Taking the Plunge

Astrophotography: share your photos & discuss techniques
Chuck
Posts: 285
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2015 1:14 pm

Taking the Plunge

Unread post by Chuck »

I'm seriously thinking of trying my hand at AP with a dslr (Canon T6i). I'd like to start by trying some piggyback and prime focus work to see what's involved and if I have an inclination to go further. Any suggestions for some good imaging and processing software would be welcome. I haven't actually bought the camera yet, but will be very soon. Money is a constraint which is why I'm going the dslr route. If the AP thing goes bust, at least I'll have a decent camera. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

---- Chuck
Chuck M.

Meade 8" LX200 Classic OTA
iOptron CEM40EC and MiniPier on Meade classic field tripod
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II
Canon 7D Mark II
ZWO 60mm f/4.6 GS with ASI120MM-S camera
Starizona SCT Corrector II and Virtual View 2" Rotating Visual Back
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox
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rjbokleman
Posts: 517
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 11:09 pm

Re: Taking the Plunge

Unread post by rjbokleman »

Chuck,

I'm sure you'll get plenty of perspectives on this. For my own journey over the last 9 months or so...

I spend (and still do) a good many hours looking at photographs taken by other people noting what equipment they used on what targets. Astrobin.com is a good place to start as most people, but not all list their equipment and exposure times.

You kind of have to decide what you want to image and how you want to image it. There are folks that love very wide field - with a just the camera and a fast f2.8, 14mm fixed lens or even the standard lenses that come with your DSLR. I think we have several members like Ron Z., Dan, and perhaps a few more that enjoy this aspect and produce some amazing images.

Others want to use their scopes and see what they can pick up: "Chasing faint fuzzies." Each has its own inherent set of challenges.

I spend (and still do) a good many hours reading discussions & posts on two Cloudynights.com forums:

1.) DSLR & Digital Camera Astro Imaging & Processing --> http://www.cloudynights.com/forum/79-ds ... rocessing/
2.) Beginning and Intermediate Imaging --> http://www.cloudynights.com/forum/80-be ... e-imaging/
3. If you're on Facebook, there's a great (closed, so you have to join) group called 'Telescope Addicts - Astronomy and Astrophotography Community' you can join. You'll see everything from people getting their first scope to beautiful images and everything in between.
4.) YouTube is a great source of informative videos for specific software. The Astro Imaging Channel is one of the better ones --> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiR5Am ... F8hCxxZQ-g.

From these forums of information you will read about Photoshop, Pixelmator, PixInsight, Backyard EOS, Backyard Nikon, Nebulosity, Sequence Generator Pro, Deep Sky Stacker, and nearly a hundred more options for both capture and post processing of your images.

I started with the Moon like most everyone else with and without a scope. Meaning just the camera lens (55mm-250mm) and a tripod. Then moved to taking shots of the Moon with my various scopes to educate myself on lunar tracking and field of view of each scope with the camera @ prime focus. Once I was able to master getting really sharp photos of the Moon I moved on from there to more challenging objects.

For software for capture I use(d) Backyard EOS (BYE) --> http://www.otelescope.com/index.php?/page/index.html. Works very nicely for just a DSLR by itself with a lens or in the beginning with your scope. It supports the Canon LiveView so you can visually SEE what the focus is and you'll learn about focusing (FWHM, etc) and how to obtain a sharp focus. [There are several good videos on YouTube that cover BYE with the developer demonstrating it feature by feature.]

When you start, most people don't have or even know what a Guidescope is or what it does. I was in the same category, so I just kept my exposures under 15-30 seconds just to see what I could get. For me, at least, I realized I was going to need a Guidescope and learn how to auto guide using PHD [ http://openphdguiding.org ] if I wanted longer exposures without my stars smearing across the frame.

Later, I purchased a the Orion Mini Deluxe Pro AutoGuider Package http://www.telescope.com/Astrophotograp ... 106937.uts. This gave me a nice QHY5IIL Mono camera for guiding with a nice light guide scope all in one package. Works very well with PHD.

I was then able to begin my journey toward getting to 15 minute exposures - just as sharp as those I began with on the Moon. To do this, you must master Polar Alignment and (later) preferably Drift Alignment and of course auto guiding with PHD.

One thing I'll tell you and probably so will others, AP can get expensive - quickly...so take it one step at a time. It can also be very challenging (frustrating sometimes), but when you finally do get an image you can step back and enjoy it for a long time to come.
Ron B.
T5i/700D, ASI1600MM-C, ASI120MM, ASI174MM, XAGYL 7x36mm FW
Astronomik Deep-Sky(RGB), CLS, Ha, OIII, SII
SV60EDS 60mm f/5.5 APO
AT65EDQ 65mm f/6.5 ED Quadruplet
SW ProED 100mm f/9.0 Doublet APO
C8 EdgeHD, AT130EDT
AVX, iEQ45 Pro

http://www.astrobin.com/users/rjbokleman/
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rjbokleman
Posts: 517
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 11:09 pm

Re: Taking the Plunge

Unread post by rjbokleman »

Chuck,

A few other things I forgot (among many I'm sure) to mention is if you want to do planets a DSLR is probably not the way to go. It's some-what doable with a DSLR, but you'll find that a Planetary CCD camera will be a better choice..like the ZWO ASI120 for example.

Also the other question is to get your DSLR modified for full spectrum or buy one that way. [ http://www.hapg.org/fullspectrum.html ] I may do this with mine very soon as I've just been using the T5i out of the box with its IR filter in place.

For me, though, I wasn't all that interested in the Planets, so I went with a DSLR. When I purchased my T5i, the T6i had just come out, but there wasn't support for it in BYE. Now there is, so you should be good there.

I'm now thinking about a CCD for next year and doing research on a things like the QHY12, Atik 460EX Color. For me I don't want to fool with Color Wheels and all the extra post processing steps that would entail, so these are One Shot Color types.
Ron B.
T5i/700D, ASI1600MM-C, ASI120MM, ASI174MM, XAGYL 7x36mm FW
Astronomik Deep-Sky(RGB), CLS, Ha, OIII, SII
SV60EDS 60mm f/5.5 APO
AT65EDQ 65mm f/6.5 ED Quadruplet
SW ProED 100mm f/9.0 Doublet APO
C8 EdgeHD, AT130EDT
AVX, iEQ45 Pro

http://www.astrobin.com/users/rjbokleman/
Chuck
Posts: 285
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2015 1:14 pm

Re: Taking the Plunge

Unread post by Chuck »

Hi Ron:

Thanks for the info and suggestions. I'm just getting ready to go out for the day and will reply in more detail later. Thanks again.


---- Chuck
Chuck M.

Meade 8" LX200 Classic OTA
iOptron CEM40EC and MiniPier on Meade classic field tripod
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II
Canon 7D Mark II
ZWO 60mm f/4.6 GS with ASI120MM-S camera
Starizona SCT Corrector II and Virtual View 2" Rotating Visual Back
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox
Chuck
Posts: 285
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2015 1:14 pm

Re: Taking the Plunge

Unread post by Chuck »

Hi Ron:

Sorry for taking so long to get back. Again, thanks for all the great info and suggestions.

I’ll definitely be checking out the Cloudlynights forum links. Checking out what others use for equipment and image settings is also a good tip. In fact, I have been taking note of those in your great images here in this forum.

I’m not exactly sure what my main focus is going to be yet. I’m planning on starting off simple, like you, and move on from there if things go okay. I realize AP will have a big learning curve. However, I am very patient and persistent.

I’m glad to hear that you recommend BYE for imaging as I’ve read good things about it. Later on, if things go good, I’m already thinking of going with the ONAG from Innovations Foresight for guiding. From there, I’ll probably go with a color CCD from one of the major companies like Atik or SBIG.

With my limited time; I'm hoping to get the camera, software, etc. and start getting some initial images in a month or so. Clear skies.

--- Chuck
Chuck M.

Meade 8" LX200 Classic OTA
iOptron CEM40EC and MiniPier on Meade classic field tripod
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II
Canon 7D Mark II
ZWO 60mm f/4.6 GS with ASI120MM-S camera
Starizona SCT Corrector II and Virtual View 2" Rotating Visual Back
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox
Bruce D
Life Member
Posts: 5624
Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2003 6:10 am

Re: Taking the Plunge

Unread post by Bruce D »

Either an FYI or a reminder for those who already know, every year at NEAF they have an imaging workshop, a number of ASSNE members have done it and spoke highly of it
Bruce D
Chuck
Posts: 285
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2015 1:14 pm

Re: Taking the Plunge

Unread post by Chuck »

Thanks for the info Bruce, I just checked on that and the Northeast Astro-Imaging Conference (NEAIC) will be held April 7 & 8, 2016.
Chuck M.

Meade 8" LX200 Classic OTA
iOptron CEM40EC and MiniPier on Meade classic field tripod
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II
Canon 7D Mark II
ZWO 60mm f/4.6 GS with ASI120MM-S camera
Starizona SCT Corrector II and Virtual View 2" Rotating Visual Back
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox
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Pete
Astro Day Coordinator
Posts: 3999
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2003 9:03 pm

Re: Taking the Plunge

Unread post by Pete »

Hi Chuck,

Astro imaging can have a very steep and costly learning curve. Having a telescope with a drive that will track an object for anything beyond the most rudimentary work.

As Ron has pointed out, one way to get started is to simply piggyback a DSLR onto the top of a telescope that's already tracking. Since you don't yet own the DSLR you might consider simply using a webcam with UV/IR filter or an equivalent $99 planetcam http://www.telescope.com/catalog/produc ... ctId=99577 with the filter already built in. I still have a blast with my 13 year old ToUcam on planetary and lunar work. See
http://www.universetoday.com/108692/fro ... the-cheap/ It's fun and easy.

For anything fancy the quality of the drive and the quality of the alignment are very key factors, but for planetcam work any kind of tracking will suffice.

Pete
Pete P.
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Apollo XX
MSSF Coordinator
Posts: 2785
Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2010 8:11 pm

Re: Taking the Plunge

Unread post by Apollo XX »

Umm, somewhat off the topic of this thread but I just noticed that Pete has 2525 posts and this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yesyhQkYrQM immediately came to mind - lots of astro references in it too.
"The purpose of life is the investigation of the Sun, the Moon, and the heavens." - Anaxagoras
Chuck
Posts: 285
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2015 1:14 pm

Re: Taking the Plunge

Unread post by Chuck »

Thanks everyone for your advice. I agree to start off simple and move on from there while mastering one thing at a time.

I will be going the dslr (Canon EOS Rebel T6i) route and start with piggyback and prime focus shots. Any filter recommendations to help with sky glow would be appreciated.

@ Apollo: Loved the youtube link.

---- Chuck
Chuck M.

Meade 8" LX200 Classic OTA
iOptron CEM40EC and MiniPier on Meade classic field tripod
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II
Canon 7D Mark II
ZWO 60mm f/4.6 GS with ASI120MM-S camera
Starizona SCT Corrector II and Virtual View 2" Rotating Visual Back
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox
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