I attempted to take some video of Jupiter a few nights ago, I captured 20+ videos @ around 3 minutes each of jupiter so that i could select the best one and use registax to get some detail. But i found that all the video footage was overly bright with no detail at all! I ran the best capture through registax with no success.
I am using a Canon 600D DSLR + T-adapter and EOS ring. Attached is a screen shot of the video to give you an idea of what kind of quality I am getting. I understand that the video will never be as good as looking through an EP, but any hints or tips on how to improve the video capture would be greatly apreciated!
On the 600D you need to set the exposure time to be much shorter.
From memory, if the camera is on manual, turn the dial that is near the shutter button (I think clockwise) until the image gets darker.
You'll want your ISO to be pretty low, it will depend on your scope. On my f7.5 ED80 I use around ISO400 but if you have a newt or something with a smaller focal ratio then you might go even lower.
Also I'm not sure how you're recording video off your 600D but I use this: http://sourceforge.net/projects/eos-movrec/
It will record the Liveview video so you can press the zoom in button and record 5x zoom Liveview.
I think what i am doing wrong is using the full 1080P video to record Jupiter, which seems to be gathering too much light. Ive done some reading on the forum and on the net and found that i am suppose to use the Movie Crop mode? which i have searched the menu for, but can not find it, I may have to read the dreaded manual I have only had the 600D for just over a week and im still learning how to use it, as its the first DSLR ive ever owned.
I am hoping Mark_Heli will give a few pointers, as his scope and camera are very similar to mine, and the results he acheived for Jupiter are very impressive.
Hi James, the resolution you're taking the movie at won't affect how bright the image is, I'm pretty sure you just need to turn down the exposure time. Make sure your camera is on manual mode.
The crop mode could help as it will record a 640x480 movie just using the pixels in the centre of the sensor thus giving you more "zoom". Bit I'm not sure if the 600D has that...?
That program I pointed out in my last post kind of does the same thing.
Attached are the EOS utility settings which I used to take the attached image last week.
I have found that an ISO setting of 200 and an exposure speed of 1/160 work really well. If you set the ISO too high or the exposure speed too slow, the video will be overexposed. You can change both of these settings through the EOS utility software without touching the camera.
In terms of selecting Movie Crop mode, see the attached picture which shows how I select this mode through the EOS utility.
I think that the EOS cameras do an excellent job for planetary videos.
Cheers,
Mark
Last edited by Mark_Heli; 14-12-2012 at 10:00 PM.
Reason: fixed typo
thank you very much for that info Mark!! I have made notes,and will give it a go on sunday - I think the problem is im trying to learn too much at once, which is getting me a little confused, everytime i see ISO, i think of disk images and burning software
I am in the same boat as you... trying to learn EVERYTHING about using a DSLR on my telescope in 2 days if I can!!! In reality, it has been a few months, and still learning more each time I take it out!
I'm using a Canon 60D, and the movie crop mode works well. Can be hard to get the focus tight enough, but worth keeping going. I'm using the BackyardEOS program to do my capture, Registax 6 to stack and process... and the combination seems to be working well.
I have been bumping my ISO speed up as high as I dare, and using a shutter speed of about 1/200th of a second... theory being that I am trying to leave the shutter speed as quick as possible to try and help "freeze" the atmospheric turbulence as much as I can.
Even had a go at some deep space objects the other night... reasonably pleased with how it turned out for a first go... but a LONG way to go for it to be really good.
Mark,
What size LX90 you using? Doesn't say in your signature block. I have the 8" LX90, would love to be able to get a photo of Jupiter as great as yours, but I am not close yet.
I have a 600d you have the iso setting up too high. When in movie mode press ' menu' make sure 'movie exposure' is on manual. Go then right to the next tab heading, 'movie rec. Size' then choose 1920 x 1080, 30fps and select the '3-10' digital zoom option. Turn off sound. To get 30fps you may need to change the video system to NTSC which is on the far right heading (although being on 24fps is not the end of the world). Look for the iso button on top of the camera and choose it there. You can also play with the sideways button in front of it too you'll be able to see the brightness change.
That should get you going. I use the eos software which was supplied to convert the file to avi before using registax for stacking.
Keep in mind the seeing has been terrible for months plus Jupiter is at a low elevation this year, so a good video / image is hard to come bye! Very hard so don't be too disappointed with average results.
Best of luck oh btw you should download 'magiclantern' to your memory card, the settings are much easier to control from there.
Thanks again guys, my sister has borrowed my DSLR for a few weeks, so im without it untill Boxing day , but i thought i would give the little Neximage a run again last night. Ive learned a few tricks from reading lots of IIS posts. I know it isnt anywhere near the quality of the all the other images of jupiter, but for a sub $150 webcam, and 10 x 1 minute videos im quite happy with the results, im sure there are options in registax that i have missed that could probably make this image better, but that is the fun in learning by trial and error
Thank you again everyone, I had a little success on the 28th with a semi clear sky, light whispy clouds and the moon in my face like a flashlight.
I only had 30 minutes before the clouds came in, but here is my attempt with the DSLR, im quite happy with it im guessing that my focus wasnt spot on, and i probably should have taken more than 1 minute of video to stack. Im just glad im going forward, and not backwards
Ive now run a 2m usb extension to my pier, so i can control the DSLR via my PC.
Thanks again all for your info, this has been a great experience!
That last image is great James, I tried imaging Jupiter for the first time the other night with my 550D. I haven't worked out how to get multiple .avi's into Registax yet (is it even possible?) so I was trying to find a single exposure that didn't blow out the surface detail but kept the moons in view.
I ended up settling on 1/800 ISO 1600. Unfortunately the moons are barely visible and the surface is still too bright, is there a way of combining .avi's with two different exposures?
i have attempted to use the neximage with not much success.
I have only had the 600D for just over a week and im still learning how to use it, as its the first DSLR ive ever owned.
