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That $200 used telescope I grabbed on Craigslist came with a misaligned mirror that ruined every photo for 6 months until I figured it out
Has anyone else gotten burned by a cheap scope where the collimation was way off and you didn't realize it until you compared your shots to a buddy's?
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drew96521d ago
Man, "ruined every photo for 6 months" hits hard. I had a similar thing with a scope I found at a garage sale for like 40 bucks. Thought I was just bad at focusing or the stars were extra blurry that night. Turned out the whole secondary mirror was loose and just flopping around every time I moved the tube. I spent like two months blaming the weather and the moon before I tightened one little screw and suddenly my shots looked like actual planets instead of cotton balls. It's funny how we blame ourselves before checking the gear.
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the_charlie21d ago
Hah, yeah that's a classic. We always think it's user error first.
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the_rowan18d ago
Haha right? I spent three months thinking I forgot how to collimate. Turned out my finderscope was just glued on crooked and I'd been aiming at empty space the whole time.
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