My first DSO imaging attempt.....

[JimS]

Hey all!

With the clouds finally parting and giving us a clear sky I was able to take out my CGEM and Canon 450D for the first time.

Got the CGEM set up and balanced nice and easy. Initial alignment and polar alignment went well and the mount have initially been very easy to get to grips with, although I didnt have an extended session last night as I started my new job today...!

Anyway, had a look at the Ring Nebula and Great Globular Cluster in Hercules from light polluted Bradley Stoke and then moved on to attempt an image capture of M13 at Prime Focus using my Canon 450D. Here is my first DSO imaging effort:

5 x 60 seconds lights @ ISO 800

1 x 60 seconds dark @ ISO 800

Images stacked in Deep Sky Stacker

Curves processed in GIMP

Very happy with my first basic attempt. With more time I would like to attempt more exposures.

Any advice very welcome.

[Pete Presland]

well done looks pretty good, i would guess if you added some more subs you would be surprised just how much more detail you could pull out.

[Gina]

Nice M13 - great start - well done

[swag72]

How did you focus it? The image looks a little out of focus, this is something so very hard to get right. There are many things you can do to improve focus, such as live view and / or a Bahtinov mask. These are excellent to help you get the correct focus and you can either make them or buy them. All in all, a good first image - Well done.

[Ewan]

Nice shot Jim i also imaged the same DSO with the same scope , not had chance to process it yet, i also found getting the focus was pretty difficult, did you ?

I also (i think) imaged M92, Dumbell and the only one i have processed is M57.

I have to do my homework regarding lights / darks as i dont have a clue.

Well done keep it up.

[JimS]

I didn't really have time to set up my laptop and use live view on the big screen so I got close to focus using the viewfinder and then fine tuned by taking a few test images at 10 second exposures. Tweaked the focus until I got the best I could manage.

On a longer session I would use live view on the laptop and use a bright star to focus on at 10x zoom. Also I imagine getting a darker sky site would help but difficult during the week....!

Cheers for feedback all!

[JimS]

_{Made another attempt at processing the images from the other night. Think I have improved the end result.....}

[Gina]

Nice

[Quatermass]

Great image well done

Sent from my GT-S5670 using Tapatalk 2

[Zendrix]

Nice one, good start! Has it has been said, it looks like a bit out of focus. I started my first DSO's very recently as well, and from the very start i have been using a Bhatinov mask, which is easily doable at home by yourself with some simple cardboard. Focus is not an issue anymore thanks to that wonderful device!

Cheers,

Rui

[Spikey]

Good start Jim, well done

[DaveGarland]

A fellow Bradley Stoker!

High Jim! I found your picture interesting, not only as I've just got myself a camera and adapter to fit it to my scope, but also because you have exactly the same sky as me

What part of Bradley Stoke are you in? I live in the "herb garden" near the Baileys Court.

Dave.

[Tinker1947]

Not sure about the 450D, but the 1100D Live view works on the rear screen, i also use a remote control so there's no Laptop involved....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Timer-Remote-Control-RS-60E3-Canon/dp/B003WD0IKO/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1343843486&sr=8-7

[farunj]

That's really nice!!