Carina Nebula, C8i, Sony a5000

[Aussie_Dave]

I've only just got in to DSO photography with this being my second attempt at the Carina neb on the 24th March. I didn't need to do much with this at all in the final stacked image apart from some level adjustment and slight colour correction. I'm very pleased with this even with it's faults.

Taken with the Sony a5000 and C8i SCT. 4 x 15 seconds, 9 x 8 seconds, ISO 6400. Each of the 13 light frames has a dark frame added from the camera. Aligned and stacked in DeepSkyStacker, final edit in PaintDotNet.

[Peter Ward]

Humm...:question:

Colour is not right (due the H-alpha cut-off in non-modded cameras) , exposure could be a lot deeper to fix the noise and highlight/shadow details need some work.

Stars are a pretty good shape and focus not bad.

Have fun and stick with it :thumbsup:

[Aussie_Dave]

Thanks for the constructive criticism Peter, I was hoping somebody would.

Due to my handful of times setting up the C8i Alt AZ mount and star aligning I could only get away with 15 second maximum exposures. I had some drift. Over half of my exposures I had to delete due to a combination of drift, slight wind, vibration etc. I did two sets, one of 15 seconds each and a second set of 8 seconds each just to be safe. I was guessing I could get away with the 15 second exposures so I was happy to get some of those to stack in with the 8 second shots.

My brighter to bright stars are bloated. Is this due to the high ISO and focusing?

To fix the noise I'll be taking more exposures and spend more time processing correctly and in the final edit, plus bias frames?

Is there an example of the Carina neb from a non modded camera without filters? I would like to compare it to mine as I have no clue as to what it should look like for it's colour or structurally.

Cheers.
Dave.

[Peter Ward]

You really need to get an EQ wedge and look at several minutes of exposure rather than seconds....you'll be chasing your tail otherwise.

Lower ISO is likely better, but I'd check the DXo mark for your camera's optimum ISO, then use the figure they recommend.

For reference, my take on Eta Carina is here (http://www.atscope.com.au/BRO/gallery378.html)

[Aussie_Dave]

Thanks for the advice Peter, I have that DXo website bookmarked somewhere and OMG, Brilliant Image! But I doubt I'll ever get to that stage of AP.

Cheers.
Dave.