Imaging Challenge #26 - 30 Seconds Unguided

[Grant]

The theme for the 26th challenge - May 2019 - is 30 Seconds Unguided!

Start Date: 1st May 2019
End Date: 31st July 2019

Rules: Any image that fits the theme ‘30 Second Unguided’ will be accepted. We are not looking for anything specific. It might be an artistic single frame, a ‘lucky shot’ or a highly planned, multi-night mosaic epic! The winning image will be whichever one the judges like best! Feel free to use whatever equipment you like but each single frame can be no more than 30 seconds and must be unguided! (No stacking!).

Prize: A personalised mug for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places featuring your image kindly provided by our sponsors FLO  and a virtual trophy for your signature.

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RULES

All data must be captured and processed by you (no collaborative entries). 
Data must be captured during the challenge start & end dates. 
Multiple entries are allowed but please start a new topic for each entry. 
Multiple submissions of the same image, processed differently, will not be accepted.

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To enter please start a new topic with your image in the ‘Imaging Challenge #26' forum (each challenge will have its own). Please post as much information as possible - when it was taken, how it was captured and processed, etc. The info won't necessarily be used for judging but will help fellow SGLers looking to learn and improve their knowledge and technique.

[cuivenion]

I'll be retraining my PEC for this one!

[Demonperformer]

An excellent challenge that could be a great "leveller".

[happy-kat]

Another good challenge though the added challenge for me is staying up late enough for when it's dark.

[Scott]

Very good idea for a challenge... Enter the cmos

 

[HunterHarling]

So it is only single exposures? No stacks?

[happy-kat]

Quote

but each single frame can be no more than 30 seconds and must be unguided! (No stacking!).

Taken from above.

[happy-kat]

I've just had an idea, might not need to stay up so later after all.

[rotatux]

A bit deceiving: the title says "unguided" which seems to suit well with 30s, and while unguided ≠ stacked nothing in the description would forbid 30s unguided stacks, except there's that damn parenthesis to clarify and remove most hope...

[Davey-T]

I can do 60 minutes " unguided " is this cheating ?

Dave

[cuivenion]

To be fair a single 30 seconds unguided sub is about as much imaging time as I'm going to get at the moment. ?

[Nigella Bryant]

One image, unguided exposure for 30secs, right? I can do that as a newbie lol. 

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Star clusters would make a good target for this challenge.

If it was taking place in the Autumn the Samyang 135mm would be hard to beat. This is 2 minutes on the NA & Pelican at ISO 800.

The above is pretty much straight out of the camera, just a quick colour balance, stretch and very slight noise reduction. Something similar could be obtained in 30 seconds by bumping up the ISO and de-noising more aggressively. But at this time of year it's hard to think of many targets for it.

[davew]

Hmmm ... This isn't as easy as it first appears ! A real carrot dangler me thinks

It's certainly got me scratching my poor head. Nice challenge,

Dave.

[Scooot]

This is probably obvious to everyone else but by unguided does it mean untracked or tracked without a guide camera?

[Demonperformer]

I would hope a tracked mount is what is meant. Without any tracking, even 30s would be severely limiting in terms of focal length.

But you've got me thinking about PEC: apparently there are two sorts, one is dumb and the other reacts to what is happening "live". So, if you had been running an imaging session on an object, it would be learning what is happening to the mount in that session. This means that a sub taken at the end of the session would be more accurately tracked than one at the start of the session.

This is, as davew said, not as easy as it first appears ...

[Fraunhoffer]

I think this is a great challenge.

 

[codeman]

Took this Milkyway 30 sec exposure photo last week in Namibia as part of my 300 photos for startrail..this is one 30 sec frame.

Thanks,

Haim

 

 

[happy-kat]

That was a dark site I think, nice image. If entering the challenge you'll need to post your entry in this folder and not on this thread. Would be great to know what you used to take the image.

Link here

[haitch]

I'll just point the Hyperstar at the Summer sky for 30 seconds and submit an all white frame 🙄

Edited June 24, 2019 by haitch

[-Joe_]

For mono cameras can LRGB be combined, as long as each is 30s or less?

[happy-kat]

Why not use your mono unguided unstacked 30s image for an entry, 

[Gina]

Sorry posted in error.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Gina

[fwm891]

Can this challenge be extended by a couple of weeks?