CCD vs Film? Lots of time vs no patience? Alright, this is your place to discuss all the astrophotography what's and what's not. You can discuss about techniques, accessories, cameras, whatever....just make sure you also post some nice photos here too!
you need to take note of the following :-
1) Try to focus sharper, so get pin point stars, try to get trapezium in orion core.
2) Camera must be modded ie remove of IR filter at CCD level...
3) Use Hydrogen alpha filter ... probably need to extend exposure to 30 seconds ... so need to drift alignment scope ( this will bring out the nebula )
Last edited by wucheeyiun on Sun Apr 03, 2011 4:16 pm, edited 8 times in total.
Thanks for comments and the picture you Processed. manually focus is a great problem for DSLR due to tiny focus screen. I made Hartman Mask to get focus but still not good enough. Perhaps 10sec exp not enough to bring out more details of Orion. I will try again. Thanks.
As wucheeyiun has mentioned, try to get good focus. Not easy when looking through the viewfinder. But with practice and some aching eyelids...lol,...you will get the hang of it! One method I use if looking at one bright star, I focus and look out for the sudden blooming of that star. When that happens, I focus in the opposite direction till it blooms, then turn in and out till you see it bloom-become small-bloom. Then stop at the 'small star' part (hope you get it...lol. Trying to be as simple here). When the stars shrink before they bloom up again...thats pretty good focus.
Longer exposures will also help! Try a CCD drift alignment since your using an EQ mount. Won't go into details, but do a google and I'm sure you can find it! If you have probs, Pm me and I can explain it all..in as detailed as possible.
Keep at it!
My wife never complained about how much time, effort & money I spent on my Astronomy hobby!................suddenly I met her!!!
Much better focusing effort ... ( it has both large and small pin point stars ) ... this image obtain has potential , try to use a ) 0.5x reducer and capture the flame & horsehead if you can ...
example ... Push the gp2 mount to run 60sec with a 0.5 x reducer...
Last edited by wucheeyiun on Sat Apr 09, 2011 12:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
@kimo: Nice wide view shot! Please post in the DIY or equipment subforum and share with us how your build your 80mm F/10 refractor and how it looks like. Thanks!
"The importance of a telescope is not how big it is, how well made it is.
It is how many people, less fortunate than you, got to look through it."
-- John Dobson.
