RemcoDutch

On 09/01/2022 at 13:07, Richard_ said:

Using the SA2i with my Canon 600D and Redcat51 (250mm focal length) I was able to perform 60s subs quite comfortably without a guider. However, I got the same experience as @wongataa so about 40-50% of subs had some minor star trails likely caused by the inaccuracy of the gearing in the mount, so I just discard them when stacking. 

Once I added an auto guider I could take  300s subs without seeing any star trailing, with the only oblong stars caused by wind etc. I never tried above 300s so cannot comment beyond that. So perhaps you should consider a way of autoguiding in your budget if you don't want to lose half a night of imaging? 

I've provided example images of my setup and final images to help illustrated my "triggers broom" of a mount 😁

Here are some of my first astro images using the unguided setup at 60s (please ignore the quality of my early processing skills!). 

Here's a picture of the above setup but with autoguider and ASI Air Pro. I got 120s subs easily with this setup. 

At this point, I upgraded to the ASI533 camera. Here's an example of a final image with 300s guided subs  (ignore size of stars, this was way too high of an exposure time, I just wanted to see how well it tracked!). Note: I only discarded 1 sub out of 31 due to cloud cover rather than elongated stars. 

Thanks so much for the post! 
Think I will pick up the SA begin of feb (when they come back in stock).

Hey guys, 

Driving to Tenerife this monday! Going to visit the local Astronomy shop there and planning to buy the SWSA2.
 

My current camera is Canon 2000D (Rebel T7 I believe in US?) with a 18-200 f5.6 Tamron + 75-300 EF F5.6 Canon lens.
Will I be able to track accuratly for 1-2 min exposures on the SWSA2? Or would I be better of buying something else ? 

Suggestions please below 500 euro if possible
If not I might have to rethink my strategy

Thanks alot in advance!

@vlaiv New file is about 300mb so ALOT smaller .

I added it to the first post.
Curious to see what other people can make from my TIFF.

Looking forward to get to trying longer exposures with a tracker soon.

Thanks for the replay and will read into the black level stuff from canon!

Good evening everyone! 

After my first few posts I have been busy enjoying myself with some untracked photography. Absolutely love the photography part and  a bit frustrated by the editing part 😂. All part of the fun!
Have been getting better at focusing and actually framing/finding the targets (Like Andromeda) with a DIY laser assembly.
On my vacation to Tenerife this year I am planning on picking up a Star Adventurer (or something similiar) to be able to have longer exposures. This will help alot to eliminate noise right?

Yesterday I picked up a Canon 75-300 EF f5.6. I know this is not the best and a (very) cheap lens but alot of people seem to be getting decent results with it.
Yesterday I stacked and today I edited/played around with the following:

292 lights @ 1sec, 300mm, F7.1, ISO1600 (I read that stopping down will help eliminate some CA)
30 flats
50 darks
40 bias

When strecthing the image in GIMP and/or PS CS6 the first few stretches are fine, but then the 5th or so stretch I get MASSIVE red noise / light polution?
I am not sure what it is. The position of the red / orange creep does correspond to the location of the nearest (15miles or so) big city.
Below my stacking and editing results. (REMOVED and REPLACED wrong stacked file, sorry for everyone who downloaded!)

Any people have some good feedback for me?

Autosave.tif

1 hour ago, happy-kat said:

you can get a red dot finder that mounts in the camera flash hotshoe, helps with where the camera is pointing. get a remote release for the shutter or see if DSLR Controller an Android app will work with your canon as it helps hugely with focusing too, though you need an android device

Yes, I found that the canon app helps with remote shutter release. But going to see for a dedicated one. The laser I hadnt considered yet! Sounds like a thing people invest in at some point anyway. So this sounds like a smaller step I could take financially sooner then anything else! 

Still having trouble focusing. Even though it seems ok. But babysteps 😅. Seems like my lens has some issues aswell (on forums they seem to indicate that tele lenses distort on the edges?). 

All in all, keep learning every session 😄, for years to come probably! 

On 09/12/2021 at 07:28, 900SL said:

I started off like you around 18 months ago @RemcoDutch

Now Orion looks like this:   https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/385555-sgl-2021-challenge-8-all-about-orion/?do=findComment&comment=4165162

Tracker, dark skies, D5600 and telescope. Budget on around 1000 to 1500 euro  

Or later in that thread with a 135mm lens

 

Looks like tracking will take me to the next level after getting used to editing

On 09/12/2021 at 07:28, 900SL said:

I started off like you around 18 months ago @RemcoDutch

Now Orion looks like this:   https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/385555-sgl-2021-challenge-8-all-about-orion/?do=findComment&comment=4165162

Tracker, dark skies, D5600 and telescope. Budget on around 1000 to 1500 euro  

Or later in that thread with a 135mm lens

 

Insane!! I bought a supercheap Celestron for observation and falling in love with the stars and planets. Only a matter of time before I upgrade aswell 😄. 

Very stunning image, hope I can achieve this in 18 months from now!! ❤️

This was Orion today.
Apart from the weird framing I am pretty happpy for my 4th session ever :).

Baby steps!

Going to Tenerife in 36 days, so pretty exciting to shoot from the Teide Plateau!

Awesome! Thanks ^^. 
Going to do Pleiades tomorrow so cant wait to follow along !

Thanks a bunch!

2 hours ago, alacant said:

Hi

2000D? Try losing the dark frames and cropping to remove the rectangle. I think It'll be cleaner.

Cheers

** If you ever get stuck, we do quite a bit of processing in Bar 'El Casino' in Sella;)

Thats amazing 😂. Such a small world! I am the owner of the Bed and Breakfast Villa Pico in Sella !

8 hours ago, The Lazy Astronomer said:

Just a guess here, but it could be a stacking artifact caused by the fact that the edges of the individual frames do not perfectly align. Was this done with a tracking mount or on a static tripod? 

It was with a static tripod ! 

Good evening!
Went out tonight (planning to shoot Orion / Pleiades) and when it turned cloudy I pointed my Canon 2000D (unmodded) with Tamron 18-200 towards Capella I believe the star is called.
Zoomed (Not sure what to call it) the lens to 100mm, F5.6, 6400 ISO, 2sec exposure.
Used Dark (50), Flat (20), Bias (28) and light (150) frames. 
Stacked with DSS (Havent got time / drive to look into Siril yet seems alot more complicated!).

While editing in PS c6 I got the images shown below.

1st image: This is after stretchin 4-5 times (quite agressively I think)
 

2nd image: Final image, so stretching, curve and substracting Dust and Scratches filter, which seems to have helped for the weird red square (?).
I am actually quite happy with this result, considering this was my 3rd time shooting and 1st time doing the frames and focus actually the right way!

3rd image is the dust and scratch filter I substracted from the 1st image to create the 2nd image (sorry for the weird order of posting)

Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong?  Is the red just noise and did it get stacked weirdly in DSS?
What is and how to prevent that red square?

Yesss, this is amazing. Got my hand on a cheap PS C6 copy ! 

My next challenge is going to be achieving  focus 😁. And actually using calibration frames!

Stretching REALLY brings out the good... and bad! Wind is blowing hard, so that also seems to be a factor on my light €50 Monfrotto tripod. 

Hoping that the winds will die down soon! 

Thanks, thanks, guys. I am very happy with the learning curve, seems like a GREAT challenge! Thanks for the tips on editing. I love Gimp, use it to make personal designs alot. 

I will dive into the world of youtube even deepen then before 😁. 

And Yes! Glad you mentioned Stargazine, heard it somewhere before but forgot about it, i'll check it out. Along with some different sorftware see what fits me best! 

Goodmorning everyone!

Had a really late night yesterday after buying a Canon EOS 2000D with 18-200 Tamaran f3.5-F6 lens. And a simple tripod.
Decided on this camera because of my budget and the lens because the shop owner had it for 129 euro second hand. Gave it a test spin around the area and on the dogs, very happy so far!

Started reading up on astrophotography (no tracking / no scope just yet. To expensive for now!) but did get a Powerseeker 60.
Not for photo's I know now ;). But did see Jupiter with its moons which was SUPER tiny, but VERY exciting.

To the point now. Yesterday had a session shooting Orion.
When editing after stacking in DSS the only thing that seems to be making a difference is playing with the RGB channels / histogram? How do you guys make everything pop after stacking? 
Playing with RGB really makes the stars come out of the dark image, but feels like I am missing something? 
Also the orange glow as I understand it is light polution right?
I had 20 dark frames, 100 light frames, 0 flats (not sure how to yet)
Editing is done in Olympus Workspace

(First Image, Orion, is zoomed in 100x2s 1600 ISO F5.0)

(2nd image, Pleiades, not zoomed 10x25s 1600 ISO F5.0)

Thanks for any comments and all the criticism

.

.

Thanks for pointing me to the FOV tool.
There is not really any bad news to bear for the price I am paying!

For €50 I am not expecting anything special!
Will keep checking in here regularly, sure there will be plenty of questions coming, lol.

Hello everyone! 

This is my first time posting here and tomorrow will be picking up my first telescope ( https://www.celestron.com/products/powerseeker-60az-telescope ).
Have been able to buy it 2nd hand for only €50, also ordered a adaptor for my Olympus TG-6. The TG6 is my underwater camera.( https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B07F7W65T6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ).

After scouring the internet, I found a Canon 450D for €100 and a Canon 500D for €150 or a Canon 1100D for €150. (T-ring and Barlow adapter? are about €30 euro from amazon it seems).
It it worth investing in one of the Canons? If so which one in your opinions (I would possible modify them myself, taking the filters off)
(I grew to love nature photography after buying the TG6 so not sure if I want to modify any camera though).

I am hoping to do a mix of DSO / Planets. And if I like my new hobby would possibly have €500 to upgrade to another scope, so would any of these camera's be worths the long run?