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And lo, after 8 days of rain, the night sky did appeareth:
1 hour total integration time@ 800/5.6, ISO 2000.
1 hour total integration time@ 800/5.6, ISO 2000.
M51 Photo: 1 Hour Total Integration @ 800/5.6, ISO 2000
- Thread starter Andy Resnick
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SUMMARY
The discussion centers on astrophotography, specifically capturing the M51 galaxy using a Sony a850 camera with an 800mm telephoto lens. The total integration time for the image was one hour, with individual exposures lasting 20 seconds at an aperture of f/5.6 and ISO 2000. Participants discuss the optical setup, including the Losmandy GM8 mount, and the challenges of capturing clear images from different geographical locations. The importance of using RAW files for better image quality and post-processing techniques is also highlighted.
PREREQUISITES- Understanding of astrophotography techniques
- Familiarity with Sony a850 camera settings
- Knowledge of using telephoto lenses, specifically 800mm
- Experience with post-processing images in astrophotography
- Research techniques for capturing astrophotography with the Sony a850
- Learn about the Losmandy GM8 mount and its setup for astrophotography
- Explore post-processing techniques for RAW astrophotography images
- Investigate the visibility of celestial objects from different hemispheres
Astrophotographers, photography enthusiasts, and anyone interested in improving their skills in capturing and processing images of celestial objects.
- #2
Chronos
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Nice shot. What was your optical train?
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Chronos said:
Just my telephoto lens and Sony a850... am I misinterpreting? Each exposure was 20s long...(?)
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russ_watters
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That's an 800mm telephoto lens? Impressive lens! What was it mounted on?
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davenn
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Well Done Andy !
Don't think I can see that one from here in the southern hemisphere ... aahh Stellarium tells me it gets to only a few deg above the horizon
I would be shooting through murky thick atmosphere
I know its a perennial fav for the nthrn hemisphere guys
Im assuming that this was a 100% crop of the original image ( ie. you didn't resize the image out of the camera before cropping)
as M51 wouldn't fill the frame like that with 800mm on a full frame sensor ( nor on a aps-c sensor either for that matter)
and would explain the fuzziness and noise
This thread may be of interest to you astrophotographers ...
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=17500235Dave
Don't think I can see that one from here in the southern hemisphere ... aahh Stellarium tells me it gets to only a few deg above the horizon
I would be shooting through murky thick atmosphereI know its a perennial fav for the nthrn hemisphere guys
Im assuming that this was a 100% crop of the original image ( ie. you didn't resize the image out of the camera before cropping)
as M51 wouldn't fill the frame like that with 800mm on a full frame sensor ( nor on a aps-c sensor either for that matter)
and would explain the fuzziness and noise
This thread may be of interest to you astrophotographers ...
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=17500235Dave
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russ_watters said:
I rewarded myself three years ago with a Losmandy GM8- and have been extremely happy with it. I went from zero experience to 20s exposures in 15 minutes- alignment is trivial.
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davenn said:
Yep- that's a crop. The full frame shows nearby galaxies NGC 5198, IC 4263, and IC 4282. The image I posted here was made from jpgs, which accounts for most for the quality problems- The RAW version looks much better, not sure why I haven't posted that yet...
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Had another good viewing night last weekend, was able to sharpen things up a bit. Here's essentially the full-frame (central 2/3, anyway):
It still needs some work, but the nearby low-surface brightness galaxies IC 4263, NGC 5169, and IC 4278 are clearly visible. Here's the 1:1 closeup:
Not bad... now it's time to switch over to the Virgo supercluster (weather permitting...)
Edit- slowly getting the hang of this whole 'post processing' thing...
It still needs some work, but the nearby low-surface brightness galaxies IC 4263, NGC 5169, and IC 4278 are clearly visible. Here's the 1:1 closeup:
Not bad... now it's time to switch over to the Virgo supercluster (weather permitting...)
Edit- slowly getting the hang of this whole 'post processing' thing...
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