First Widefield Stack - Sydney (HIGH LP!)

[TomasFitz]

Hey guys,

Am in Sydney for the summer, sans scope, and decided to try my hand at some widefields, which I've never done before. The area is basically in a residential suburb so LP was atrocious. After 10-15 minutes I thought I could make out parts of the Milky Way, but it could have been my imagination. 

Pictures taken with my brothers Canon EOS 450D with 18mm f/3.5. Five 20s subs @ ISO 800 and stacked in Deep Sky Stacker.

I found DSS really didn't like stacking these, I had to turn detection threshold down to 2% to get any stars to register. I'm not sure of the reason but there are myriad possibilities:
The camera is quite an old model so not the best possible chip.
The lens wasn't ideal and f/3.5 was the lowest I could go.
Couldn't get enough exposure time with that lens without streaks.
As a result had to put ISO up to 800 which was VERY fuzzy on this camera.
Couldn't seem to get it to focus well.
And probably the most important factor:

I hadn't a clue what I was doing in DSS!

Despite this I am quite pleased with this for a first try! My brother stacked them manually in Photoshop and it looks quite different so if I get his pictures I'll post them later.

(Had to reduce size of pictures to fit here so some quality lost)

Original Image:

Stacked and Processed:

Let me know what you think, criticism, constructive or not, appreciated.

[Scott]

I think it's a great start. Your focus is still out which might be why dss is playing up. i find, to focus on a star without the use of a laptop, I centre a bright star. on the 1100d you can view at 10X. if you can do this on yours then try it. focus until the star is the smallest dot possible. take a 5 sec snap and zoom in to check your focus. it's a phaff but if you don't get perfect focus, the rest is a waste of time. also, go for about 40-50 subs rather than 5 and then cap your camera and take 20-30 "darks" to stack in dss. hope i've helped rather than confused you 

[Scott]

this is your image with a little play in paint shop (and I mean little) Hope you don't mind. let me know and I'll remove it if you do

more subs and focus and yu'll get some good stuff down there

[TomasFitz]

Wow you really brought something nice out of the photo, I don't mind at all!

Yeah I wasn't so sure what I was doing as it was pretty spontaneous, but now that I've had a bit of success I'll try to be a bit more ambitious.

There are plenty of areas around with great skies so I'll try to get somewhere nice where I can hang around for 50+ subs.

I was pretty sure the focusing was an issue but I can't find that feature on the 450. I am strongly thinking of getting my own camera and may go for an 1100 since so many people here swear by them. Is it worth getting a pre-modded one for the extra cost?

Also in terms of playing with the image in PS or any other program, are there any good guides on what I should be aiming to do?

Thanks for the help!

[Scott]

I got my 1100d in Harvey Norman (it's a store in Aust) for $500 a couple of years ago. the camera has been superseded by the 1200d so you might find the 1100d cheapish. what part of Sydney are you in? I grew up in Sutherland shire 

[Scott]

I think this is the 450 (don't own one) The buttons inside the red are the zoom buttons. if you are taking an image the right button gives the zoom

the button inside the yellow is the preview button. when previewing the red buttons zoom in and out 

This is true if it's the same as the 1100d

this link might help you with the 450d?

http://www.canon.co.uk/Support/Consumer_Products/products/cameras/Digital_SLR/EOS_450D.aspx

[jgs001]

There's nothing wrong with the 450d for astro imaging. It's the camera I use. Noise at ISO800 is not too bad, and for this sort of thing, it's almost mandatory really, as you're limited in exposure length. The real issue here, is the focus, and that's clear from the images. The controls are much the same as the 1100d, although you can set the liveview activation to a number of options... I think I set mine to the set button, when the menu wasn't active. 

This may help with the capture and processing http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/36308-basic-widefield-with-a-camera-and-tripod/

[Scott]

There's nothing wrong with the 450d for astro imaging. It's the camera I use. Noise at ISO800 is not too bad, and for this sort of thing, it's almost mandatory really, as you're limited in exposure length. The real issue here, is the focus, and that's clear from the images. The controls are much the same as the 1100d, although you can set the liveview activation to a number of options... I think I set mine to the set button, when the menu wasn't active. 

This may help with the capture and processing http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/36308-basic-widefield-with-a-camera-and-tripod/

Ah yes, forgot this thread. very useful it was too John. Thanks again

[TomasFitz]

I got my 1100d in Harvey Norman (it's a store in Aust) for $500 a couple of years ago. the camera has been superseded by the 1200d so you might find the 1100d cheapish. what part of Sydney are you in? I grew up in Sutherland shire 

Yeah I've seen them around in a few places and they're not so expensive, but I don't know whether to go the whole hog and get one modded or not...

I'm living in Macquarie Park atm, so its nice and central but the LP is phenomenal. The national parks are only a few minutes away though so Ill try to make my way there this weekend.

There's nothing wrong with the 450d for astro imaging. It's the camera I use. Noise at ISO800 is not too bad, and for this sort of thing, it's almost mandatory really, as you're limited in exposure length. The real issue here, is the focus, and that's clear from the images. 

Yeah I figured what I need more than anything is experience. The 450D is a great camera and has worked for my brother for years so I figured I must be doing something wrong to not get as much as possible out of it. The only reason I want to get another camera is cos I can't bring his back to Ireland with me! I'll try again tonight and play with the focus and if I get it nice I'll take a lot more subs.

This may help with the capture and processing http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/36308-basic-widefield-with-a-camera-and-tripod/

Great guide, that is a definite help (not least because its the exact same equipment as I have!). Hopefully I have a bit more luck with results but will post them either way.

Thank for all the advice!

[Giray Gencaslan]

this is your image with a little play in paint shop (and I mean little) Hope you don't mind. let me know and I'll remove it if you do

more subs and focus and yu'll get some good stuff down there

rubbish.jpg

Exactly what steps you do in photoshop?

I have couple of wide photos i take. But i couldn't process with photoshop.

[Scott]

these were just stretched with curves and levels. Johns link in post number 7 is where I picked up most of my tips.