March 22 - 65 % Waxing

[WestCoastCannuck]

Seeing only fair to marginal, but there were enough sharp moments to get decent resolution at prime with my new 140.  Can hardly wait to push this baby with good seeing!  (I did try a couple clips with a 1.5X barlow,  but posted results underwhelming.)

Please view the disc at full size!   Lots of tiny details to be seen.  :)))

 

 

Here was my attempt at F10.5 (ASI290mm, 1.5X barlow and 685nm - best 500of10000)).  I think perhaps there is just as much detail in the above image shot at prime with 183mm.  Seeing did not quite support.

 

Clear skies!  Thanks for looking!

 

Mike

 

 

[neil phillips]

Hi Mike first proper light congrats, Some lovely detail, tones and textures there. Bet your eager for that good seeing. Your making me pine for a mono camera again

As usual like velvet. Everyone has there own style. i tend to push a little more, trying to extract the cutoff point between as much detail, as can be extracted while still looking reasonably natural. It can sometimes backfire, A tendency to go a little too far. When it works the images can take on a dry sandy texture or tone. Down to pin pricks as per the 12" Clavius that i got with the 290m. Your style can have the opposite problem, instead of over doing it. Its easy to under do it. Your style works best under the good seeing we crave.

Both styles have merits and drawbacks of course. Supremely natural. Aesthetically nicer. Is your strength. Your effect on my perception of these things is very strong. As i keep saying. Since i have been watching your work. Ive been craving a mono cam again. Thanks for teasing my eye. And i dont say that to guys often. lol

[vineyard]

That is gorgeous - could soak up a lot of time just panning around looking at the details & textures.  Have you entered the satellites imaging challenge?  Looking fwd to seeing more w the 140.  How are you finding the 183MM (is it the Pro version)?  I'm enjoying the 290MM but every so often look at the 183MMPro as it would have full disk view (of Sun too) & could double up for DSO as well.  But not sure how the frame rates compare in practice to a dedicated planetary camera - what do you find as the pluses & minuses of them for lunar?

Cheers for the wonderful images!

[WestCoastCannuck]

22 hours ago, neil phillips said:

Hi Mike first proper light congrats, Some lovely detail, tones and textures there. Bet your eager for that good seeing. Your making me pine for a mono camera again

As usual like velvet. Everyone has there own style. i tend to push a little more, trying to extract the cutoff point between as much detail, as can be extracted while still looking reasonably natural. It can sometimes backfire, A tendency to go a little too far. When it works the images can take on a dry sandy texture or tone. Down to pin pricks as per the 12" Clavius that i got with the 290m. Your style can have the opposite problem, instead of over doing it. Its easy to under do it. Your style works best under the good seeing we crave.

Both styles have merits and drawbacks of course. Supremely natural. Aesthetically nicer. Is your strength. Your effect on my perception of these things is very strong. As i keep saying. Since i have been watching your work. Ive been craving a mono cam again. Thanks for teasing my eye. And i dont say that to guys often. lol

You have me pegged pretty well Neil as to my style and struggles!  LOL.  I am a life long amateur photographer and the aesthetics of my moon shots is very important to me.  I love the tonal contrasts and depth of things as well as details.   Your wanting a Mono camera again after seeing my work is highest praise..  Thanks so much!   Yes, this night's work was tough for me given how I like to process...  the file just did not have what it takes for the look I really want.  I DID push it further - several times....  and it just did not look right to me.  In the end I satisfied myself with what I posted.  Still good, but not quite what I wanted.   Perhaps I should share other processings occasionally...   here is the "Details over Aesthetics" version done in completely different software.  I expect some might prefer it.   😄

 

 

Clear skies!  And thanks again for your wonderful analysis!

 

Mike 

 

 

 

[WestCoastCannuck]

21 hours ago, vineyard said:

That is gorgeous - could soak up a lot of time just panning around looking at the details & textures.  Have you entered the satellites imaging challenge?  Looking fwd to seeing more w the 140.  How are you finding the 183MM (is it the Pro version)?  I'm enjoying the 290MM but every so often look at the 183MMPro as it would have full disk view (of Sun too) & could double up for DSO as well.  But not sure how the frame rates compare in practice to a dedicated planetary camera - what do you find as the pluses & minuses of them for lunar?

Cheers for the wonderful images!

Thanks so much Vineyard!  No, I have not looked at the challenge!   I will!  I like the 183mm a lot...  though its so slow compared to the 290.  (well...  20mp vs 2 - what can one expect!?)   I have the ZWO non cooled version.   I don't do DSO, so don't need the cooled.   For big file discs....  it can't be beat.   Filling the frame and doing a "one shot" still gets an image with loads of pixels.   And of course mosaics are simpler, only a few panes.   The downside is only the time for each panel.   My speed tops out using the whole 20mp at about 15fps to my laptop for 8bit capture.  I would say I like both cameras equally...  for different things.  I like the 183 enough that I may even pick up the colour version one day if I find a good deal.  The 290mm in addition to being faster, is also much more sensitive to IR.   If there was ever a bigger sensor with the 290MM pixels...  I would buy it.   But, until that day, the 183 works great for me for full discs, and mosaics.   It must be said, you can always use ROI for the 183 and get much faster frame rates.  I typically will "trim" my window as close as possible to the phase I am shooting....  can often get up over 20fps on partial phases.  Helps.

 

Cheers and Clear Skies!

 

Mike

[neil phillips]

1 hour ago, WestCoastCannuck said:

You have me pegged pretty well Neil as to my style and struggles!  LOL.  I am a life long amateur photographer and the aesthetics of my moon shots is very important to me.  I love the tonal contrasts and depth of things as well as details.   Your wanting a Mono camera again after seeing my work is highest praise..  Thanks so much!   Yes, this night's work was tough for me given how I like to process...  the file just did not have what it takes for the look I really want.  I DID push it further - several times....  and it just did not look right to me.  In the end I satisfied myself with what I posted.  Still good, but not quite what I wanted.   Perhaps I should share other processings occasionally...   here is the "Details over Aesthetics" version done in completely different software.  I expect some might prefer it.   😄

 

 

Clear skies!  And thanks again for your wonderful analysis!

 

Mike 

 

 

 

Looks good untill i open it up. Somewhere in between might have worked better perhaps Bit too pushed. But you can see the hidden detail i am referring too. One extreme to the other there Mike. I kind of meant fine tuning more. But it does show the fine detail lurking. Prefer the softer version

Edited March 26, 2021 by neil phillips

[WestCoastCannuck]

Well...  having only ONE night of data from my new scope has had its upsides.    Have found some different ways to do things.   This last version is a sort of combination of both processing techniques I posted before.  I like it.  Done now...  I think.  LOL  Also included here the single best frame from the 3000 shot as determined by AS!3 as further data.

 

Single unprocessed frame:

 

Well....  by the time I can shoot again, I should have my new Modular Barlow arrive from Harry Seibert.   I look forward greatly to using that in my system!

 

Clear skies

 

Mike