My 1st attempt at M1

[PembrokeSteve]

Hi,

Rather pitiful compared to some of the M1 images on this forum, but still, I am pleased with this for now.  Imaged with my Vixen VC200L scope and unmodded Canon 450D camera on 25/02/19.
Think my VC200L has a lot of potential for getting me some good images of DSO's however the larger scope resolution does seem to enhance the the all too frequent periodic mount gear errors and backlash errors on my NEQ6.
I had to reject loads of subs because of this.
Anyway, I managed to grab x53 60 second light subs and x7 40 second light subs at 1600ASA.  x22 darks,  x40 Bias and  x40 Flats.
I have started to use APT in plan mode now, which means I dont't have to be hunched over the laptop clicking "one shot" at a time, like I was previously doing!
Image processed in APP and tweaked in GIMP.

Regards,

Steve

[paul mc c]

Nice one.....id be happy with that any day.

[whatablanker]

There's nothing wrong with that. I remember my first M1 nowhere near as good.

[Demonperformer]

My first M1 was literally just a small fuzzy amorphous blob, so yours has knocked socks off of mine.

Probably a silly observation: you just list one "darks" number - you didn't use the same darks for both the 40s & 60s lights, did you? They do need to match in duration or you will be adding more noise than you are averaging out.

[fwm891]

Great start - don't be tempted to make the background too dark (black) you'll loose a lot of fine detail around the edges of objects like M1. I take it from the exposures your running unguided - can you record PEC for the NEQ6 that should soften drive errors a bit.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice one. Haven't managed to image this one yet.

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Good result, imaging at this focal length isn't easy. I agree the background is probably a little bit too dark.

[MartinB]

That's a great result.  You will always be struggling an unmodded camera but the OIII has come through very nicely.  You seem to have clipped the black point though.

[PembrokeSteve]

Hi, 

Many thanks for taking the time to give me some feedback on my M1.
My Darks were made up of a combination to match the duration of my lights.
I am in the habit now of varying my exposure times, in the hope to make the image more dynamic and to avoid the "washed out" look.
Yes I think i may have made the background a little too dark (clipped the back point). I will watch out for this in future.
Perhaps I am trying to emulate some of the superb, almost glossy, "contrasty" images that i have seen in lots of images, many processed in pixinsight.
I will look into handling PEC issues with my NEQ6, it does seem to be more of a problem with the larger VC200L rather than when I use by ED80 refractor.
Imaging with a larger scope is def a challenge..all  minor flaws seem to be magnified!

Thanks again
Steve