Stargazers Lounge Uses Cookies
Like most websites, SGL uses cookies in order to deliver a secure, personalised service, to provide social media functions and to analyse our traffic. Continued use of SGL indicates your acceptance of our cookie policy.
Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'nikon'.
Found 152 results
-
Having upgraded from canon 1000D to Nikon D5300 how do users of the 5300 find it for Astro I will be using with APT , and how do you take flats as I can’t use Av mode as there is nothing in tools menu to choose no lens , do you use in manual mode and look at histogram ? .
-
On the 2nd of July I closed my curtains one night before I went to bed but, before they were shut I noticed a strange multicoloured light flickering low in the sky in the northern celestial hemisphere. I Thought to myself if that is a star it looks amazing. The next night (3rd of July) I decided to take another look at this multicoloured light which was still there, Only this time I used my binoculars, I was seeing blues, greens & reds. We have all seen stars by looking up into the sky but, I have never seen a star create multi colours before. It makes you feel excited inside and you think that no one else can see this until you tell them and share the same experience together. I believe I was looking at the Capella Star which is the brightest star in the constellation Auriga and your not kidding it is bright. I cant wait to have another look tonight to see if the multi colours are still there. I would like to have taken at picture of it but I am not setup to do that just yet as I am very new to star gazing. I wish someone here can confirm what I saw and to post a picture of it would be awesome. Nikon Prostaff 3s 8 x 42- 1 reply
-
- 3
-
-
- capella
- star gazing
- (and 6 more)
-
Hello to all! Posting a photograph of the Summer Milky Way band that I took last week. However, I do not know how should I feel about this! This is when the band was right overhead, which is a rare sight for us and happens only when monsoon season is delayed. There was decent glow towards horizon but literally nothing at zenith. 19 degrees north latitude, around Bortle 3 level sky, taken using Nikon 5300, basic lens. And with this, I prepare to have no view of stars till September ends-
- 8
-
-
- astrophotography
- milkyway
- (and 2 more)
-
Hello to all! Just posting some of the images I took recently! (Total first attempt from someone who can't even hold a camera properly) I was out to conduct a public overnight sky observation event, which was the last event before 6 months of monsoon. For a lot of time, we had cloud cover too! These images don't include much of editing more than just some basic stuff in cellphone. I forgot to take the photos in RAW so either way I can't do much! Quite happy with the first attempt. Will improve even more in next season! Nikon 5300, with the basic 18-55 lens. Any suggestions appreciated! Thanks!
-
So, I have gone and got myself a Skywatcher Star Discovery 150p, which has so far proved to be a very good little scope and I've had some very good results. I have now got the bug for imaging and have gone out and got myself a second hand Nikon D5100 and verious other equipment needed to do this, only to now find I can't get Prime Focus!!!!!!!! So the only way I can image is using a barlow x2 which obviously changes the F ratio from F5.5 to F11 slowing everything x2 this isn't to bad for planetary imaging but for DSO images not so good!!! After searching through lots of videos on to do this all I can find is...... I can either butcher the standard rack and pinion focuser that's fitted on it by cutting it down and rethreading it or by moving the primary up by 20-25mm, which seems a shame to do a brand new scope still under warranty! The only other option I have come up with is changing the focuser to a Skywatcher Low Profile Dual Speed Focuser For Newtonian Reflectors. Could anyone out there shed any light on this before I spend another £130 on the new focuser. Thanks -
Posting in this forum after too long! One of the first attempts at taking photos of the moon. All photos taken using skywatcher 90mm refractor with eq2 mount, Nikon DSLR and 2x Barlow here and there. No exposure. Basic editing in cellphone. Thank you! Suggestions highly appreciated!
- 2 replies
-
- 4
-
-
- moon
- photography
- (and 2 more)
-
Hi, I'm totally New to this hobby and i'm having trouble understanding something in stellarium. I have ordered (not recieved) a Sky-Watcher Explorer 150PDS, which has a 25mm eyepiece 50degrees FOV as a default. I also have a Nikon D810. I wanted to get an idea of what my field of view would be with the 25mm eyepiece (30x on 750mm focal length), and also what it would be With my Nikon D810 mounted shooting prime Focus - no eyepieces. What surprised me was that it wasnt much difference between the frame and size of the object i get with 30x magnification (25mm eyepiece), and what i get with the Nikon D810 mounted. I dont get this. What magnification do i get With my DSLR mounted with no eyepiece?
-
Hi all, I use my Nikon D750 95% of the time for daytime imaging, so far I have done nightscapes of the milky way and recently I bought a Star Adventurer and have been really pleased with the results that I got with my Nikon 180mm f2.8 lens attached. I would also like to attach the camera to larger telescopes that my local Astronomical Society has. I am interested in increasing the Ha sensitivity, however I would like to continue using the camera for daytime imaging, I have read a lot of different posts here and other places and I'm still none the wiser. So far I have gathered that the IR filter is removed which sits in front of the camera's sensor and is replaced with a filter that lets through the Ha wavelength, however a custom white balance is required for daytime use. Does this custom white balance overly matter as it can be altered in Lightroom/Camera Raw? I also read that an external IR filter may need to be fitted to each lens (a bit impractical and is this only when the whole IR filter has been removed from in front of the sensor - full spectrum mod?).
-
So far in this and many other hobbies I have made the same mistake going entry-level and then lost money in the long run when upgrading. I already subscribed to Nikon a long time ago so have a bag full of Nikon for normal photography but what I think I want (based on support) is a Canon body that I get modified to stick onto the scope. I have seen some amazing photos taken with entry level cameras like the 300d, 450d and 1100d so what I would like to know is, other than megapixel, what would be the gain in going for a better camera than say a used 1100d? Thanks
-
Reprocessed to try to better balance the colours ... (previous version: http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/239687-eta-carinae-nebula/ )
-
Conditions have been very poor down in Sydney for the last month (rain, clouds or 'darn' moon every night ) so no new images but at least I have plenty of time for lots of reprocessing ... This one was captured back at the beginning of the year and I'm still playing with it. Here I have been trying to get to grips with the HDR composition function in PixInsight. It is built up from four sets of around 20 images each at 4sec, 8sec, 30sec and 120sec all at ISO800 with my unmodified Nikon D5300. And this is the previous attempt. I think I prefer the composition, colours and contrast of the new version.
- 1 reply
-
- 2
-
-
- skywatcher
- quattro
- (and 6 more)
-
A new target for me - the Running Chicken Nebula sits about halfway between the Southern Cross and the Eta Carina Nebula. IC2948 Running Chicken Nebula in Centaurus ( bright star is Lambda Cenauri) (RA 11h 39.6m - Dec -63deg 37.2'). Skywatcher Quattro 10" f4 Newtonian. Skywatcher AZ Eq6 GT (on Pier) Orion auto guider - PHD2 (RA only - Dec ungiuded). Baader MPCC Mark 3 Coma Corrector, UHC-S (Nebula) filter, Nikon D5300 (unmodified), Long Exp Noise Reduction on, 14bit NEF, 13 x 300 sec ISO 200. PixInsight & Photoshop 28 March 15
-
Bright Nebula NGC 6188 and open cluster NGC 6193 in Ara Magnitude +5.19, RA 16h 41m 42s, Dec -48deg 48' 46" Approx. 3800 light years away Skywatcher Quattro 10" f4 Newtonian. Skywatcher AZ Eq6 GT Mount (on concrete pier) Orion 80mm f5 guide scope and auto guider - PHD2. Baader MPCC Mark 3 Coma Corrector, UHC-S 'nebula' filter. Nikon D5300 (unmodified). Field of view (deg) ~ 1.35 x 0.90. UHC-S - 32 x 180 sec ISO800 (14bit NEF, Long Exp. NR on). Pixinsight and photoshop 7 July 15 (processed 29 August 15) Other images: photo.net/photos/MikeODay 500px.com/mikeoday
-
Ptolemy's Cluster in Scorpio ( Messier 7, NGC 6475 ). Visible to the naked eye as a small bright patch in the sky, this open cluster is around 980 light years away with around 80 stars within a area of 25 light years or so. Links: 500px.com/MikeODay photo.net/photos/MikeODay Details: RA 17h 54m, Dec -34deg 47'. Skywatcher Quattro 10" f4 Newtonian. Skywatcher AZ Eq6 GT Mount Orion auto guider - PHD2. Baader MPCC Mark 3 Coma Corrector. Nikon D300 (unmodified). Field of view (deg) ~ 1.35 x 0.90. 18 x 30 sec ISO800. 23 May 14 Reprocessed Pixinsight 8 Sep 2015 This was one of my first ever asto image captures taken shortly after I bought my scope. I reprocessed it today using Pixinsight. Here is the original version ...
-
Went out on Sunday night to try and get some OIII for the Veil Nebula Bi-Colour Mosaic I’m currently working on. It ended up being a largely frustrating night though as I was fighting a big, bright full moon (in hindsight not the smartest decision I’ve ever made in fairness, lol). Factor in just enough intermittent clouds to exacerbate the issue even more, and when it finally set behind the neighbour’s house at 03:30am I was feeling pretty glum and was about to pack up for the night when I suddenly thought, what the heck, let’s try for a quick capture of 21P! As it was fairly low to the East, I had to disconnect all the cables and carry the whole rig to the other side of the house and re-do Polar Alignment, PHD calibration and focus. I did think about not guiding, as I knew the exposures were going to be short, but it just feels wrong not to guide these days so I decided to do it anyway just for peace of mind if nothing else. So I started capturing around 04:15ish and as astro-dark was due to finish shortly after 5am I decided to just do 40 subs of 90s each using the IDAS-D1 filter (we have streetlights nearby). Went in to grab a quick 60 mins of shuteye, except I overslept and didn’t wake until 06:30, so was then in a mad rush to pack up and get ready for work! Which meant I forgot to get Flats, but thankfully I was able to re-use the master Flat from my M13 image from a few months back and it seemed to work just fine ? Processing this one was interesting to say the least. This is my first comet, so I had to do some research beforehand. These days I always do my stacking in APP, but I had to go old-school and use DSS for this one due it’s special Comet-only stacking mode. So I did 2 stacks, a regular Median one just for the stars, and a 2nd Kappa-Sigma one aligned on the Comet (and using the same reference frame as the Median stack). Some subs were badly affected by intermittent clouds, so I could only stack 33 out of the 40 subs (and tbh 33 was really pushing it, quality-wise). I processed each one separately in PS and then layered in just the comet on top using the ‘Screen’ blending mode. I actually wasn’t aware there was red nebulosity in the background until I started stretching, and it certainly would have been easier to process had it not been there, lol. As expected, I have had to use quite a bit of NR compared to my normal amount, due to the pitiful amount of exposure to work with. Hopefully it doesn’t look too bad but let me know if you think it needs more or less of anything in particular. Of course, there’s only so far you can ever go with just 49 mins of data at hand. As the capture was done in such a rush, I didn’t bother worrying about the framing. I just input the co-ordinates into SGP and let it centre on the object for me. But having now worked out where in the sky this is, and looking at the FoV, I can see that had I rotated the camera 90 degrees then the Cone Nebula would have been in the frame. I actually haven’t imaged the Cone before, so I think this winter I will make a point of imaging it in it’s own right, and then I can re-use it to make a much more interesting version of this image with a much better background. Fun times! C&C welcome as always. And thanks for looking! ? Edit: Decided to make a few changes, so here's v2:- 19 replies
-
- 16
-
-
-
omega centauri A deeper look at Omega Centauri ( NGC 5139 )
MikeODay posted a topic in Imaging - Deep Sky
Update 16th June: I could not wait to tell people that I was just notified that my image of Omega Centauri will be published as a future NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day ( APOD ) - my first ever I will update the thread when they publish. ................................. A deep look at Omega Centauri ( NGC 5139 ) This image is an attempt to look deeply into the the Omega Centauri globular cluster by using HDR techniques to record as many faint stars as I can whilst retaining colour and detail in the bright stars, including at the core ... ............. Reprocessed to bring out more faint stars and to produce a smother transition between brightness levels. New version ( 12 June 2017 ): Omega Centauri ( NGC 5129 ) ( please click / tap on image to see lager and sharper ) .......... Old version: Omega Centauri ( NGC 5129 ) ( please click / tap on image to see full size and sharper ) Image details: from www.nova.astrometry.net: Size: 58.6 x 39 arcmins, Centre: 13h 26 min 50.4 sec, -47deg 28' 39.1''. Orientation: up is -89.9 East of North ( ie. E^ N> ). Telescope: Orion Optics CT12 Newtonian ( mirror 300mm, fl 1200mm, f4 ). Corrector: ASA 2" Coma Corrector Quattro 1.175x. Effective Focal Length / Aperture : 1410mm f4.7. Mount: Skywatcher AZ Eq6 GT. Guiding: TSOAG9 Off-Axis-Guider, Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2, PHD2 . Camera: Nikon D5300 (unmodified) (sensor 23.5 x 15.6mm, 6016x4016 3.9um pixels). No filter Long Exposure noise reduction off Location:. Blue Mountains, Australia. Moderate light pollution ( pale green zone on darksitefinder.com map ). Capture: 9 sets of sub-images with exposure duration for each set doubling ( 1s to 240s ) all at ISO800. Processing:. Calibration: master bias, master flat and no darks. Integration in 9 sets. HDR combination. Pixinsight May 2017- 40 replies
-
- 37
-
-
Good Morning, Last night I decided to get myself off the sofa and collect moon images for stacking. It was around 01:00 and the Moon was 3 hours after moon - rise. The viability was OK. Not perfect but I wanted data. Nikon d7200, Sigma 150-600mm Sport +1.4TC gave me a focal length of 1260mm. I was limited to f/9 160sec ISO 1OO. I know that the lens is at its sharpest at f/11 but the image seemed too dark at this aperture. I took around 100 exposures and used Asrostakkert for stacking. The image posted here is optimised for web viewing at a reduced resolution. Please let me know what you think ?
-
hi! I'm using my school's 17" telescope and a Nikon D3200 to record video from Jupiter to stack. The scope I'm using is f/6.8, and I'm using two 2.5 luminos barlow lenses on it, which blow Jupiter up and I think give me around a focal ratio of f/43. The images I've included were captured with a video consisting of 1/30 second exposures at ISO 800. I'm pretty sure I'm not getting the most out of my camera and scope right now, I'm pretty sure I've seen other DSLR users get WAAAY finer detail with similar cameras on much smaller scopes. PLEASE let me know if you have any suggestions... I'll be imaging tonight again, and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!
-
Geoptik Nikon SLR Lens CCD Adaptor Bought 2nd hand in error, as I need the Canon lens adaptor. This is the Geoptiks 30A190 model designed for older (non autofocus) models of Nikon lenses. £ 50 + £5 postage (insured and signed for) to UK mainland. Paypal or cash on collection (from Worcester) or straight swap with the Canon version of this adaptor.
-
Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 6744 in Pavo NGC 6744 is a Milky Way like barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Pavo. Visible only from lower latitudes, the light we see now left this galaxy around 30 million years ago. Details: Spiral Galaxy NGC 6744 in Pavo. Skywatcher Quattro 10" f4 Newtonian telescope. Skywatcher AZ Eq6 GT Mount. Orion 80mm f5 guide scope and auto guider - PHD2. Baader MPCC Mark 3 Coma Corrector, no filter. Nikon D5300 (unmodified). Field of view (deg) ~ 1.35 x 0.90. ISO800, 14bit NEF, Long Exp. NR on. 44 x 120sec 4th Sept 2016 Processed in PixInsight and finished off in Photoshop. Links: https://500px.com/MikeODay http://photo.net/photos/MikeODay
-
The Silver Coin Galaxy ( NGC 253 ) in the Sculptor constellation - updated. 24th March 2017: New version that was reprocessed ( again ) to improve colour balance ... original version below ( colours are a little too yellow ) ( click on image to see full size ) The Silver Coin Galaxy ( NGC 253 ) in the Sculptor constellation ( aka the Silver Dollar or Sculptor Galaxy ). Caroline Herschel in 1783 was the first to recordthis bright ‘nebula’ in an area of the southern sky that Nicolas de Lacaille had called the “Apparatus Sculptoris” or “the sculptor’s studio”. Whilst relatively close to us compared to the billions of far more distant galaxies in the Universe, the great size of the “Sculptor Galaxy” and the huge distances involved are still hard to comprehend. To put this into some perspective, the light that is just now reaching one edge of the great disc left the opposite edge when the Earth was in the grip of last great Ice Age 70,000 years ago and the light we now see has been travelling towards us for over 11 million years. Details: NGC 253 - "Silver Coin" or "Sculptor" galaxy. RA 00 48 23, DEC -25 11 52. Skywatcher Quattro 10" f4 Newtonian telescope. Skywatcher AZ Eq6 GT Mount. Orion Short Tube 80mm guide scope & auto guider - PHD2. Baader MPCC Mark 3 Coma Corrector & no filter. Nikon D5300 (unmodified). Field of view (deg) ~ 1.35 x 0.90. 20 x 180 sec ISO 800, long exp noise reduction on. Pixinsight & Photoshop. 4th November 2016 updated version 17 March 2017
- 30 replies
-
- 35
-
-
The Lagoon Nebula ( Messier 8, NGC 6523 ) in the constellation Sagittarious. ( click on image to see larger) The Laboon Nebula ( M8 ) is visible to the naked eye under dark skies from most latitudes except the far north. Seemingly covering an area about three times that of the full Moon, M8 actually covers an area somewhat greater than 110 light years and is around 4300 light years from Earth in the Sagittarius-Carina spiral arm of the Milkyway galaxy. ...... The frames for this image where taken back when I was very new to astrophotography and I was experimenting with camera settings. On this occasion I wanted to see if JPEG images might be easier to process - I was disappointed with the results. Now that I have a bit more knowledge and skill at processing I decided to have another attempt at trying to process the set because I liked the way the JPEG files had retained colour in the stars. I am reasonably pleased with the result; the faint detail in the nebula is not there but I quite like the colours in the centre and in the stars. Details: Messier 8, NGC 6523 - Lagoon Nebula Skywatcher Quattro 10" f4 Newtonian telescope. Skywatcher AZ Eq6 GT Mount.Orion auto guider - PHD2. Baader MPCC Mark 3 Coma Corrector. Nikon D300 (unmodified). 80 x 30 sec ISO 1600 (JPEG) - 31 Aug 14. PixInsight and Photoshop. processed 13 August 2016 Links: https://500px.com/MikeODay http://photo.net/photos/MikeODay
-
The Eagle Nebula Messier 16 ansd Open Cluster NGC 6611 in the constellation Serpens. ( click on image to see larger ) M16 is around 7,000 light years distant from Earth in the Sagittarius-Carina spiral arm of our Milkyway galaxy and may be part of a larger structure that extends to and includes the Omega Nebula ( M17 ) in Sagittarius. Details: Eagle Nebula - Messier 16 ( IC 4703 ), Open Clusters - NGC 6611 and Trumpler 32. RA ~ 18h 19'm45s Dec ~ -13deg 46' 20" Skywatcher Quattro 10" f4 Newtonian telescope. Skywatcher AZ Eq6 GT Mount.Orion 80mm f5 guide scope and auto guider - PHD2. Baader MPCC Mark 3 Coma Corrector, UHC-S 'nebula' filter. Nikon D5300 (unmodified). Field of view (deg) ~ 1.35 x 0.90. ISO800, 14bit NEF, Long Exp. NR on. 35 x 180sec (1/3 before & 2/3 after zenith) 17 July 2015. PixInsight re-processed 21 Aug 2016.. Links: https://500px.com/MikeODay http://photo.net/photos/MikeODay
-
i got the nifty fifty for christmas and hurried outside to see an almost perfect clear sky in Oslo. I set the camera to 8sec exposure, f/2.5 and iso 800. I then took a couple of shots on cassiopeia, andromeda, triangulum, pleiades and orion. Pleiades and orion was a waste to process. because it was too low in the sky, the light-pollution was too noticeable in the picture. Another thing i found out with the lens was that you can't set it to f/1.8. In pictures, the brightest stars get blue/purple. so for example in my shot of orion and pleiades, the stars was too purple/blue. After seeing the result of the pictures, i am really excited to use the lens even more in the future at a dark sky. Clear skies!! Victor Boesen -
Which camera models to use for telescopes?
VictoriaMT posted a topic in Getting Started With Imaging
Hi I have a Sky-Watcher telescope, model AC 120/600 Startravel BD AZ-3 that I want to use to take photographies. This one: http://www.astroshop.eu/skywatcher-telescope-ac-120-600-startravel-bd-az-3/p,16710 I have an "old"(2009 model) Nikon D3100 camera and a t-ring, but the thing is that my camera won't read the t-ring. I read online that it's too old to be compatible with a t-ring. So I wondered if anyone knows about any camera models I can use? I'm thinking about getting a new camera because of this and I would like some recommendations. Which cameras do you know are able to "read" a t-ring? I would prefer the cheapest models Thank you for your time
