Eta Carina Nebula @ 400mm f5.6 / 405mins

[dugnsuz]

Hi all...
Great couple of imaging nights in the past week in SA which I grabbed advantage off to get some Ha Eta images under a moonless sky.

Details...
Astro 40D (-18ºC Avg temp)
Canon 400 mm f5.6L @ f5.6, Astronomik 12nm Ha EOS clip filter
iso 1600, 27x15min subs (405mins in total)

Took a couple of 1-2min subs for core masks
Stacked/Aligned in Nebulosity, Processed in good 'ol PS.

High res...
http://s327.photobucket.com/albums/k461/doug-robertson/?action=view&current=8h.jpg

Cheers
Doug:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

nice doug - i am currently imaging this tonight as well, but no where near the length of time you have done this shot for ;)

[Exfso]

Lovely Image Doug. Question, how do you get -18 deg C on the 40D you must have ambient at around zero or just below at Hahndorf. The Central DS 40D modded is only supposed to do around 18deg below ambient. Mine is rarely lower than 15deg below ambient.

[dugnsuz]

Hi Pete,
That's what the crappy temp sensor tells me - not too sure if I trust it, but it seems to be accurate enough with regard to the ambient air temp.
From day one this Astro 40D has dropped consistently over 20ºC if the temp sensor is to be believed. I got my 40D done around the time Yun was bringing out the cooled 5D MkII which I think cools to 28ºC below ambient but that cooling unit looks like a different beast altogether!
Perhaps Central DS have upped the cooling unit's efficiency - but I tend to think its probably the cheapo thermometer misreading:shrug:.
Happy with it and the results though.
Cheers
Doug

[gregbradley]

Great image Doug.

What scope/lens did you use?

Greg.

[dugnsuz]

Cheers Greg - image taken with a Canon EF 400mm f5.6L lens
Doug:thumbsup:

[Hagar]

Very nice Doug. So much detail and so much to look at in this image.
Well done.

[dugnsuz]

Thanks Doug - I admit to being a bit overwhelmed by the amount of data in this image. Hard to keep it all under control necessitating a sunday morning repro (replaced lo and high res versions in original post)
Doug:thumbsup:

[mill]

Loads of data and lots to see in this image :thumbsup:
Have to go HA myself once again (but not on Eta :P ).

[jjjnettie]

A great image Doug!

[Ephemeral]

Not bad probably a but overstretched IMO

[dugnsuz]

Cheers Martin - that's the trouble with buying new gear, you've got to try it out on all the stuff you've imaged before to move one more step up the ladder.


Thanks jjj


This will probably be repro'd and rethought over and over.
Not too sure re over stretching though - Histogram looks ok...

Cheers all
Doug

[TrevorW]

Hi Dougie

looks good to me, right side of the histogram seems overly long I usually go for more a bell shape myself

Cheers

[CoolhandJo]

Nice one !

[Craig_L]

Lovely shot Doug. Great base for the RGB. Look forward to it.

[Rigel003]

That's sensational Doug. So much detail in there and a really deep shot.

[dugnsuz]

This 'may' be it as the RGB's were a bit of a let down!


Cheers Trev - it's at times like this when I wish my PS knowledge was more extensive as I've no idea how to remedy your criticism!:P


Cheers Herr Doctor!


Thanks Graeme - appreciated:thumbsup:

[TrevorW]

Not a criticism as such just an observation and personal preference. When adjusting curves etc in normal photography often people aim for the following bell shape (refer attached)


IMO this also should be applied somewhat to astro imaging however this does not preclude variables such as yours where it appears the white point has been stretched to obtain an aesthetically pleasing look

:thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Overall quite an impactful image Doug and it's always good to see a variation on the same'ol processing.

The quest for high contrast has probably flattened the fine details out a bit but that's a side effect of going for the big right hook :thumbsup:

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

An impressive image Doug - definitely an eye full!! Maybe a teensy bit overdone though - I note a small amount of clipping at the bright end so as Mike says, you've probably lost a bit of fine detail.

Cheers, Marcus

[dugnsuz]

Thanks for the comments chaps - appreciated, and yes after a Monday morning reflection I agree...very harsh on the eye this one - it does look clipped.
Obviously I have heaps of data to work with so hopefully I can work it out.
Cheers
Doug:thumbsup:

[atalas]

Like Mike said Doug,high impact and bright!which is fine for displaying Ha shots.... well done on that mate.

When,you go to combine your color data you'll have to reprocess your Ha keeping brightness down(I'm assuming you'll want to create a Luminance/Ha) other wise you'll have a hell of a time with your color.

Doug,If you want to know more on "how to" no worries,just email me and I'll be happy to help out as much as I can!

[dugnsuz]

Thanks Louie - will probably take you up on that in the near future when I have another go at all the data I've got. And, you're spot on re combining that amount of Ha with the RGB I have - more Salmon than the John West factory!!
Thanks for the offer of help - much appreciated
Doug