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What goes through your mind when......


geppetto

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When say, youve tweaked your gear to its best and taken a DSO image just to find somebody

posted an image of the same DSO but 100 times better than yours because his/her gear is much

better or he/she has a darker site or more skills.

Do you look at yours and think well, I'll get better pictures when I've spent on some better gear

or do you appreciate that you got the best from what you have available and that your image is

just as viable as theirs.

In my case, my earning power was cut short by back problems and as such the gear that I have now

will probably be it for me (unless I win the lottery) and as such my astronomy turn on is getting the

max out of what I have.

Still doesn't stop me being a tad envious now and again though :D

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You can't think that you will get better images if you spend more money or you end up living in a cardboard box next to the hubble control station. This is the exact same reason i havn't really got into imaging. It's EXPENSIVE and theres always someone getting better images with more expensive equipment/darker skies. I just look and im always amazed! Better than TV

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well, I'm lucky I guess in that I have access to certain... expensive toys of imaging nature shall we say. It in no way stops me being amazed at the images that people with a simple webcam and a 70mm Tasco produce. I have been there and done that and just because I have better toys doesn't mean my images are better.

Arthur

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I m with you Gordon, Do the best with what ya got theirs always going to be someone with better gear better skies, BUT JUST THINK WHEN ITS CLOUDY Like most of the time and light pollution what it is and getting worse, at least you wont be thinking about all that cash tied up and you cant use it food for thought.

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Hey Phil i see you have the SC1.5 i your kit line up.

Its just my opinion mate but you have not even touched the tip of the iceberg

as where its capabilities are concerned.

Also i do think you have to look at your own capabilities too. (not you personaly)

One hasn't been used enough and the other still has a lot to experience and learn. (thats part of the fun in my book)

Do what you do for you not cos the Joneses do it.

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My best images are some of the first that I did.

These came from the DSLR plus 400, 500 and 600mm camera lenses.

I initially got the 200mm Newt. and stuck the camera on it. The results (I thought) were poor and I, of course, blamed a lack of spending. these later processed up OK.

Read about the super contrast with a Frac. and bought one. Very good on the moon, but same as the Newt. but with less aperture and wetter knees.

Splashed out on a Mak. to get at planets, but managed to miss getting Saturn as I wasn't aware that it was going to go away, by the time I had got a webcam sorted it had run away. Jupiter was too low for me as well this time. Good for solar though.

So off to do DSOs, I grabbed a modified webcam as the DSLR images weren't up to much, and the SC3 images aren't any better, just more zoomed in and lacking colour.

Deciding that I lacked aperture, I built the Skelescope which is very unwieldy and catches the wind a lot because its so big.

Then midsummer came when it doesn't get dark here and I had no way of doing any dark astrophotography, so I started reading about the processing with Registax and PS CS2. Going back to my earliest attempts at M42 I was able to stack them, flatten them, de-bloat the stars, stretch the channels individually, tweak the curves and voila (see re-edit M42 in DSO section) I had a great image. That's from BEFORE I bought a 'scope. 400mm camera lens, whooda thunk?

Its not what you've got, its what you do with it.

I'm still going to catch Roger (Celescope) up, just 'cos he gives away his techniques to us learners, as soon as I learn that polar alignment is NOT a 30 second job, that I need to look at the histogram before deciding to start shooting the subs, that it helps to charge the battery up, that starting with a full memory in the camera is not good, ditto laptop and that 5 30 second subs is NOT plenty.

Stretch what you have, I have the all the gear and no idea syndrome still, but as you say the turn on is getting the best out of what you have. I'm learning, I know some of it, just wish I could be arsed doing it instead of taking shortcuts.

Spending is temporarily over as I have had van issues this week (sat nav robbed via broken window then a blown engine - ouch) so I get to blame me and not the gear for the time being.

Captain Chaos

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Yeah do what ya can with what you have, iam pleased with my personal efforts though i know i can do miles better and this gives me the kick up the Bottom i need :D.

No point in getting hubble like images though i think it's ones personal gratification of getting the images that should count although aiming higher is important.

James

PS:Sorry to hear about your issues CC thats a real *******.

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I think people understand how equipment and conditions influence a photo. As an individual you have an idea where the bar has been set. Roger set the bar for modded webcams so I know what is possible with a similar set up.

Of course you are never going to produce as good an image as a well executed observatory shot with state of the art gear from darkest Arizona but that's not really the point IMHO.

However it is easy to assume that people only produce great images because they have expensive kit. A well executed shot with cheap gear will be better than a sloppy effort with top dollar stuff. How many people on this forum routinely drift align? How about really careful analysis of focus using the various software tools available. Setting up accurate guiding isn't straight forward but not necessarily that expensive, how many of us are doing that? Careful PEC training??? Giving images enough exposure - 3 hours isn't extreme. Then there's proper understanding of processing techniques.

Most of the people using top end gear do so cos they are seriously enthusiastic and for the great majority of them all the above is routine. They would probably be producing very good images with cheap gear. They may not be the best people to have a conversation with over a pint though :D

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I think people understand how equipment and conditions influence a photo

Now that is a very important point Martin 8)

Its interesting that we can post images of all qualities on this forum and folk here recognise

that somebody has achieved a lot from a little.

Never seen an image criticised because there are better ones to see.

Its important that newcomers feel comfortable putting their hard gained images amongst

some of the stunning stuff we are being treated to on here of late.

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Interesting thread guys. You are all correct. You can get excellent images from cheaper gear - it is just harder - and the best gear, handled well, will produce better images than cheaper gear handled to the same standard. BUT >> The thing is to get the most you can from the gear you have. I have had lots of fun ((and frustration) from DSLR images of DSOs, simple prime focus and 30 sec images stacked. I have produced images I never thought I could produce a couple of years ago. These images aren't a patch on some of the images on this Forum. But I know the fun (and pain) I had getting mine.

More expensive gear may improve what I can produce - but only if I put in the time to ensure I am using it to its potential.

Sometimes though - just spending an evening LOOKING at the stars is better than spending a few hours trying to capture that elusive image. But we all get our kicks from different aspects of this hobby, that is one of the things that makes Astronomy so great.

Tom

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I'ts like most hobbies...You can spend loadsa money on the latest imaging kit.....Doesn't mean your'e going to take a good pic...There still has to be a certain ammount of talent....

As has already been said....Enjoy the hobby, doesn't matter if the pics you take are not the Hubble standard...I think we are all on a learning curve..It's just nice to have positive feedback from more experienced imagers.

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Sometimes though - just spending an evening LOOKING at the stars is better than spending a few hours trying to capture that elusive image.

How true is that? For me - just actually beginning to *look* through a scope - having imaged lots of stuff is a bonus because I have an idea of what I am looking at. My pics were not the best but they give me an overall idea of what to look for. In this respect it doesn't matter if your pics are good or bad (not that it does in other respects either) but that you've taken them and have a reference point.

Arthur

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IMHO The more you put into it ( I don't mean money ) the more you get out of it. That also includes the time to research methods looking at other peoples work and trying to learn how they took that picture settings eta . Its only one aspect of astronomy though, I love just looking too, as well as learning what I'm looking at makes things even more interesting.

RD

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Interesting topic this, I like using other peoples images as an inspiration to have a go at objects I've not tried, and to appreciate the effect that different scopes, mounts and camera's can have on how the objects look, as you've already said just because the kit has cost thousands, doesn't allways mean the images are going to be top quality, so many other factors to consider, LP, skill level, luck !, seeing, and loads more !, I think any effort that results in a recognisable object is marvelous, they all make me smile :D, just love to see them all.

Having said all that, when my scope and camera are taking images I love gazing up with my bino's and just wandering across the sky, very soothing.

Alan

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