the lemming

That was really enjoyable Cheers

Edit To make lifer more easy for me, please make the marble a more easy 10mm. Sorry

I have a pet project but I'm not sure how I'd go about it. Bit of a thicko with maths. Would anybody be able to tell me the scale of the Sun compared to a child's marble, if it was for example 13mm diameter? I could then try and work out how far away the earth would be making a simple map on the ground by trying to work out the scale of 150,000,000km from the Sun in my marble scale. Cheers muchly

Just in case anybody is interested, I bought a second-hand Panasonic G9 from MPB.com and took a punt on night time photography. This is my first test shot with a 7.5mm lens at 20 seconds ISO 800. I chickened out and used Noise Reduction. I am staggered at how little noise there was and how well the camera performed at increasing exposure in post production. I am very happy and have restored my faith in Micro Four Thirds. I'm now looking forward to trying to get the Milky Way now. And I will never do any more night time stuff with my GH 6 camera. What do you think of my test shot? Am I being an over eager parent or does the G9 have potential? Its Orion, Mars and Paladies in the shot.

Thank you everybody. And those images are spectacular.

I would like a tracker to fit my camera tripod please

There does seem to be a bewildering range of trackers out there and my brain hurts trying to pick one and would very much appreciate any advice. I would like to take landscape images, including Milkyway landscapes, some occasional telephoto images of stuff like Andromeda and other interesting subjects. I have a MFT camera with lenses going from 7.5mm to 400mm. I have a photographer's tripod with a self levelling head which is primarily used for video but I'm happy to adapt or change when required. I'd also like Tracker that is idiot proof but not so simple that I will outgrow it in one season of image taking. Cheers

Hopeful bump Anybody got or used an Olympus e-m1 mark iii ? And is the Starry Sky auto focus any good or just a gimmic. Cheers

I’ve tried pixel refresh many times and it does not make a jot of difference, sorry. as for the G9, this camera is on my wish list. It may be old but it is still an excellent Stills camera.

What software would you recommend for stacking please?

I have a GH6, which is great for video work but very poor at night time astro photography. It produces a shocking amount of Hot Pixels that are hard to eliminate in post production. If I was to get a different MFT camera primarily for night time shots such as the Milky Way, which models would produce the least Hot Pixels? I would prefer to stick with Micro Four Thirds as I have a lot of excellent glass that are f2 or faster. And if I was to get a Full Frame camera for astro images what older gen, second hand, cameras are worth considering please. This is to keep costs down as its a hobby that happens in winter months with clear sky's. 😀

At the moment I have: DxO Photolabs 5 (Free Trial at the moment) It is awsome for Noise Reduction and killing Hot Pixels Lightroom 5.7 because I refuse to pay monthly for Adobe software. Topaz Sharpen and DeNoise Luminar 4 and Luminar Neo Gimp (Not so good at killing Hot Pixels) Sequator Starstax

I’ve got my RAW image, what can I do in editing to make the image look good both printed and displayed on a screen? I’ve had about five or six attempts to try and capture a Milky Way landscape and a couple of days ago I got an image that I am pleased with. All I need to do now is edit the image as best as possible. Here is my attempt at the image however I’d like to improve on my edit.

I love my Panasonic GH6 but I just have to accept that its meh, when it comes to astro images. So if I was to buy a second hand Full Frame camera from somewhere like MPB.com, what would the lovely people of the parish suggest? I'm thinking of a few hundred for the body and happy to go old pro camera. I took this last night, and I love it but the noise just spoils the image for me.

First off, thank you everybody for your help and advice on creating Star Trail images. That advice was exceptionally helpful. However I would very much appreciate help and advice to create Time Lapse Star Trail videos. And if possible I very much would appreciate advice on how I could improve my first ever attempt at creating a video. Its only a minute and a half long. Th create the effect of the moving stars morphing into a Star Trail I used StarStax. I went half way through the photos I took and got Starstax and used it to create the blended images. I then added the unblended and the originals. Id be grateful for any advice on how I could improve on this idea. Cheers

I solved this problem on another thread. In the menu find spanner icon. From there choose Pixel Refresh. This should get rid of most hot pixels.

I've got a Panasonic GH5 which I really like for video work, however it is shockingly bad with hot pixels for night time subjects such as star trails and the milky way. I'm very happy with the Micro Four Thirds camera system and I have invested quite a few pennies into MFT glass. I very much would appreciate recommendations of MFT cameras that can take good night time photography shots. I have no desire to go full frame. Cheers

I have a MFT camera and an assortment of filters for it. I mainly use my ND filters for video work during the day, but a filter that greatly reduces light isn't a good idea for night time photography. What useful circular "screw on" filters would be a good for simple subjects like the moon, landscapes or time lapses of the stars? I have a 1/4 Pro Mist filter for video work and it does a very good job at enhancing sunset videos by giving the sun an extra glow and pleasing colour vibrancy. Probably not so great for pin point stars.

I finally got out to play near Chorley and bagged this at Rivington Pike. I'm most pleased with my second ever attempt.

Some great advice there. Unfortunately my Panasonic GH5 got very noisy photographing the Milky Way this year when I turned off NR creating hot pixels. It spoiled all my images as I could not get rid of all the hot pixels. The shutter was open for 25 seconds. Maybe the ISO at 5000 was the problem. 😥

I've had a couple of attempts at Star Trails and Timelapses with mixed results but I'm not exactly sure how to get the best results and what software to use in post production. I have a Panasonic GH5, 7.5mm lens (f2.0), sturdy tripod with a fluid head as I mainly do videoing stuff in daylight. I would appreciate advice on stuff like: If I should turn on or off Noise Reduction. How long I keep the shutter open. What ISO to use. My camera is practically ISO invariant but I never know where to keep the sweet spot. What software is novice proof with good enough results to keep me happy. This is my first and only attempt last year and I can't remember what I did, however I did use some software to stack the images. Doh!

I have a Sky Watcher 130p and I'd love to take some images with my phone attached to it. Any good recommendations for an attachment that will provide good results for an Android phone? I bought a cheap and nasty effort last year, which went straight in the bin because it was useless. Cheers

Hello What is a Median Filter please, and will it be in Lightroom 5? Cheers

A couple of nights ago I went to Llanddwyn Island, just off the Isle of Anglesey to capture images of the Milky Way and Perseids meteors. I had a great night with my Panasonic GH5 and Lowa 7.5mm manual prime lens. I have included two sample shots of the night which show the Hot Pixels in the dark areas. I tried to experiment with ISO Invariance to see if this would help. I don't have any Dark Frames for the simple reason that I forgot to take any. The shots may be a bit soft. It was a very windy night with a lot of sea spray in the air and I forgot my lens cloth. Doh! I would be grateful for any help, tips advice or software that will help me to eliminate the Hot Pixels Shot one was taken at ISO 5000 Shot two was taken at ISO 800 Both images were edited in Lightroom 5. Yep the old version because I'm a cheapskate and won't pay monthly for Lightroom.

Doing a dry run before a meteor shower is a bit tricky, as there won't be any meteors till showtime, for me to do the dry run. I've done a few timelapses of stars and have a good understanding of the settings, however I am after any further tips or advice on how to get the best of a meteor shower. If you can help then, I'd be very appreciated.