Advice needed

[DBushell]

A couple of nights ago I thought I'd take more exposures than I have ever taken before - not much in terms of what others here do, but I'm learning.

My target was Andromeda, and I was only using a Alt Az tripod, a Canon 1100D with a 300mm lens that seemed to cope reasonably well with Orion last winter. I was shooting at 1600 ISO, 2 second exposures of which I ended up with 400 lights and about 20 darks.  It took all night to stack them in DSS, but the result was pretty disappointing with no visible clouds nor the other nearby galaxy smudge.

I know I'm not going to get amazing results, but any advice would be welcome.  I have an Astromaster 130eq with motor drive but I haven't been able to focus with it yet.

[PeterCPC]

You won't get much with only 13 mins total exposure time. To get focus with the Astromaster you may need to use a Barlow with the Canon.

Peter

[almcl]

Try upping the exposure time.  The rule of thumb suggests that 4 secs might be possible, but go further and see what you can get.  Also try upping the ISO, 1600 is probably optimum but you may find 3200 isn't a whole lot worse. 

You could also try piggy backing the camera onto your 130eq or even mounting it directly on the head. Depending on the size, weight and balance of your 300mm lens, you may need a tripod mounting ring but these can be had of web for not too much.  Even unguided, 30 sec subs should be within your grasp, and with careful polar alignment you may be able to get much more.

[kendg]

You might want to check this out by Forest Tanaka.  It's similar to what you are trying for but with a tripod only.

 

[ronin]

How sure are you that Andromeda was in view?

I have aimed a 28mm at Andromeda and until I stacked the exposures I had no real idea if I had managed to aim the camera adaquately or not. A 300mm lens will be more difficult to be certain of at getting Andromeda in. Simply how sure are you that you have 400 exposures however short of Andromeda?

The other question is where were you. I see you are Cambridge and Andromeda is usually very poorly visible or simply not visible from anywhere even close to Cambridge. Just wondering if it is lost in the general light pollution that is present. I suppose that you would have to head North and so have Cambridge behind you. Thinking somewhere like Over, Cottenham, Oakington. Basically North side of the A14.

To get a DSLR to focus will need you to move the main mirror up about 2", that will in effect push the focal plane out and so this should then manage to get to the DSLR sensor.

 

 

[cjdawson]

In addition. the output from DSS might look dim be default.  That's perfectly ok, as stacking reduces the noise rather than makes the image brighter.  This is where you switch to photoshop or other processing software and stretch the image.  This will bring out the data and brighten everything up.   It's this step where you get amazed as how much detail there is in your image.

[DBushell]

1 hour ago, ronin said:

How sure are you that Andromeda was in view?

I have aimed a 28mm at Andromeda and until I stacked the exposures I had no real idea if I had managed to aim the camera adaquately or not. A 300mm lens will be more difficult to be certain of at getting Andromeda in. Simply how sure are you that you have 400 exposures however short of Andromeda?

The other question is where were you. I see you are Cambridge and Andromeda is usually very poorly visible or simply not visible from anywhere even close to Cambridge. Just wondering if it is lost in the general light pollution that is present. I suppose that you would have to head North and so have Cambridge behind you. Thinking somewhere like Over, Cottenham, Oakington. Basically North side of the A14.

To get a DSLR to focus will need you to move the main mirror up about 2", that will in effect push the focal plane out and so this should then manage to get to the DSLR sensor.

 

 

1. Andromeda was in view, I check by increasing ISO to 6400 and 20 odd second exposure.

2. I live about 18 miles northeast of Cambridge, I was just being a little generic with personal data.

Thanks for the advice about the mirror - how easy are they to adjust, or is it a DIY job?!

I will have another go at editing in Lightroom when I get home and will post the results.

[DBushell]

This is what I've managed to salvage.

 

[mak90fan]

No real advice from me, other than my observation that lots of people getting really dissatisfied with seemingly terrific images! I'm looking forward to starting my imaging again with dark nights looming...great photo by the way ...