Astrophotography

tonypysm · 06-12-2013, 07:16 AM - **1 Like**

Camera:Pentax K5
Mount:Astrotrc TT320
Lens:Sigma 50/1.4@F2.8 ISO 400

Stitched with 5 frames and each exposured for 4min.

tonypysm · 06-12-2013, 07:25 AM

Milky way under the High-level lightpollution. K5+DAL18-55

Startrail

Ben_Edict · 06-12-2013, 02:40 PM

Originally posted by oneeyedhawk

Here is a shot with My k01 on the first clear night in a long time

M13 came out quite nicely hard to capture because it is so bright the center overexposes
to the left is spiral galaxy ngc 6207 at 12 mag
5- 30 sec exposure 6400 iso attached to a stellarvue 102 mm scope
stacked with deep sky stacker

I usually use my K5 The k01 is very comparable and lighter on the end of the scope
Hank

This is also a nice image with good resolution of the stars inside the globe. But it looks as whether you've got a slight misalignment?

Ben

**Ex Finn.** · 06-12-2013, 04:14 PM

Nice images everyone, thanks for sharing.

djseeram · 06-14-2013, 10:16 PM

@tony - excellent images.

GWARmachine · 07-12-2013, 10:37 PM - **1 Like**

Hello All! I haven't posted here in a while but I have been reading and trying to keep up. Great pics everyone! I FINALLY got some clear skies after rain season here in Japan. I'll be back in the States this September but I'm being stationed in Pittsburgh, the 3rd cloudiest city in USA...ARGH! Enjoy!

M8 & M20. Pentax K5iis, Orion ED80mmT CF + field flattener, f/6, iso3200, 106second single exposure. Tracked with AstroTrac.

Beautiful sky over our campsite on Oshima Island, Yamaguchi Japan.
Pentax K5iis, Sigma 8-16@13mm, iso1600, f/4.5, 209second single exposure. O-GPS1 used for tracking.

Dr_who · 07-14-2013, 01:12 PM

More of a test photo to test how large M33 would be in my setup. I live fairly north and the sun sets at 11:40 but twilight never 100% goes away this time of year. Also it was just over the tree line so no the best location for imaging. Over it made me look forward to imaging in darker skies.

Attached Images

bossa · 07-15-2013, 01:43 AM - **1 Like**

I thought that you guys might appreciate the following link.. some absolutely astonishing shots to be found there.

2013 CWAS Astrophotography Exhibition and Competition - "David Malin Awards"

VisualDarkness · 07-15-2013, 04:21 AM

Originally posted by bossa

I thought that you guys might appreciate the following link.. some absolutely astonishing shots to be found there.

2013 CWAS Astrophotography Exhibition and Competition - "David Malin Awards"

Thanks for the link and you're correct, fantastic shots!
The movie was stunning in every way, and all of them very good. Some of the pics even had a very basic equipment list so it's not always about gear.

VisualDarkness · 07-15-2013, 03:34 PM

I tested how many stars I could capture on cloudy Swedish nightsky before over-exposing. Answer, not too many.

GWARmachine · 07-15-2013, 07:12 PM

I was happy to be able to get some really decent images without having to stack anything. Does anyone here use PixinSight? I remember talking to one member here about and I just now checked the price. It seems really expensive but DSS is driving me nuts. Think I'll download the trial soon.

M27, The Dumbbell Nebula.
Pentax K5iis, Orion ED80mmT CF + field flattener, f/6, iso1600, 99 second single exposure. Tracked with AstroTrac.

M17, The Swan/Omega Nebula. The white streak to the left is a satellite.
Pentax K5iis, Orion ED80mmT CF + field flattener, f/6, iso3200, 81 second single exposure. Tracked with AstroTrac.

**smigol** · 07-16-2013, 02:07 AM

I use PixInsight.
I have been playing around with calibration within the tool. It should work, once you have a good set of dark files in a library.
Don't be put off by the odd colors once calibration, registration, and stacking are complete. You can adjust the color balance pretty easily with a preview swatch and assisted color calibration.

While I still calibrate using Maxim DL and stack using DSS, I do all my processing afterwards in PI.

GWARmachine · 07-16-2013, 03:23 AM

Originally posted by smigol

I use PixInsight.
I have been playing around with calibration within the tool. It should work, once you have a good set of dark files in a library.
Don't be put off by the odd colors once calibration, registration, and stacking are complete. You can adjust the color balance pretty easily with a preview swatch and assisted color calibration.

While I still calibrate using Maxim DL and stack using DSS, I do all my processing afterwards in PI.

That's right, I forgot it was you and I that were talking about this before. I just didn't realize how expensive the program was. My frustration is always trying to get the pic looking decent with the settings in DSS after I stacked it. That's why I want PixInsight to hopefully assist me with those steps after the photo has been stacked. I'm sure it's all just user error and me not fully understanding what the heck is going on.

**smigol** · 07-16-2013, 09:55 AM

If you want to send me one of your DSS stacked FIT files, I'll run it through PI and see what I can get.

I'm still happy with DSS for my stacking even though PI is getting better with doing the same job. Advantage that PI has over DSS is better control over debayer and it can handle much larger canvas sizes. DSS has the advantage of a much easier interface for stacking parameters.

Yes, PI is expensive, but not too dear given what it can do.

GWARmachine · 07-16-2013, 11:55 PM

Originally posted by smigol

If you want to send me one of your DSS stacked FIT files, I'll run it through PI and see what I can get.

I'm still happy with DSS for my stacking even though PI is getting better with doing the same job. Advantage that PI has over DSS is better control over debayer and it can handle much larger canvas sizes. DSS has the advantage of a much easier interface for stacking parameters.

Yes, PI is expensive, but not too dear given what it can do.

Ok, I will get one for you within a day. Thank you!

07-12-2013, 10:37 PM - 1 Like	#621
GWARmachine Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: New Bern, NC Photos: Albums Posts: 138	Hello all again! Hello All! I haven't posted here in a while but I have been reading and trying to keep up. Great pics everyone! I FINALLY got some clear skies after rain season here in Japan. I'll be back in the States this September but I'm being stationed in Pittsburgh, the 3rd cloudiest city in USA...ARGH! Enjoy! M8 & M20. Pentax K5iis, Orion ED80mmT CF + field flattener, f/6, iso3200, 106second single exposure. Tracked with AstroTrac. Beautiful sky over our campsite on Oshima Island, Yamaguchi Japan. Pentax K5iis, Sigma 8-16@13mm, iso1600, f/4.5, 209second single exposure. O-GPS1 used for tracking.

07-16-2013, 03:23 AM	#628
GWARmachine Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: New Bern, NC Photos: Albums Posts: 138	Frustration... Originally posted by smigol I use PixInsight. I have been playing around with calibration within the tool. It should work, once you have a good set of dark files in a library. Don't be put off by the odd colors once calibration, registration, and stacking are complete. You can adjust the color balance pretty easily with a preview swatch and assisted color calibration. While I still calibrate using Maxim DL and stack using DSS, I do all my processing afterwards in PI. That's right, I forgot it was you and I that were talking about this before. I just didn't realize how expensive the program was. My frustration is always trying to get the pic looking decent with the settings in DSS after I stacked it. That's why I want PixInsight to hopefully assist me with those steps after the photo has been stacked. I'm sure it's all just user error and me not fully understanding what the heck is going on.

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06-12-2013, 07:16 AM - 1 Like	#616
tonypysm Junior Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 29	Camera:Pentax K5 Mount:Astrotrc TT320 Lens:Sigma 50/1.4@F2.8 ISO 400 Stitched with 5 frames and each exposured for 4min.

06-12-2013, 07:25 AM	#617
tonypysm Junior Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 29	Milky way under the High-level lightpollution. K5+DAL18-55 Startrail

06-12-2013, 02:40 PM	#618
Ben_Edict Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: SouthWest "Regio" Photos: Albums Posts: 3,309	Originally posted by oneeyedhawk Here is a shot with My k01 on the first clear night in a long time M13 came out quite nicely hard to capture because it is so bright the center overexposes to the left is spiral galaxy ngc 6207 at 12 mag 5- 30 sec exposure 6400 iso attached to a stellarvue 102 mm scope stacked with deep sky stacker I usually use my K5 The k01 is very comparable and lighter on the end of the scope Hank This is also a nice image with good resolution of the stars inside the globe. But it looks as whether you've got a slight misalignment? Ben

06-12-2013, 04:14 PM	#619
Ex Finn. Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern Maryland. Espoo. Kouvola. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,975	Nice images everyone, thanks for sharing.

06-14-2013, 10:16 PM	#620
djseeram Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 83	@tony - excellent images.

07-14-2013, 01:12 PM	#622
Dr_who Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 777	More of a test photo to test how large M33 would be in my setup. I live fairly north and the sun sets at 11:40 but twilight never 100% goes away this time of year. Also it was just over the tree line so no the best location for imaging. Over it made me look forward to imaging in darker skies. Attached Images

07-15-2013, 01:43 AM - 1 Like	#623
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	I thought that you guys might appreciate the following link.. some absolutely astonishing shots to be found there. 2013 CWAS Astrophotography Exhibition and Competition - "David Malin Awards"

07-15-2013, 04:21 AM	#624
VisualDarkness Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Uppsala, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,439	Originally posted by bossa I thought that you guys might appreciate the following link.. some absolutely astonishing shots to be found there. 2013 CWAS Astrophotography Exhibition and Competition - "David Malin Awards" Thanks for the link and you're correct, fantastic shots! The movie was stunning in every way, and all of them very good. Some of the pics even had a very basic equipment list so it's not always about gear.

07-15-2013, 03:34 PM	#625
VisualDarkness Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Uppsala, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,439	I tested how many stars I could capture on cloudy Swedish nightsky before over-exposing. Answer, not too many.

07-15-2013, 07:12 PM	#626
GWARmachine Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: New Bern, NC Photos: Albums Posts: 138	I was happy to be able to get some really decent images without having to stack anything. Does anyone here use PixinSight? I remember talking to one member here about and I just now checked the price. It seems really expensive but DSS is driving me nuts. Think I'll download the trial soon. M27, The Dumbbell Nebula. Pentax K5iis, Orion ED80mmT CF + field flattener, f/6, iso1600, 99 second single exposure. Tracked with AstroTrac. M17, The Swan/Omega Nebula. The white streak to the left is a satellite. Pentax K5iis, Orion ED80mmT CF + field flattener, f/6, iso3200, 81 second single exposure. Tracked with AstroTrac.

07-16-2013, 02:07 AM	#627
smigol Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Menlo Park, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 422	I use PixInsight. I have been playing around with calibration within the tool. It should work, once you have a good set of dark files in a library. Don't be put off by the odd colors once calibration, registration, and stacking are complete. You can adjust the color balance pretty easily with a preview swatch and assisted color calibration. While I still calibrate using Maxim DL and stack using DSS, I do all my processing afterwards in PI.

07-16-2013, 09:55 AM	#629
smigol Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Menlo Park, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 422	If you want to send me one of your DSS stacked FIT files, I'll run it through PI and see what I can get. I'm still happy with DSS for my stacking even though PI is getting better with doing the same job. Advantage that PI has over DSS is better control over debayer and it can handle much larger canvas sizes. DSS has the advantage of a much easier interface for stacking parameters. Yes, PI is expensive, but not too dear given what it can do.

07-16-2013, 11:55 PM	#630
GWARmachine Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: New Bern, NC Photos: Albums Posts: 138	Originally posted by smigol If you want to send me one of your DSS stacked FIT files, I'll run it through PI and see what I can get. I'm still happy with DSS for my stacking even though PI is getting better with doing the same job. Advantage that PI has over DSS is better control over debayer and it can handle much larger canvas sizes. DSS has the advantage of a much easier interface for stacking parameters. Yes, PI is expensive, but not too dear given what it can do. Ok, I will get one for you within a day. Thank you!