Orion Nebula,first shot with DSLR

[Domis]

Well not great,but it will do for the first time shooting with a DSLR (Cannon 1000d).

This was with a old 8" Meade 2080 on a LX5 mount, 3 @ 45 sec, iso 800 through the diagonal ( still waiting for a 2" sct adapter). Time was short so I did not drift align or take darks. I was quite surprised at how much the camera caught with so little time on it.

[swag72]

Caught quite a bit of data there - How do you focus? This is the area to work on next that's for sure.

[Domis]

Just experimenting at the moment with BackyardEOS framing and focus. The 2" sct Crayford focuser arrived today. Next I have to make a descent B-mask. The AC power adapter for the camera arrived Saturday. Together, I'm hoping this should help with focusing along with a mirror recoating in the next couple of months.

[JohnnyD333]

You should get a focal reducer as well, it will help gather more data over shorter periods. SCTs tend to be slow, yours is at F10, I would recommend going down to around 6 if you can. Otherwise, great start.

[Domis]

This was done with a .5 reducer,however I did not have an adapter at the time to go with prime focus so it was done through a diagonal. I've since acuired a 2" sct Crayford style focuser. Next time will be via prime focus with the reducer.

[astro mick]

Hi.

Thats a nice little image there.Your foccussing looks ok,stars are fairly tight and round.There is room for improvement in that area,but overall for the time spent,thats pretty good.The nebulae is showing hints of colour,and theres lots more to bring out.You can certainly biuld from this image.

Mick.

[guyroch]

Just experimenting at the moment with BackyardEOS framing and focus. The 2" sct Crayford focuser arrived today. Next I have to make a descent B-mask. The AC power adapter for the camera arrived Saturday. Together, I'm hoping this should help with focusing along with a mirror recoating in the next couple of months.

I'd say your experiment is proving to be great success; can't wait to see what you'll produce in a few months.

Guylain

[Domis]

Guyroch, getting familiar with the camera and BackyardEOS is one thing, processing in editing software seems to be a nightmare at the moment. Reading some of the tutorials here has left me more confused than when I started. I guess my absorption rate has slowed over the years. I'm going to need a great deal more time with processing just to touch the tip of the iceberg.

[nmoushon]

Here are a couple site that really helped me learn the techniques I needed for PS. Assuming your using PS.

Astro Imaging Tutorials Photoshop Processing Nebulosity DeepSky Stacker

Enterprise Astrophotography: Shooting the stars | Beginning with Photoshop

HyperStar Imaging

[Domis]

Thanks Nmoushon, yes, just started to feel my way around PS cs5 extended version. I'll have a look at those links.