DSLR Settings With LP

[Mav359]

Hi Guys

I live in South London (Hopefully not for too much longer) where the skies aren't great and by not great i mean ****. Despite this blinding handicap i'm getting into AP as quickly as the clouds will allow.

I'm off to get a QHY10 over the next 2 months but in the mean time i have a Canon 1000d un-modded, i'm guided & with the help of align master and a polar scope my ability to expose for longer has gotten better (10mins+), however.....

I had a go last night at M42, 20x2mins, viewing was poor. i found that at 2mins the exposure pick up lots of LP & that you can only get so much LP out using PS. The flip side is i don'y want to lose to much detail by under exposing.

As i am shooting through LP is it better to have more subs at shorter exposure or less subs at greater exposure and solve the LP in photoshop?

[Jessun]

Hi Mav359,

I am no expert, far from it, but i share your problem with light pollution and I'd like to say that LP is not really a huge problem. It's true that it's impossible to create mind blowing images like from dark Arizona etc, BUT it is still very rewarding to image from any location! In PS or similar you really can get rid of any trace of light pollution colour wize, albeit leaving you with an image that isn't all that crisp as our friends from Arizona produce in less time. That's just how it is.

I found that 2 to max 3 minutes with a DSLR worked just fine, but you will need at least 3 times your current total time on M42 with a DSLR with LP of your 'magnitude' to have something quite interesting to edit. I noticed having a play with your jpeg that it's already pushed close to the limit. Sollution: Take more subs. Lots more. Perhaps over several nights even.

Your image is well framed and in nice focus so just keep them subs coming in!

This one is 90 minutes worth of subs with a cooled camera from a badly LP'd site:

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-deep-sky/169767-running-man-who-ran-away.html

Keep it up!

[Mav359]

Yeah i figured it wasn't enough subs.

Last night was more about alignment anyway, i think i am developing OSD when it comes to ensuring no star trail in any photos. lol

I also haven't quite finished the obs & i'm working of the back of the DSLR as the data port on its knacked so thats made it harder. Roll on payday, i can finish, get set in my obs and start having some really long sessions.