I know this isn't very good but it is my very first DSO, so I thought that since a lot of other newbies were game, at least I'd show you where I'm at.
23 exposures at 30 secs each, with a Cannon 450D, Prime focus through my CPC 800. Stacked with DSS, and basically no other processing. Second try at aligning the wedge on my new pier, so tracking isn't good. Focus is obviously out, but I'll get it. Colimation seems out too, but I think that's the T-Ring. Seems a bit loose on the camera. Over exposed too, I think.
Got a long way to go, but I think it is at least recogniseable!
Mind you, if anyone tells me it's a nice shot of the Moon, I'll probably give it up!!
that's a nice shot of the......, actually Ken can you re-post the picture bigger because I think you shrank it too much and I can't get a good look....
Sorry Graham! Still trying to get the hang of shrinking the computer size of these things while keeping them a reasonable size to view!! This one isn't much better but a little bit!
Ken
Ha........that is so funny, cause I was going to guess the Butterfly cluster!!!!!
And I just had a look on starmap pro and it matches up to M6!
Well done Ken.
Tis a bit dark, maybe a bit of post processing.......not that I'm an expert!!!!
Thanks
Bartman
Thanks Bart, Just wish I could get the hang of shrinking the thing down to a byte size that I can upload while keeping the image a reasonable size!! Might make it easier for folks to see what my poor efforts are coming up with!
Hey Ken what program are you using to shrink it down now?
If you use PS elements there is an option of 'saving for web'. It gives you options of size and quality. I generally keep the size in pixels to that of a relatively common screen size ( 1080 x 768(?) or 1200x800) then adjust the quality to get under the 200kb limit. I believe InfranView (free) is a good tool to use to shrink from what I have read on the forums. However I havn't really used it much....
HTH
Bartman
Hi Ken,
save your images in jpg for upload which will give you 24 bit depth (16 million colours). And resize like others have suggested to make the file smaller, and then play with the jpg quality setting to get under 200k limit of iceinspace. Your bmp file has 8 bit depth with a 256 colour palette. That is why the background looks like one colour. Because it is. I'm sure the original looks better than that. I have not used DSS, so I do not know which settings to use. Save your original images in the highest bit depth possible. With my 450D I download in RAW monochrome mode, because this is best when applying dark and bias frames to remove the camera noise, and I loose no data when manipulating the images in the highest quality possible.
Hey, looked it up on wikipedia and that matches the image there just rotated 180deg! Cool.
Well, you've got stars. So good for you. You should be happy. My first shots consisted of completely black frames with the occasional bright trails. It is important to get your focus first. Worry about collimation later, then eventually tracking. Getting a good focus consistantly will help you move further.
Thanks for your responses guys! Sorry I take so long to respond, but I run my own company, and between that and computer crashes and family commitments, I even struggle to get my scope out onto the deck to just look, let alone take any photo's. At least, I have a wedge and peir set up for when I get a clear sky and the time to use it! Probably better luck than most of us in Gippsland at the moment!
At least my other commitments give me the time to THINK! There's something called Periodic Error Correction on my scope that I can refine. Thinking that doing this could be a good thing. But thinking that doing it with a guidescope could cut some corners.
You should be happy. My first shots consisted of completely black frames with the occasional bright trails. It is important to get your focus first. Worry about collimation later, then eventually tracking. Getting a good focus consistantly will help you move further.
