Need Help ... M42 process

[swee sin]

Hi all sifu ...
got question about processing the M42 wihtout over expose the center core.
I had shoot different kind of exposure like ISO200 15s, ISO800 15s, ISO800 30s & ISO800 60s ....
i stack they with deepsky stacker seperately, then using photoshop to stretch the stack image.
then i using layer to stack them and i only able to get this.



it seem not so much gain from previous attemp even now i didn't push it to ISO1600, but i tot with longer exposure like 30s and 60s will make better. am i doing right on the processing part?

here is previous attemp (15s with iso800 & iso1600)

[mymoon]

This may be of help.

Look under Advanced Techniques

click here

Cheers

[swee sin]

thanks
but i think now i'm having hard time to dissolve all this ...

[cataclysm]

Ok here is a 'quick & dirty way' if you have Photoshop CS2 or higher level by using merge HDR processing. First you have to aligned all your files with separate exposures and save them. To activate merge HDR programe, go to File - Automate - Merge to HDR...., click all the relevant... and voila!

[shirox]

For me i searched online and finally got a solution when i was processing my images.
I take stacked images of 5 mins at 1600iso and stacks of 30 secs 1600iso and combine them using photoshop using the masking method. After that then you stretch and level the data. Maybe its not the perfect way to mask the core but it does the job haha

here's mine.
took me awhile to learn how to do it properly

[swee sin]

i try mask method, but can't get good result.
then i switch it to HDR method, quite simple.
but when i stretch again, the core area become over again.

oh well, maybe next time i shld try bump up iso and do longer and more frame.
now my photo suffer a lot artifact when i stretch it, especially the outer area.

btw, which color is the correct color for M42?