clarkpm4242

@FenlandPaul Hi Paul. From the reviews the MkII doesn't seem much better than the original MkI. Sequator and Deep Sky Stacker with get rid of the sky noise. Light painting technique hides issues with foreground... ...a rule of thumb for living up here is that we are 5-6C cooler than the SE! Have you tried in Photoshop/Filter/Noise/Dust and Scratches..? Several Youtube vids on this approach to removing hot pixels. Best answer could be wait awhile then sell off whatever you can and go for a BIG upgrade. My cousin test drove and then bought a R6. The nightscape performance was very impressive.

...in Swaledale. Sky ~10 x 8s, iso 2500, f2. Foreground ~10 x 8s, iso 800, f4 and light painting. Canon 6D MkII, Sigma 24mm. Lightroom, Sequator, Photoshop. Unfortunately, no confectionary was consumed during this activity Same 2 hour cloud gap as abandoned farmhouse image. Paul

@Stuu I strongly recommend *NOT* using varifocals at the eyepiece. The changing 'power' with head/eye position is a real pain. As others have noted. A pair of sIngle vision spectacles for astro use is the way to go. Cheers, Paul.

@FenlandPaul thank you Paul. Think I've had the MkII for 2.5 years, somewhat cheaper then. The screen is a massive plus!!! Haven't found any unexpected downsides that weren't operator malfunction. Only gets used for astro. High iso performance is good. I do use techniquess to reduce noise. Am only frustrated by wide aperture performance of lenses (could buy an R6 to use stopped down at even higher iso...) @teoria_del_big_bang likewise

...in Swaledale, North Yorkshire. Two cloud free hours last night! Sky 12 x 8s, f2, iso 2500. Foreground ~8 x 8s, f4, iso 800 and light painting. LR, Sequator and PS. Canon 6DMkII, Sigma 24mm. More mistakes and much learnt. I like the feel Paul May need a click...

Thought I'd try a 'retrospective' mosaic. GCN was imaged 4 weeks ago. Had noted nearby Crescent and gave it a go last night as moon was bright and sky was a tad murky. Both panes ~40 x 120s. RASA 8, ASI2600 MC Pro and IDAS NBZ filter. DSS and Photoshop. Wasn't that well composed but was happy to get something in the fleeting gap in the unrelenting cloud. Click needed as usual. Cheers, Paul

Hello Graham They installed an observatory for me late last year. The communication void between deposit and installation was very unnerving! I was concerned!! The building is great. They are working flat out. An unfortunate death in their team has some bearing on the poor comms. All was fine when the install started happening. Paul

Needed a couple of goes to make sure nowhere was bleached out (just looked on back of camera). The roller is solid and easy to hid the light source from direct view. The light has fully variable brightness/dimmer control. Then vary 'opacity' in layers. Hope you can get out Dave.

Thank you @FenlandPaul loads of machinery around here, unfortunately its all down in the depths of the dale...

...old farm machinery under the Scutum star cloud. Sky 10 x 10s, iso 2500, f2.2, roller 5 x 10s, iso 500, f5. Canon 6D MkII, Sigma 24mm. Light painted. LR, Sequater and PS. Snuck in between the clouds. Unfortunate rise in the ground prevented the composition I was hoping for. Better viewed after a click... Paul

The night has returned!! RASA 8 & ZWO ASI2600MC Pro. IDAS NBZ dualband filter. 25 x 180s. DSS and PS. Plagued with intermittent thin cloud. Pleased with this result from the short opportunity Will probably need a click. Cheers, Paul.

Awesome thank you. Well done to all who contributed. Thank you to @MartinB for running these challenges!! Cheers Paul

Added 2 pane vertical pano

I have a couple of these - Ulanzi 96 LED Video Light Photo Lighting On Camera Rechargeable LED Flash Light. There are many similar available. Most of the interesting foregrounds around here are down in valleys. Lighting them up should significantly increase the compositions I can get. This was the most straightforward to start with..?!

40 x 120s, RASA 8, ZWO ASI2600MC, IDAS NBZ. DSS and PS. Maybe a tad red... ...cheers, Paul.

A relic of the lead mining industry. Sited up on a moor, part way along a flue from Surrender Bridge Smelt Mill it extracts lead from the fumes... ...first go at large scale light painting. Canon 6D MkII, Sigma 24mm. Sky 12 x 8s, f2.2, iso 1600. Foreground ~12 x 8s, f5, iso 400. Sequator, LR and PS. Needs a click, though not rendering as sharp as on my laptop. Cheers, Paul. Edit: Added 2 pane vertical pano version.

RASA 8, ZWO ASI2600MC Pro, IDAS NBZ dual band filter. 40 x 120s. DSS and PS. Am still astounded! Cropped and nearly full FOV versions. Okay on my ultra vibrant laptop screen, others may lack..? Cheers Paul

Looks much better after clicking! Tis great we can do imaging in July Paul

Reinstated observatory setup and had a shakedown run. As it isn't astro dark here I thought the IDAS NBZ filter would work best on my OSC setup. 30 x 120s, RASA 8, ZWO ASI2600MC Pro. DSS and PS (Gradient Xterminater plugin), used LAB colour mode to greyscale the image. Needs a click for best viewing. Might try NA Neb. tonight. Cheers, Paul (hiding indoors from the heat).

2nd pano!

A stream of clouds flows above the village of Reeth. Best viewed full screen, may take a moment to load. Canon 6D MkII at 3.2s and iso 400. Sigma 24mm at f3.5. 5s intervals played at 30fps. LR, PS and VSDC. Cheers, Paul.

I have it looping full screen at 4K resolution! Thank you. Yes, a bridleway on the moors. Keeps me off the streets... ....cheers, Paul.

Best viewed full screen, may take a moment to load. Timelapse - 6D MkII, SIgma 24mm. Image - 7D MkII, Samyang 16mm. LR, PS and VSDC. Cheers, Paul.

Noctilucent Clouds from Swaledale, North Yorkshire. 23.15 on June 21st 2020. Field barn (previously Punchard Toll House) under an extensive display. Canon 6D MkII 1s and iso400. Sigma 24mm at f3.5. Photoshop. Cheers, Paul

@davew thank you! Am very pleased with how the light works. Gives a really different result compared to fully light painted foregrounds. Quickly learn from mistakes. Not too close to object, remember camera line of sight, start on dimmest setting. All single exposures, may need a foreground exposure for dark nights. A short image/timelapse/music mash-up. Cheers, Paul.