Its good to see these different takes on the Lagoon
Here's two more takes of it.
The first is Lagoon and Trifid from July. 24*5min (edit=not 6x 5min) on ASI071 on GT-81 refractor. Stacked with DSS, processed in PI (binned x2 and saved as jpeg from PI).
The second is just the Lagoon with ASI071 on my 8"newt. This was 12x 30sec subs stacked live using astrotoaster. No post-processing.
The quality just keeps getting better.
You have shown that to get things right at the beginning, you will always get the best image.
Correct focus, correct exposure time, correct gain.
Someone with more experience may say something about type of scope and camera combination, but you seem to have that right as well.
Well done!!
ps: I applied all the tips you gave me to NGC253. Will save that for later when we have exhausted M8 :-)
That's why I like this end of the forum, people trying to get the best out of what ever equipment they have without all the high priced brand name equipment and technical processing jargon.
For any of you that remember my posted images over the last few years,
after some 53 yrs of film I came into the digital age at 70, and decided
almost straight away to go the easiest way, knowing that it was too late in life for me to have any hope of producing first class images digitally.
I used JPEGS, in camera noise reduction, minimum 1600 ISO, no separate darks, flats, or biases, no guiding, and all image manipulation in DSS;
used PS just for cropping and/or resizing.
Sorry if I have hijacked, but I thought it followed on logically from
Pkay's and Rick's posts.
raymo
Last edited by raymo; 05-11-2017 at 08:42 PM.
Reason: addition
This is a thread about comparisons so what the heck. I have tried jpeg and raw, but have gone back to jpeg for simplicity's sake. I think that the camera's inbuilt processing has improved in quality a lot in recent years as well.
Raymo after coming from film you would have to agree that it's way easier to get a reasonable image digitally compared to what was possible or "impossibly difficult" with film. And I should add with mounts that needed to be hand guided even for widefield. I have tinkered with the idea of trying some film (can you still buy it?) on a guided eq mount, 1 hour subs should be a breeze.
You're pretty much right Rick, long nights of manual guiding, and no idea what you had got until much later. I did enjoy using hypered 2415 though.
I have much more admiration and respect for the dedication and ability
of top film imagers. One truly wonderful film image of M31 by Tony and Daphne Hallas has me in awe.
There are still a couple of films available Rick, and yes, easier to get passable digital image, which in
turn encourages more people to persevere.
Sorry, hi-jacking again.
raymo
Last edited by raymo; 05-11-2017 at 11:40 PM.
Reason: more text
http://www.astrobin.com/full/297031/0/
1.8 hours shot with an unmodded Nikon D7200 at ISO 800. I have a more saturated version of this hanging on my wall.
http://www.astrobin.com/full/301155/0/
1.6 hours with an unmodded Nikon D810 at ISO800. If I had have actually framed it I could have easily and nicely fit both M20 and M8 in the field.
