Astrophotography

[Bounce]

I have always loved telescopes but have not had the money to delve into it on the level I want till now. The only problem is that I don't know where to start with equipment. I am going to a astronomy club meeting in a city about an hour away on Tuesday and hoping there is someone there who is into the same thing.

Is there anyone here that does Astrophotography?

Hi, I have a Celestron Nexstar130SLR Telescope, Its a great telescope for beginners with a goto mount, also comes with two eyepeices 25mm & 9mm, been doing this for about 2 years, just starting Astrophotoghy but not as easy as it looks, but great stuff

 

[Whiskeyman]

Don Kuykendall,

I know this is an dated discussion, but I'll say that most of the serious "scopers" in this area have Meade scopes.

A couple have bought from Telescopes SALE - Telescopes From Top Brands & Styles When I get the chance, I'll ask about their recommendations for astrophotography, since it's something I'd like to get into as well.

Now another question is "D810A, or not?"

WM

 

[Don Kuykendall_RIP]

I decided against going this route. To get to true astro photography the mount and scope would have cost a fortune with the mount being the major portion. My other option was the drone and I am glad I went this route. I am really enjoying it.

 

[patrick in memphis]

Telescope brand is user preference.I use a Meade but celestron,Takahashi and plenty others are out there.first thing is will you use it for photos of birds and other earth based stuff. Some telescopes invert or reverse image.next is it for planetary or deep space objects.that will determine size u will need.then u get to mount types and software...pm. me if questions

 

[patrick in memphis]

About the d810a at 3800.00 it is full frame and increased low light sensitivity. But that same money will buy u a pretty decent scope setup..and most astrophotography are stacked so not being full frame (fx) is not that big a deal...both my cams are dx

 

[patrick in memphis]

Just to be fair I should warn u ...alot of us spend uh.uh.money but regardless how much $$ u spend the local cloud cover trumps all

 

[wornish]

This thread has been quiet for some time.

I had a starter telescope about 10 years ago but it was not good enough to use for astrophotography beyond basic moon shots. I can do better Moon shots now using just my camera and a telephoto lens, than was possible with the scope..

Planets and deep space objects are really what I would like to be able to photograph.

I am going to join a local astronomy club to get a feel for what possible.

I know its not going to be a low cost exercise but are there any Nikonites out there doing this and what gear are you using.

 

[patrick in memphis]

Hi dave,the darker reasons of space require larger apertures.ants can be had w 3 or 4 inch diameter models. Mine is a 8"(200mm) sct lx200 meade on a celestron cg5asgt equitorial mount w a celestron st -80 for a guide scope.just be aware that astrophotography requires lots of pics,stacking and layer processing and alot of cold dark nights,lol.

 

[wornish]

Had the first clear night last night for weeks.
Here is my first attempt at Deep Sky Imaging using the Skywatcher Adventurer mount I got myself for Christmas, I am very impressed with how easy it was to set up.
I used my Olympus OMD EM-5 mk2 with the f/2.8 12-40mm lens (set at 40mm).

This is a stack of 20 pics each 10sec, ISO 1600 and then stacked in Deep Sky Stacker and further processed in star tools and then Photoshop.

I now know what astrophotographers do when its cloudy. They spend the time learning all the post processing techniques. Talk about a steep learning curve

Next attempt will be using my D810 with my 80-400 mm this is a big step because the field of view gets very small the longer the focal length.

 

[Dawg Pics]

Astronomy is difficult enough, then you add photography to it.

I wanted to get into that, but the cost alone for a decent telescope set-up did me in.

 

[salukfan111]

Now is a good time to shoot Jupiter. One of these intentionally has excessive exposure as I was trying to capture moons besides Europa and IO.



This one is excessive exposure


Here are star pics about 60 miles SW of Chicago. There are with a 58 voigtlander set at 1.4 and the other at 2

 

[Panza]

This thread has given me a lot of information and I'm really mind blown at how much work and investment goes into capturing systems and galaxies.

To take proper galaxy photos I would need a telescope and a 200-500mm lens on a D750 wouldn't cut it? Even with a teleconverter like a 1.7x or a 1.4x?
How many shots need to be stacked to start extracting details from nebulae and galaxies?

 

[wornish]

This thread has given me a lot of information and I'm really mind blown at how much work and investment goes into capturing systems and galaxies.

To take proper galaxy photos I would need a telescope and a 200-500mm lens on a D750 wouldn't cut it? Even with a teleconverter like a 1.7x or a 1.4x?
How many shots need to be stacked to start extracting details from nebulae and galaxies?

A 200-500mm lens on a D750 will certainly work fine for the brightest galaxies you don't need a telescope. Andromeda is where many people start, you can even see it with the naked eye in non light polluted areas, and its quite large.

These are the settings I would recommend:

Mount : Good solid tripod essential
Mode : Manual for Camera and Manual focus for Lens
ISO : 1600 (800 might be ok and give less noise)
Aperture : As wide as possible f/2.8 perfect f/5.6 is fine
Shutter : 30secs max on fixed tripod or stars will be elongated due to earths rotation.
Release : Use delay timer to take shot or use remote cable release.


Actually getting the stars in focus and making sure the galaxy is in the frame is the first challenge. You can get free planetarium software that really helps you know where to point the camera. (Stellarium and Carte du Ciel are the most popular).

This is where Live View really helps. So initially set your ISO really high like 6400 to help you see the stars (and a lot of noise) then manual adjust the focus around about the infinity setting to get them as small as possible in live view. This is very sensitive so be patient. The galaxy should appear as a feint glow on live view. Adjust the view by carefully moving the camera on the tripod to centre the galaxy in the field of view. when thats done change the ISO back to 1600 (or 800), the stars will still be just about viable in live view. Take at least 5 shots ideally 10 to 20 but after each 5 or so you may need to adjust the field of view as the earth has rotated. At the end put the lens cap on and take 3 - 5 shots at exactly the same settings. These are called Darks and are used to help removing noise when stacking. Thats it your done part one.

Part two is post processing.
You need to stack all the star shots (called Lights) and the Darks in software.
Deep Sky Stacker is the most popular and Its FREE ! It takes a bit of learning but works great. Many tutorials on You Tube.
When you have the stacked picture you can the do more post processing in your editor of choice.

Good luck, there are lots of other targets that you can try if you get the bug. But be warned your wallet might suffer. Also I see you have a D7000 that might be better for smaller galaxies when you get going because of the crop factor.

 

[Panza]

A 200-500mm lens on a D750 will certainly work fine for the brightest galaxies you don't need a telescope. Andromeda is where many people start, you can even see it with the naked eye in non light polluted areas, and its quite large.

These are the settings I would recommend:

Mount : Good solid tripod essential
Mode : Manual for Camera and Manual focus for Lens
ISO : 1600 (800 might be ok and give less noise)
Aperture : As wide as possible f/2.8 perfect f/5.6 is fine
Shutter : 30secs max on fixed tripod or stars will be elongated due to earths rotation.
Release : Use delay timer to take shot or use remote cable release.


Actually getting the stars in focus and making sure the galaxy is in the frame is the first challenge. You can get free planetarium software that really helps you know where to point the camera. (Stellarium and Carte du Ciel are the most popular).

This is where Live View really helps. So initially set your ISO really high like 6400 to help you see the stars (and a lot of noise) then manual adjust the focus around about the infinity setting to get them as small as possible in live view. This is very sensitive so be patient. The galaxy should appear as a feint glow on live view. Adjust the view by carefully moving the camera on the tripod to center the galaxy in the field of view. when thats done change the ISO back to 1600 (or 800), the stars will still be just about viable in live view. Take at least 5 shots ideally 10 to 20 but after each 5 or so you may need to adjust the field of view as the earth has rotated. At the end put the lens cap on and take 3 - 5 shots at exactly the same settings. These are called Darks and are used to help removing noise when stacking. Thats it your done part one.

Part two is post processing.
You need to stack all the star shots (called Lights) and the Darks in software.
Deep Sky Stacker is the most popular and Its FREE ! It takes a bit of learning but works great. Many tutorials on You Tube.
When you have the stacked picture you can the do more post processing in your editor of choice.

Good luck, there are lots of other targets that you can try if you get the bug. But be warned your wallet might suffer. Also I see you have a D7000 that might be better for smaller galaxies when you get going because of the crop factor.

I was afraid the D7000 wouldn't hold up in low light as well. The artifacts in the image quality become quite present above ISO1200.

I use StarWalk when I'm searching for the Milky Way. I've taken photos of the MWG at 16mm and 24mm with zooms but I've yet to try using telephoto lenses for smaller Galaxies. The galaxies I need to take photos of are Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Gemini, and Ursa Major. To be honest it's a project for my spouse in her college astronomy course. When she said "honey I need your camera". It was no longer a project and instantly became my mission.

I was afraid star trails would start appearing at 30s exposures. When I apply the 600 rule to 500mm, I get 500/600 = 1.2s exposures to avoid star trails?

I'm also worried about the rotation of the earth causing issues in the stacked photos or will Photoshop/Deep Sky Stacker correct this?
I've been reading on equatorial mounts andscotch barn door contraptions which I'm not skilled enough to create.

 

[wornish]

I was afraid the D7000 wouldn't hold up in low light as well. The artifacts in the image quality become quite present above ISO1200.

I use StarWalk when I'm searching for the Milky Way. I've taken photos of the MWG at 16mm and 24mm with zooms but I've yet to try using telephoto lenses for smaller Galaxies. The galaxies I need to take photos of are Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Gemini, and Ursa Major. To be honest it's a project for my spouse in her college astronomy course. When she said "honey I need your camera". It was no longer a project and instantly became my mission.

I was afraid star trails would start appearing at 30s exposures. When I apply the 600 rule to 500mm, I get 500/600 = 1.2s exposures to avoid star trails?

I'm also worried about the rotation of the earth causing issues in the stacked photos or will Photoshop/Deep Sky Stacker correct this?
I've been reading on equatorial mounts andscotch barn door contraptions which I'm not skilled enough to create.

The main reason for stacking is to get rid of noise and artefacts so the more shots the better. I am sure a D7000 at 800 ISO won't be an issue. The D750 will have less noise in each shot.

Some "rules" are there to be broken, you can certainly go beyond 1.2 secs.

You can just about get away with 30secs if you are well focussed on a fixed mount and avoid star trails. Its less obvious at 20 secs but 30 sec is about the max.
DSS will actually align the different shots, even shots taken on different nights, its pretty amazing.

I wouldn't recommend a barn door mount as it doesn't give you a great deal more leeway.

I did use a Skywatcher Star Adventurer as my first equatorial mount fixed on top of my camera tripod and with that I could go up to 2 mins exposure fairly easily. They are not too expensive and they will get you to the next level.

That said .... I still would start on a fixed mount and tripod and learn the technique especially the focussing and the post processing. Have a look at using Bahtinov masks to help with the focussing. Told you it costs $'s once you get the bug.

 

[Panza]

The main reason for stacking is to get rid of noise and artefacts so the more shots the better. I am sure a D7000 at 800 ISO won't be an issue. The D750 will have less noise in each shot.

Some "rules" are there to be broken, you can certainly go beyond 1.2 secs.

You can just about get away with 30secs if you are well focussed on a fixed mount and avoid star trails. Its less obvious at 20 secs but 30 sec is about the max.
DSS will actually align the different shots, even shots taken on different nights, its pretty amazing.

I wouldn't recommend a barn door mount as it doesn't give you a great deal more leeway.

I did use a Skywatcher Star Adventurer as my first equatorial mount fixed on top of my camera tripod and with that I could go up to 2 mins exposure fairly easily. They are not too expensive and they will get you to the next level.

That said .... I still would start on a fixed mount and tripod and learn the technique especially the focussing and the post processing. Have a look at using Bahtinov masks to help with the focussing. Told you it costs $'s once you get the bug.

I wish DSS was available for Mac. I have a PC at home, but taking my Mac out in the field with me has always been really helpful for nightography.

Thank you for all the support! The moon is 4 days until new so I have some time before peak clear skies. I'll take some test images and see how it goes : ) I'll be back with images fail or success.

 

[wornish]

I wish DSS was available for Mac. I have a PC at home, but taking my Mac out in the field with me has always been really helpful for nightography.

Thank you for all the support! The moon is 4 days until new so I have some time before peak clear skies. I'll take some test images and see how it goes : ) I'll be back with images fail or success.

I am a mac user as well.

There are two ways to run it on a mac..

1. install Parallel Desktop and Windows - definitely works but isn't cheap.

2. Free !! Use a Wineskin wrapper.

See this site here:
Reflections: Running DeepSkyStacker for Windows on the Mac

It does work.

You will find a lot of astrophotography apps are windows only many were first created on windows XP.

 

[Scott Murray]

I was thinking, with the D800E I get alot of noise at ISO 3200 @20sec but what if I doubled it to 6400 and added high ISO noise reduction at 10 sec exp and 10 sec NR? Would it be better or worse?

 

[wornish]

I was thinking, with the D800E I get alot of noise at ISO 3200 @20sec but what if I doubled it to 6400 and added high ISO noise reduction at 10 sec exp and 10 sec NR? Would it be better or worse?

Don't know to be honest.

Certainly better to do more shots and stack them than use in camera noise reduction.
There is a good explanation here :

The theory or How to create better images

 

[Scott Murray]

Don't know to be honest.

Certainly better to do more shots and stack them than use in camera noise reduction.
There is a good explanation here :

The theory or How to create better images

Yeah but is it better? I get alot of noise in single exposures then when I add multiple dark frames it takes away from the image to the case that I am willing to remove every single hot spot... Not done in timelapse unless you want stars sitting still or evolving.