M42 first light ASI 294mcPro

[Nikolas]

First light on Sunday
29x 2 minute acquisition with the optolong L-enhance filter, 30 darks

This is a better camera for my focal length as it fits the field a lot better.

Orion ED80

I would have gone further but the late hours and work meant time to pack up. Imagine what 2-3 hours of acquisition would bring out, I'm impressed so far.

[JA]

That's an excellent result Nik:thumbsup:

Best
JA

[RyanJones]

Nice work Nik. Looks promising. 600mm I think is a really good AP focal length for DSOs and matches well with a 4/3 sensor. My shortest OTA is an f/4 800mm and framing a lot of DSOs even on a APSc can often be quite challenging

Looking forward to seeing what the future holds for you with this rig. :thumbsup:

Cheers

Ryan

[Nikolas]

I really want an ed 120 which I can use with a 0.6 reducer flattener, I reckon that combo would be awesome for this setup. better resolution etc.

[raymo]

Another one headed for the main forum.
raymo

[Nikolas]

Thanks Everyone
Raymo that's quite the compliment
Cheers

[LostInSp_ce]

That core! That core is amazing! An excellent rendition Nik. Extremely detailed and the scale really draws you in. :thumbsup:

[Nikolas]

I've added a different processing version
Same files but this time processed in part in Astro pixel processor, finalised in Photoshop.
I think APP has some merit and much easier to use than Pixinsite

[raymo]

In both versions where is the blue?
raymo

[Nikolas]

Hey Raymo
Not sure as I am using the l- enhancefilter which really is red dominant
Still trying to work out the processing for this hence trialling APP

[crs]

thats very good. Like the way you processed the bright centre back as well. Nice.

[alan meehan]

nice shot and process Nik ,stay with the ed80 they are such a good scope
ALAN

[Zubenel]

Nice one Nic , Myself and a mate are looking at this camera as the best $ value for size and quality. All sold out everywhere. Next available date from March 2020.

[Startrek]

Nik
Nice M42 you captured
Core is quite detailed you can just see the trap
Martin

[The_bluester]

Looks nice. Much nicer star shapes in the corners than my ED72 gives.

A couple of data calibration tips for the 294.

Darks are pretty easy to shoot with that cam. I create a master dark in Astro Pixel Processor for whatever length sub I am using by shooting at least 50 darks at the time and temperature (You might or might not be able to get down to -15 in summer, I used -10 last summer but have been able to get to -15 so far this spring even on those couple of really hot days) I was using the same master darks for about six months before I noticed any problems and shot new ones.

Flat frames, again you want at least 50 to make a master flat for your cam/scope combo, and they want to be 5 seconds or more which will probably require you to use a flat panel or box of some sort. I aim for 30,000ADU. Don't use bias frames but do shoot dark flats of the same length as the flats to calibrate them. You need to reshoot them more or less any time you rotate any part of the image train or if you remove anything and refit it, as new dust bunnies are inevitable. If you can stick to the same flat frame time you should be able to reuse the dark flat for months though to generate the master flat. Remember not to touch the focus position or camera rotation.

I have been using Astro Pixel Processor since about March, loosing that now would be like cutting my leg off!

I am not sure how it would go with the filter you are using but have you tried the "Calibrate star colours" tool? To use that, first you need to run the "Calibrate background" tool on the integration (tab 9 after you integrate) and make sure you select a couple of areas that do not have nebulosity for the select boxes.

The star colour tool will ask you to make at least one select box. Try to drag out a reasonable area but again, avoid nebulosity. You can select a number of areas in the image if you need to to get a good number of stars. I have found that tool to be sensitive to what outlier rejection filter you use (If you are using one) and for the 294 have found of the "LN" (Local normalisation) filters to look fine cosmetically but produce a hideous green cast when the colour calibration tool is run.

Since I have found that, for under 20 light subs I use quality/median for the integration, LNC 1 and say 5 iterations (It will usually call it quits after about 3) and no outlier rejection filter. For greater than 20 subs, use quality/average, the same LNC settings and MAD-Windsor for outlier rejection filter.

[Nikolas]

Awesome advice Bluester I'll give it a go now that I'm getting my head around the workflow.

[The_bluester]

The workflows are never very simple. But almost every image I have posted here was shot with the 294MC Pro so they can produce some really solid results.

[RugbyRene]

Very nice pic. I've a very similar set-up, except I have a SW ED80. Waiting for the weather to clear up so I can get my rig out.

Rene

[Nikolas]

The only difference between the 2 scopes is the focuser which I upgraded on my Orion even with a skywatcher electronic aid