First solar image

[tekkydave]

Hi, took my first solar image this afternoon using

scope: celestron nexstar 127

filter: home made using baader solar film

camera: sony alpha a200

exposure: iso 800, 1/640 sec

post-processing: gimp

Any advise warmly welcomed. I plan to do more using my modified asda webcam when I get a laptop to use it with.

[Steve Ward]

That's a great starter ,

I would aim to get the exposure down to the point where it looks a little under-exposed , you can tweak things up but an overexposed image is kinda irreparable.

A great place to start is Rogers' brilliant tutorial here . . .

It's a complete package that should get you well on the way,

Happy hunting.

[Bizibilder]

That's very good - As Steve says you will need to get the exposure down a bit and cut the ISO to the lowest possible setting (100 or 200 maybe) otherwise you are well on the way to getting into a really absorbing branch of the hobby. The Sun is one of the few Astronomical objects that changes over a sensible period of time!

(I have to pay him a fortune to promote that tutorial :grin: !!!))

[tekkydave]

Thanks for the advice guys, I was finding it difficult to find the right exposure as the Sony A200 doesn't have a live view screen. I was having to focus via the optical viewfinder which is not easy and try various shutter speeds. I put the ISO at 800 to get a fast shutter speed as the Celestron's tripod is not the most stable.

I have a laptop on order which I will be using with a modded asda webcam to get some avis then I can do some serious stacking. I'm hoping that will give me some higher quality solar images and also some planetary & moon images too. Great tutorial btw - I read it earlier today.

[JamesF]

I concur with Steve and Roger's comments. With my 450D I use 1/1000th at ISO100 for my solar images and whilst I've no idea what the A200 is like to use I'd suggest that means you've got a fair margin for error. If it has a histogram display I'd probably set ISO100 and then increase the shutter speed until you get a histogram about half full and see how that goes.

James

[Steve Ward]

Just found this , it could be useful for you with the Sony Alpha. . . . http://alphasight.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/tethered-shooting-with-your-alpha-dslr.html

It appears to be able to control the camera via the computer in the same way as the Canon software does , although it may not work when connected to a scope.

Worth a look though .

[Steve Ward]

P.S .

That bankers draft still hasn't arrived Roger . . .

[DrRobin]

That is a great first image. Even if it is slightly over-exposed you can see the sunspots and the disruptions coming round the corner. Prior to your new laptop arriving you could always take bracketed shots, that is a series of exposures varying the exposure length and then select the best one when processing.

Robin

[David Smith]

That's a good start there, well done. As far as exposure goes, I usually use something like 1/1250th - 1/1600th @ ISO 100 but I guess it will vary by scope etc. Are you stacking the image you capture. Really makes a huge difference.

And +1 for Roger's tutorial, helped me get up and running.

[tekkydave]

Just found this , it could be useful for you with the Sony Alpha. . . . http://alphasight.bl...alpha-dslr.html

It appears to be able to control the camera via the computer in the same way as the Canon software does , although it may not work when connected to a scope.

Worth a look though .

Sadly Steve the tethering only works on the semi-pro Sony DSLRs. My intention is to use a webcam & stacking in th future but the laptop I ordered is still on it's way (I hope!).

[tekkydave]

I concur with Steve and Roger's comments. With my 450D I use 1/1000th at ISO100 for my solar images and whilst I've no idea what the A200 is like to use I'd suggest that means you've got a fair margin for error. If it has a histogram display I'd probably set ISO100 and then increase the shutter speed until you get a histogram about half full and see how that goes.

James

No histogram on the A200 - it really is a basic camera. That's why I have a pain in my neck this morning from straining to look through the viewfinder to focus . Once I get the laptop/webcam combo working it wont be an issue. I will be able to control the scope aswell from a chair in the shade

[Montana]

A super start you can see the faculae on the edge and this only shows up in the best images.

Alexandra