Nicola Hannah Butterfield

Thanks Dave, still a bit of C.A. in it though, I seem to get it on the planets and the moon, not sure if it's the converters camera or barlow or an effect of the mirror possible not collimated quite right. @MarkARThanks.

As we know Jupiter is fairly easy to capture even with modest equipment, but this is the first ever I have captured it using a telescope and video to stack in RegiStax, it from a 500 frame sequence shot on my Canon 6D using backyardeos, I tried the 5x digital zoom but it was a little bright (still learning software and controls, only been at this over a month). This wasn't planned I was just up late from doing some DSO's and the opportunity was there, I did Saturn as well, but it wasn't so good.

Just to add I edited in photoshop, but gimp and other software will allow similar effects.

Ok the first is with a quick magenta filter This one with a colour balance layer, this allows highlights mid tones and shadows to be adjusted separately Both could do with a bit extra, but a pretty simple fix to a green cast.

There is a basic calibration routine in windows, click start button and type display colour calibration and follow the prompts, it might take a few attempts, it also adjusted brightness contrast. There are devices you can get that do it better but not cheap.

At least Venus is in the right place. I do quite a bit of P.P. work I use pixinsight and photoshop, I find even on a single image pixinsight is great for removing most L.P. but there are ways to do it photoshop gimp ect. If I am lucky I might get one more chance at this I think by the time I am 72 I will either be in my grave or not able to cope with the kit I want to image this with.

Thanks I actually wanted the following day as would have fitted the scope camera set up, but the weather did as it did eight years ago, clear both days either side, cloudy the day you wanted it clear. a Kenko, it was cheap, but I does update focal length and aperture info to the exif. The overall set up though is rather soft.

300mm is a good size for the wider nebula clusters ect, like the Rosette Nebula or M45 ect, this taken on my Canon 6D would have been better on the 40D maybe, with a ef70-210 3.5-4.5 and a 1.4x converter making it just short of 300mm making it in effect a f/6.7. I mounted the set up direct on the scope, but it isn't ideal, need to get a ball and socket head for it, but most are a bigger thread. This wasn't a good image as Venus created a lot of flare, that I had to try and correct, it is because it isn't a great lens, but it 25 years old or so.

I got M31 last Aug with a Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 with a kenko 1.4x converter, thing was i didn't know about stacking then (well I did just didn't think about it) so stacked a few of those, the images wasn't great but managed to make out M32 & M110 , just like you I am just as happy to record faint smudges, like a galaxy 1,000 million l.y. away I was awestruck when I discovered that using astrometry.com, that one really did blow my mind that simple 8" newt and a dslr could capture such a faint object. to be fair i wouldn't have know had I not run it through astrometry., did one today from last nights session 500 million light years, though not as obvious as it didn't show on astrometry, discovered it by chance as I was looking at charts, I think that's what makes it worth the effort.

I think the problem is that there are so many aspect to imagery and your trying to tie them all together, I am fortunate, in that I have always had an interest in astronomy had previous scopes, so that in itself was no issue, trained in photgraphy back in the film days upto HND so again a good basic understanding, an interest in computers since the early 90's but tying all three together mmmm, all I need to do know is start and dedicate more observing time to a single object of an night, so far just been playing at catching a few things to see how things work together.

Interval timer, you could try 1 or 2's exposures, try 30 see where that takes you.

@Adam1234try calibrating your laptop for colour balance. You could try a magenta filter in gimp or photoshop, or any other editing software. With your permission I can show the effect.

Sorry a Canon 6D with an interval timer.

@sarahsmiffyThanks I wouldn't go that far, and there are limits re exposure, and a pain keeping subjects in the centre of the fov.

It's not that difficult, I think learning how things all work together is the steepest curve, the biggest problem I had was getting the computer to chat with the mount, I can also do it remotely from my bedroom, the two star clusters I did last night M5 and M13 were monitored from my room. So in just over a month I have gone from unguided to remotely controlling my scope and image capture.

You can try anything if you want, bend the rules see what works, if you get better unguided tracking than I do 60's best so far, but only had the mount over a month, it will be good to try on smaller DSO but times will be lengthy compared with an F/5 or faster, however I did this at F/7, my Sky Watcher 200P shot on a Canon 6D with a 1.4x tele converter make the scope a 1,400mm F/7 60's ISO 400 up the ISO to 800 your in the same exposure range., I still have a lot to learn about making all the bits work together re stacking ect, been practising since early Feb with short exposures, till I got the new mount early March.

@MikeaThanks. @miguel8728x1/4s subs ISO 6400 also got this of M31 same method though not sure how many subs of the top of my head, and this didn't work quite so well.

If Stellarium is right 31/5/2023 Venus is 5°39'41" degrees above the horizon at midnight from my location, though it's still not opposition.

This one https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-150p-eq3-2.html and yes you can still take images of D.S.O. on a static mount, just takes a little learning, not great results but possible I did this on the 200P version, with a non driven EQ5, as for over £1,000 for astro photography, the setup cost £240 on ebay,, though it did have issues with mount so got £100 off it. I did up grade the mount to an NEQ 6 but is just the direction I wanted to go. It has been said you can upgrade the mount to goto or if you can upgrade the mount, the goto upgrade is £322, you can also drive it in EQ less than £100 or EQ & Dec about £120 , a EQ5 goto mount is £569 If your determined enough you will over come any EQ issues. I have had dobs and Alt/Az prefer eq's because so much easier to keep things in the FOV,