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View Full Version here: : First go at Star Trails and 2nd Milky Way


loki78
24-05-2012, 09:23 PM
So I trekked out to Stanwell Tops on Tuesday night as it was nice and clear. And cold, did I mention cold? 4degrees. So I was sitting in the car park shielded next to my car because of the light breeze snapping away for a few hours. Much to my annoyance I didn't realise till the next day that someone (or the canon gremlins or my own ineptitude) changed my 600D from Raw+JPEG to JPEG only. I didn't think to check it on the night as I never touch that setting, and at 2am and 4 degrees I probably wasn't concentrating as much as I should have been. All subs were 25secs ISO3200 on the kit 18-55mm lens at 18mm and wide open at 4.5. Anyway. I was adamant I would try and get the best out of the JPEGs I could anyway so i stacked 33 light frames using the best 80% in DSS and 14 dark frames for the widefield milky way shot. Then I set the timer and took some data for some star trail efforts. Making those, i made 4 different shots to show myself the difference between how much data is stacked for how the image looks. So again, they were all 25sec shots using the same 14 dark frames as well as I was too lazy to take anymore at the end. So the 4 images of Startrails are examples of 20,40,80 and 160 images. So basically I learnt to always check ALL of your settings. Can't turn dog crap into diamonds but seeing with what I was working with, didn't turn out too badly I think

Poita
26-05-2012, 03:12 PM
Cold? Bah, it was -6 when I was out two nights ago.
Mind you I piked and when back inside as everything was iced up :)
Milky way shot is lovely, you have a little jaggedness in the star-trails though.

loki78
26-05-2012, 03:24 PM
Yeah I notice that too, is that likely because of the 3sec intervals I set between 25sec exposures? -6?........ Surely such a temperature doesn't exist.