Imaging newbie

[spillage]

if you have an android phone or tablet then download synscanlnit2. It will give you all the info needed to set up your handset and give you the correct position for polaris to polar align.

With good PA and balancing you should get 180s from the mount or more. You may get some rotation but for now I wouldn't worry to much about it. Just enjoy the images you get.

Once you go down the guiding route then things will change and you can then start looking at ditching the handset and using programs to control you camera (apt) and use platesolve.

Wished I had held onto my eq5 pro. Great little mount.

Spill.

[TareqPhoto]

4 hours ago, serbiadarksky said:

He can go for even cheaper, the QHY5L-IIc and dont need a guide scope, the finder on the 80pro is 9x50, convertable to be an guidescope with an 3£ adapter

Maybe right, but a mono is always more sensitive than color from what i read, but if you mean cheaper by not getting a guide scope that is fine, he still can use that finder scope although i don't see many really care about it, i have one cheaper finder scope that came with my ST80 and i even can't sell it, hahaha

[StaceStar]

Ok so after contending with snow, ice and fast moving cloud I shot this single image. I didn' bother doing any stacking or bias, darks etc as I'm leaving that for another night. This is a 90s exposure. I' feeling quite happy to be honest! Considering this was the first time I ever set it all up and did a polar alignment etc! 

[TareqPhoto]

Nice first try, you will have a lot of those, but can you tell us which constellation or target is that of the image? i don't know about it and maybe others will know.

[StaceStar]

1 minute ago, TareqPhoto said:

Nice first try, you will have a lot of those, but can you tell us which constellation or target is that of the image? i don't know about it and maybe others will know.

Apologies...I was so excited to post it haha. It's actually the double cluster in Perseus

[TareqPhoto]

49 minutes ago, StaceStar said:

Apologies...I was so excited to post it haha. It's actually the double cluster in Perseus

No problem or no worries, just i was curios, i like seeing people posting their first things[try/test] in life, i did myself too. 

[StaceStar]

Bit of a progress shot...my first attempt at stacking.

M45 - Pleiades 

20x 90s images unguided. Iso800 edited in GIMP

[Galen Gilmore]

26 minutes ago, StaceStar said:

Bit of a progress shot...my first attempt at stacking.

M45 - Pleiades 

20x 90s images unguided. Iso800 edited in GIMP

Nice!

How are you processing your images? It looks that it could use a bit of color balance.

[StaceStar]

4 minutes ago, Galen Gilmore said:

Nice!

How are you processing your images? It looks that it could use a bit of color balance.

Errr just changing the curves and levels a bit in GIMP. I'm a complete processing newbie. Any help is appreciated

[Galen Gilmore]

On 1/6/2018 at 19:50, StaceStar said:

Errr just changing the curves and levels a bit in GIMP. I'm a complete processing newbie. Any help is appreciated

My processing workflow goes as follows:

Crop very slightly -> levels -> crop again (this time more aggressively) -> curves -> color balance (using either RGB levels/curves, color balance, or selective color) -> saturation (if needed) -> levels -> curves -> crop again if I have room -> bring image into Lightroom -> adjust color balance more -> use vignetting tool to fix any leftover vignetting -> make any final subtle changes.

Of course this is not the same for every object,it is just a guideline. I change it up for every target because every nebula/galaxy/cluster requires something different.

[StaceStar]

Slowly improving I think

[spillage]

As you are not guiding you need to take darks, bias and flats. This will remove all of those dust bunnies. Make sure you take your darks at the same time you take you lights so the temperature matches and for the same exposure time.

Have a look here if you need any help.

 

There are lots of programs out there to help you process your images, pixinsight is one of the most used but there is also startools and astroart. I know startools has a demo mode you can use for an unlimited time but you cannot save you finished result but is cheap to purchase and even I manage to use it.

[scienceguy]

Is the 1100d the Rebel T3i? That's a decent DSLR. I have the 1000d or Rebel XS.

[TareqPhoto]

I know it is expensive, but buy PixInsight, processing will give you results your dream about, this will be my goal this year or next year definitely.

Good you started to have something, I tested my ST80 last year, once I saw few targets I was looking for I stopped imaging, so I just focused on buying more stuff to have better results eventually, can't wait.

[StaceStar]

M50 . Just a quick update. I've switched to a canon 200d, started taking calibration frames, started guided. All being well I'm going to start plate solving on my next session.

 

I've learnt a lot in 4 months

[StaceStar]