A start in DSO imaging

[lensman57]

Hi,

I did this on the 8th, Canon 1000d modded, StarWave 80ED ( the Blue Universe Scope I call it ) and 0.8 reducer, EQ5 Pro with guiding.

Took 36 subs of 180s at 800 asa but only used 23, darks, flats and bias frames. Developed in StarTools and CS2. I can only improve I hope.

Regards,

A.G

[badgerchap]

Blimey, not bad at all for a first try, well done!

[Nicho]

I wish my first try was as good as that !

Clipped the background a little to much for me but that maybe my monitor.

Got some great detail in there welldone

Nick

[Luke]

Off to a good start

[peroni]

Excellent first shot. It's a great target to have two galaxies in the same frame

[Scott]

I think it's all to easy to be over critical when looking at deep sky images. Think about it, that lights been travelling for around 12,000,000 years to get to your camera, That's older than Bruce Forsyth. I think it's a belter and you should be well pleased with this.

Scott

[Bagginsies]

Amazing pictures! You should be pleased!

I've been trying for a few weeks now and I am no where near getting any images....'The Dark Side' for me is still 'The Dark Image'

[Ulysses]

Great start! Paul

[Adamar98]

If that's your first then i can't wait to see what's to come! Great effort!

[ubertank]

I really like it. A great start mate.

[ubertank]

I really like it. A great start mate.

[lensman57]

If that's your first then i can't wait to see what's to come! Great effort!

Hi to all,

Many thanks for all your support. I have had a bit of success in sorting the problem with the odd appearance of the stars, it was the fault of DSS to put it mildly. The background is still clipped in the re processed image but the stars now look a lot better even with my bad focusing and guiding. I have also toned down the colour saturation but used a specific star mask to to process the two galaxies and bring out a touch more detail without burning the core out. I only wish the weather was a bit more co-operative to give me a chance to practice. \hope you approve.

Regards,

A.G

[russellhq]

I learned this from someone else (can't remember who now) for controlling the background. In photoshop, open levels and double click the black eye dropper. This should bring up a new window "colour picker". Set the RGB values to 27 each and click OK. Now, with the black eye dropper, click on a "black" area of your image and set that as your black point. This should then avoid clipping the blacks. Hope that helps.

[Superdavo]

Even after a year with a dslr, I couldn't take one that good!

[lensman57]

I learned this from someone else (can't remember who now) for controlling the background. In photoshop, open levels and double click the black eye dropper. This should bring up a new window "colour picker". Set the RGB values to 27 each and click OK. Now, with the black eye dropper, click on a "black" area of your image and set that as your black point. This should then avoid clipping the blacks. Hope that helps.

Hi

Many thanks again, in the original image the back ground is set at about 11, far tool low I am afraid. Will try your suggestion and will report back.

Regards,

A.G