WestCoastCannuck

The 485 has that filter built in. I am still struggling to balance the colour levels.... mine comes out very purple. lol

Nice work. Some great resolution here. Mike

I like em both. Perhaps the larger one best. The whole southern half looks great at full size.

I like it!! Better colour than what I am getting from my 485C..... its a learning curve. Mike

Thanks much Martyn! Had only a little time and lucked out with some good seeing. Thanks Trevor! Yes..... the "realism" is a thing, and something I naturally gravitate to in processing - sometimes I achieve it, sometimes not. Much appreciated. I DO still like my experimenting though! :))))))) Clear skies!! Mike

As Kirkster points out, planetary and especially Lunar imaging with large sensors are hard on hardware. By what I read above this is not the case for DSO. My passion is shooting the moon..... and I want minimal steps in my capture process. I had a cheap HP with decent specs, USB3.0 ports and an SSD harddrive. Was OK.... but not quite getting the speeds the cameras should do - I made do. It was a pain though capturing to the laptop SSD, then copying over to an external... then copying that to my PC, so, I bought a Samsung T7 USB3.2 V2 external SSD figuring the 5gb/sec data rate on laptop of usb 3.0 would be enough..... NOT so - in spite of the numbers that said it would work.... it did not. When I tried to run my camera saving directly to the T7 it slowed dramatically once buffer was filled - this was using my 20mp 183MM camera rated for 20fps 8bit raw output. I got about 15-16fps straight to laptop, but it dropped to about 8-10fps straight to to T7. My 2mp 290MM was not TOO bad, acceptable to me at a rate of 140fps instead of the rated 170fps (to both laptop and T7). Anyways, I got tired of the issue and bought a used Dell XPS laptop with USB3.2 V2.... was pricey, but worth it. Battery awesome for one, with plenty of hours, but, I now do ALL my imaging at full rated camera speeds recording straight to my 2TB Samsung T7 external flash drive only dipping into my large available buffer by a frame or two occasionally. SO much better. Best of luck!! Mike

I don't know a single person who had a guide available when learning how to do lunar imaging..... but if this book was available when I was learning I likely would have bought it. Pricey.... but looks solid and maybe worth it. Might even pick it up myself if the price drops a bit. No doubt something I can learn there. EDIT..... I just ordered a used copy. Its a little outdated.... but I expect shall be a nice resource. Thanks for your question! lol Clear skies!! Mike

Thanks Neil!! Last shot is just a little experimentation. Not to everyone's taste for sure! I like the first version best myself as well.

I liked the slightly backed off one more. Great stuff regardless in the jitters!

First up, the 8th. For this image there is no cropping whatsover.... this is the view from camera. 140APM.... more details on pic. Clear skies Mike Have a little more to share from the 9th. Here are two versions of the same file.... again, a single stacked image from my 140 and 183MM. The first is the easy on the eyes version.... the second is the "lets look at details" version. I like both of them. Details version! A colour mosaic with the 485C and 200L is still coming. Seeing did not quite support... but hopefully still a nice image! Clear skies Mike

Thanks Michael! My 102 dewed as I was packing up, but my 140 and 200 stayed clear - I am sure they would have got it, but having my 6yo made an early end to the evening. Thanks morimarty! Yes, it was a fantastic time for us - to be repeated. :))))) Clear skies Mike

Great results from the Jitters! The second holds up particularly well. Nice clean image.

Excellent image of a favourite of mine! Tons of great detail. Clear skies! Mike

Looks good! I like the colour!

Nice work. I also have a colour mosaic from my 8 inch that night........ whenever I get to it!! lol (and assuming the panels go together) Clear skies!! Mike

Tons of details! I think I like the larger file better. Processing right on the edge.... like a knife! A ton of great detail here. I was also out! Just 140 data for me. Clear skies!! Mike

Thanks Neil!! Was a fun night. Hoping for some good imaging this week..... but forecast not good. Go figure. lol

Thanks Pete! It WAS an excellent spot..... sadly what a friend told me proved to be true. Not far from me, one of the previously darkish municipal buildings has a horendous bright light on..... knocks out half the sky, and even lights up the top of a ridge of trees about 100 yards away. Still darker than my driveway, but I must hunt out a new spot now. This place was a known "dark" site for many astro enthusiasts. It is possible that it will be fixed.... I am sure that there are requests in about it. We could still see a lot though.... and it was still great. Thanks Malcom! It was the first of many nights out with my little guy I expect. :))))) Clear skies! Mike

Seeing horrible actually..... but result not bad from my first clip. I expected seeing to get better after sunset.... but was the opposite. Had a great evening under the stars with my 6yo. Was my first night taking Zachary out with me (we usually just set up in driveway). Was a success. Zachary LOVED panning around the sky with the 102ED and a widefield 34mm while I imaged, and we both looked around after. Clear Skies!! Mike

Thanks guys! Can't wait for the next good night!!

Just redid yet another colour version of the 140 with 1.5X and QHY 5iii 485C mosaic - with a different orientation as well. I am getting there massaging the colour to my taste.

Really nice work Pete!! Nice processing and detail.

Awesome post Neil! And a great result. :)))

Wow! Tremendous work Neil! You are pulling more detail in bad seeing than I do in good I think. Really nice and clean. Seriously.... I would be happy to get as much out of my 8 on a good night.

Lovely work with that big [removed word]! I think both are fantastic.