400mm f5.6L "First Light" - M42

[dugnsuz]

Hello all...

This is my first decent first light with my new Canon 400mm f5.6L lens.
First attempts on the LMC were hampered by moon and dodgy focus etc, so I was a bit disheartened with the rather lack-lustre results.

Thankfully I’ve been proven wrong with this M42 shot - I’m liking the performance and potential of this lens for astro work given that this image isn’t one of those 3hr RGB/ 3hr Ha marathons.

Stars might look a bit harsh in this image as I probably got a bit carried away in processing - all that lovely gas/dust in this region had to be dragged out of the blackness after all!!

Details...
Canon ‘Astro’ 40D cooled/modded DSLR (Avg Temp -12ºC)
Canon 400mm f5.6L Lens
f5.6, iso1600, Total exposure time: 95mins
No light pollution filter used, Flats calibrated.
10 and 60sec images used to mask core of the nebula.
ImagesPlus, Nebulosity and PS used .

I did find this lens trickier to get accurate focus with - using Autofocus on a bright star will get you a star with a little ring of red CA around it - ? lens calibration issue, doesn't affect daytime shots though. I had to use the EOS Utility software Live View function at 10x to get the focus just right to my old eyes at least.
Really should be doing this on every shot but I’ve been lazy in the past! If this lens helps me sharpen my game then that’s all well and good!

Link to high res...
http://s327.photobucket.com/albums/k461/doug-robertson/?action=view&current=11g.jpg

Cheers
Doug:thumbsup:

[TrevorW]

Nice one Dougie, the satellite trail adds to it, the girls will like the colour on this one :P, also plenty of dust picked up and good FOV

Cheers

[Garyh]

That is a splendid wide shot Doug!
Really shows the potential of this lens for astro work!

[Lester]

I like it too Doug. Must be a good lens.

[Mighty_oz]

Have to second all these comments, fantastic shot there ! And what u have done with just 95 mins is amazing.

Makes me want to try out my lens too.

[Ric]

That's a beauty Doug.

Well done.

[Dennis]

Nice image Doug, the original size looks very nice!

Although it is such a looooong time since I last pointed my 400mm F5.6 L glass upwards, I do remember using a smaller Bahtinov Mask made for ED80 size ‘scopes and setting the lens to manual focus. Using Remote Live View (zoomed in) I was able to obtain reliable focusing.

Cheers

Dennis

[Rigel003]

That's a great result, Doug. Heaps of dust and good detail everywhere.

[hotspur]

That's good Doug-I told you the lens was good.

Going by the responses all think its a fantastic result.

I too very recently tried out a new lens for deep sky,but going by

the lack of comments,I must have had a bad result.

Good luck with the 400 l for astro work.

Cheers Chris

[Craig_L]

Very nice Doug. Plenty of detail and dust. That lens will keep you out late for the rest of the year, weather willing.

[leon]

Can't complain to much about that shot Doug, for a first go with new equipment, looks pretty neat to my poor eyes as well, nice going mate.

Leon

[Octane]

Excellent, Doug.

I do note the colour balance seems to be a bit out, but, that could be personal preference.

Also, I'm starting to see the hint of some reflection nebulosity on the right hand side. I haven't seen that before, or, if I have, haven't really paid much attention to it.

What an awesome field. Similar to the FSQ/STL combination.

Looking forward to more from this awesome setup. Time for mosaics, perhaps? ; )

H

[dugnsuz]

It is a tad 'fruity' Trev:lol:


Cheers Gary - does it still count as widefield though!?


Thanks - all that dusty detail surprised me too. Thankyou 'Shadows/Highlights' !!


Cheers Ric


Thanks Graeme - looking forward to pushing this lens.


I always believed you Chris!!:P Which new lens did you get?


Cheers Craig - PM'd you


We should get our eyes together soon leon - we might make up one good set:P


Cheers H - colour is a bit gaudy, will probably add to it and redo with that in mind. Noticed that reflection neb too - hope it isn't just a 'reflection' as the bright star to the immediate right of M42 has a large halo around it...mmmmmm!?

Cheers all
Doug

[strongmanmike]

I recon this is excellent Dougeloochie :thumbsup:

Try running a tad of careful noise reduction in the outer areas and maybe try and bring up the brown dust by turning down the blue-magenta just a touch and upping the green just a tad.

Great fov and a excellent image mate.

MIke

[mill]

Looking very good Doug :thumbsup:
Looks like some good glass can be as good as a normal telescope.
Just a bit of blue to get rid of :)

[richardo]

This is really nice Doug!
That lens looks like a corker for 400mm and with the APS chip ,hard to find!!

As Mike commented, the large version does exhibit some noise. Work on that and she'll be a beaut!!

What I like about this image is the minor planet/ asteroid zapping through, gives it an action look;) and also the little reflection neb to the middle R/H side.

Super fov and just perfect for objects of this size and content.

All the best
Rich

[dugnsuz]

Cheers Mike and thanks for the tips


Thanks Martin - this lens has 7 elements as opposed to the 'normal' 15 or so, I hoped that it might be closer to scope than lens. Hope the gamble pays off!



Thankyou Rich - all tips taken on-board. I wondered if anyone would comment on those fragmented lines all over the image! I wasn't too sure what they were - thanks for ID'ing them:thumbsup:

Doug

[dugnsuz]

Hi Dennis - had considered the Bahtinov mask for focusing but thought that a Canon 77mm version might not be available/possible. Did you use an 80mm version with no problems?
Doug

[marc4darkskies]

Verrry nice Doug!! An excellent rendition!

Cheers, Marcus

[Dennis]

Hi Doug

I used a custom mask designed and sourced my H0ughy for my Vixen 102mm refractor – it is a little oversize for the Canon lens but it hangs on the 400mm F5.6L lens hood by a thin foam ring that I glued onto the mask. If I remember correctly, I had to choose a bright star (at least Mag 1) and used Remote Live View fully zoomed in.

I tried the same mask on my 70-200mm F4L and had a little difficulty as the spikes were quite small in extent, but after I took a 30 second image and downloaded it, I could see that that focus was good as can be seen in the attached 40D full frame shot, down-sampled to 800x533 pixels.

I know that Ron at Sirius Optics (http://www.sirius-optics.com.au/farpoint.html)sells Farpoint Bahtinov Masks (http://www.farpointastro.com/focus.php)with the smallest size covering the range 2.5" - 4.5". These have x3 locating screws at 120 degrees located in slots at the outer edge that can slide in/out radially, so the mask will fit snugly on the lens hood.

I guess that once you have used Remote Live View zoomed in, it would be best to then take say, a 5 sec shot, download it and inspect it full size to confirm best focus?

Cheers

Dennis

[Hagar]

Very nice Doug, detail, colour, focus and depth look great. Just those pesky satelites.

[dugnsuz]

Thanks Marcus - nice when a new toy lives up to one's expectations.



Cheers for the information Dennis - I will investigate further.


Thanks Doug - M42 seems to be a magnet for satellites.

Doug:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

well looks like you have a nice imaging lens

[dugnsuz]

Thanks Dave - yes, I landed on my feet with this one I reckon!
Cheers
Doug:thumbsup:

[multiweb]

Great shot. Wealth of dark nebs in there. Nice work. :thumbsup:

[dugnsuz]

Thanks Marc - I've binned all the obvious satellite trail subs and will hopefully add to the remaining subs around the new moon if weather permits.
Doug:thumbsup:

[Octane]

Doug,

Why did you bin them? What stacking algorithm are you using?

At least in IRIS, kappa sigma stacking removes anomalies. I'm sure MaxIm's sigma clip works the same way, too.

It's too painful throwing sub-exposures out, unless the stars are uber-wonky : )

H

[dugnsuz]

C'mon H I'm a perfectionista!:P
Doug

[dugnsuz]

Rethink - as usual you're probably correct H :rolleyes:;)

So, all is not lost - I keep the original RAWs on the camera CF card and also d/load them to the astro laptop...Belt N' Braces!!!

I'll try restacking with your suggested settings (or their ImagesPlus or Nebulosity equivalents)

:thumbsup: