Anyone use their California for Astrophotography?

[Nate73]

Morning all. I’m no where near getting my Cali delivered but one of the many reasons I’m getting one is to expand my photography skills. In particular astrophotography which I’ll be using the Cali to hunt down dark skies. I’m keen to hear from any other members with similar interests and in particular your setup and how you power your goto mounts etc off grid. Thanks in advance.

 

[Moakesy]

Member @Richard Hurst sold his van and is currently awaiting his new one, so I'm not sure how often he visits this site atm.

He does some lovely astro....

 

[Nate73]

Member @Richard Hurst sold his van and is currently awaiting his new one, so I'm not sure how often he visits this site atm.

He does some lovely astro....

Thanks. Good to know.

 

[Baldrick]

G3 solar storm should be with us about now in case it’s clear and you’re far enough north to witness it

 

[Nate73]

G3 solar storm should be with us about now in case it’s clear and you’re far enough north to witness it

I didn't see anything last night from Yorkshire but hopefully when the van arrives I can head further north with all my gear

Managed a quick Moon photo the other week.

 

[Baldrick]

From the daily NASA email over the weekend…

Particles From the Sun Produce Light Show on Earth The aurora borealis glow on the northern horizon while stars wheel overhead in this long exposure, taken near the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Nov. 4, 2021. November 08, 2021 via NASA https://ift.tt/3CQbIo1

 

[Nate73]

From the daily NASA email over the weekend…

​ Particles From the Sun Produce Light Show on Earth The aurora borealis glow on the northern horizon while stars wheel overhead in this long exposure, taken near the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Nov. 4, 2021. November 08, 2021 via NASA https://ift.tt/3CQbIo1

Makes me want my van now. I just need to be patient and hope that I have it next winter for the dark sky season

 

[Richard Hurst]

Hi, have my new van but when I had my old one I did plug an extension lead into the socket and run my mount off of that with no issues. had Mount, laptop, power supply etc all going ok, does Brian the battery but easily gave me 6-8 hours

 

[mogfor]

Morning all. I’m no where near getting my Cali delivered but one of the many reasons I’m getting one is to expand my photography skills. In particular astrophotography which I’ll be using the Cali to hunt down dark skies. I’m keen to hear from any other members with similar interests and in particular your setup and how you power your goto mounts etc off grid. Thanks in advance.

Hi Nate, this was one of the reasons I bought my van and waited 13 months for delivery….It finally arrived Monday, along with the clouds but hoping to test my existing setup over the next few weeks. Will let you know how I get on…

 

[Nate73]

Hi Nate, this was one of the reasons I bought my van and waited 13 months for delivery….It finally arrived Monday, along with the clouds but hoping to test my existing setup over the next few weeks. Will let you know how I get on…

Congratulations on delivery and may the dark sky journeys begin. What’s your current setup look like? Any particular places you are planning on visiting?

 

[sidepod]

Check out some of Arctic Matt’s posts from Norway.

 

[Moon Madness]

I do a bit of Astro from my back garden currently with a star tracker and some Milky Way landscape stuff. The van is great for a base and have also used it for storm photography, managing to set up a tripod inside, have the sliding door open and stay very comfortable. The sliding window offers a chance for even more sheltered photography, but it does make you look bit dodgy with a telephoto lens poking out!

 

[mogfor]

Congratulations on delivery and may the dark sky journeys begin. What’s your current setup look like? Any particular places you are planning on visiting?

Thanks, can’t wait to get it out - we live in South London so Astro photography can be a challenge even with narrowband filters! There are some darker sky sites further into Kent and East Sussex that I’m hoping to pop down to whenever the weather is clear for a few hours but hoping to get some longer trips in to some of the real dark sky sites next year: Dartmoor, Brecon, Snowdon, Kielder etc.

My main setup uses a Skywatcher EQ6R mount and either a ZWO ASI 1600 for narrowband or an ASI 2600 for rgb colour. Use a range of scopes from a Celestron 8HD right down to Samyang wide angle camera lenses (too much kit!). Will probably use the smaller scopes with the van as easier to set up and get going quickly. They don’t have a huge power draw so will be interesting to see how long I can run off the leisure batteries….

If you’re interested, I post my Astro stuff on Instagram as rob.astro . Maybe we’ll have to organise a Cali Astro meet up at a dark sky site in 2022
One of my recent images below:

 

[Nate73]

@Moon Madness @mogfor great photos. I’m still learning this stuff with my EQ6R and 8” Skywatcher Explorer along with my Nikon z6ii so any tips and tricks are more than welcome. Would love to arrange a dark sky meet up when I get my van.

 

[mogfor]

@Moon Madness @mogfor great photos. I’m still learning this stuff with my EQ6R and 8” Skywatcher Explorer along with my Nikon z6ii so any tips and tricks are more than welcome. Would love to arrange a dark sky meet up when I get my van.

Very happy to help if you’ve got any questions or problems at any time - I’ve been doing it for about 4 years and still learning!
Have you got a delivery date for the van?

 

[Nate73]

Very happy to help if you’ve got any questions or problems at any time - I’ve been doing it for about 4 years and still learning!
Have you got a delivery date for the van?

Thanks for the offer and I’ll certainly take you up on it. As the the van delivery I’m not really sure. I ordered a fairly standard Ocean at the send of July and the dealer said Q2 22 but I suspect I’ll be lucky to see it before Aug 22. I have a few things booked for next summer but will just hire something if I’m still without it.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Thanks, can’t wait to get it out - we live in South London so Astro photography can be a challenge even with narrowband filters! There are some darker sky sites further into Kent and East Sussex that I’m hoping to pop down to whenever the weather is clear for a few hours but hoping to get some longer trips in to some of the real dark sky sites next year: Dartmoor, Brecon, Snowdon, Kielder etc.

My main setup uses a Skywatcher EQ6R mount and either a ZWO ASI 1600 for narrowband or an ASI 2600 for rgb colour. Use a range of scopes from a Celestron 8HD right down to Samyang wide angle camera lenses (too much kit!). Will probably use the smaller scopes with the van as easier to set up and get going quickly. They don’t have a huge power draw so will be interesting to see how long I can run off the leisure batteries….

If you’re interested, I post my Astro stuff on Instagram as rob.astro . Maybe we’ll have to organise a Cali Astro meet up at a dark sky site in 2022
One of my recent images below:

View attachment 86536

Fantastic!

 

[joe g]

Morning all. I’m no where near getting my Cali delivered but one of the many reasons I’m getting one is to expand my photography skills. In particular astrophotography which I’ll be using the Cali to hunt down dark skies. I’m keen to hear from any other members with similar interests and in particular your setup and how you power your goto mounts etc off grid. Thanks in advance.

These forums are just brilliant. I was just about to post this very same question, but thought best do a search first in case its already been covered and......voila. I live in NE Scotland and am wrestling with the various puzzles that need to be solved to get on top of the kit and logistics needed to get astro images. Wondered if it might be considered a bit of an odd use for the van but glad not. It would be great to get together with others using their vans for this but I suspect thats unlikely looking at the locations of others above. Still if any of you find yourselves up in these parts give me a shout as I am on a steep learning curve and there will always be refreshment available

 

[Nate73]

Th

These forums are just brilliant. I was just about to post this very same question, but thought best do a search first in case its already been covered and......voila. I live in NE Scotland and am wrestling with the various puzzles that need to be solved to get on top of the kit and logistics needed to get astro images. Wondered if it might be considered a bit of an odd use for the van but glad not. It would be great to get together with others using their vans for this but I suspect thats unlikely looking at the locations of others above. Still if any of you find yourselves up in these parts give me a shout as I am on a steep learning curve and there will always be refreshment available

There is definitely a lot to learn with Astrophotography but YouTube is full of some great people sharing their advice. I’m definitely up for a trip to Scotland when my van arrives. You must have some great dark sky spots on your door step.

 

[joe g]

Th

There is definitely a lot to learn with Astrophotography but YouTube is full of some great people sharing their advice. I’m definitely up for a trip to Scotland when my van arrives. You must have some great dark sky spots on your door step.

Its not too bad literally out of our front door and there are some good places nearby. Agree there are some great people out there freely sharing their knowledge and expertise. I see it as having to solve a big jigsaw puzzle made up of many smaller jigsaw puzzles with new ones cropping up as you go along If you are up in these parts give me a shout.

 

[Nate73]

Its not too bad literally out of our front door and there are some good places nearby. Agree there are some great people out there freely sharing their knowledge and expertise. I see it as having to solve a big jigsaw puzzle made up of many smaller jigsaw puzzles with new ones cropping up as you go along If you are up in these parts give me a shout.

You’ll be the first to know when I head to Scotland.

 

[joe g]

You’ll be the first to know when I head to Scotland.

 

[Nate73]

I’m sure this will all fit in the van. I might start planning some ideas of how to transport it.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

View attachment 87142
I’m sure this will all fit in the van. I might start planning some ideas of how to transport it.

Impressive kit.

 

[Nate73]

Impressive kit.

Thanks @GrumpyGranddad. I just need to start getting out more and practicing. I get out quite a bit with my camera taking landscape and street photography. View attachment B422CA44-AD18-4E7A-B7F9-839119E2BA32.jpeg