Struggling to get a decent Jupiter

[Peco4321]

I just want to run this process by you all to see if I can change anything to improve as I can not seem to get an image of Jupiter that blows me away. Set up is 150p on eq3-2 with enhanced motors, canon 1100d. 

I usually use ep projection with 10mm ep and try and get as sharp focus as possible using live view and 10x zoom. Then I take about 40-60 sec movie clip, convert in PIPP, stack in Registax6 or Autostakkert2. 

But even after tweaking in PS express or Gimp and wavelets in Registax, this is about the best I can get. 

Will this be all I can achieve or can anyone suggest improvements in my process, thanks. 

[chiltonstar]

2 minutes ago, Peco4321 said:

I just want to run this process by you all to see if I can change anything to improve as I can not seem to get an image of Jupiter that blows me away. Set up is 150p on eq3-2 with enhanced motors, canon 1100d. 

I usually use ep projection with 10mm ep and try and get as sharp focus as possible using live view and 10x zoom. Then I take about 40-60 sec movie clip, convert in PIPP, stack in Registax6 or Autostakkert2. 

But even after tweaking in PS express or Gimp and wavelets in Registax, this is about the best I can get. 

Will this be all I can achieve or can anyone suggest improvements in my process, thanks. 

Unless the seeing is very good (it generally isn't up to much at the moment), you will struggle to do much better than this in terms of sharpness. Often, the best nights are warmish, and slightly hazy.

Chris

[Grotemobile]

Hi Peter . I am afraid were all having similar problems @ the moment. I was out

Saturday night & U could  only just make out the bands.  This is about the best

I have managed this year so far. About the same as U. Jupiter being low does

not seem to help @ the moment.

[Art Gecko]

April 7th is Jupiter's next opposition... I'm waiting patiently till then.. And hoping for a break in the clouds!

[Peco4321]

Would a web cam (cheap ish) give better results??

[Roysten]

Hi Peter

I've not had a shot at Jupiter yet this year but my brief efforts on Venus have shown how much the quality can drop when imaging near the horizon. Like Art Gecko I'm eagerly waiting for April for it to be higher in the sky.

I've never imaged it with a DSLR but I have with a ASI120MC and got these kind of results.

I found that getting a Bahtinov mask was a big help for focus and lowest exposure rate possible to prevent blurring and over-exposure, though for you taking a video and looking at the image over exposure does not look to be an issue.

I used an old Logitech webcam at first which was ok but the low resolution meant that to get any detail I had to use 5× Barlow lenses, which made life difficult, especially before I got my motors! My experience with the ASI120 has been positive, I read plenty of reviews including on here before I bought it and for me it seemed the best choice in terms of costs and what I was looking to get out of it.

 

[ronin]

Silly question to ask as I would expect you to have done so but are you stacking all the frames or just a percentge/number of them ?

As it is not mentioned I thought I would ask. We talk about getting a movie, loading into Registax/AS2 and stacking, what is often left out is the selection of the best frame and then selection of the best matches to this "best" frame.

Just stacking a good frame and a bad frame together results in a mediocre frame. It does not magically make the poor frame good.

As said every chance that you know this and have done it, but it is not stated.

The red tint present may be owing to the height of Jupiter, at low angles the blue will get more scattered out through the atmosphere and so you get a higher proportion of red coming through. So there is a explanation for that.

[spaceman_spiff]

Hi there Peter,

As others have mentioned, Jupiter is quite low at the moment so images will not be as sharp. Also, how are you taking your video? Is the camera in 1080p/780p video mode or are you using capturing video in live view.

As a note, using the video modes on the camera will result in poor quality planetary images. Try to use the live view and get the video from that using software such as backyard EOS.

Dan

[Peco4321]

Thanks for all the replies and some things for me to check in terms of settings, both of how I take the movie and how I stack. I will revert back when I next get chance to have s go. 

There is one weird thing I have to do which I want to run by you. When I take a movie I have to drop the ISO otherwise it's just far too bright. My cannon 1100d does not let me manually do this, it adjust automatically based on the brightness and it stays at 6400 as most the screen is black. I have to shine a 90 degree bendy torch down the ota and up into the focus tube while the camera is attached, when the ISO drops to about 800 I press the left button as shown to fix the ISO.

I try to do this with the scope level so I do not drop the torch!  Below the ISO changed as I went from sky to fence and pressing the left button fixes it. Can anyone suggest a better way of fixing the ISO while in movie mode??  

[spaceman_spiff]

Sounds like you are in ISO auto mode... there should be an ISO button, I use it to toggle out of auto mode and select a fixed ISO.

Also, I noticed that your camera is in 1280p movie mode. I would suggest that this is not the best setting for high quality planetary imaging. In this mode the whole sensor is being used but the pixels are then drastically down-sampled to get to the 1280p resolution. This gives a good field of view but it destroys fine detail. I suggest capturing live view at 5x magnification using external software. This way, the pixels on the sensor are not combined together and you retain the fine detail.  Also, through the software, you can control things like ISO and exposure.

HTH Dan.

[Peco4321]

@spaceman_spiff, thanks for suggestions. 

I have tried every setting to enable changing ISO manually during video mode, and there is no way. I can fix it, at whatever it automatically detects, hence I have to shine the torch in!!  

If I run through external software, do I basically need to have my laptop outside, connected to my camera via USB??  Sorry for basic questions 

[newbie alert]

A designated planetary cam will give a better result..jupiter is a bight object  but really affected by seeing conditions..see if you can get hold of damien peach videos.. they  are pretty good..

[spaceman_spiff]

58 minutes ago, Peco4321 said:

@spaceman_spiff, thanks for suggestions. 

I have tried every setting to enable changing ISO manually during video mode, and there is no way. I can fix it, at whatever it automatically detects, hence I have to shine the torch in!!  

If I run through external software, do I basically need to have my laptop outside, connected to my camera via USB??  Sorry for basic questions 

Well it seems strange to me that the ISO cannot be controlled.

With regards to the external software, yes a laptop connected by usb will be needed. You can download software to control and record the camera (some software is free but I think backyard EOS is the best and not that expensive). Once you do, you can record directly from live view (5X magnification only). In this mode, each pixel in the sensor effectively relates to each pixel in the final image, no down sampling happens. You should notice an improvement in image quality after this.

HTH Dan

[Peco4321]

9 minutes ago, spaceman_spiff said:

Well it seems strange to me that the ISO cannot be controlled.

I am trying to download a firmware update for my camera that may give me the functionality. Trouble with winzip at the moment ?

[Peco4321]

Can not install winzip or uninstall old version. Do not have the skills or temperament for this. Is there any other way of opening a zip file. I have tried other programs but they do not recognise the file type. Infuriating. 

[Peco4321]

7 hours ago, spaceman_spiff said:

Well it seems strange to me that the ISO cannot be controlled.

I now have Magic Lantern installed and running and can alter the ISO in movie mode.  At least I can sat in my lounge, I will report back the next time I actually try it for real.

[Owmuchonomy]

Unfortunately it's the same to some extent for all of us at these latitudes for the next 5 years or so. The favourite planetary targets are poorly placed for photography. So before you invest in new kit take some time to consider your options. For example some planetary imaging cameras are also great for solar and lunar. ?

[JOC]

Hi Peco I'm sitting here with more or less the same camera - I've just found the Magic Lantern stuff on the internet - what do you think of it - does it seem worth having?  I'm a little worried about it bricking my camera if I try to install it.

 

[Peco4321]

2 hours ago, JOC said:

Hi Peco I'm sitting here with more or less the same camera - I've just found the Magic Lantern stuff on the internet - what do you think of it - does it seem worth having?  I'm a little worried about it bricking my camera if I try to install it.

 

I have not tried it in anger so to speak yet. Seems ok and you have the option to just use the normal functions. Pressing the AV/delete button takes you to the functions. Not sure what I'll use besides the ISO in video mode. Hopefully will get a go soon and I'll let you know how it goes. 

Peter. 

[JOC]

Hi Peter, I shall await a possible future report with interest. :-D

[spaceman_spiff]

I think magic Magic Lantern has the option of recording 5X live view which uses near 1:1 pixel mapping. Definitely a good way to go.

Dan

[Peco4321]

5 hours ago, spaceman_spiff said:

 

I think magic Magic Lantern has the option of recording 5X live view

 

Tried to find the setting to record in 5x but struggling, anyone had any experience. 

[spaceman_spiff]

17 minutes ago, Peco4321 said:

Tried to find the setting to record in 5x but struggling, anyone had any experience. 

I don't have a lot of experience with ML myself but I remember researching this issue a while ago and found this on the Magic Lantern forum:

- Load MLV_REC.mo
- Restart in video mode and press zoom button (5x)
- Activate "RAW video (MLV)" -> Aspect Ratio 1:1
- Decrease resolution until "1:1" is actually set.
- Done

HTH

[cuivenion]

On 3/12/2017 at 14:14, Peco4321 said:

Can not install winzip or uninstall old version. Do not have the skills or temperament for this. Is there any other way of opening a zip file. I have tried other programs but they do not recognise the file type. Infuriating. 

I use 7zip.

[Roysten]

43 minutes ago, Peco4321 said:

Tried to find the setting to record in 5x but struggling, anyone had any experience. 

Hi Peter

I think to film in 5× mode you want to be pressing the following button once when in video mode. You should see a little image in the bottom right of the LCD screen that then says that you're in 5× mode.