Posts for: Curve_in
Dec 27, 2021 12:03:03 #
Ballard wrote:
You got some good star colors. The focus might be a hair off. I would recommend hooking up a laptop to the camera and using live view and magnify the image of bright but not too bright a star to tweak the focus. (I will sometime crank up the iso while focusing using live view if needed to see a few stars, then set it back down for the actual exposures).
I used a Bahtinov mask and I thought the spikes were even. I'll have to more critical the next outing. I used Capella for the focus, but it seems you are saying that star may be too bright.
alberio wrote:
I like the colors also, but as Ballard said the focus is just on the edge. I fight getting camera lenses perfectly focused more than anything. Capella does look nice.
I thought that since Capella looked good, the rest would have been in focus too. I have much to learn!
Dec 26, 2021 15:11:30 #
My first outing with a SkyGuide pro was both thrilling and disappointing!
Polar alignment was speedy, but from my backyard, all the nebula were in the trees. I used a Pluto trigger for a timing the shots, but, I set up for just one shot versus 100. After the hour of shooting (while I was inside the house), I was happy that Capella was still in the frame. I included the basic raw conversion and the zealous crop. Light clouds tonight so I'll need to wait for a re-shoot.
Nikon D750
1600 iso
25 seconds
Sigma 120-400 (the camera reported 320mm but I thought it was at 400mm)
f/5.6
Sadly, one single image
Any pointers are greatly appreciated.
Polar alignment was speedy, but from my backyard, all the nebula were in the trees. I used a Pluto trigger for a timing the shots, but, I set up for just one shot versus 100. After the hour of shooting (while I was inside the house), I was happy that Capella was still in the frame. I included the basic raw conversion and the zealous crop. Light clouds tonight so I'll need to wait for a re-shoot.
Nikon D750
1600 iso
25 seconds
Sigma 120-400 (the camera reported 320mm but I thought it was at 400mm)
f/5.6
Sadly, one single image
Any pointers are greatly appreciated.
Nov 26, 2021 10:04:15 #
Marc G wrote:
Astro-photography is going to be difficult without some kind of tracking mount but not impossible as you will require lengthy exposures to capture faint nebula & galaxies.
Looking at your image I do see a few issues that can easily be corrected to produce a better image.
Firstly I wouldn't use a zoom lens at full focal length as many lenses produce softer images when extended.....
......
Finally, keep at it, practice your focus & most of all enjoy
kind regards Marc
Looking at your image I do see a few issues that can easily be corrected to produce a better image.
Firstly I wouldn't use a zoom lens at full focal length as many lenses produce softer images when extended.....
......
Finally, keep at it, practice your focus & most of all enjoy
kind regards Marc
Thanks Marc,
I appreciate the straight forward comments. I will be getting a rotating mount, but I wanted to work on the editing process first. I'll try again tonight with a prime lens if the clouds don't roll in....
Nov 26, 2021 07:19:43 #
At some point, I'd like to get a nice image of a Nebulae. I'm going to need lots of help with this project so I'm including as much information as I can. Here's my start, for this image, according to the Bortle scale, I'm in a zone 7 shooting towards a zone 6. Equipment wise, I used a Nikon D750 with a Sigma APO 120-400mm lens shot at 400mm and f/5.6, a tripod and a gimble style head. I shot 789 light frames, 44 dark frame and no usable bias frame at iso 4000 with a 2 second exposure. I processed the files with Siril which took about an hour and a half and I forgot to use the dark frames. The resulting .fit file was adjusted in GIMP for exposure and cropping and exported as a .jpg.
Nov 22, 2021 16:00:44 #
Nov 22, 2021 15:43:00 #
bwana wrote:
The Sky Watcher Star adventurer 2i Pro Pack is a good place to start...... I added a Benro 3D tripod head to mine for better fine adjustment. I used mine last night to shoot the Lunar Eclipse with a Sony A7 III and Sony FE 200-600mm lens @ 600mm, per: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-719357-1.html. It kept the Moon centered for over three hours.
bwa
bwa
That's a excellent image!
Nov 22, 2021 15:40:50 #
JBRIII wrote:
If you get the sky watcher, get a cell phone mount and attached to a tripod plate which will fit into the wedge. You can then align the mount to true north using many apps during the day time. I use the same for eclipses with good success. Lens needed depends on size of nebula you want to photograph.
I already have the app on my phone. Since I'd like to have a big picture of a small nebula, I may end up getting a Nikkor ED 300mm F/4 IF for a bit over $200.
Nov 22, 2021 14:48:53 #
BigDale wrote:
If you like to tinker (build things) you can look into making a barn door. There are a lot of different designs on the internet.
Thanks Dale,
I did read up on the barn door. As mush as I like to tinker, I don't think I'll be happy to sit and turn the crank for two hours!
Nov 19, 2021 12:03:44 #
I'd like to get a nice image of a nebula. From what I've been reading, I'll need a Equatorial Mount but I don't know much more than that.
Here's the equipment that I currently own:
Nikon D600 with a 590nm filter conversion
Nikon D750
Nikon 50mm f/1.8
Nikon 85mm f/1.4
Nikon 105mm f/2.8
Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Irix 15mm f/2.4
One nice tripod and two crappy ones
Pluto Trigger
I have enjoy doing star trails and I wanted another way to use my equipment in the night.
What else should I buy?
Here's the equipment that I currently own:
Nikon D600 with a 590nm filter conversion
Nikon D750
Nikon 50mm f/1.8
Nikon 85mm f/1.4
Nikon 105mm f/2.8
Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Irix 15mm f/2.4
One nice tripod and two crappy ones
Pluto Trigger
I have enjoy doing star trails and I wanted another way to use my equipment in the night.
What else should I buy?
Sep 29, 2021 20:35:09 #
I'm glad my wife said I should move to a different spot!
Sep 5, 2021 18:14:58 #
We planted some short leaf milkweed in hope of getting more pollinators in the garden. This little fellow didn't make it.
Aug 27, 2021 05:50:57 #
flip1948 wrote:
Can I assume you bought the one with the 18-55mm lens? The camera can shoot with a DX lens but at a lower resolution. It does say the conversion was calibrated to that lens though.
Yes, that's the one I bought. I'm not concerned about the resolution because I've been happy with the 10mp images from the D80. I am excited about the increase in dynamic range. Having more detail in the highlights will be nice. I've been using a Irix 15mm manual lens for the vast majority of my IF outings so it will be a change to have autofocus. With the 15mm and f16, just about everything is in focus without any effort!
Aug 26, 2021 15:45:03 #
Thank you for all the input. I picked up a D600 on Ebay that had conversion with a kit lens. I did the conversion on my D80 myself, but I was going to send in the D600 to have it converted to 590nm. It turns out that the conversion was done by Isaac Szabo - That's where I was going to have the work done!
Aug 22, 2021 22:19:26 #
My cheap as dirt D80 infrared is almost dead. I'm ready to convert a new to me Nikon and the D600 is a good fit. Most of the cameras posted on here are pristine very low shutter count examples that are a premium price. I'm looking for something more functional that doesn't need to be as pretty. I'm in the capital of the confederacy (Richmond, Virginia). $350 would be perfect.
Jul 27, 2021 16:34:16 #
I saw two new-to-me insects on my past prime kale. After a few pictures, I looked up what there were - Harlequin beetles. I went back outside to dispatch them only to see they were starting to make more harlequin beetle!
