[batscanner2]

I'm fairly new to the K-1ii; love the astrotracing capability, which is why I bought it. I have been shooting night-sky pix for several years (using a Canon 6D) and am a long-time Mac user. I just saw a really amazing shot on a FB group (Astrophotography for Beginners) that was shot with a K-1ii and a 300mm lens... really killer. The photog said that he stacked 180 shots (including 30 darks) in Sequator, which is an app that I know a lot of night-sky folks use. Unfortunately it is PC only. I am seriously considering buying a PC (laptop, hopefully) specifically to use in processing stacked images... on the Mac I use Starry Landscape Stacker, but I don't think that is as capable as Sequator (from what I've seen). What apps does anyone use for stacking, and if on a PC, can you recommend a specific brand/model?

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Last edited by batscanner2; 11-15-2021 at 01:19 PM.

[bwgv001]

I believe there are also some similar apps for the mac:
?Starry Landscape Stacker on the Mac*App*Store

[batscanner2]

I believe there are also some similar apps for the mac:
?Starry Landscape Stacker on the Mac*App*Store

Hi bwgv001--I do have Starry Landscape Stacker (I wrote above that I have Deep Sky Stacker, which is incorrect) and it is pretty good. I think that Sequator may be slightly more capable. THanks for the reply! (I am going to edit my original message so it correctly states that I have Starry Landscape Stacker.)

[cmohr]

Just use bootcamp on your mac . you can then run Windows10 on a separate partition, and run any PC programs or apps you want, save all your files to a separate drive so as you can access them from either OS or windows.

[batscanner2]

Thanks, cmohr... I think I will try that.

[i_trax]

I run successfully Parallels ( VM) on all my Macs for as far back as I can remember.
It runs happily on M1 ( with OS 11 and/or 12 ) with WIN 10 and/or 11.
There is fully functional free Demo , you can test it.

[MossyRocks]

For free if you can run Deep Sky Stacker (DSS) or Sequator (both windows only but supposedly can work under wine) they are pretty good. Another free option some in the astro group use is Sirril but I haven't figured out that program yet but it is open source and I believe runs on Mac. If one is willing to pay for software a really good option that support Windows, Mac, and Linux is Astro Pixel Processor (APP) and that is what I use. It is rather slow but does a great job with alignment and correcting things and for things like correcting light pollution, sky color, star color, and gradients it does a much better job than Sequator and DSS doesn't do any of that. There is a free 30 day trial for it so you can give it a try. I find it gives really good results to start from. I do the editing of the output mostly in GIMP and RawTherapee as both let me stay with 32bit tifs unlike photoshop that makes you go to 16bit for most things. That allows you to really bang on the image if you have enough data which is possible when getting many hours of exposure. I also use StarNet++ which I believe runs everywhere as well as it is a great way to get a starless image so that you can split the stacked image into starless and stars layers to process them separately.

I forgot to mention that if you want to get into astrophotography go join the astrophotography group. We are a friendly lot, will more than likely be falling over ourselves to offer help, and I think there is atleast one mac user over there. Ask question early and often and we will give lots of advice on how to improve with shooting and processing. There are a number of beginners there now just starting out with some bright easy targets like M45 (the Plieades), M31 (Andromeda), and M42 (the Great Orion Nebula) as they are all up now. Also there is an eclipse coming this Friday morning so if you want to be up in the middle of the night you can have some fun trying that.

Here is what I managed with that software setup, astrotracer, my K-3, and my 400mm lens with almost 9 hours of 20s exposures last Orion season. I would like to go and take another stab at reprocessing it as I think I can do better. All images were taken from within the core 7 county metro area of Minneapolis and St. Paul so light pollution is really a killer here. And here is a quick processing of M31 (Andromeda) from last year as well with less exposure but using the same software, setup, and location.

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Last edited by MossyRocks; 11-16-2021 at 08:23 AM. Reason: Wanted to add more and an invite to the astro group

[batscanner2]

For free if you can run Deep Sky Stacker (DSS) or Sequator (both windows only but supposedly can work under wine) they are pretty good. Another free option some in the astro group use is Sirril but I haven't figured out that program yet but it is open source and I believe runs on Mac. If one is willing to pay for software a really good option that support Windows, Mac, and Linux is Astro Pixel Processor (APP) and that is what I use. It is rather slow but does a great job with alignment and correcting things and for things like correcting light pollution, sky color, star color, and gradients it does a much better job than Sequator and DSS doesn't do any of that. There is a free 30 day trial for it so you can give it a try. I find it gives really good results to start from. I do the editing of the output mostly in GIMP and RawTherapee as both let me stay with 32bit tifs unlike photoshop that makes you go to 16bit for most things. That allows you to really bang on the image if you have enough data which is possible when getting many hours of exposure. I also use StarNet++ which I believe runs everywhere as well as it is a great way to get a starless image so that you can split the stacked image into starless and stars layers to process them separately.

I forgot to mention that if you want to get into astrophotography go join the astrophotography group. We are a friendly lot, will more than likely be falling over ourselves to offer help, and I think there is atleast one mac user over there. Ask question early and often and we will give lots of advice on how to improve with shooting and processing. There are a number of beginners there now just starting out with some bright easy targets like M45 (the Plieades), M31 (Andromeda), and M42 (the Great Orion Nebula) as they are all up now. Also there is an eclipse coming this Friday morning so if you want to be up in the middle of the night you can have some fun trying that.

Here is what I managed with that software setup, astrotracer, my K-3, and my 400mm lens with almost 9 hours of 20s exposures last Orion season. I would like to go and take another stab at reprocessing it as I think I can do better. All images were taken from within the core 7 county metro area of Minneapolis and St. Paul so light pollution is really a killer here. And here is a quick processing of M31 (Andromeda) from last year as well with less exposure but using the same software, setup, and location.

Hey MossyRocks, thanks for your very informative post. Your linked images are great. I have yet to make a serious attempt of a deep-sky object, but am hoping to get into it next season. (We have a cabin on the Gunflint Trail in northeastern MN, and it is a dark-sky paradise.) I just joined the Astrophotography group, and am looking forward to checking out the posts and info there. I'll also look into Astro Pixel Processor... that one is new to me.

[MossyRocks]

I have yet to make a serious attempt of a deep-sky object, but am hoping to get into it next season. (We have a cabin on the Gunflint Trail in northeastern MN, and it is a dark-sky paradise.) I just joined the Astrophotography group, and am looking forward to checking out the posts and info there. I'll also look into Astro Pixel Processor... that one is new to me.

.

I like posting images as it provides evidence of what can be done and also gives something specific to talk to. As far as pay software another popular stacker for astro images is Pixel Insight (PI) but I haven't used that one but is another one that is highly regarded and also considered to be a lot better than the free options. I think PI also runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux and would be another good option.

Why wait until next season. The birght easy to find starter objects are up now and even with a slow old 200mm (I used a M42 mount S-M-C 200mm F/4 Takumar) one can get a great shot of the really interesting stuff in Orion (The great Orion Nebula, Running Man, Flame Nebula, Horse head nebula all in one shot), a nice but somewhat wide framing of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and again a somewhat wide but still good framing of the Pleiades (M45). Astro shooting takes practice and editing also takes a lot of practice so waiting to start just means it will be even longer before you really start getting great results

I know where the Gunflint is and it has been years since I have been up there and yes it is a dark-sky paradise. Another fun place to go shoot some ultrawide astro is out past Morris where there is a nice dark bortle 2 spot. There is a nice old stone barn outside of Chokio, MN and in early June one can get some great Milky Way shots over it. I assume since you have a place up off the Gunflint that you are in MN, I have a lake place also in a fairly dark area and want to go out on the lake once it freezes over this winter. It isn't that nice dark bortle 2 or 1 that places up along the gunflint are but it is a dark bortle 3 on one of the lesser lakes near Garrison. If you are on the MN photography group on Facebook you may have seen some of my posts there. I am one of the few who posts astro images fairly regularly and of those who do I am the only one running Pentax.

As far as the astro group goes I am working on writing up my current astro image editing process with an image of M45 that I currently working on. So in the next few days expect to see a new thread from me with that.

[batscanner2]

.

I like posting images as it provides evidence of what can be done and also gives something specific to talk to. As far as pay software another popular stacker for astro images is Pixel Insight (PI) but I haven't used that one but is another one that is highly regarded and also considered to be a lot better than the free options. I think PI also runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux and would be another good option.

Why wait until next season. The birght easy to find starter objects are up now and even with a slow old 200mm (I used a M42 mount S-M-C 200mm F/4 Takumar) one can get a great shot of the really interesting stuff in Orion (The great Orion Nebula, Running Man, Flame Nebula, Horse head nebula all in one shot), a nice but somewhat wide framing of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and again a somewhat wide but still good framing of the Pleiades (M45). Astro shooting takes practice and editing also takes a lot of practice so waiting to start just means it will be even longer before you really start getting great results

I know where the Gunflint is and it has been years since I have been up there and yes it is a dark-sky paradise. Another fun place to go shoot some ultrawide astro is out past Morris where there is a nice dark bortle 2 spot. There is a nice old stone barn outside of Chokio, MN and in early June one can get some great Milky Way shots over it. I assume since you have a place up off the Gunflint that you are in MN, I have a lake place also in a fairly dark area and want to go out on the lake once it freezes over this winter. It isn't that nice dark bortle 2 or 1 that places up along the gunflint are but it is a dark bortle 3 on one of the lesser lakes near Garrison. If you are on the MN photography group on Facebook you may have seen some of my posts there. I am one of the few who posts astro images fairly regularly and of those who do I am the only one running Pentax.

As far as the astro group goes I am working on writing up my current astro image editing process with an image of M45 that I currently working on. So in the next few days expect to see a new thread from me with that.

I've read a bit about Pixinsight, which seems to be highly capable but everyone says it has a very steep learning curve. It is available for the Mac, and I might try that this winter. I'm in Minneapolis for the winter, so no dark-sky pix here. I also need a different lens to attempt deep-sky stuff with my Pentax; right now all I have is a 15mm Irix which is great for wide Milky Way stuff but not so much for DSO (I just got my Pentax this summer). So my plan is to research lenses etc and get a better one so next spring, when we're back up on the Gunflint Trail, I can venture into DSO photos.

---------- Post added 11-17-21 at 12:05 PM ----------

I've read a bit about Pixinsight, which seems to be highly capable but everyone says it has a very steep learning curve. It is available for the Mac, and I might try that this winter. I'm in Minneapolis for the winter, so no dark-sky pix here. I also need a different lens to attempt deep-sky stuff with my Pentax; right now all I have is a 15mm Irix which is great for wide Milky Way stuff but not so much for DSO (I just got my Pentax this summer). So my plan is to research lenses etc and get a better one so next spring, when we're back up on the Gunflint Trail, I can venture into DSO photos.

MossyRocks PS, nice shots... what a great old barn!

[MossyRocks]

I'm in Minneapolis for the winter, so no dark-sky pix here.

Most of my DSO stuff is shot in the core 7 county metro area. Getting out into suburbs and you can get some skies good enough for the brighter objects like those I have posted images of. The one with almost 9 hours of 20s shots of the great Orion Nebula (M42) was shot entirely within the 7 county metro area without any filters (light pollution, narrow band, or otherwise) on an unmodified K-3 so nothing impressive camera wise. If you want a good somewhat close place to shoot from there is the Phasianus WPA out by Hutchinson. There is a nice grass parking lot and so long as you aren't out there camping or out all night it is open to night use. I have shot there a few times and it provides nice wide open skies. It is also reasonably dark and darker than where I shoot from in the cities but is a farther drive.

I also need a different lens to attempt deep-sky stuff with my Pentax; right now all I have is a 15mm Irix which is great for wide Milky Way stuff but not so much for DSO (I just got my Pentax this summer). So my plan is to research lenses etc and get a better one so next spring, when we're back up on the Gunflint Trail, I can venture into DSO photos.

For a good cheap starter lens you would be hard pressed to do better than one of the older 200/4 pentax lenses. For well under $100 you can get a Pentax A, M, K, or M42 200/4 just about any day of the week locally. Like I said I run an S-M-C 200/4 Takumar in M42 mount and Pete_XL has run a SMC M 200/4 with great results. With those lenses when you nail the focus they are great astro lenses at f/5.6. One lens to stay away from for astro is the 100/2.8 macros as they purple fringe like mad for astro. If you want more reach than 200mm I have the old Sigma 300mm F/4 APO Tele Macro and it is also great for astro at f/5.6 and I got my copy of that lens at National Camera for a stole it price of $130. For my big long glass I use the SMC A* 400/2.8 ED [IF] which becomes perfect at f/3.5 and that lens really is something special across the board and even running it wide open is absolutely great but gets perfect really fast by stopping down only 1/2 a stop. Going wider than 200 if you can find a good deal on the Samyang/Rokinon 135mm F/2 UMC you will end up with another great astro lens that many consider to be among the best of the best but even it isn't quite as good as the Pentax SMC A* 400/2.8 but it is the closest that I have run. Going wider still any of the 50/1.4 lenses produce great results when run at f/2.8. I have the S-M-C 50/1.4 Takumar in M42 mount and have gotten great results for wide astro shooting on things like Orion and Cygnus. I also will run the SMC A 50/1.2 at f/2 and get great results with it as well on the same objects. For my ultrawide milky way stuff I run the Laowa 12/2.8 Zero-D but I also have recently acquired the SMC K 35/2 and SMC K 30/2.8 which I have found are again great little astro lenses even if wide open show some minor coma. There are lots of good general camera lenses that work very well for astro.

For summer DSOs you will be dealing with dimmer ones that are harder to find as M42, M45 and M31 will be down unless you are shooting late in the summer when M31 reappears. That isn't to say that the brighter easier ones can't be shot but there for a starter I would start with things in Cygnus as they are easy to find as they are close to the main stars in it.

[batscanner2]

Oy... I have SO much to learn about lenses in the Pentax world. It sounds like all of these are screw mount, so what I need with my K-1ii is the Pentax K to M42 adapter... am I getting this right? (have only had the K-1ii since summer and did a lot of Milky Way stuff with it. I came from the Canon world so the Pentax system is somewhat baffling to me.) Your post is a wealth of info, both about lenses and the seasonality of the DSOs. We may head up to the cabin this winter, which would be awesome because our elevated deck faces south and has a great view of Orion. I need to get some gear and play with it... I guess the first thing is the adapter. I am looking at this article:
How to use/meter Manual & M42 Lenses on all Pentax DSLRs (K-1, K-3, K-5, K-30, etc) - PentaxForums.com

Just for grins, I will try to post a photo taken this summer with the K-1... near Grand Marais, MN. I took this during the Perseid meteor shower, and this is a comp that includes meteors from 3 different shots. Now if I can figure out how to post a photo to this forum, life will be good... (new to this forum as well, and finding it a bit of a learning curve as far as how to reply etc). https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=555790&stc=1&d=1637187196

[MossyRocks]

Oy... I have SO much to learn about lenses in the Pentax world. It sounds like all of these are screw mount, so what I need with my K-1ii is the Pentax K to M42 adapter... am I getting this right?

Yes getting the official Pentax M42 to K adapter is the way to go. I think I only listed 2 screw mount lenses that I used which were my 200/4 and 50/1.4 but both of those lenses are also available in K-mount variants as well. When I mentioned K, M, and A versions those are all K-mount but successively newer. The K lenses are the oldest k-mount lenses these are all manual. The M lenses are the second generation of K-mount lenses and there was an effort to attempt to make them smaller if possible, but for things like the 50/1.4 and telephotos there really wasn't much that can be done but these are also entirely manual lenses. The next generation of K-mount lenses was the A lenses and these offered the first automatic aperture so the camera could control it. After that you have the F which were the first autofocus lenses and then followed by the second generation autofocus lenses the FA but these were all film era lenses (not necessarily bad). After that there was the DA lenses where are the APS-C digital lenses and then the DFA lenses that are full frame digital lenses. It took me a while to get all that figured out and I only came over from the the film world 4 years ago and there I used my old Spotmatic F (a M42 mount camera). Beyond that there are all sorts of other variants like the limited lenses and the * lenses. I don't think Canon has something similar to the Pentas limited lenses but those lenses are meant to be special and offer something unique. However the Pentax * lenses do have something from Canon that is similar which would be the L-series lenses and my experience with my one Pentax * lens I would say that it is optically better than Canon's current offering because I have taken lots of astro shots with mine and have seen lots of astro shots from the Canon one.

If I were you I would look to getting that old 200/4 Super Takumar (M42 mount) that I linked to in a previous post. Also if you go down to National Camera pick up any Pentax 50/1.4 k-mount as it is hard to go wrong owning one and they usually have a few Pentax FA 50/1.4 lenses available so you can have an autofocus auto aperture lens to use. Beyond that finding good Pentax astro lenses gest harder as there are just fewer Pentax shooters so the used gear availability is less there. There are lots of good lenses but the K 35/2 or K30//2.8 are a lot less common that any of the 50/1.7 body cap lenses or even the 135/3.5 portrait lenses that are floating around in massive numbers. The other problem you will face is that the more interesting high end Pentax compatible glass at National Camera usually gets bought up by me in fairly short order. Also with a 50mm lens on full frame you can get a nice framing of the body of Orion and with enough exposure you can get lots of things to show up. This isn't my picture but will give an idea of what you can photograph in orion with a somewhat similar framing to a 50mm and I do want to try and replicate this image in some form.

[batscanner2]

OK, once again, thanks for sharing all your info on lenses... you ought to work for Pentax. I just bought that 200mm lens from National Camera, and also have a Pentax M42 adapter on the way. Loved your comment that the high-end Pentax compatible lenses usually get bought up by you... LOL!

[MossyRocks]

Loved your comment that the high-end Pentax compatible lenses usually get bought up by you... LOL!

Well I've been shooting Pentax for over 20 years now so I have the common stuff and I need another 50mm like I need a hole in my head. I keep my eyes open for things that I plan to flip for a nice tidy profit, sadly stuff I bought planning on doing that I've never actually done, and for things that a better than what I have or that I find interesting. As time progresses that list gets smaller and smaller so it is mostly the really rare or exceptional that I will snap up. I know there must be some nice * and limited lenses floating around in the twin cities but I've never seen them show up at National Camera.

OK, once again, thanks for sharing all your info on lenses... you ought to work for Pentax.

Probably not work for them and I think society would generally be better with me doing my current job, securing the control systems that run power grids, than working for an imaging company. However I wouldn't mind being a Pentax ambassador and getting and putting through its paces some of that new sweet gear like the K-3iii, DFA * 50/1.4, or DFA * 85/1.4.