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Please help with imaging DSO's

charmedkelly

By charmedkelly
in Imaging - Discussion

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jgs001

jgs001

Posted
Posted

I think it'll really have to be a try it and see... I think you'll get away with something... You could always try hanging a weight underneath (not too heavy) from the centre of the tripod, which should help stabalise it.

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dark knight

dark knight

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Hi Kelly, don't get disheartened, getting good results with lesser equipment is as good as getting fantastic results with expensive equipment in my opinion. Don't think a good result using your equipment is any less of an achievement.

The guys above have given you some fantastic advice and there is little I can add except keep asking questions as it's good for the soul of those giving advice, not to mention the passage of knowledge which is beneficial to others.

Carl

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tooth_dr

tooth_dr

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You should consider spending some time with the camera, getting to know the settings, where the buttons are located for different things, and also the menu structure. This will help you become more familar and make life easier when you are outside in the dark with the scope.

Good luck

Adam

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vegas

vegas

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I too am just starting out with imaging and would suggest maybe trying some images with just your camera on your mount for some widefield shots. This will help you to learn about your mount's movement and give you some knowledge of exposure times, without having to worry about the scope yet. That's what I'm doing while I contemplate my scope set up.

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samtheeagle

samtheeagle

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Hey Kelly, just thought I throw in a couple of my pictures... Taken with similar equiptment to you, a 6" Newt on an EQ3-2 mount, the main difference being my use of a Nikon camera. They should give you an idea of what can be achieved, I'm still very new to this malarky, but I'm very happy with my results! :)

M45

http://i.imgur.com/i2Uog.jpg

M31

http://i.imgur.com/yZPpB.jpg

As others have already said, there's a lot to learn, it takes loads of time and patience, but it's TOTALLY worth it when you see the images start to form :rolleyes:

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jgs001

jgs001

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Very much so Kelly... Use what you have now, see how far you can go and what you can achieve... It's all a good learning experience, and I bet you'll get some good results with what you have. I only mentioned the HEQ5, as long term, if you're saving up for a replacement mount anyway, the HEQ5 is going to be a better mount than the EQ5 and it would be better to aim for the HEQ5.

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samtheeagle

samtheeagle

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The HEQ5 Syntrek is certainly on my shopping list. Now all I need is to chance upon a big wodge of cash on the street so that I can afford it! :rolleyes: But as I'm getting perfectly acceptable results from the current mount, and that the awful cloudy weather is the biggest impediment to me imaging, I'm not overly concerned about upgrading. I'm just having a lot of fun with what I've got.

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ncjunk

ncjunk

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Thats what I am talking about...perfectly good pictures from samtheeagle using the same setup. Get all the learning curve out of the way with this setup and enjoy yourself. HEq5 with syntrek would be fine and you could control it using a 15 pound usb - serial lead and eqmod loaded onto a PC, a cheap option if you want to save a bit of money rather than buy the more expensive GoTo option (in my opinion a complete waste of money).

Neil C

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jgs001

jgs001

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I'm sure you'll get some good results.

Will you have to alter the image in software...

Yep... fraid so :rolleyes:....

Firstly, you need to get a series of images... (light frames)... say 30seconds each at ISO800. Then, cap the scope and take another series of 30 second images at ISO800 (with the cap on).. these are dark frames... Then load them into Deep Sky Stacker, click select all, register checked pictures, and let it get on with it. Then when finished, the fun starts... Martinb wrote some good tutorials on this in the imaging primer section, and that will produce better results IMHO than the adjustments in DSS, but the adjustments in DSS are easier to deal with (although I find them a bit harsh). But get some data to play with first.

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jgs001

jgs001

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That's the exposure time on the camera... Rather than mucking about with Bulb at the moment, set the camera to M on the mode dial, adjust the shutter speed to 30 seconds (probably on a wheel in the top of the camera, near the shutter button) I'm not sure on the 10d, where the shutter speed is displayed, probably on the little LCD on the top. Then when you press the shutter button, the camera will open the shutter for 30 seconds then close it again. Have a play with the camera, adjusting the settings during the day, and you'll see what I mean.

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jgs001

jgs001

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If you can get 2 to 3 minutes per image, you'll get less, but there'll be more in each... however, even at 30 seconds, if you can get over 100 of them, you'll get stuff...

Here's an example... I have an unmodded SLR, so it's not at all sensitive to the IR of red emission nebula...

astro :: m52bubble.jpg picture by johns_bucketofphotos - Photobucket

The bubble has shown up clearly, but it took 132 exposures to do it. The shot details are in the frame (that was with a short tube Achromat refractor on a totally inappropriate mount, lighter than your EQ mount, and tracking in AltAz, not Equatorial)...

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