give you only one thing; joy.

[@pnjunction5689]

Cool! I'm very excited to see your first results and hear about your experience. A few weeks ago, I've bought a second hand C11 with hyperstar lens. Unfortunately the weather since then is just pure evil with no end in sight. I'm a bit scared about the collimation part. From my experience with collimating the secondary mirror, it can be quite challenging and time demanding, especially when you're trying to do it alone. I hope it's not something you have to do every time after attaching the hyperstar. The C6 looks really nice and easy to handle compared to the rather bulky C11.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Good luck with it!

[@slzckboy]

As long as u get your backfocus and collimation dialled in these are great for OSC. You can pull alot of detail in relatively short period of time.I invested in a Hotech for mine

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you! :D

[@ionfreefly]

I just ordered a used tokina 300mm f2.8 in excellent condition for $425. I saw some tests showing pin point stars to the edge. This should provide similar performance to the c6 with hyperstar but with my skyguider pro!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Interesting! My guess is that there could be quite some variability in the lenses but I'm glad you had such a good sample!

[@szaki]

Seems to me, the hyperstar and CCD camera diameter is much larger than the original CO of the SCT! You don't worry, blocks out some of the lights!

[@TheAngryAstronomer]

Looking forward to learning two things in subsequent videos on this. How well does that Altair filter work, and how on earth do you do flat frame?!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Coming up :D Love that nickname by the way!

[@koamit]

I am tempted with the concept of C6 + Hyperstar. Any suggestions for such setup with OSC? And any specific filters you recommend?

[@y2ukr87]

Wow, you did it! Congratulations and welcome to the club. Unfortunately that kind of wiring did influence star shapes in my case. I 3d-printed a cable router (hope you can find one for C6) and that helped a lot. Still have strange shapes of bright stars, but the rest is awesome. Hope the filter works. Looking forward for a new video. P.S. Don't make us wait too long, audience is excited as you are.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you! I think I want to try printing a cross shape that I can route the cable on, so I could have Newtonian-like stars...

[@mcsplav]

Speed , speed and speed. Congrats for the setup that you got for as almost free. It took me almost a year to build my own and just purchased qhy178m-cool, still with c6hs-v3 but with imx183(Altair 183c pro fan) is quite wide and fast . If go with imx178/imx183 mono or other mono try astronomik maxFr for O3 and new baader highspeed CMOS optimized Ha and S2 filters . Clear skies

[@koppervik1]

Your enthusiasm is contagious! 😄👍🏻

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha I'm just so excited! :D

[@billmurphypenguins3774]

looking forward to seeing some images from this rig, think I have seen a review that reported heavy star halos with the Altair filter so will be interesting to see what it produces. Nice vid as usual

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

We'll see! Thank you!

[@tacomaastro7462]

Awesome, I wonder if the hyperstar will work on a 8SE... not that I need it... I have a RASA 8. An 'fyi' when doing flats, etc.. don't forget to cover the power led on the camera. :)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

There is a SCT8 Hyperstar, so it should work! And yeah, that red LED has already bit me in the backside. But it's fine now...

[@astronomynotebook]

Great glad you got those equipment …you deserve it.❤️😊

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you!

[@celestromel]

Great Cuiv - always interesting, always informative!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you!

[@msacco]

Got an hyperstar on my C8, that's a beast, quite literally, which is not always easy to tame :) But I just suck, people are getting great results with this. Sure you'll do too.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Pardovot! I already had my first light, and it's awesome!! For me, collimation seemed easy. It was almost dead on from the start, and I had only one screw to mess with by 1/8th of a turn or so!

[@msacco]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek That's awesome, in my case it was slightly different, at first I didn't even get the correct back focus adapter, and later on I was just tired of wasting precious hours when I drive to a low bortle site. I can now image from home, so I do plan on getting back to it and test it from home so I won't have any issues. Looking forward for the first light :)

[@villovagensbryggeriab7365]

Starizona are amazing in their customer care! Even I have gotten free goodies from them. I went for the IDAZ NBZ for my Hyperstar/Edge14" and asi2600mc. Don't know how much better transmission it gives compared to L-eXtreme though. Looking forward to you next video !

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks for that feedback! Wow, EdgeHD14 is a beast! That's one beast I'll never own, as it's literally 2.5 times more expensive here than in the US...

[@villovagensbryggeriab7365]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Oh man, that is horrible! Is that because of import taxes or what?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

@@villovagensbryggeriab7365 Just the reseller wanting to make a few bucks :)

[@brentonrasheed384]

Welcome to the club!!! Go #Hyperstar !! Go #starizona. Looking forward to your filter comparison! LeXtreme is highly recommended but the Baader filters, can’t wait to see what you think!! The dew shield - the actual cover for the telescope sort of works. I’ve made a cardboard one (with sides) to slip over the top. Very neat, and more secure!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you Brenton! It's such a fun scope to use!!

[@brentonrasheed384]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek oh man, I feel like I’m cheating!!😂

[@andylubel715]

Welcome to ludacris mode. I started out with the NBZ which was amazing but ended up going with the baader 3.5/4nm UHS NB filters. I cuold not have gotten this far without you breaking down the processing side of it. Ive got a couple images I credit your advice on in my astrobin.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Elon's Ludicrous mode heh? :D Thanks for the feedback!

[@OnlyAfcc]

@Cuiv, The Lazy Geek, I think You should really check baader filters, because there are a lot of complains about band shift and sometimes filters are not hit correct band with fast optics. Most of problems are with OIII. Also there are problems with halo on stars.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks for letting me know. I will soon be testing them!

[@88jetster]

Love your videos since discovering your channel. Great presentation.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you!!

[@Fredruiz622]

Great video as always! I have the C14 Edge and use Hyperstar on it once in a while, the only issue I found was collimating the hyperstar lens. its a pain to get it right and you have to have the laser collimation tools and that will set you back about $600 US plus need the patience of a saint to get it right. But once you get it right oh boy what a difference it makes. Enjoy your new toy. Also I use an aluminum round housing with an aluminum cap that cover everything don't forget the heater band on the objective you will need it.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you! I haven't had issues with collimation for now (or maybe I just don't care enough :))

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

I did not know they did a Hyperstar for the 6" Celestron SCT as I sold mine but I do have an 11" Rasa which was quite sick when I first got it but is now sucking in some photons, I just need to learn the scope more as I've only had a couple of nights out imaging with it so far. One thing I do with the cables is have them at 90 degrees to each other as that will create some faint diffraction spikes to the stars rather than a single spike.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I'm thinking of 3D printing some Newtonian spikes and running cables along them, but still working on the design. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@robertarmstrong9406]

Cuiv; I live in Tucson. I can't tell you enough, how great the guys at Starizona are. I have an 8"sct with a hyperstar. Run it with the asiair pro. I'm a happy guy.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Wow, that's cool, you can really get local support :D I wish I could use the ASIAIR with my setup, but C6 means no EAF adapter means Celestron Focus Motor means bye bye ASIAIR...

[@robertarmstrong9406]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek One other thing. Scott and Steve at Starizona made a 3d handle for the elevation adjustment bolt on my EQ6-R mount. (the one you push in and turn.) Really didn't like that set-up. You should talk to them about it. You will not believe how mush easier it is to turn.

[@MrYvano]

Thank you so much for your videos. Let me ask you a question : instead of spending so much money in a hyperstar, could you get "almost" the same result using for example a Quattro 200/800 ? I know that with a F2 you collect more data and have a larger field of view, but the difference with a F4 would not be so big. Am I right thinking that way ? I was thinking in taking pictures of asteroides, and I don´t konw what set up would be the more appropriate. Any suggestions ? Many thanks and clear skies.

[@lavers_1]

are the diffraction spikes relevant to the OTA with the CCD cables? maybe just buy an APO

[@classicalpop7092]

Good luck- collimation, collimation, collimation!! 👍

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Maybe I'm crazy but I didn't seem to have collimation issues :D

[@classicalpop7092]

Great, it’s new and everything is tightened down.. long may it continue.. I’m with Chuck tho- i swapped from HS to RASA8... but good luck. A HS in excellent hands will be interesting.

[@ferenc-x7p]

Starizona makes excellent products. They might be a bit pricy with things they sell (coma correctors, reducers and other accessories), but the quality is top notch, you really get what you pay for. Also with the "need for speed"- the guide telescope and guiding may not be needed anymore. Someone mentioning doing some speed -imaging in bortle 2 or 3 in the desert with the RASA with 10-15 second subs and got enough subs for 4 targets for a nice image, while others were sitting on their first DSO until the morning.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

My problem with exposures in the 10-15 seconds range is that we get more overhead from the frame to frame time! So we get less total imaging time in total. I'm still thinking about how to optimize all of that!

[@WindyCityAstrophotography]

Congrats on the fast setup! Can't wait to see first light! I still think we'll get you on the RASA train one of these days 😆

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Someone needs to send me a RASA for that to happen! :p

[@WindyCityAstrophotography]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek I will let you know when I am done with mine! Or we could do a scope swap heh heh

[@narutou3905]

Silly question.. I learnt that backfocus changes with thickness of the filter used. With that in mind, Can you use the filter drawer with no filter inside? I would think the thickness of the filter drawer might have been designed under an assumption that a filter of a certain thickness will always be used. So if no filter is used in the drawer, probably the filter drawer thickness messes up the backfocus.. Agree?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It's possible indeed - my measurement of it was that it's built under the assumption of no filter. BUT you can always add a cheap M42 Shim between camera and adapter for instance to take care of the filter.

[@narutou3905]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek ahh ok. Gotcha!

[@JohnMcGFrance]

Good luck with your new setup. I have had Hyperstar for my edgehd8 for a few years. Still struggling with collimating, Hope you find it easier. I also have the Baader filters. They seem good. You can get a plastic guide to clip your cables to which curves and takes each cable out at 90 degrees to give better star shapes. I think it gives you diffraction spikes like a reflector. Looking forward to seeing how you get on. Any follow up videos with advice would be great. Are you planning to guide or just go with very short exposures after good PA?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I'll probably be guiding. I want to keep the exposures fairly long, since there is imaging time lost in overhead between exposures!

[@RobertKarlBerta]

I have been using Hyperstar since the very first examples...actually I started with the Celesron Fastar version on my old 8" SCT when it first came out. Those days the camera was the SBIG ST 237 which was a small chip but had a motorized filter wheel so could do RGB imaging with the mono camera. Biggest issue on that and earlier Hyperstars was colimation which wasn't provided until Hyperstar finally put colimating screws on the last version. I did BETA testing for Celestron and later with Dean at Starizona. I use it with both of my 11" SCTs...one a fork mounted version and later one mounted on my AP mounts. I also manage an observatory that has a 14" Celestron HD that also has Hyperstar. Frankly the best choice is a non HD scope as you aren't using the corrector optics of the HD scopes so cheaper and lighter solution. Spacing of the camera's back focus is critical so some experimation may be necessary for best results for flat field and good stars across the whole FOV. Besides the colimation screws, the next big upgrade was the filter drawer. The big advantage of Hyperstar is the speed you can capture images....about 25 times faster than at F10 and 10 times faster than at F6.3. Focus is important due to the fast speed of the system so you need to take the time to focus it and do so frequently. One trick to eliminate weird star spikes (from wires) or not perfect stars in the corners is to use Photo Shop Dust and Scratches to remove all stars from the image. You than get the stars with a small refractor and combine the two images. Might be more trouble than some want to deal with....but it gives spectacular images. The real question is..... is Hyperstar better or shooting with a refractor. Frankly i still prefer the images from my 6" APO refractor using my mono full frame camera and various filters RGB, NB, etc. 'Hyperstar is OK for one shot color with a NB filter designed for it.....but the complications of multiple filters is really a PITA. Lately I have been using a ZWO AW5 mount with a 80mm APO refractor and one shot ASI 071 camera and am getting amazing images.....and that setup is SO easy to setup and capure images from remote locations. I do have an 8" SCT HD and have tried with the old original FASTAR optic and I am seriously considering getting the Hyperstar setup but on the AM5 mount....that might be an eye opener and with the short focal length the Hyperstar gives....right in the recommended focal length of the mount.

[@JohnMcGFrance]

@@RobertKarlBerta I agree with you entirely. I have a 102mm APO and a 65mm quadruplet that are both very straight forward to image with. I therefore use them a lot more than my Edge 8 HD. I’ve now bought a tri-Bahtinov mask and I’m hoping to use that to try and get better images from both my SCT at 1400mm and with the Hyperstar at around 400mm. If that doesn’t help me sort things out I think I’ll end up selling that setup and getting a 127mm APO. I have an observatory now which should help leaving gear setup and fine tuning but it’s hard to give up clear nights to do all the collimation and back focus tweaks when I know I could pop a refractor on and get good images without messing about. I might try to do the testing in the lighter nights when there isn’t enough time to image anything but I’d get an hour or so to try things out and hopefully have things sorted for the darker nights in late July onwards. Thanks for your input and clear skies.

[@petelynch9468]

The other side to "speed" is that your FoV is 25 times bigger and any target THAT YOU WOULD USE AN ORDINARY TELESCOPE to image is 25 times smaller. The short f/l that hyperstar give you is great for imaging wide fields - something like 2 or 3 degrees. But for imaging most telescopic targets you just end up with a very small object of interest surrounded by a great deal of background.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yes the image becomes smaller - but there are a LOT of targets that benefit from a wide field! I disagree that most targets are small. Plus anyway with my seeing the most I can reasonably get to is 1 arcsecond per pixel so, meh.

[@geert5811]

Oh Cuiv, this one hurts; it's now almost a year that I dropped my Celestron C8, breaking the correcter lens and rendering it useless; now that I sort of was over it, you show me what I could have done with it for almost the price that I payed for my Orion 8 Astrograph, which whom I'm constantly battling to get the collimation right. ;-) g.

[@sneakerset]

I bought my C8 (slightly ) used. The scope's previous home had burned, and the roof collapsed on the steamer trunk. I salvaged the rig , and restored it to an Ultima 8 color scheme. I've also acquired a complete C5. Nice scopes - simple and rugged.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Auggh, I'm sorry!!! Good luck with that Orion!

[@FedericoCPP]

Hello Cuiv! What an interesting video, I did not know that they sold a C6 version of the Starizona Hyperstar. I wonder what the set of lenses is doing optically. On a note related to imaging speed and camera sensors: given the recent improvement of low light level performance and presumably noise reduction in imaging sensors, is there a way to compare an old camera vs a new one by relating it to imaging speed? So for example if you image with an F10 telescope using the same settings on an old Canon 300D vs a Canon 90D, then would it be possible to say that compared to the 300D the images on the 90D 'appear' as if they were instead imaged with an F8 telescope simply because the 90D is a newer camera that significantly improved its QE, noise level, etc? I'm just curious about this because often times we just want a telescope with the lower F-ratio, but say if I had an old maksutov that is 150mm F12, could I still image deep space with it and get good images even compared to a 150mm F10 SCT? Thanks again for the awesome video!!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you Frederico! That's a good question - efficiency of the whole system. Now if all the subs are swamping the read noise (which is very easy to do in broadband in a light polluted area), you'd really need to take the T-stops (e.g. focal ratio that takes into account the transmission values of each surface light rays are reflected/refracted on), and combine that with the Quantum Efficiency for your wavelengths of interest - but that assumes a cooled sensor, e.g. negligible thermal noise. Once you have to take into account thermal noise, all bets are off and it's hard to predict what will happen... But because of the lower read noise of newer sensors, we'd need shorter sub exposures (especially in light polluted areas), and thus less thermal noise in them...

[@FedericoCPP]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thank you so much for the response Cuiv! It's given me enough information to research it on my own!

[@JeffHorne]

Can’t wait to see what you do with this!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Jeff!

[@TheAnoniemo]

I've always wondered how the central obstruction is accounted for in the F ratio. With the larger RASA's you could say the obstruction is minimal compared to the overall aperature. However with this small aperature it looks like a significant percentage of the aperature is blocked, which surely would raise the F ratio?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

The focal ratio is the same - when talking about t-stops however, it's closer to T2.3 taking into account the obstruction.

[@TheAnoniemo]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thanks for the reply, I'd never heard of T stops before so I have some reading to do!

[@OlliesSpace]

Hey Cuiv - It's kinda amazing these systems work with all that attached to the front of the telescope. Will be interested to see how you go with this system and the Baader filters(when you get replacements). Cheers Ollie

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Ollie! Yep, it's interesting indeed - but it does seem to work very well!

[@alanalain4884]

You could use a temporary telescope skirt to protect the open OTA...

[@DSOImager]

Very cool setup.. looking forward to seeing how it performs

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you!

[@ciarancopas2590]

Great video as always, looking forward for further updates. Weighing up to get one for my edge 8, but collimation and mirror flop????

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

For now, collimation wasn't an issue for me, and mirror flop is minor.

[@kamilkp]

Starizona shows that it's possible to use a Canon DSLR on top of the Hyperstar instead of a cooled CCD. Would this work with smaller scopes like your C6 or C8?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Definitely not on a C6! The CO is too small to start with. Potentially on a C8 or RASA8, although not ideal. Some seem to create oblong masks to avoid diffraction artifacts from the camera.

[@dincrutcher]

Thank you I purchased so items from geek and wish that when connected didn't work. So basically I took a Sercuity camera with zoom, can be controlled by amp on my cell phone. Only thing how to fine a stronger telescopic lens to increase its power to see over a greater distance P2-20X YoLuke security IP camera

[@ianbaber7051]

Could you try coupling this with your DYI alt-azimuth mount? I'd imaging the faster speed would be ideal for the limited exposure time.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Unfortunately it's a bit heavy for that mount... I could try but I'm a bit leery of that...

[@indyalex42]

Very helpful. Thanks. Do you have a vid using ASIAIR Pro? I’m completely new to this and it’s all so much and so confusing.

[@emuhead]

Bye lil scope 👋🏻 Can't wait to see the results, and comparison between all of the filters. Keep up the quality work!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you!

[@fazergazer]

Awesome. I’m thinking of this system too!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It's a lot of fun for the moment!!

[@chimerasaurus]

Nice stuff and congrats! The salty side of me says - must be nice to have Starizona actually communicate. I ordered a RASA 8 filter and holders 2 months ago. They said 3-4 weeks and have ghosted me since. Sigh. I guess it's a caution for any of us plebs ordering from them.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Interesting, I've had the opposite feedback from others... Well, good to know...

[@chimerasaurus]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek hopefully it’s just Covid-related slowness. I’m eager to get the parts so I can put my new high speed narrowband filters on my RASA. :)

[@GreenJeepAdventures]

I have an old Meade 2080 laying around. Do you think there is commonality between the two brands of SCTs that the Celestron secondary is equivalent to the Meade?

[@allenbaylus3378]

wish there was a hyperstar for the older Meade SCT telescopes

[@brinkoo7]

I have a RASA 11, and I am kinda jealous of this smaller setup lol... I really dig it, might need to get myself one of these that is more portable.. thanks for the video!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

RASA11 also sounds quite awesome! But yeah it's bigger for sure!

[@vrruiz]

A lower f-ratio is only important in diffuse objects because their brightness are spread in a large areas and now with CCDs we have to account also for pixel size... so the topic is complicated. Anyway, I'm a bit surprised that you decided to go with a C6 as the central obstruction is large compared to the diameter of the telescope. Waiting for the test!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

You're right of course! But then for DSO astrophotography, we're pretty much always talking about surface brightness - except stars themselves (but then even stars get spread out over multiple pixels, etc. etc.). The C6 was simply cheaper, far more portable, and more of a refractor replacement!

[@anata5127]

Need for speed is great, but long focal length is also often in demand. Second, higher speed could be essential for bortle 7-9. So, for bortle 1-3, I will take f ratio 5-7 over RASA anytime every time.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I agree in a place with good seeing (Tokyo has terrible seeing). But that's the point of Hyperstar! This isn't RASA, you can use the scope as a normal F10 or reduced scope as well if you want more reach!

[@anata5127]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Yes, Celestron SCT is one of most all around scope; especially 9-1/4 version.

[@valdasstonkus5493]

Give the link to the second test video please

[@TomBridle]

I'm starting to feel my 400mm f/2.8 is a bit slow... Looks like a great set-up, I hope you get some awesome shots with it!

[@SuperTurbo9001]

*Laughs in f/7*

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

400mm f2.8?! That ain't no cheap lens!! How is it wide open? I used to have a Canon 300mm F2.8, which was great overall, but suffered from a bit of coma until closed down to at least F3.2

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hyperstar can fix that :p

[@TomBridle]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek I was extremely fortunate to get a great price on a used one where I work. It was just under the cost of a WO GT81 and 0.6X! Which is what I was considering at the time. The 400mm IS USM seems to handle coma very well even at f/2.8, corners do show a bit, but kind of like yourself I'm not overly bothered. I consider it good enough that I've never stopped down.

[@PafMedic]

A Year Later..Isnt Dean Amazing❤️Getting Ready To Give This A Whirl,I Like How You Show To Install It,Ive Watched A Number Of Video’s Now,Just Wished Ive Had Any Skies Worth Even Just Walking Outside🤨😢Whats The Rubber Band For🤔🤔Ya Lost Me There,lol..Great Video,God Bless and Clear Skies🙏🏻❤️✨🌏🔭

[@KopLamp]

As an EdgeHD 8" user I have my eyes on Hyperstar as well, but the price is holding me off. As well that I have an L-eXtreme filter which works ok with f/10 (or f/7)... Although one of your other videos painfully makes clear that my strange patterns I see will likely be caused by me using it with an ASI294MC Pro...

[@SuperTurbo9001]

The colimation, if you're a perfectionist, is painful from what ive heard. Add to that the big filters needed it seems like quite a pain

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Augh... that pattern on the 294MC. Yep. That's sensor with a NB filter in the red band. I'm told it's possible to calibrate it out perfectly. I've never been able to do so.