DEEP SKY OBJECTS
The sensitivity and on-board processing features of the Revolution Imager make it great for viewing faint deep sky objects even from light polluted neighborhoods with even modest telescopes.
These are the settings we recommend:
Revolution Imager R2 |
MANUAL settings - for most objects. FIX settings - for more control and tricky objects. |
R2: USING MANUAL
The settings we recommend for most deep-sky-objects on the Revolution Imager R2 is the "MANUAL" exposure mode. The MANUAL mode allows the camera to automatically adjust the gain level to give a good exposure.
If you need help finding these items in the menu please see our menus help page.
When using the MANUAL settings the amount of AGC controls the maximum gain the camera will use and sets a fixed exposure time (or shutter speed.) We recommend using a low shutter speed such as x16 or x32 with a high AGC and once centered moving shutter speed to a higher value like x128 or x256. The limiting factor as to how high you can go with the shutter speed and AGC is usually dictated by how bright your skies are.
If you're using any narrow-band filters, then we recommend placing the camera in NIGHT mode which sets the camera to black & white operation and increasing the gain or shutter speed
SHUTTER/AGC | MANUAL |
---|---|
SHUTTER | x8-x16 to find objects and as high as possible when centered, up to x256 for most suburban neighborhoods. |
AGC MAX | 24DB for most usage, or as high as as required. |
Stacking/3D-DNR | Between 3 to 6 |
Click on any of the settings above to see how to apply them to your camera.
Image from Michael M, Los Angeles, Celestron Nexstar 4SE
R2: USING FIXED MODE
For trickier objects or to simply have more control over the camera we recommend FIX mode.
If you need help finding these items in the menu please see our menus help page.
When using the FIX setting the amount of AGC selected is the actual gain the camera will use along with the exposure time (or shutter speed.) We recommend using a low shutter speed such as x16 or x32 with a high AGC and once centered moving shutter speed to a higher value like x128 or x256. The limiting factor as to how high you can go with the shutter speed and AGC is usually dictated by how bright your skies are.
If you're using any narrow-band filters, then we recommend placing the camera in NIGHT mode which sets the camera to black & white operation and increasing the gain or shutter speed
SHUTTER/AGC | FIX |
---|---|
SHUTTER | x8-x16 to find objects and as high as possible when centered, up to x256 for most suburban neighborhoods. |
AGC | 12DB for most usage, or as high as as required. |
Stacking/3D-DNR | Between 3 to 6 |
Click on any of the settings above to see how to apply them to your camera.
Image from Curtis M.