Just a humble DSLR

[LewisM]

Well, I got all my polar alignment (I use a stock standard NEQ6), focus, guiding etc procedures nailed.

5 minutes subs seemed never enough, so tried a 10 minute exposure. PERFECT, no trails, no elongation.

So, I tried 20 minute single subs. SAME! Perfect (well, close).

So, my first SINGLE 20 minute sub was on the Alnitak region - the Flame and the Horsehead, plus the nebulosity around.

This is an UNPROCESSED image except to crop it, increase the levels a LITTLE (then dropping curves some). No colour play,no denoising (yet), no stretch. Canon 5DMkII, stock-standard, no cooling (CMOS temp was 30° after this shot), with Canon internal NR on, and using my customised profile with full image sharpen etc. ISO 600, 20 minutes SINGLE exposure. Skywatcher ED100 (reduced to f/7.2), with an ED80 guiding via an Orion StarShoot, with a 0.5s refresh rate.

Got some cleaning up to do, and may add in one sub-frame of a 5 minute sub so as to rid the Alnitak etc over-flare, but darned well getting better!

I have included a 100% size cropped shot of Eta Carinae nebula I also did, but that is a single 10 minute sub. Also unprocessed as yet.

Horsehead: http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/2558/horse1e.png

Eta Carinae Nebula: http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/2531/closeupcore.png

(all png, so don't do them justice yet!)

Now, how about 20 x 20' subs, stacked?

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Someone was up in the wee hours

Sounds and looks promising indeed

Mike

[Larryp (Laurie)]

Going great, Lewis!

[DavidTrap (David)]

Very promising Lewis,

My query relates to the assymetric flaring around the bright stars - could this mean pinched optics?

DT

[LewisM]

Looking at that David - there is a little "something" behind the objective - looks like a fragment of an old tissue or something! I did have the same assymetric flare in the VC200L - I put that down to secondary collimation, but perhaps - just perhaps - there is a camera issue or tube alignment issue.

Looking into it. It's not even remotely noticeable in a 5 min sub.

[Ross G]

Nice captures Lewis.

You're on your way. Good luck.


Ross.