Quick cygnus with nifty fifty

[Adamar98]

Testing a new rig on Saturday night. Come the end of the night Cygnus was fairly high and I couldn't resist. 10 x 3 minute subs. Taken with modded canon and nifty fifty. Stopped down to f/3.5. No calibration frames.  I love this little lens at this time of the year. Its so much fun.

Hope you like

Adam

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Very nice indeed. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can get out of my 50mm when the RA motor for my mount arrives.

[Adamar98]

It's a great little lens. I tried this last year but my focus was a tad to soft. I'm happy with this one. I can't wait for it to get a little higher. I've already seen what you and your 50mm can do. I'm sure you'll have some great results. Looking forward to seeing them.

[Psychobilly]

Cygnus is probably my fav constellation and you framing has caught all the "biggies"...

Peter...

[PeterCPC]

Very nice capture.

Peter

[Adamar98]

Cheers for the comments.

Peter (psychobilly) - You gave me a ton of advice last year. Regards to framing, f/ stops and 2/3's focusing. It's helped me a lot. So thank you for that.

[Pete Presland]

fantastic image, a real stunner!

[nicks90]

about to start imaging with my new nifty fifty and would love some advice on how you process the data for these images.

beautiful, really pretty image.

[Adamar98]

It took me around 15 mins to process this image. A bit of a play with levels and curves. And a quick match up of the histogram. I'm sure there is more detail in the image but I didn't want it to get to noisey. It's a good little lens. It can be a bit of a pain to focus but it's worth it! For longer exposures you might want to stop the lens down to around f/4.

[Knight of Clear Skies]

For longer exposures you might want to stop the lens down to around f/4.

That's useful, I'll bear that in mind when I start taking longer exposures.

[Beulah]

Very nice indeed. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can get out of my 50mm when the RA motor for my mount arrives.

Ah. Looks like you are on the same journey as me, sir.

I'm waiting to afford to buy a polar scope before I can get started. (plus a mount regrease/mod project)

Adam, that's a fabulous image!!

[Adamar98]

Stopping the lens down to around f/4 will give you much nicer stars. That's a pyschobilly tip!

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Ah. Looks like you are on the same journey as me, sir.

I'm waiting to afford to buy a polar scope before I can get started. (plus a mount regrease/mod project)

Hope you enjoy the 50mm. I've experimented a little with mine on a fixed tripod here and on a tracked mount down in Cornwall.

What mount are you using please? I just have a borrowed EQ1 (one frustrating bolt short of being able to attach it to my tripod) for the time being. I see it as a learning rig, I'll probably move on to something better when I have a better handle on the lens, processing and drift alignment.

Cheers for the comments.

Peter (psychobilly) - You gave me a ton of advice last year. Regards to framing, f/ stops and 2/3's focusing. It's helped me a lot. So thank you for that.

What is 2/3's focussing please?

[Adamar98]

2/3's focusing is focusing on a star 2/3's in the FOV. Don't focus on a star in the middle! Your focus across the whole FOV will be much better. Seems to work.

It'll be interesting to see what length subs you'll get out of that eq1. I nearly bought the eq1 for my first mount but I ended up making a barn door tracker. I could get 1 minute subs with it using the 50mm lens. It cost about £20 to make. It got me hooked on AP. And I've spent a few more £20's on AP since then.

[Beulah]

Hope you enjoy the 50mm. I've experimented a little with mine on a fixed tripod here and on a tracked mount down in Cornwall.

What mount are you using please? I just have a borrowed EQ1 (one frustrating bolt short of being able to attach it to my tripod) for the time being. I see it as a learning rig, I'll probably move on to something better when I have a better handle on the lens, processing and drift alignment.

I acquired an EQ3-2 mount in the FLO clearance sale. Wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise.  

[Psychobilly]

The 1/3rds or 2/3rds intersection focus point wide open as can give decent star shapes is my usual tip seems to work with most setups....

I don't preach about it so much theses days but there's no harm in trying it and seeing if it works for you...

Peter...

[kirkster501]

I like. If we ever get some clear sky in Nottingham I am going to try out my 50 on my modded 400. I thought of mounting it on top of the "main" imaging rig so I get two sets of images . You used no darks, bias or flats at all?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Knight of Clear Skies]

2/3's focusing is focusing on a star 2/3's in the FOV. Don't focus on a star in the middle! Your focus across the whole FOV will be much better. Seems to work.

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

I acquired an EQ3-2 mount in the FLO clearance sale. Wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise.  

That should make a very nice camera mount. A polar scope isn't essential to get going, I was getting 20 second subs at 50mm on a Vixen mount just by sighting on Polaris. That was enough to image the Pinwheel Galaxy at f1.8 in 5 minutes. Look forward to seeing your images.

[niccodeamus]

a nice image.

what would be the difference on an un modded camera?  less redness?

[Psychobilly]

a nice image.

what would be the difference on an un modded camera?  less redness?

Basically yes... It would take you a bit longer to get a similar result but it can be done... The later Canon bodies have a slightly better Ha response than the earlier ones even  un-modded

Peter...

[Beulah]

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

That should make a very nice camera mount. A polar scope isn't essential to get going, I was getting 20 second subs at 50mm on a Vixen mount just by sighting on Polaris. That was enough to image the Pinwheel Galaxy at f1.8 in 5 minutes. Look forward to seeing your images.

Thanks, that's handy advice.

I did buy Steppenwolf's 'Make Every Photon Count' but have only read the first chapter so far! Too much to do at the moment. However, it is fabulous that I don't necessarily need the polarscope; it means I can push this project forward to the expense of other ones and get going!!

[Adamar98]

I like. If we ever get some clear sky in Nottingham I am going to try out my 50 on my modded 400. I thought of mounting it on top of the "main" imaging rig so I get two sets of images . You used no darks, bias or flats at all?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No flats, darks or bias. I ran out of time and was very tired. I'll be spending a few more nights on this target.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Very nice shot. Hope to start imaging with my 50mm this summer

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Thanks, that's handy advice.

I did buy Steppenwolf's 'Make Every Photon Count' but have only read the first chapter so far! Too much to do at the moment. However, it is fabulous that I don't necessarily need the polarscope; it means I can push this project forward to the expense of other ones and get going!!

Glad I could help, feel free to ask me any questions. I've got a lot to learn about tracked widefield imaging and processing, but as I've started recently some issues are fresh in my mind. My first attempt with the 50mm was imaging the Orion Nebula off a fixed tripod with a load of very short (3.2 sec) exposures under light-polluted skies. I was really surprised when a faint outline of the Flame Nebula also appeared.

Some issues I'm trying to resolve:

- What's the best aperture setting to use for different targets? Can star bloat be controlled in processing or does the lens need to be stopped down more?

- Why are my subs of variable quality (DSS gives a score for each one)? Is the focus ring slipping, the lens misting up or is the sensor temperature climbing?

- How do I go about getting a better polar alignment for longer subs? I have a vague understanding of drift alignment, but haven't had a go at it yet.

I'm not the most systematic learner, I tend to just try stuff and then read up when I hit a problem.

[laser_jock99]

Great shot- the standard 50mm lens is a useful piece of kit.

Hope you don't mind - I had quick play in Photoshop to get rid of the green tinge?