M45 Widefield

[mackiedlm]

My first try at this target. I used 3 different exposures and 2 different ISO's to try to get structure in the nebulosity but didn't quite manage it. Maybe I need wider difference in long/short exposures? Or maybe i need more FL to show that structure? Or ......?

Anyway:

EOS1100D (unmodded), Skywatcer Star Adventurer mount
Vintage Pentacon 135mm lens
30x 90s @ISO800, 21X 90s ISO1600, 30X 120s ISO800 (total 2hrs 15mins)
Around 30 flats, darks, dark flats and 80 bias for each set of lights
Stacked and initial post processing in APP, final tweaks in Photoshop

Comments and suggestions for improvement please.

[alacant]

Hi. Nice image.

Deconvolution may bring some more detail. Otherwise as you've already guessed, it may be better to use a longer lens, say 300mm.

Cheers and HTH.