PixInsight is it worth the price?

The reviewer, without any endorsement, shares personal experiences with astral photography upgrades, including the Skywatcher tracker, ASIair mini, and PixInsight software. With the new setup, they achieved better alignment and remote control of their rig. Notable results were captured images of Orion and Andromeda galaxies, and Pleiades, showing significant improvement, particularly after adding auto-guiding.

Finally weather improvements

Enduring two months of overcast weather, March’s improved conditions allowed testing of the ASIair mini in Denmark. Remote operation of the Star Adventurer GTi and a successful Pleiades (M45) photoshoot were achieved with increased exposure times. The ASIair mini impressed, enabling 60-second exposures at ISO 800. Excitement grows for continued collaboration with the ASIair mini.

First light with the new gear

Testing the new astrophotography rig was a success. Despite a slight hiccup with a misaligned UV filter affecting star photography, the night out was deemed a success. Imperfections aside, the experience was enjoyable, marking a memorable and satisfactory outing.

Telescopius FOV of new astrophoto kit

Building 1 new portable astrophoto kit

Over the past decade, the author has periodically engaged in astrophotography, using an older Meade 8″ telescope which lacks modern features, leading to frustration. To improve, they’ve decided to build a new astrophoto kit from scratch, starting with a Skywatcher Star Adventurer GTi mount, their Nikon Z5 camera, and a Tamron 150-600mm lens.