M42 16.11.07

[dugnsuz]

Hello all...

Here's my most recent effort - M42 taken Friday night 16.11.07.

Scope: Sywatcher ED80 Pro on Skywatcher SynScan EQ5 mount, autoguided using PHD, an 80mm AOE Achromatic refractor and Phillips Toucam.

Camera: unmodded Canon 40D

Exposures: 14x15sec, 13x30sec, 12x60sec, 5x120sec, 5x300sec.

All at iso640, In Camera Noise Reduction.

No Darks/Flats.

Images stacked in ImagesPlus (Combined using "Max")
All processing done in Photshop CS2 - I tried the layer mask technique (see link) in order to image the core stars.
http://www.astropix.com/HTML/J_DIGIT/LAYMASK.HTM

Final image is a crop from the original.

Cheers
Doug:thumbsup:

[iceman]

Lovely result, Doug! Gotta be happy with that!

[dugnsuz]

Thanks Mike,
I reckon that's my best so far - God bless autoguiding!!
Didn't clip the Histogram this time either - a first for me.
Cheers
Doug

[leon]

Very, very nice Doug, :thumbsup: man that auto guiding is fun, fantastic effort and great color ;) yep as Mike said you would have to be happy with that one, on the wall I reckon.

Leon :thumbsup:

[leon]

Doug, I looked at that link you sent me about Layer Masking, looks like you have mastered it. ;)

Gee i wish i could, :rolleyes:

Leon :thumbsup:

[dugnsuz]

Thanks Professor:P:P:lol:
Cheers mate - PHD does help raise the bar a little!!!!
Doug:thumbsup:

[leon]

PHD, ha, is that you, or the Guiding Program. :lol: Is It...

Leon :thumbsup:

EDIT...You do know what PHD stands for don't you Doug, (Press Here Dummy) :whistle:

[dugnsuz]

Nah mate - easy stuff.
Just sat down and followed it step by step. The image posted above was my first try! It's a trick I've been putting off for ages to learn. But I can see it's usefulness on heaps of objects.
One thing though - in the guide after making a B+W mask it says to open a new image with View>New View...I couldn't find the New View command in PS CS so had to fumble a work-around.
Good Luck
Doug:thumbsup:

[mill]

Doug that is a very nice looking picture.
I tried that tutorial too and couldnt find view ==>new view.
Could you please tell me how you did it?

[leon]

Gee Doug, you are going to be a busy boy, now that you have to teach us all the tricks of processing. ;)

Leon :thumbsup:

[iceman]

Mill I couldn't find View->New View either, but it's not absolutely necessary for layer masking, it's just for a preview of what the final will look like.

[dugnsuz]

Once the mask is set up in Layer 1 look at the Layers palette - click on the Channels tab. you should see R,G,B and mask boxes. Click on the "Eye" icon to highlight the mask then de-click the eyes on the RGB boxes leaving only the B+W mask visible - work on it then click on Layers tab to return to see effects on final image.
If there's an easier way and I'm sure there is please let me know
Doug

[dugnsuz]

...and I've got to clean out the shed too or Suz will kill me, and you know she's capable leon!!!!:lol:
Doug:thumbsup:

[Astroman]

Beautiful image Doug, was this taken from Handorf? Got some good detail from it.

[Dennis]

An excellent image of M42 Doug, and very well processed too. Figuratively speaking, you must be over the moon with that one!

Did you use Live View to focus the image, it looks spot on?

Also, with the in-camera noise reduction, for your say, 300 sec exposures, does the 40D essentially take a 300 sec dark for each exposure, or does it re-use the dark of the same exposure duration?

That is, was it 5 x 300 sec light frames plus 5 x 300 sec dark frames, or
Was it 5 x 300 sec light frames plus 1 x 300 sec dark frames used 5 times?

Cheers

Dennis

[leon]

Yep Doug, I know .... :whistle:

Leon :thumbsup:

[dugnsuz]

Thanks Dennis,

Yes, I used live view (as critically as possible) - great feature but the focuser on the ED80 is the weak link in the chain I reckon. I'll have to save for a replacement for rock solid accuracy.
The camera does a 300sec dark for each 300sec light exposure I think.
So I took 5 of those!!:P
Cheers
Doug:thumbsup:

[dugnsuz]

Yes mate, from my backyard in Hahndorf.
Wasn't the best of days too - very hot day=warm night!
Cheers
Doug:thumbsup:

[Alchemy]

good stuff:thumbsup:

[Dennis]

Thanks Doug. You can turn off the auto dark (or auto noise reduction) - look at Page 156 of the Manual. I'm not too sure if you'll save any time here, as I tend to take between 5 and 10 darks with my SBIG ST7 CCD camera anyhow.

Cheers

Dennis

[leon]

Guys you are best to let the Camera do it on the noise reduction 2 setting as it will take the dark at exactly the same temp as each of your lights, regardless of length of exposure.

Leon

[Hagar]

Nice shot Doug. Really starting to get some true depth and 3D feel to your shots. Nice colour and contrast.. I like it.

Great one
Doug

[jase]

A dramatic image Doug. The dark nebulosity provides a rich sinister feel to the image. Good processing. Well done.:)

[h0ughy]

great image Doug!!

[dugnsuz]

Thanks chaps!
All comments good n' bad appreciated
I'm reaching out into the dark here so all pointers are appreciated!
Cheers
Doug

[Tamtarn]

Super image Doug. You are certainly doing well with your new set up together with autoguiding. Nice to be able to take a quality shot like this from home.
You should be very proud of this image it is one to print and hang on the wall.

Well done :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Exfso]

Doug and Co. the View>New View> has been replaced in CS versions by
Window>Arrange>New Window. checked the help file in CS2 it gave the new method for this command.
Lovely image too Doug, really nailed it mate.

[dugnsuz]

Thanks Peter.
I knew there was a command like that as I've used it on another tutorial/walk through in the past. Just couldn't remember where it was and couldn't be bothered searching!!:P
Thanks for the heads-up.
Doug:thumbsup:

[Mark]

Oooooh!

That's a ripper Doug. I like it. :thumbsup:

[Garyh]

Excellent result Doug and all with a unmodded camera..good guiding and focus all make a top image!
congrads Doug :thumbsup:

[xelasnave]

Excellent work Doug you have nailed it for sure.
alex

[Ric]

Lovely image Doug, you've brought it out wonderfully.

A fine effort.

[dugnsuz]

Gary, Alex, Ric - Thanks for the comments.
Doug:thumbsup: