Camera Labs

Wow IRIS is complicated. I'm gonna have a look at his tutorials. Thanks for the link Bob.

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Graham
Flickr

I think the "above ISO 400" refers to High ISO noise reduction. Also on page 83 of the manual it talks about long exposure noise reduction and suggests you can turn it off. For the rest of this post please bear in mind that I have never used a D80 so I haven't been able to verify the suggestions.

Have a look at Christian Buil's (author of IRIS) page here where he states "Digital SLR Nikon D70,D80, D200 reduces the noise by filtering the image with digital processing for an exposure length above 1 second. The issue is that the digital filter is also applied on the raw image, which prevent them to be used in rigorous astronomical application (faint stars are deleted as well as the noise !...)".

All is not lost, however, as my post here, which refers to another page on Chrisitan's site, suggests. "Mode 3" is easy to do and might be worth a try. Take another shot similar to the previous best effort in the normal way and then repeat the shot using Christian's "Mode 3".

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.

Thanks for the link and explanation Bob. I'll try that next time the clouds aren't in the way.

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Graham
Flickr

Gordon,, I have the next month or so off work (no work I should say ) I thought I would take a small trip to the Canada border where it is realy dark, and try some Astro-photo. In your "astro video" you were using a T-mount and a telescope. My question is---What telescope did you use? does it matter? I don't think that the standerd $49.99 one would do? what would you recommend getting? I would spend $100.

Thanks

Nick

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Canon Rebel XTI, Tamron 70-300mm w/180-300 macro AF, Canon 18-55mm,Canon 50mm F1.8, Sandisk ExtremeIII 2gig.
Nikon N2020.My Flickr

Hi Nick, mine's a Televue Genesis SDF...

Thing is, these things are quite pricey, especially when you add a driven mounting. Seriously, you wouldn't get anything decent for $100, especially if you want to do any photography through it.

Besides, when the sky's dark, you really want nice big wide field views of the milky way which you can do with any camera lens. Such as the photo which started this thread.

So if I were you, I'd use a normal camera for now, and if you're gonna buy anything, go for a 50mm f1.8.

Or buy some nice binoculars and use them for observing.

I'd also suggest joining a local astronomy society as that way you'd have access to a decent telescope and people who can help you use it for photography - then you can see if you're going to get into it...

Gordon, Ive seen your EOS 40D astro-photography video, and I was wondering If using a my telescope would be effective due to its long focal lengh or a 300mm would do just fine?

http://flickr.com/photos/fritzdiorico/2727784047/
My share on fixed tripod astrophotography.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/fritzdiorico/

http://fritzdiorico.multiply.com/photos

Wow

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Graham
Flickr

The shots here are fantastic - methinks I need to move to somewhere less cloudy so I can have a go at astrophotography.

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flickr
Nikon D40 | AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED | AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II

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Nice work, indeed. I see from the full size image that star trails are already evident. Have you considered taking 5 frames, say, at 15 seconds exposure each and then stacking the results?

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.

I will try that. I read about aligning in IRIS. Can I take 15sec exposures with a fixed tripod and align the so that they can be stacked?

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/fritzdiorico/

http://fritzdiorico.multiply.com/photos

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Absolutely. It's well worth reading the various IRIS tutorials to get the best from the program. Personally I prefer to manually select the alignment points rather than let the program align automatically. I'm hoping, on your behalf, that 15 seconds is a good compromise between sensitivity (when stacking) and reduction in star trails.

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.

I agree, 15 secs is indeed a good compromise. I'm still learning the IRIS software.

Unfortunately, I have to wait for my next vacation. I took this shot during my trip to an isolated island very far from the city lights. Thanks for the info.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/fritzdiorico/

http://fritzdiorico.multiply.com/photos

yeah.. Living in the city can be very frustrating for astrophotography. Imagine hitching a ride on the Space Shuttle and taking photos from there.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/fritzdiorico/

http://fritzdiorico.multiply.com/photos

The next best thing, particularly during Shuttle missions and ISS spacewalks is NASA TV.

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.