Help with processing scb-4000 images

[iskywatch]

Good morning all...

I captured about 2500 frames in an avi file of M51. I used a GSO .5 reducer with a baader ir/uv cut filter screwed in place.

After I stacked them in Registax I began to correct the image in Fireworks CS5.

Here are the before and after images. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong? There is so much distortion in the post image that it makes it hard to see M51.

after processing

Thanks!

[todd8137]

hi there just had a play and can not get it any better than you have

Pat

[riklaunim]

You have to make a dark frame and add it to registax when stacking the avi/frames. Second image has moved stars, the first one is better... but if you used that reducer in a Newtonian - the field quality will be quite low.

[bhuvfe]

Hi,

I don't stack but I've seen a guy with a scb4k that gets great results. I think the user name is 5ash on the sdc-435 forum. Apparently, he takes around 15 minutes of lights at 512x then 15 min of darks with the same settings and use DSS for stacking.

Clear skies,

Ant

[iskywatch]

Ill be outdoors this evening and will focus on one object. I will try capturing darks this time and attempt to stack them correctly. HOpefully with the addition of darks and an orion skyglow imaging filter I will be able to get some better results

[squeaky]

Now THERE'S a challenge!

Lots of noise, what looks like incidental lighting from the top left, and a whole bunch of what look like quotation marks in little bubbles of their own. But anyway... it's a bit cleaner - though as has been said above more data etc will give you a better result in the end.

[iskywatch]

Squeaky what did you use maniuplate that image? Thats so much better than what I had done. I was out imaging last night and I took dark avi's of each object I was imaging. However I am having a heck of a time with Registax incorporating the darks into the avi.

That amp glow on the top left of the image is impossible to get rid of! I've seen others here get rid of it but so far im not able to.

[squeaky]

Hi,

I used Paint Shop Pro. Went through most of the "Adjust Image" menu to get that. Not that I really know what I'm doing - I just try each option and see if it seems to help or to make things worse.