Lunar shot processing

[Texy]

I,ve taken a quick look but can't find what I,m looking for;)

Are there any tuitorials on lunar shot taking and processing, sharpening, etc?

I took a few shots last night with my D80, but they look rather grainy and could do with a little sharpening also.

Cheers,

Texy

[Brendan of Borg]

I only know of the Registax software!! Maybe worth a look!! There is a tutorial on here somewhere and it's a free download - bargain!!

[jgs001]

Texy... for single exposure shots with an SLR, registax isn't going to be of much use. if you shot a sequence then you can combine them in registax. What were the shot settings ? What software do you have access to ?

You could try unsharp mask on the image. Can you post up the image ?

[Texy]

Thanks guys. Yes I thought registax was aimed for avi's rather than stills. I can access photoshop CS3, but don't have much of a clue on how to use it!

I,ll post a pic later.

Texy

[Cornelius Varley]

You can use Registax on still images, either stacking a number of single images or loading a single tiff and applying wavelets to it.

Peter

[Texy]

This is one of the better shots from last night using my D80, Meade 8" SCT with F6.3 reducer.

Can anything be done to improve this image shot at ISO1250 for 1/400".

Texy

[jgs001]

There doesn't seem to be much wrong with that... I'd suggest dropping the ISO to minimum though.. you'll be able to get a good shot untracked at 1200mm at about 1/30 second. It's not ideal, but that keeps the noise out of it.

Try using shadows/highlights under image, adjustments, then an unsharp mask.

[Brendan of Borg]

I agree - good shot!

[brianb]

but they look rather grainy and could do with a little sharpening also.

Difficult one that ... if you apply sharpening you tend to emphasize the noise (graininess) too.

Since you have CS3, look for the "sharpness tool" - try the "lens" type (this is actually a boxcar sharpening filter, well suited to correcting lens aberrations & imperfect focusing) 100% and a radius of about 2. Fiddle with the radius till it looks right, then go smaller until it's noticably softer.

The noise is best dealt with by using a low ISO - IIRC the Nikon cameras tend to work best at ISO 200 or 400 - collecting more photons means less quantum noise, and the readout noise is independent of ISO setting. If you still need help, and stacking is too much bother (it might be with large images from DSLRs), try the noise filter in Photoshop, "despeckle" does what it says on the tin & keeps most of the fine detail too. This filter is unusual, it's the only one you should apply after sharpening.

BTW your image is beautifully exposed - that's hard to get right - but it is very soft, I think you might try to get the focus a bit more accurate next time. I know it's not easy, it's fiddly & time consuming (and error prone when the seeing is wobbly, as is usual) but the best possible focus is the key to a great image. Try taking half a dozen, refocusing between shots - you'll likely find one stands out as sharper than the rest. At least with digital the "duffers" cost you nothing but time!

[Texy]

Thanks for the advice guy's - will have a play with CS3 later. Last night I left the D80 indoors and had a go with my toucam/SPC900. I did take a few AVI's, but with the stills I managed this with a free stitcher app :

Texy

[jgs001]

Good Mosaicing there... shame about the missing bit... Did you use iMerge ? If so, as you shoot each AVI, load it into iMerge... then mosaic them as you go... that way you'll know if you miss a bit. Obviously don't save it, as you need to process each bit as you go, but it sure helps. I'd give that a smidge of contrast with curves (make it a gentle S shape)... and a high pass filter sharpen... duplicate layer, set to soft light blend mode, run the high pass filter on it set to about 10, you can adjust the setting and watch the effect of the sharpen on screen.

[jleach29]

you could also use a program like Noiseware Community Edition, it is strictly for removing the noise and grain from a shot and it is super simple to use and it is a free program. Really helpful if you do do sharpening to a shot.