tony8690

from the same night as my last post i also got these, not the best quality as my post processing needs a lot of work.

M31 - 8 x 180s at 1600 iso

            2 x 240 at 1600 iso

HH - 5 x 180 ay 1600 iso

both were a quick capture as was getting a bit cold. 

Hi All,

Haven't posted here for a couple years!

Recently moved to Northumberland (originally from Kent) am loving the dark sky’s !

My first night out in my garden for a loooong time and here is the result.

M42 - 10 x 240s at 1600 iso  - unguided - Manually stacked in photoshop and edited in Photoshop. no darks flats or bias taken.  

I work on a Macbook Pro, any good advice on post processing? 

IMO this has been the best photo of M42 i have ever taken and am really happy with it. 

How do you aim it so well? is there a trick i'm missing?

T

Hi All,

Got my hands on a Star Adventurer a while back and have only used it a handfull of times.

Loving it so far!

I want to use my modded canon camera but i dont have any lenses for it (other than stock 18-50mm) and would prefer a small scope on it.

Can anyone recommend a relatively cheap (£80-£120) compact telescope i can use for this as a portable solution. 

I have seen the Orion CT80 which fits price range but has a 1.25" focuser. can i still use this for astrophotography(can i buy a new focuser)? i accept that the quality may not be amazing! but this is just a portable 'pick up and go' kit for when im on weekends away and dont want to carry 30KG worth of equipment around : )

Thanks,

T

19 minutes ago, simondodd said:

Yeah the focussing is definitely slightly off, it was live view focussed. Not too far off but definitely off! Thanks for the tip, I'll up it to 600 or 800 for the next session.

i usually work around 800 - 1600 depending on what i'm targeting. 

i just had my canon modified and took it out last night for a quick session at M42, ill post a single sub on here soon. i'm still a newbie at this aswell

T

Edit:

Uploaded single sub iso 800 2 min exposure

blur at bottom was a tree that got in the way >.<

6 minutes ago, simondodd said:

So this is a completely unprocessed image from last night. Having some difficulty stacking and processing at the moment so thought I'd post this as a teaser for now. Not bad for the first image from my new equipment!

130PDS, HEQ5 Pro, Nikon D5000, 30 second Sub ISO 400

I ended up taking 35 subs, 10 darks and 10 bias frames but as I mentioned I'm struggling with the stacking process at the moment so will take a while to get the final image.

M32 in Orion

Clear skies!

 

Looking good  

Not sure if its just my eyes but focus looks slightly off? do you use a bahtinov mask or live view focus?

I would also consider upping the ISO rating to get a little more colour and detail, as can all be dealt with post processing

Thanks,

T

Hi All,

Taken last night 7 x 80 Second exposure's.

Really happy with this  

Thanks,

T

2 hours ago, Galen Gilmore said:

@tony8690Nice images, especially the Andromeda. The Orion is nice, but it needs more frames.

Are you adding flat frames? If not you should, that will fix most of the vinneiting. 

Thank you

Really happy with my Andromeda, first go at it and luckily my Mount behaved (after a bit of fighting with it!) and aligned almost perfectly!

M42 as just a couple of shots the i didn't actually think would show anything! so very happy with that for only 2 shots.

I don't use flats. TBH i have no idea what that means. i thaik i need to do some reading up on a lot of AP things.

I'm still learning a lot at the moment so i had a couple hour window and it took me most of that time just setting up/getting aligned and working.

I have a guide setup but haunt had a chance to really practice how to use it. in wales from Thursday over Christmas so will hopefully get a few clear nights there and get some more shots in

Thanks,

T

Hi All,

First ever attempt of M31 last night.

8 x 70 second shots. processed in PhotShop.

Also, M42 very quick 2 x 70 sec shots, and cropped. edited in PhotoShop.

Comments welcome

Thanks,

T

1 minute ago, Thalestris24 said:

Hi eq3 users

I'm tempted to get an eq3-pro - might be better than messing about with a Star Adventurer... I'm wondering how portable the eq3 pro synscan is, how much power it needs, and computer interface (I assume via the handset?).  At the end of the day I just want something I can carry down two flights of stairs without breaking anything!

Thanks for any info!

Louise

Hi Louise,

I have mine on top of my wardrobe packed in a bag with my scope (130 pds) and to be honest, it is quite heavy. I could carry it on my shoulder for quite  a while but I wouldn't ever ask my wife to get it down and carry it for me. Weighs around 28+kg in all. If you carry the counter weights in a separate bag and only carry a DSLR instead of a OTA then shouldn't be that bad I guess? 

It's the only mount I have ever owned so I have nothing to compare it with but in my opinion I wouldn't class it as a grab and go mount. Others may disagree. 

Hope this helps.

T

2 minutes ago, richyrich_one said:

Posted elsewhere but it deserves to be here now I've fixed it.

wow...thats incredible. 

what times did you do on this one? setup?

Tony

First attempt of M45 from my back garden last night since i got my mount back from repairs!

3 photos stacked and edited in Photo Shop, 100 second exposures, ISO 1600 

Got it more focused here than my last attempt. 

T

17 hours ago, Susaron said:

Looks a lot sharper now! Thanks

Here is a stacked picture of the moon from last night i took on my 130PDS before my EQ3 mount broke! (see here for what's wrong).

ISO 800 12 Photos stacked in PS

Thanks,

2 hours ago, Galen Gilmore said:

That second attempt at processing looks very good! Just imagine if you stacked all eight of the frames!

Also, did your camera produce that .NEF file? or did you convert it?

My Camera creates the .NEF file because I'm shooting in RAW, it's meant to be clear here around 11pm so I will hopefully give it another go! 

I would love to get some form of andromeda photo but my tracking seems a bit off sometimes so I'm never sure if I'm actually pointing at it, Any advice on eq3 synscan tracking? 

Thanks,

T

21 hours ago, Galen Gilmore said:

Burnt stars are just stars that are overexposed so they don't quite look natural. 

It could be from your processing as it appears you did a pretty aggressive curve stretch.

Post your unprocessed photo, and some of us might see if the burnt stars are just a case of the processing.

here is the RAW File for this photo.

Thanks,

T

DSC_0988.NEF

Edit -

2nd attempt of processing

28 minutes ago, rotatux said:

I wish I had my first at it that good

Though that's strange all your stars are already burnt at such low ISO, did you use RAW or a cam-produced JPEG ?

What's burnt star?

Could just be from how I edited it in PS, got a lot of learning to Do! 

Thanks

T

Here is my First EVER attempt of Pleiades, only 1 sub of 1 min 30 seconds ISO 100 (forgot to up it in my excitement)

I have 8 subs but cant figure out how to use DSS so this is only one edited in Photo Shop.

Used 130PDS Nikon D5300 unmodified and EQ3 mount with SynScan.

T

Hi All,

What does flocking Do? Is it something everyone should really do with there scopes?

Off to Northumberland tomorrow! Should get my first shots with the 130pds over the weekend! 

T

19 minutes ago, Nigel G said:

The weatherman has promised uninterupted clear sky's from 4pm today until 7 am Monday morning, I have stripped and serviced the EQ3 and blown the dust from the scope lens, checked everything over and over, all batterys fully charged and chargers ready. Everything is ready to go  and the clouds are clearing the sun is out.

New bottle of Jura Superstition ready to open.

Its going to be a long weekend  I hope.

I hope you have a similar forecast.

Nige.

Buying my Scope on Monday. so might need to bring out my Nikon Camera tonight to see what can get!

Look forward to seeing your shots!

T

13 hours ago, spillage said:

I had the eq5 pro with a 6" c6-n and d1100 without a guide scope. If you are imaging galaxies then you may get 300 subs but you will get star trails so will need to be heavily cropped and you will have to dump allot of lights.

i know its a bit of a silly Question but how do you get setup with a guide scope??

Thanks,

T

If I had a 130PDS and a eq5 with synscan would I be able to do long exposures? 300 seconds +

Thanks,

T

Just now, John78 said:

A 130PDS is much more reasonable on a EQ5 with respect to payload when you've added all the cameras etc... - its diddy.

Is there much difference in what you can capture in photos? quality wise? will there be DSO i can capture on a 150 and not on a 130?

Thanks,

T

You all have some amazing pictures here!

Would you say there is much difference between the 130PDS and the 150PDS mounted on an EQ5??

Thanks,

T

3 hours ago, Nigel G said:

Ah the right thread  

Sorry Bob, I posted this by mistake on your NAN thread

NGC 7000 2nd part of 2 panel mosaic.

So I managed to get just under 2 hours of 240s last night on this image at ISO800 to add to my first image from a couple of months ago.

It has turned out much better than expected, both images blended in well.

Modified 1200D, 80ED & EQ3.

Cheers

Nige.

And both images together.

These are absolutely stunning! 

I know its a silly question, did you make the colours Red? or is this what the camera picked up and you brought out the colours more in editing?

Thanks,

T