DSLR Helix from Astrofest

[Retrograde (Pete)]

Hi all - been busy so it has taken me a while to process this.

This is around 3.5 hours of integration across two nights using 8 minute subs (my longest capture prior to Astrofest was about an hour). Taken using the trusty North Group ED102 and modded Pentax K5-IIs DSLR. It's a crop comprising roughly 60% of the original field.

Obviously this is a long way from matching the great recent images of this object by Aidan, Adam (and of course many others on the forum previously) but I'm pretty happy with this result.
Comments and criticism welcome as always.

Higher res available at Astrobin:
http://www.astrobin.com/full/260949/0/

[Atmos (Colin)]

For a DSLR Helix I'd be very happy with that Pete Perhaps a smidgin over saturated but very nice results

[spiezzy]

Pete that is a Awesome Image of the helix very well done
cheers Pete

[topheart]

Well done for a DSLR image!
Cheers,
Tim

[Placidus (Mike and Trish)]

A big fish caught well on a light line. The little galaxy toward about 11 o'clock inside the helix looks good.

[Somnium (Aidan)]

Really nice Helix Pete, especially with a DSLR and a relatively low aperture scope. you have to be happy with the result

[Retrograde (Pete)]

Originally Posted by Atmos

For a DSLR Helix I'd be very happy with that Pete Perhaps a smidgin over saturated but very nice results

Thanks Colin. I'm a paid up member of Over-saturators Anonymous and I'm on a 12-step program
Actually I didn't deliberately increase the saturation on this much at all but I think it already got quite a boost from applying curves in PS.

Originally Posted by spiezzy

Pete that is a Awesome Image of the helix very well done
cheers Pete

Thanks very much for the kind comment

Originally Posted by topheart

Well done for a DSLR image!
Cheers,
Tim

Appreciate the comment Tim!

Originally Posted by Placidus

A big fish caught well on a light line. The little galaxy toward about 11 o'clock inside the helix looks good.

Thanks Mike and Trish. I didn't even notice the galaxy until you pointed it out. There were a couple of other faint ones in the frame but I think they got cropped out.

Originally Posted by Somnium

Really nice Helix Pete, especially with a DSLR and a relatively low aperture scope. you have to be happy with the result

Thanks Aidan yep pretty happy with this. It's certainly a more challenging object than most I've attempted so far

[Atmos (Colin)]

I tend to be quite soft on the saturation (too soft probably) until it gets to Instagram and then I go OMG as the colour burns my eyes haha

[Somnium (Aidan)]

Originally Posted by Retrograde

Thanks Aidan yep pretty happy with this. It's certainly a more challenging object than most I've attempted so far

i was surprised at just how challenging this object was to process. you have faint nebulosity, a bright and vibrant ring and then unbelievably fine detail in the cometary knots. you could probably spend 6 months gathering data for this one and still not be satisfied.

[RickS (Rick)]

Well done, Pete!

[codemonkey (Lee)]

Gotta be happy with that Pete, particularly for a dSLR capture! Stars are nice and round across the field too.

In terms of things to improve, I'd agree with Colin that the saturation has probably been pushed a bit much and has caused some clipping.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

You know it's a good'un when you catch the "eyebrow".

[Retrograde (Pete)]

Originally Posted by Somnium

i was surprised at just how challenging this object was to process. you have faint nebulosity, a bright and vibrant ring and then unbelievably fine detail in the cometary knots. you could probably spend 6 months gathering data for this one and still not be satisfied.

Yep agree for sure. Quite a few competing priorities when it comes to processing this.

Originally Posted by RickS

Well done, Pete!

Thanks Rick!

Originally Posted by codemonkey

Gotta be happy with that Pete, particularly for a dSLR capture! Stars are nice and round across the field too.

In terms of things to improve, I'd agree with Colin that the saturation has probably been pushed a bit much and has caused some clipping.

Thanks Lee - yep!
Appreciate the feedback on the saturation. I've actually been processing on the laptop screen which doesn't seem to show the colours as vibrantly as most other screens. Although I've an LCD monitor it's pretty old (not widescreen) & doesn't show the detail I want when processing. I plan on getting something better once we move house in a few weeks time.

I've adjusted the saturation down a bit in this new version (also uploaded to Astrobin) but of course it now looks a bit washed out on the laptop screen

Originally Posted by jjjnettie

You know it's a good'un when you catch the "eyebrow".

The "eyebrow"? Haha of course it makes perfect sense
Thanks jjjnettie.