astrophotography need help. just begun astrophotography and have a few doubts.

[dwayne dias]

1 minute ago, Galatic Wanderer said:

Maybe. I'm not an expert on different camera sensors.

Im just curious as to y people are so canon oriented...although nikon makes brilliant  DSLRs too...poor nikon..lol

[happy-kat]

Not all Sony cameras are good I read a post only last week on Sony camera eating stars.

[dwayne dias]

3 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

Not all Sony cameras are good I read a post only last week on Sony camera eating stars.

Kat, the milky way shot of mine was experimented with a canon 70D. That night the sky was star studded. But still the image shows not much stars. Its all based on experimentation. You can only believe once uv tried it out. More like achieving prime focus. Its about experimentation and what you see.

[happy-kat]

Absolutely and some research to see what others are doing with any intended camera purchase. Buy once and enjoy.

[happy-kat]

The speed of the camera lens also plays a part in how many stars are seen and whether in camera dark noise substraction is turned off.

[dwayne dias]

I have something to share. Dont know if its apt but its related to our interests. I am also an artist. And love the abstract designs of DSOs and galaxies. So i enjoy splashing some colour on canvas in my free time. This is what helps me fund my hobby of astronomy on the whole

[happy-kat]

Are those pastels?

Vibrant colours and arrangement capture the DSO feeling.

[dwayne dias]

10 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

Are those pastels?

Vibrant colours and arrangement capture the DSO feeling.

Kat...those are acrylic colours. Its a new project. Will b painting two more galaxies later in june. So its a set of 3.

[wxsatuser]

5 hours ago, dwayne dias said:

Kat, the milky way shot of mine was experimented with a canon 70D. That night the sky was star studded. But still the image shows not much stars. Its all based on experimentation. You can only believe once uv tried it out. More like achieving prime focus. Its about experimentation and what you see.

You cannot base a cameras ability on two shots.
Just because there aren't many stars recorded means nothing.
You don't give any info on the setup and settings used, I bet if you used a Nikon with the same or
equal setup you would get similar results.

 

[dwayne dias]

3 hours ago, wxsatuser said:

You cannot base a cameras ability on two shots.
Just because there aren't many stars recorded means nothing.
You don't give any info on the setup and settings used, I bet if you used a Nikon with the same or
equal setup you would get similar results.

 

I didnt take just two shots. I toke 50 shots that night. I put up the best two. My settings were basically manual mode. 30" exposures. And i experented with isos from 600 to 1600 which are usually recommended. I dont like being biased towards a brand. And have nothing against cannon. I choose nikon d5500 because although its a tiny entry level dslr. Its packs a powerful punch. Literally pushing off the canon entry level rivals off the shelf. I speak on bases of experimentation not because i love nikon n dislike canon. And the 70d is somewhat 1300$ and the nikon d5500 is just 700$. So yes. I opt for value for money + features and not just a brand coz everyone uses it.

[wxsatuser]

What you must remember, the in camera images are processed jpegs.

Whichever camera you use, you will need to process the RAWs to get the most out of them.
Don't assume that the camera has made a good job of processing, you must do it yourself.

BTW I have no axe to grind on camera makes, it's just I use Canon and Fuji.
Going back a few years in my film days I was shooting with Nikon.

[dwayne dias]

3 minutes ago, wxsatuser said:

What you must remember, the in camera images are processed jpegs.

Whichever camera you use, you will need to process the RAWs to get the most out of them.
Don't assume that the camera has made a good job of processing, you must do it yourself.

BTW I have no axe to grind on camera makes, it's just I use Canon and Fuji.
Going back a few years in my film days I was shooting with Nikon.

I appreciate canons too. But just the high end models. I am just a beginner. May be a few years down the line when i can afford a high end dalr, I'll choose a canon. Bdw When i shoot, my settings are on raw and not jpeg. I will share the edited pic here once im done with it. 

[happy-kat]

Take an image 1 minute long with the d5500.

Did the camera make you wait another minute before you could press the shutter again. If it did you must find the settings for that and turn them off. You will be creating your own calibration files.

[wxsatuser]

1 hour ago, dwayne dias said:

I appreciate canons too. But just the high end models. I am just a beginner. May be a few years down the line when i can afford a high end dalr, I'll choose a canon. Bdw When i shoot, my settings are on raw and not jpeg. I will share the edited pic here once im done with it. 

It may be on RAW but your showing the processed images on the camera screen, these are'nt RAW anymore.

I understand you postion on the Nikon as the value is good, so it's a no brainer.
Took me ages to be able to afford higher end cameras so I know the feeling.

[dwayne dias]

7 hours ago, wxsatuser said:

It may be on RAW but your showing the processed images on the camera screen, these are'nt RAW anymore.

I understand you postion on the Nikon as the value is good, so it's a no brainer.
Took me ages to be able to afford higher end cameras so I know the feeling.

Here...i have just edited my raw image. I dont know if its good enough, but im pretty satisfied with it . Its my first step into astrophptography and just a single 30 sec exposure at iso 800. Edited in photoshop lightroom.please feel free to comment.

[happy-kat]

Do try longer than 30 seconds on your camera of choice which you said your brother has, you want to test to see if the camera takes built in darks and that you can turn off the camera setting that does it. Otherewise each bulb mode image will take twice as long to take.

[Galactic Wanderer]

11 hours ago, happy-kat said:

Do try longer than 30 seconds on your camera of choice which you said your brother has, you want to test to see if the camera takes built in darks and that you can turn off the camera setting that does it. Otherewise each bulb mode image will take twice as long to take.

Unless you want to take star trails.

[happy-kat]

The point is the test is to make sure you can identify and then turn off in camera dark noise subtraction. You don't flush this out unless you use bulb mode and over 30 seconds. So whether there are star trails or not is immaterial.

[Galactic Wanderer]

22 hours ago, dwayne dias said:

Here...i have just edited my raw image. I dont know if its good enough, but im pretty satisfied with it . Its my first step into astrophptography and just a single 30 sec exposure at iso 800. Edited in photoshop lightroom.please feel free to comment.

Nice image there!

[Galactic Wanderer]

7 hours ago, happy-kat said:

The point is the test is to make sure you can identify and then turn off in camera dark noise subtraction. You don't flush this out unless you use bulb mode and over 30 seconds. So whether there are star trails or not is immaterial.

 Sorry, now I see, star trails are completely irrelevant Im being stupid today.

Seb

[dwayne dias]

Thanx galatic wanderer.

 

And il keep those those settings in mind when i take longer exposures with the nikon.

[pipnina]

54 minutes ago, dwayne dias said:

Thanx galatic wanderer.

 

And il keep those those settings in mind when i take longer exposures with the nikon.

When using standard lenses on the Nikon, turn "Distortion control" on. It's applied to the RAWs and if you put multiple images into Deep-Sky Stacker to reduce noise it will stop the stars multiplying (for the most part).

Also, if you use Deep sky stacker in the future, switch the "Bayer interpretation" to super-pixel mode. You don't need the 6000x4000 pixels the camera gives you (which camera do you use again? :?) and it helps to reduce the streaks caused by hot pixels. Also use kappa-sigma clipping for the light stacking mode, I found it to be the best setting for keeping noise down while removing most image defects (it even helps a lot with reflections from street lamps I found).

For the standard Nikon 18-55mm lens, I advise against using it at max aperture. If you're at 55mm then stop down to f8, if at 55mm stop down to f5- wide open the lens loses a lot of sharpness. (it is a zoom after all, they tend to be slow!)

(Edit: if using the above 18-55mm, it looks like 35mm @ f8 is the sharpest the lens gets, but a long way (and it's very consistent, too))

[dwayne dias]

Hi guys

So i finally made up my mind about an eq mount. And i tried shooting without tracking. It was horrific..star trails within a sec. So just planned on using an EQ mount. But will be making one myself. Initially it will only run on 2 motors which will b designed to rotate the RA (one rotation = 24 hours) matching the earths rotation. Will try my best to design the mount for accurate tracking. Have attached two images of my design. I have used solidworks. Yep i know this is gonna be a task but buying one for over 2000$ is just stupid. If this mount is a success it will be done within 400$.

[Stub Mandrel]

If you have $400 to put into it, make it a lot more robust than that. I've been thinking of building one around an old lathe headstock.

[dwayne dias]

10 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

If you have $400 to put into it, make it a lot more robust than that. I've been thinking of building one around an old lathe headstock.

Yes..iv seen that the mount is bulky .The shaft itself is 30mm in dia. Afterall it has to withstand a 13kg OTA. It looks tiny in the imagr. The stand has a dia of 200mm. The body will be mainly of aluminium and mild steel.