exposure times?

[A23649 (Nathan)]

hey every one,
as i am getting a new scope setup soon i would like to know from some of the more experienced astrophotographers what are the best exposure times, ISO settings and the like for a canon 1000d and some of the easy and bright objects( not the orion nebula, as it seems impossible for a beginner). the new scope is a 8" f/4 newtonian reflector.

[iceman (Mike)]

Hi Nathan

The longest you can

In general, I used to use around 5 minutes, but it depends if you're guiding.

If you're not guiding, your exposures will be as long as you can before you start getting trails or elongated stars. That might only be 30 seconds.

Use ISO800 or 1600 to start with.

Hope that helps!

[arifmshaikh]

I use GSO 8" f/4 and took the first image of orion, Eta Carina and Omega Centauri with ISO 1600 using canon 400d.

[tlgerdes (Trevor)]

I was using the same setup. I was generally shooting 5min @ 800iso with good results for most objects, some things were less ie 2-4mins ie ETA C, Omega Cent, some things more 7-10mins ie HH.

All though at 800iso

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

Until I get more experience, I also primarily use 1600 ISO. Guiding restrict me to max 2 minutes.

[Octane (Humayun)]

Nathan,

It depends on how bright your local skies are, or, from wherever you may be imaging from.

On your 1000D, try and obtain a histogram (at whatever ISO you may be using) that peaks somewhere along 1/3rd of the way across the X-axis. This will be a matter of trial and error.

The same principle (peak histogram) also applies to your flat light frames that you take. But, they should be taken at ISO-100, or whatever the lowest native ISO of your system may be.

H

[A23649 (Nathan)]

thanks a lot there h, seems vey helpful