>Can anyone tell me the best way to eliminate shutter vibrations of the OTA
>whilst doing astrophotography?
>I have a 10" Lx200 and I'm using a Nikon FA 35mm camera, I have just bought
>a set of counterbalance weights which I have not had a chance to try out
>yet.

Hi Andy - I don't know the Nikon FA specifically but I've been using my
Nikon F2 with a 10" LX200 f/10 for the past three years and never had any
problems with vibration. Yes, it causes a slight vibration of the OTA for
a split second but it's never enough to upset the autoguider (ST-4) or to
cause any effect on quality of the image (a split second of slight
vibration in exposures of 1 hour or more doesn't register). Of course, you
should always use a cable release. If your FA is particularly bad you may
want to look at the F2 - quite cheap, and it's a fantastic camera for
astrophotography (you can pick them up for about £300 from Ffordes
Photographic 01702 335212)

The problem with black-hatting a deep space exposure is that it upsets the
autoguider, which is fiddly to work around, and in my experience not
necessary. Of course it's a different matter entirely for photographing
the moon or planets - there you absolutely have to use the hat trick.

Good luck - mail me if you need more.
--Philip

Wiltshire UK & Luberon France
Astrocruise - http://www.astrocruise.com

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