I have acquired a Canon 450d to get started in imaging. Can someone with experience wth this camera or similiar Canons give me an idea for best settings for astro work?
My background research on the Net, suggest the following:
M, Manual setting, Bulb, flash disabled, ISO 800, RAW
Liveview on, autofocus off, sensor cleaning on.
Liveview off, sensor cleaning off for flat frame consistency.
I realise that things like ISO setting may change based on magnitude of object, and length of exposure.
I had a trial run last night on my AR102S (Shortie, wide field scope at 600mm fl, f5.9 - which is the fastest refractor I have). Mount is an NEQ6 Pro (unguided for now). Target was Eta Carina.
I used an intervalometer that I bought off ebay and had it setup for 10 exposures of 30 seconds each to minimise chance of trails.
Problems: I could not work out how to focus the camera on the scope (bacially did not know how to turn on Liveview, which is sorted now (press Set). Is it better to set the focus in the day time or use a very bright object at infinity like Mars? To get something last night to see if it was working, I ran the focus in and out manually, and did get some lucky results on two of the ten exposures..
You can use live view x10 to focus, but a focus mask is better. Just go for the smallest dot you can achieve using a bright star. One side of focus produces a red ring the other a blue ring - somewhere in between.
A very simple mask to produce is the Hartmann
Annoying things to fix, and other questions:
Why does that yellow light on the front of the camera flash at each exposure and how do I turn that off?
Turn off focus beam assist - download the 450d user manual if you don't have one.
Do I set for mirror lockup?
No big deal
Any other advice?
