Orio Nebula....First light with a Samsung SCB 2000p Camera.

[alkrith]

Hello again ....now managed to attach the picture . Cheers all. Alan.

Snapshot_1.bmp

[f15p5]

Hi Alan,

What camera used? Telescope etc?

Richard

[Dave In Vermont]

Seems your mount may need some tweaking to track objects better? Maybe? At least that's my take on why the stars look like comets,  What are you using for a video-cam, and what's your mount?

As a first try - NICE! Keep going, please. Using the Signature in your profile <EDIT> you can list the stuff you're using. My signature is an example. With better descriptions of the equipment being used, folks can relay better information for folks to use. As well as analyize potential problems that may crop up.

Clear Skies,

Dave

[f15p5]

Ok, I see it in the title,  a 2000p. Are you on a alt az mount? Image is a good start, next I would look at color balance, seems over red to me? What were your settings?

Richard

[alkrith]

Seems your mount may need some tweaking to track objects better? Maybe? At least that's my take on why the stars look like comets,  What are you using for a video-cam, and what's your mount?

 

As a first try - NICE! Keep going, please. Using the Signature in your profile <EDIT> you can list the stuff you're using. My signature is an example. With better descriptions of the equipment being used, folks can relay better information for folks to use. As well as analyize potential problems that may crop up.

 

Clear Skies,

 

Dave

Cheers Dave will take that on board . This new hobby.....its like trying to juggle and thread a needle at the same time . Just setting up again, could be another decent night tonight.

[HiloDon]

Hi Alan,

Good result for first try. Good advice from Dave and Richard. Here is a link to help with initial settings. It's for an old 435, but the 2000 should be similar. This is from an old post by Doctor D.

https://sites.google.com/site/cloudybluesphere/astronomy/gallery/camera-settings

Keep us updated on how things go and clear skies!

Don

[DoctorD]

Hi

Welcome to the group and a good start to your video astronomy journey!

M42 - Orion's nebulae is a difficult subject because of the vast rage of brightness levels present - you either blow out the core or you miss the extremities of the nebulae.

There are number of things you could look at to get even more from your equipment:

1. Tracking - from your other post I see you are using the Star Discovery 150p with the new Skywatcher AZ mount - this should be reasonable tracking for the 10s exposure the SBC200 is capable off - perhaps a cable snagged or the mount drifted a little, also look carefully at balance, the camera will be heavier than your typical eyepiece so may be putting an extra load on the mount. 

2. You could also look at the accuracy of your alignment - getting the target alignment stars in the exact centre of the screen and ensuring the accuracy of your location and time data - I use an iPhone app called Scope Help which gets both time and location data from the GPS signal, a similar app may exist for Android.

3. Focus - I heartily recommend the use of a suitable focus mask, the Bahnitov is probably the easiest to use and remove much of the guess work when focusing.

4. If you have removed the stock IR filter you may need to adjust your colour balance a little to compensate for the extra sensitivity to the RED end of the spectrum - but t be honest it's a matter of personal taste.

Looking forward to your next posts - hop e this helps.

Paul

[DoctorD]

Just a note on the settings provided in the link by Don.

This recommends setting SSNR to maximum - in my experience this can be very useful at controlling the noise in the image (a bit like stacking images) however there is no auto alignment function, so any drift between exposures will appear as blurring of the image - only use this at MAX if you are seeing little or no drift between 10s frames with it turned off.

Some time ago, Steve Wainwright (video astronomy guru) recommended only using SSNR with guiding or a very accurate tracking.

HTH

Paul

[alkrith]

Many Thanks for your replies all . You are all a brilliant crew. Obviously lots to learn . Will digest everything that's been suggested and do my homework on settings etc... Loving the advice....again big thanks !!! Alan.

[alkrith]

Hi

 

Welcome to the group and a good start to your video astronomy journey!

 

M42 - Orion's nebulae is a difficult subject because of the vast rage of brightness levels present - you either blow out the core or you miss the extremities of the nebulae.

 

There are number of things you could look at to get even more from your equipment:

 

1. Tracking - from your other post I see you are using the Star Discovery 150p with the new Skywatcher AZ mount - this should be reasonable tracking for the 10s exposure the SBC200 is capable off - perhaps a cable snagged or the mount drifted a little, also look carefully at balance, the camera will be heavier than your typical eyepiece so may be putting an extra load on the mount. 

2. You could also look at the accuracy of your alignment - getting the target alignment stars in the exact centre of the screen and ensuring the accuracy of your location and time data - I use an iPhone app called Scope Help which gets both time and location data from the GPS signal, a similar app may exist for Android.

3. Focus - I heartily recommend the use of a suitable focus mask, the Bahnitov is probably the easiest to use and remove much of the guess work when focusing.

4. If you have removed the stock IR filter you may need to adjust your colour balance a little to compensate for the extra sensitivity to the RED end of the spectrum - but t be honest it's a matter of personal taste.

 

Looking forward to your next posts - hop e this helps.

 

Paul

Thanks for the input Paul...Would not of crossed my mind to use camera to align with , I can see it makes sense . Will also check the mask out !. Cheers Alan.

[alkrith]

Hi Alan,

Good result for first try. Good advice from Dave and Richard. Here is a link to help with initial settings. It's for an old 435, but the 2000 should be similar. This is from an old post by Doctor D.

https://sites.google.com/site/cloudybluesphere/astronomy/gallery/camera-settings

Keep us updated on how things go and clear skies!

Don

Thanks Don . I actually marked your reference guide as a favourite . Will have to remember to refer to it. Have been getting a little excited in the heat of the moment !!! Alan.

[alkrith]

Ok, I see it in the title,  a 2000p. Are you on a alt az mount? Image is a good start, next I would look at color balance, seems over red to me? What were your settings?

 

Richard

Cheers Richard .Still getting to grips with settings . I will get around to listing my equipment used . Alan. By the way its a goto mount.