Night Orion Nebula with DA* 60-250mm lens

Orion Nebula with DA* 60-250mm lens · **5 Likes**

Last night the sky was clear and Orion looked magnificent in the sky. This is the first time I have tried to use my DA* 60-250mm lens for an astro photo and I was pleased with the results.
The technical details: Camera: Pentax K5; lens: Pentax DA* 60-250mm f4 zoom @ 200mm and f5.6; ISO =1600, exposure = 15 seconds using Pentax Astrotracer function of O-GPS1 unit. Forty-two shots stacked in DeepSkyStacker and then further processed in Photoshop CS4.

Aaron28 · 01-11-2016, 10:47 PM - **1 Like**

very nice!

**volley** · 01-11-2016, 10:50 PM - **1 Like**

Beautiful shot

WaxPhotographic · 01-12-2016, 01:11 AM - **1 Like**

Awesome shot! Did you do any darkframes?

**SointulArt** · 01-12-2016, 08:52 AM

Originally posted by WaxPhotographic

Awesome shot! Did you do any darkframes?

No. No darks, flats or bias frames. This was a quick test to see how the lens would perform. The next clear night I will try a full suite of lights, darks, flats and bias frames and see how much better the result will be.

gtis · 01-12-2016, 10:45 AM - **1 Like**

How did you focus the lens
Neil

apete · 01-12-2016, 12:45 PM - **1 Like**

This is awesome! Congrats!

bertwert · 01-12-2016, 01:45 PM - **1 Like**

Awesome shot!

**SointulArt** · 01-12-2016, 06:13 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by gtis

How did you focus the lens
Neil

I manually focused the lens using live view. Even though the 60-250mm zoom is f4, a few of the brighter stars in Orion are visible in live view and the stars pop into focus reasonably easily. Especially when zoomed to 10x view.

Adam · 12-19-2017, 11:23 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by SointulArt

Last night the sky was clear and Orion looked magnificent in the sky. This is the first time I have tried to use my DA* 60-250mm lens for an astro photo and I was pleased with the results.
The technical details: Camera: Pentax K5; lens: Pentax DA* 60-250mm f4 zoom @ 200mm and f5.6; ISO =1600, exposure = 15 seconds using Pentax Astrotracer function of O-GPS1 unit. Forty-two shots stacked in DeepSkyStacker and then further processed in Photoshop CS4.

Stunning!

**SunValley** · 12-20-2017, 07:38 PM

Very nicely done, bravo!

8540tomg · 12-20-2017, 09:43 PM - **1 Like**

Heavenly.

Tom G

**manishved** · 12-20-2017, 09:50 PM - **1 Like**

Awesome!

scottab · 12-21-2017, 05:25 PM - **1 Like**

Incredible image, I would love to try something like this with my K1 and D FA 150-450.
I have never used the Astrotracer before.
I have taken multiple night images and stacked them for star trails. So I am somewhat familiar with that part of the process.
Where and when to aim the lens would be the area that I lack the needed knowledge.
Any suggestions to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Scott.

**SointulArt** · 12-21-2017, 06:16 PM

Originally posted by scottab

Incredible image, I would love to try something like this with my K1 and D FA 150-450.
I have never used the Astrotracer before.
I have taken multiple night images and stacked them for star trails. So I am somewhat familiar with that part of the process.
Where and when to aim the lens would be the area that I lack the needed knowledge.
Any suggestions to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Scott.

Hi Scott, I am assuming you have an the O-GPS1 unit to enable the astrotracer function. I'm not sure how successful you will be with using the 15-450mm lens. You would probably want to start at the shorter focal length end and work your way up, as the astrotracer works pretty well up to around 200mm, but may not be able to track for long at 450mm. Also, calibrating the O-GPS1 requires rotating/rolling the camera with the unit attached in all three axis, and that may be a little challenging with the big lens attached - be careful! With the K1 you should be able to dial the ISO up reasonably high so as to keep the exposure time down. The only thing to do is to experiment and see what you find works, In order to find things in the sky, there are some good free apps out there for your phone that can help you find objects in the night sky, for example Stellarium (available for android, iOS and for desktop), Sky Map 9android) and many others.

Have fun!
Darryl

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12-19-2017, 11:23 AM - 1 Like	#10
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,595	Originally posted by SointulArt Last night the sky was clear and Orion looked magnificent in the sky. This is the first time I have tried to use my DA* 60-250mm lens for an astro photo and I was pleased with the results. The technical details: Camera: Pentax K5; lens: Pentax DA* 60-250mm f4 zoom @ 200mm and f5.6; ISO =1600, exposure = 15 seconds using Pentax Astrotracer function of O-GPS1 unit. Forty-two shots stacked in DeepSkyStacker and then further processed in Photoshop CS4. Stunning! Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

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01-11-2016, 10:47 PM - 1 Like	#2
Aaron28 Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Huntsville, Al Posts: 7,131	very nice!

01-11-2016, 10:50 PM - 1 Like	#3
volley Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Springe Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,693	Beautiful shot

01-12-2016, 01:11 AM - 1 Like	#4
WaxPhotographic Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Salt Lake City Posts: 41	Awesome shot! Did you do any darkframes?

01-12-2016, 08:52 AM	#5
SointulArt Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Sointula, BC Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 453 Original Poster	Originally posted by WaxPhotographic Awesome shot! Did you do any darkframes? No. No darks, flats or bias frames. This was a quick test to see how the lens would perform. The next clear night I will try a full suite of lights, darks, flats and bias frames and see how much better the result will be.

01-12-2016, 10:45 AM - 1 Like	#6
gtis Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: south yorkshire Photos: Gallery Posts: 85	How did you focus the lens Neil

01-12-2016, 12:45 PM - 1 Like	#7
apete Senior Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 249	This is awesome! Congrats!

01-12-2016, 01:45 PM - 1 Like	#8
bertwert Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Golden, BC Posts: 15,173	Awesome shot!

01-12-2016, 06:13 PM - 1 Like	#9
SointulArt Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Sointula, BC Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 453 Original Poster	Originally posted by gtis How did you focus the lens Neil I manually focused the lens using live view. Even though the 60-250mm zoom is f4, a few of the brighter stars in Orion are visible in live view and the stars pop into focus reasonably easily. Especially when zoomed to 10x view.

12-20-2017, 07:38 PM	#11
SunValley Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Montreal, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 573	Very nicely done, bravo!

12-20-2017, 09:43 PM - 1 Like	#12
8540tomg Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Waterloo, Ontario Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,461	Heavenly. Tom G

12-20-2017, 09:50 PM - 1 Like	#13
manishved Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: N. Calif Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,652	Awesome!

12-21-2017, 05:25 PM - 1 Like	#14
scottab Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 76	Incredible image, I would love to try something like this with my K1 and D FA 150-450. I have never used the Astrotracer before. I have taken multiple night images and stacked them for star trails. So I am somewhat familiar with that part of the process. Where and when to aim the lens would be the area that I lack the needed knowledge. Any suggestions to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Scott.

12-21-2017, 06:16 PM	#15
SointulArt Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Sointula, BC Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 453 Original Poster	Originally posted by scottab Incredible image, I would love to try something like this with my K1 and D FA 150-450. I have never used the Astrotracer before. I have taken multiple night images and stacked them for star trails. So I am somewhat familiar with that part of the process. Where and when to aim the lens would be the area that I lack the needed knowledge. Any suggestions to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Scott. Hi Scott, I am assuming you have an the O-GPS1 unit to enable the astrotracer function. I'm not sure how successful you will be with using the 15-450mm lens. You would probably want to start at the shorter focal length end and work your way up, as the astrotracer works pretty well up to around 200mm, but may not be able to track for long at 450mm. Also, calibrating the O-GPS1 requires rotating/rolling the camera with the unit attached in all three axis, and that may be a little challenging with the big lens attached - be careful! With the K1 you should be able to dial the ISO up reasonably high so as to keep the exposure time down. The only thing to do is to experiment and see what you find works, In order to find things in the sky, there are some good free apps out there for your phone that can help you find objects in the night sky, for example Stellarium (available for android, iOS and for desktop), Sky Map 9android) and many others. Have fun! Darryl