First Solar Image

[Rhys Hardwick]

Hi all, here is my first attempt at a solar image. This was taken with my SkyWatcher 130p Alt-Az Tracking (ha!) mount, with an unmodified Canon 400D at prime focus. Initially I captured 150 frames or so, cropped and aligned in PIPP, Stacked in RegiStax, wavelets, then curves in GIMP.

I'm pretty happy, but I'm pretty sure there is quite a lot more detail that I can get out of the camera.

My issues - I am really not sure if I am in a good focus. It looks good on the ground glass, but I didn't play a lot taking lots of photos and seeing if I could improve it. Unfortunately, I cannot connect the camera to the computer, and there is no live view to make this easier!

Also, I need to experiment with shutter speeds. I did these images with Mirror lockup, however, at 1/600s or so, I may be able to get away with this and just shoot of a set of frames.

Also, I know I have overdone the wavelets slightly, I can see the halo around the outside of the globe.

What do you think? Much more detail to be had, or about at the limit for my setup? Thanks for any advice.

[Steve Ward]

Nice first go Rhys ,

I'd be inclined to leave the mirror locked up , you'll see the shake from the clonk for sure.

Try and aim for a shutter speed that gives you an under-exposed shot , you can bring the detail out of a dark picture but once things get saturated there's no fix , the overbright bits stay overbright.

Check out Rogers tutorial for more tips . . . http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/153712-simple-white-light-solar-imaging/

[JamesF]

Errm. Is it just me who can't see the image then? Have I gone blind from looking at the Sun too long?

James

[Steve Ward]

Who said that . . .

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/184730-first-solar-image/

[JamesF]

It's ok. I found it in the other thread. Perhaps the mods can merge the two later...

For a first attempt I think it's pretty good. I'm sure you can get more out of the camera. Focus will be the problem. I'm really not sure how you go about getting really good focus on a non live view camera during the day.

James

[Rhys Hardwick]

Thanks for the replies guys! Yeah, focus is going to give me trouble, I think. I'm sure someone knows some good tricks on here. Just be mindful that I have a stock rack and pinion 1.25" focuser. It's on my very long list of things to upgrade!

[Steve Ward]

You could try one of these . . . http://dx.com/p/seagull-ii-right-angle-1x-2x-zoom-viewfinder-for-canon-nikon-pentax-olympus-camera-163756?tc=GBP&utm_source=GoogleShoppingUK&utm_medium=CPC&utm_content=163756&utm_campaign=Other_Accessories&gclid=CO-63bKT87YCFUfLtAod9C4AmQ

[Wyldkatt]

Impressive. I only just took my first solar image this weekend