First attempt at colour with QHY8Pro - M13

[Helen]

I've finally managed to get some data with the QHY8Pro . I still have a long way to go though as I had to bin half the subs and not all the ones I kept are particularly sharp (but I needed to get something stacked!). I also have a GREAT deal to learn about colour processing .

Nexstar 8 GPS on wedge, f10, unguided

20x20s subs (from 40) captured in Ezcap (I can't get the QHY ascom driver to work with astroart or Nebulosity ), stacked in DSS and processed lightly in CS2.

Any guidance on colour balance etc would be very welcome!

The next challenges are to stop the slippage and get the guiding up and running. Maybe tonight...

Helen

[MartinB]

Unguided, 2000mm and F10, crikey that's good. It's come out very well.

Colour...there's lots of fancy things you can do but try this cheap and cheerful tweak. Go to colour balance, select highlights and move the blue/yellow slider over to the blue side. This should help deal with the yellow cast. There may be a little too much green in there. Don't over do it though!

[Helen]

Thanks Martin. I did as you suggested and I much prefer this version

[Aza]

Nice one! Another tip for the colour balance is to let DSS sort it out automatically when stacking.

After clicking 'Stack checked pictures' in DSS, click recommended settings.

In that section you can scroll down and ensure you use the option that says:

"If the colour balance in the resulting image is hard to fix......."

[Helen]

Thanks Arran!

[Beyond_Vision]

Thats a lovely image Helen really sharp and excellent tracking. The cluster is very well resolved to. I bet you have been pulling your hair out with the driver issues etc.

Looking forward to seeing more

Regards

Kevin

[barkis]

Excellent stuff Helen, you did a good job here. Mastering the processing is a big step, but you're on the way, and it's great that help is always forthcoming. I'm sure you are going to excel with that camera.

Ron.

[Helen]

Thanks guys! I'm hoping to do some more testing tonight and try guiding with the ATiK16 - you'll probably be able to hear me muttering Kevin!

Helen