My paltry M42

[Octane]

Hi all,

Just a picture I took last night.

I jumped into the deep end; mirror lock-up, noise reduction, and RAW at 1600 ISO.

If there was one thing I learnt tonight, it is that I need to purchase DSLR Focus or a Stiletto IV from Stellar International. Just on that note, is anyone willing to make me a cable that I can use with DSLR Focus? I'm happy to pay for it.

Just a single 15 second exposure. I wanted to take more images for stacking purposes, however, he dipped below the roof of our house, and I really couldn't be bothered picking the scope up and re-aligning as it was 3 AM.

RAW to 16-bit TIFF using Canon's Raw Image Task conversion tool. I increased the exposure by +0.3. Photoshop processing includes levels, contrast, slight colouring, noise reduction and unsharp masking.

I also had a look at Jupiter as he came up above the eastern horizon. I could make out two bands and a bunch of moons. It looked fantastic even though the seeing wasn't all that great.

I look forward to spending many hours in the coming nights outside alone. :)

Regards,
Humayun

[davidpretorius]

Gee it is fun playing with new gear.

Well done on this first go. I would suggest having a go at say 10 x 15 second or even 10 x 30 second shots. Stack them in registax or iris etc

Great stuff

[ving]

a bit of playing around with it and you'll be off! :)

it a good shot :)

[JohnG]

Hi Octane

I am also using a Canon 350D and use DSLRFocus. I got my cables (10ft USB and Serial Cable) from the online shop below. I received mine within a week.

http://www.hapg.org/astrocables.htm

Keep at it, I am learning to.

JohnG

[h0ughy]

Nice start there Octane

[RB]

That's a terrific start H.
There's detail there, and as you said you just need to nail down the focus.
I had a little play in photoshop, hope that's ok.
I went a little hard on contrast and NR to tighten the stars up but it shows that the detail is there.

Well done mate.
Hope to catch up soon.
:)

[[1ponders]]

Hi Octane. You don't have to have the cable release to use DSLR Focus. The white usb cable that came with the camera is enough to just focus with and you can still take shots up to 30 sec with it. It's only when you go to bulb exposure that you need the cable release for connection to a computer. But it certainly makes life easier if you do have it :P

[atalas]

Hi Humayun , nice start dude to a tougher than what you think target and nice work pulling out more detail RB from such a short exposure .

[Striker]

Exactly what Paul said.....you can still have lots of fun with 30 second exposures stacked with what you have now.

Great start....gee this Astrophotography is fun....its like your in a candy store waiting to see what your next image looks like.

[Robert_T]

Hi Humayun, great to see the detail that a single 15sec image can capture. A dozen or so of these stacked would be awesome :)


cheers,

[asimov]

Yup! A few of these stacked, focus nailed = VERY NICE!!

[westsky]

Hi Octane , what sort of cable do you want a serial or parallel? and what length do you need?
I can make you one for cost plus $15.00 sorry I can't remember what mine cost me but I think it was between 10 and 15$ so it shouldn't cost more than $30.00

cheers
david.

[Itchy]

Hi Humayun,

Great start. Regarding DSLR focus: You can get away without it. My imaging is very low tech. I don't have a laptop, but I am able to achieve critical focus by using a home made hartmann mask and taking testshots to check. It works pretty well. I also use an external timer to time my long exposures. I manually guide as well. It is very hands on, but also very satisfying. Of course, I'm not denegrating DSLR Focus. It is a great piece of software. I just wanted to point out that there is a low tech alternative.

Good luck and keep them coming.

cheers

[tornado33]

Yep I take pics the same way, all manually. I have as a leftover from my old Canon T70, a magnifier that clips over the viewfinder, magnifying the image a few times, making focussing a bit easier.
Scott