Hello IceinSpace,
I recently joined this site as a bi-product of my developing passion for this hobby. After some prior attempts, I now have an image that I believe is an adequate starting point for a beginner like myself. Here is an image of the Orion Nebula that I captured, using a tripod, star tracker, a DSLR (Canon 60D) and a camera lens (@270mm). Despite there being some minor imperfections regarding star shape and chromatic aberration, overall I'm quite pleased with the end result. Any feedback/tips for post processing or general refinement is appreciated.
My first image was a 30 sec shot of Orion and I was over the moon that I was able to get anything at all. Congrats on your first "proper" image. Did you match the dark frame length to the lights? I don't take 30 anymore I use 15 now and don't see much difference.
What ISO did you use? I ran my Canon 700D at 800iso most days but sometimes would go to 1600 to bring out some more finer detail. I've never used Sequator so I can't comment on that side of things, most of us here use Deep Sky Stacker ( DSS ). Star Tools is another great image manipulation software and is quite easy to use, again there is a few in the beginner section that use it too, so we can help if you get stuck if you go down that road. It is free to use, though the only thing is you can't save the image in end unless you buy it but you can do a screen shot and post that way.
Well Alex, a big hearty congratulations on your first light success (that's a dang, dang). We all have a first ever astrophoto (arhem...here is mine ) and now you have yours (which is much better than mine)
It's great to see another passionate participant enter this exciting, rewarding and, yep, even privileged pastime. Exciting because you never know quite what you might reveal, rewarding because it takes a bit of thought, preparation and processing, making the results personal and satisfying and privileged because, well, in the scheme of things, very few of us humans actually get to be able to capture/reveal/showcase the surprisingly spectacular wonders of our otherwise, seemingly mundane night skies...
What you really need, is a dark sky, oh, at say ..maybe just under 1500m up..? under a dark pristine clear mountain sky somewhere (or know someone who has this ) and an experienced mate, who can give you some pointers along the journey....I'll see if I know anyone.....and get back to you
My first image was a 30 sec shot of Orion and I was over the moon that I was able to get anything at all. Congrats on your first "proper" image. Did you match the dark frame length to the lights? I don't take 30 anymore I use 15 now and don't see much difference.
What ISO did you use? I ran my Canon 700D at 800iso most days but sometimes would go to 1600 to bring out some more finer detail. I've never used Sequator so I can't comment on that side of things, most of us here use Deep Sky Stacker ( DSS ). Star Tools is another great image manipulation software and is quite easy to use, again there is a few in the beginner section that use it too, so we can help if you get stuck if you go down that road. It is free to use, though the only thing is you can't save the image in end unless you buy it but you can do a screen shot and post that way.
Hi Karl. I did match the shutter speed for my dark frames. I figured I would have to scale the amount of dark frames to the amount of lights so it would be effective but I might try a few less next time. My ISO was about 800 I believe, but I reckon im being a bit cautious with it. Next time I might crank it up a bit to bring out some finer detail. I've heard of DSS but never used it. Might be worth a try.
Well Alex, a big hearty congratulations on your first light success (that's a dang, dang). We all have a first ever astrophoto (arhem...here is mine ) and now you have yours (which is much better than mine)
It's great to see another passionate participant enter this exciting, rewarding and, yep, even privileged pastime. Exciting because you never know quite what you might reveal, rewarding because it takes a bit of thought, preparation and processing, making the results personal and satisfying and privileged because, well, in the scheme of things, very few of us humans actually get to be able to capture/reveal/showcase the surprisingly spectacular wonders of our otherwise, seemingly mundane night skies...
What you really need, is a dark sky, oh, at say ..maybe just under 1500m up..? under a dark pristine clear mountain sky somewhere (or know someone who has this ) and an experienced mate, who can give you some pointers along the journey....I'll see if I know anyone.....and get back to you
Welcome to astrophotography
Mike.
Hi Mike.
Thanks for such a warm welcome. I couldn't agree with you more, I'm really starting to see how rewarding this type of photography can be! The thought of having an imaging session on the top of a mountain range sounds like the dream
I would love to one day meet with a renowned astrophotographer and learn from them!
That's great Alex. Much fun ahead. Orion always seem to be the goto for first shot. You should get some real good photos of the milkyway with your set up. It's around the corner this fall.
Alex
Welcome to IIS and our incredible hobby
Great first image of M42 a popular summer target
My first astro image was the moon ( another popular 1st object ) using my iPhone 5 held against a 15mm eye piece in my old 10” dob.
When I started with my Canon 600D years ago , I purchased an e book from Jerry Lodriguss called “ A Beginners Guide to DSLR Astrophotography “ who is a well regarded DSLR Astrophotographer in the US. I think it only cost $50 ? well worth buying , covers everything you need to know about DSLR Astrophotography from a basic tracker on tripod to advanced prime focus Astrophotography ( includes introduction, optics , lenses, polar alignments , DSLR settings , image scale and sampling , telescopes and mounts , white balance , colour and contrast , image processing, stacking and the list goes on .... )
I started off using BYEOS ( specifically designed for Canon DSLR’s ) for my framing , focus and capture
Deep Sky Stacker ( free ) for stacking frames , one of the most used and reliable stacking software in the world ( still use it now )
Post processing I used Startools ( still use it now )
Welcome again , good luck and enjoy , there’s plenty of folk here willing to assist along your Astro journey
That's great Alex. Much fun ahead. Orion always seem to be the goto for first shot. You should get some real good photos of the milkyway with your set up. It's around the corner this fall.
Hey Marc,
Yeah I reckon that will be my next project. I'd also like to do some nightscapes too.
Alex
Welcome to IIS and our incredible hobby
Great first image of M42 a popular summer target
My first astro image was the moon ( another popular 1st object ) using my iPhone 5 held against a 15mm eye piece in my old 10” dob.
When I started with my Canon 600D years ago , I purchased an e book from Jerry Lodriguss called “ A Beginners Guide to DSLR Astrophotography “ who is a well regarded DSLR Astrophotographer in the US. I think it only cost $50 ? well worth buying , covers everything you need to know about DSLR Astrophotography from a basic tracker on tripod to advanced prime focus Astrophotography ( includes introduction, optics , lenses, polar alignments , DSLR settings , image scale and sampling , telescopes and mounts , white balance , colour and contrast , image processing, stacking and the list goes on .... )
I started off using BYEOS ( specifically designed for Canon DSLR’s ) for my framing , focus and capture
Deep Sky Stacker ( free ) for stacking frames , one of the most used and reliable stacking software in the world ( still use it now )
Post processing I used Startools ( still use it now )
Welcome again , good luck and enjoy , there’s plenty of folk here willing to assist along your Astro journey
Cheers
Martin
Hey Martin
Thanks for the info! I will definitely keep an eye out for Jerry Lodriguss's book, or other Astronomy books for that matter. I can't wait to get out on a clear night with the knowledge gained from valuable resources like the ones you mentioned. I will install DSS for my future projects, seeing as it's quite commonly used.
Thanks again
image. Did you match the dark frame length to the lights? I don't take 30 anymore I use 15 now and don't see much difference.
(that's a dang, dang). We all have a first ever astrophoto (arhem...
(which is much better than mine)
..maybe just under 1500m up..? under a dark pristine clear mountain sky somewhere (or know someone who has this 
) and an experienced mate, who can give you some pointers along the journey....I'll see if I know anyone..
