Camera Labs

Keep in mind

1) This is like 15min from Auckland City

2) I completly forgot to turn Long Exposure Noice Reduction on, duhhhhh

Can't wait to get out into the country should get some good shots.

D80 with 50mm F.18 Lens

Nice one. Can you remember what ISO setting and length of exposure you used?

Did you use any image processing software? I have recently downloaded IRIS but haven't had time to play with it yet. The feature set looks excellent and as it's free the value for money can't be faulted.

Bob.

_________________
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.

f/1.8 5sec exposer, ISO 1250. I just made it a bit darker in photoshop. Will prob got back out and maby try higher ISO with Noice Reduction on.

Only got camera like 12hours ago so yeah

Thanks for the exposure info - hope you didn't stay out too late with the new toy!

The reason I downloaded IRIS is that, to my mind, Photoshop isn't well adapted for some of the tasks required in astrophotography. For example, IRIS has a tool to deal with a non-uniform sky gradient - a problem here in the UK at this time of year when (if you can ever see it for the clouds!) the sky doesn't get properly dark until around 01:00. Another tool is one to make the task of stacking/aligning multiple exposures easier.

The IRIS help file is available inside http://www.astrosurf.com/buil/us/zip/hiris.zip if you want to find out more.

Bob.

_________________
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.

Oh yeah I will be going out to the county when we have our total lunar eclipse in August 22nd. But might go back out in 30min or so and have another try, as it was about 9pm when I took those and its almost 1am now

And will give that program a try as well

It's nice to see more people interested in astrophotos
I thought I was alone

I was shooting stars with 35mm cameras for many years until i lately got digital. It's much more easier to see your results in time.

Antman I think that Long Exposure Noice Reduction on D80 get's automatically on for exposures over iso800. Check it out though.

Keep in mind the exposure settings that u will need to shoot the moon is very different than the one you used for the stars. (I don't know if u already know this).

Also try to lower the iso e.g to 800 to reduce the noise and use longer exposures up to 30 seconds.
Get ready for the perseids meteor shower in middle August, very interesting event to grab a lucky shot with a meteor if you are interested

_________________
Nikon D80 18 - 200 VR

You're lucky to be able to see that many stars, nice shots.

Hi Ant, as you'll discover, the catch-22 with 'deep sky' astro photography is you'll need long exposures / high ISOs / fast apertures to capture as much light as possible, BUT in urban areas, this will also of course capture light pollution from streetlamps etc resulting in often orangey skies! - hence the importance of finding a dark location on a moonless night.

Sometimes you can better avoid light pollution by taking multiple shots with shorter exposures and stacking them in software later... since most streetlamps emit light in relatively restricted wavelengths, you can also buy reasonably effective anti-light-pollution filters, and I'm sure you could also try something digitally - although i've never done this myself...

Looking forward to seeing your future astro shots!

Gordon

Yeah I know, living in the city sucks Will be going far out hopfuly for the lunar eclipse, and should get some good shots then

_________________
Nikon D80 | 18-135mm Kit Lens | 50mm f/1.8 | 4GB 150x Card | SB-600
http://flickr.com/photos/antmanisfubar

The good thing about eclipses is you don't need a dark site for them... you should be fine where you are, as you'll be using relatively quick exposures...

If it's visible in QT, I'll be trying it too, so we can compare notes up to the event!

Gordon

Yeah, New Zealand is one of the most visible places for it. I just thought with less light pollution should be alot brighter and the background would include more starts

_________________
Nikon D80 | 18-135mm Kit Lens | 50mm f/1.8 | 4GB 150x Card | SB-600
http://flickr.com/photos/antmanisfubar