Orion 1st attempt with a ZWO 120MC-S - an amateur attempt

[Dean Hale]

Hello all,

A few weeks ago i purchased a ZWO 120MC-S and a AZ GTI mount and finally managed an attempt at capturing Orion using a Bresser 102/460xs.

The before and after are attached - PhotoShop was used for the editing. Firecapture on a mac for the recording - 30 seconds.  No where near as good as most images that are added, however delighted what is hidden and can be found using my modest setup - lot's to learn, however i'm very pleased 

I used  Firecapture on a Mac and Crossover to run Pipp and Autostakkert! (first attempt). Attached is the Firecapture settings file - i'd appreciate any suggestions on setting tweaks or any other advice. 

Thank you

FireCapture v2.6  Settings
------------------------------------
Camera=ZWO ASI120MC-S
Filter=B
Profile=DSO
Filename=DSO_232914_271220.ser
Date=271220
Start=232859.796
Mid=232914.843
End=232929.890
Start(UT)=232859.796
Mid(UT)=232914.843
End(UT)=232929.890
Duration=30.094s
Date_format=ddMMyy
Time_format=HHmmss
LT=UT 
Frames captured=32
File type=SER
Binning=no
ROI=1280x960
ROI(Offset)=0x0
FPS (avg.)=1
Shutter=1.00s
Gain=81 (81%)
Overclock=0 (off)
WRed=52 (off)
USBTraffic=86 (off)
Brightness=3 (off)
SoftwareGain=10 (off)
WBlue=95 (off)
FPS=100 (off)
AutoGain=off
AutoHisto=75 (off)
Gamma=100 (off)
AutoExposure=off
HighSpeed=off
Histogramm(min)=2
Histogramm(max)=4095
Histogramm=100%
Noise(avg.deviation)=n/a
Limit=30 Seconds
Sensor temperature=16.2°C
 

[Dean Hale]

Getting a little better (yep quite a lot of photoshop editing - but starting to get a little detail and colour). Also quite hard at the moment to get the practice in owing to the lack of clear nights. I know the ZWO 120 is not really for deep sky nor is my equipment - but good for me to understand the basics plus i find it quite a relaxing way to while away a few hours.

30 - 5 seconds frames. Pipp, AutoStakkert. Photoshop with the photokemi tools plugin.

[smashing]

8 minutes ago, Dean Hale said:

Getting a little better (yep quite a lot of photoshop editing - but starting to get a little detail and colour). Also quite hard at the moment to get the practice in owing to the lack of clear nights. I know the ZWO 120 is not really for deep sky nor is my equipment - but good for me to understand the basics plus i find it quite a relaxing way to while away a few hours.

30 - 5 seconds frames. Pipp, AutoStakkert. Photoshop with the photokemi tools plugin.

Can you feel your wallet burning yet???

[Dean Hale]

1 minute ago, smashing said:

Can you feel your wallet burning yet???

I'm starting to get an itch that won't go away.

[smashing]

4 minutes ago, Dean Hale said:

I'm starting to get an itch that won't go away.

Welcome to the dark side...I chuckle to myself when people tell me their hobbies are expensive and my OH has stopped asking how much the small box delivered by the postman cost