Making a start on M51

[Stinky_Pete]

Lo folks, here is my first effort of M51, first try at guiding as well. Taken with an unmodified 400d, CLS clip filter iso 1600

13x 360sec lights

15x 360sec darks

19x dark flats

31x flats (got a bit carried away)

guiding is going ok (im happy i can do longer now) but the image is a bit noisy and im pretty sure i need more subs. Im thinking of dropping to iso800 but im not sure if i would need to drastically increase my exposure length with the CLS?

as always help and hints (particularly with processing) are always welcome

cheers

[NickK]

Just out of interest - what was the time between the end on one sub and the start of the next?

[Stinky_Pete]

I have a 10 sec delay between subs on the cheepie countdown timer i use

[malc-c]

You could use APT to control the exposures and delay between them using a serial cable shutter release...

[Stinky_Pete]

cheers for the advice, how long would you think between subs then? the cheepie timer can delay as long as i want i think

[brantuk]

Iso 800 is a good idea - 30 secs to 1 min between subs to let the chip cool down. APT is a good suggestion - so easy to set everything on the camera - and the full version is only around £12

[Stinky_Pete]

thanks guys ill give that a try