Firstlight with 200 2.8 L - carina region

[Garyh]

Hi All again in IIS land...,
Just before my holiday I managed to get myself a secondhand 200mm f/2.8 L lense..., at a good price as well...
Been very eager to give it a good try out but the weather and the moon have stopped me giving it a good test out.
About 10min before moon rise I managed a few quick shots to see how it performs...
Pic is just 3 x 2 min with some levels and contrast and brightness applied..
Maybe my focus was out but stars on the left hand of the frame were rather soft and very sharp to the right. I hope I didn`t get a lemon.....and hope its not a decentred lense or the like???
But other than that it has great color correction and very little other distortions..
If its clear tonight I shall go deeper and longer before the moon pops up..and focus more carefully!!
Cheers and Cs everyone

[avandonk]

Very good image Gary. Did you have the UV filter on? if so that would be the cause of any distortion as they can be many waves out of flat and parallel unless you get the very expensive ($80+) versions even then they are not as good as the lens.

Bert

[Garyh]

Originally Posted by avandonk

Very good image Gary. Did you have the UV filter on? if so that would be the cause of any distortion as they can be many waves out of flat and parallel unless you get the very expensive ($80+) versions even then they are not as good as the lens.

Bert

thanks Bert for the comment.....I have a cokin uv filter but I removed it before imaging...I usually image with no threaded filters except with maybe wideangle lenses....cheers

[CometGuy]

Gary,

Thats an excellent result and yes you need to tweak the focus a little. Most lenses I have seen show various small amounts of misalignment and it seems to show up more if the image is out is slightly out of focus. Yours seems normal and is not a problem.

Terry

[Dr Nick (Nick)]

Wow! Thats sharp! Impressive.

[Ingo]

Nice picture. Very sharp and great colors.

I think an auto levels in photoshop would take that brightness away that's layered over the beautiful image. I would do it for you, but I don't have photoshop on this.

[leon]

Good one Gary for a first light with your lens, , Eta is certainly a popular area in the sky, I love it.

Leon

[h0ughy (David)]

I have that lens - its a ripper. Look forward to more shots with it too

[tornado33]

Yes nice shot. Ive used Houghys lens (ultrasonic) at a footy game and it works great, so would be great for astro work too, as it has a smooth manual focus.
Scott

[Garyh]

Thanks Terry, Nick, Ingo, Leon, Houghy and Scott!!!
I always wanted a good telephoto! and it sure beats the older non AS lenses for sure..I shall have lots of fun for years to come. Well worth saving for!!
But they are sure touchy to focus compared to the old lenses!!!
Looks like a good night coming so I will be out tonight and go for the dark doodad before the moon rises.....
Cheers

[Ric]

It a great looking image Gary.
I'm looking forward to more.

Cheers

[atalas]

Looks very promising Gary,congrats.