Camera Labs

One basic question really, Iris; should I use it? I used it a while ago for some basic stacking and well...

10 print "this is a bit hard
20 goto 10

I understand it is a very powerful (and free) tool. I have downloaded DeepSkyStacker and the interface looks quite user friendly (but I don't have any new data to play with so....) There are many other packages out there too but does anyone think persevering with Iris could be the way to go? In general I have a systematic approach to most things and don't mind a bit of extra effort to get things "just so" or is there something out there I am missing?

As this is a photography forum I'll post a couple of "stacks" I did with Iris, the image processing was done with an ancient version of Paint Shop Pro (says it all really). I should point out I've been without a camera for some time but kept my astro kit (most importantly the EQ5 with dual axis drives). I'm hoping that with the D5100 and some work I can start to delve deeper into the night sky from this very challenging location.


Venus. Most of the shots (loads) were weird blobs (it was quite close to the horizon and still daylight), I think I got 8 to stack.
Sorry, no exact info. Nikon D40, 'scope working at f28 4000mm...ish.


The Double Cluster in Perseus.
D40, 400mm f6.3 Prinz Galaxy Lens (old with poor coatings but had a very flat field).


One for humour really, A crop of Comet Lulin from my Mothers (slightly darker) site.
Set up the same as above but with before and after. The sky glow was so bright the only way to centre the comet was to photograph the area it was til it appeared at the edge of the frame. Good fun though.

Thanks

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We are all down in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars.
Nikon 5100, 18-55mm kit, 35mm f1.8, 70-300mm VR, OMC 140 'scope, EQ5 mount with dual axis drives, various astro bits'n'bobs.

Hi maksutov,

I used to use IRIS but I now use PixInsight. It does everything I want prior to using PhotoShop and the only downsides I have found are a steep initial learning curve and that it isn't free. But the trial version is free.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Bob converted me to PixInsight also. While it has some learning curve, I found it a lot easier than Iris!

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

Thanks guys, haven't heard of PixInsight before, I'll have a look, I do find Iris a bit intimidating. More importantly I need to get some photons to play with, there's been lots of wind and rain here for a while. I'm hoping the tilting screen and live view on the D5100 along with a Bhatinov mask will make focusing a less frustrating affair. Since I took the above photo's the council have erected a new street light right at the back of our yard (due South), nice one.

Again, thanks for the advice.

_________________
We are all down in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars.
Nikon 5100, 18-55mm kit, 35mm f1.8, 70-300mm VR, OMC 140 'scope, EQ5 mount with dual axis drives, various astro bits'n'bobs.

Just had a quick look at PixInsight, looks good but it's quite expensive and I've used up all my play money for now. I'm sure it's worth every penny, using a free trail for 30 days with my learning curve would be a waste of time (Aaaah! I've got it ... Oh! it's gone).

I've been struggling with all things astro for over 15 years, one thing with the learning curve is that if viewed as a wave, over time the amplitude increases (sadly in both directions). I've got over the initial fear, confusion and frustration caused by command lines and boxes with numbers in so I suppose I'm over the worst of Iris and I think I should stick with it.

While the weather is bad I'll start making some Bhatinovs for the 70-300mm and 'scope (batteries for the mount might help too, oh! and the polar 'scope has needed a tweak for ages...)

Alex

_________________
We are all down in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars.
Nikon 5100, 18-55mm kit, 35mm f1.8, 70-300mm VR, OMC 140 'scope, EQ5 mount with dual axis drives, various astro bits'n'bobs.