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Astrophotography and Sketching >> Solar System Imaging & Processing

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trever
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Reged: 08/18/03
Posts: 2695
Loc: North Alabama
Tonights (10.10.08) Moon with Vixen A80MF
      #2692309 - 10/11/08 03:21 AM Attachment (48 downloads)

I took this pic afocally with the Vixen A80MF scope, Televue 40mm Plossl and Canon A75 Powershot. It looks ok, but I just can't seem to get the detail I would like. I think I was using F/3.5, Sp50, 1/100 ex settings but I may be off some.

What do you guys mostly use for settings? I also tried taking AVI's but the fine detail becomes bloated when stacked.

--------------------
Trever

Coronado PST Solar Telescope
Vixen A80MF 80mm Refractor with Porta Mount
Orange Celestron 8 inch SCT on AS-GT mount
Zhumell 20x80 Astronomical Binoculars
Orion Paragon HD-F2 Tripod





Edited by trever (10/12/08 02:16 AM)


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ducatirob
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Reged: 06/15/05
Posts: 529
Loc: Centerville, Ohio
Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: trever]
      #2692310 - 10/11/08 03:25 AM

Trever,
That is a great photo. Very, very sharp!
Rob

--------------------
C6-R /Atlas EQ
Meade AR-5
Meade 90mm refractor
10x50 binoculars
15x70 binoculars


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trever
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Reged: 08/18/03
Posts: 2695
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Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: ducatirob]
      #2692318 - 10/11/08 03:39 AM

I had to process it some to get this far through psp. I adjusted the brightness, contrast, unsharp mask and grey scaled the image.

I was just curious if many here are able to take pictures nice enough to not have to process them?

--------------------
Trever

Coronado PST Solar Telescope
Vixen A80MF 80mm Refractor with Porta Mount
Orange Celestron 8 inch SCT on AS-GT mount
Zhumell 20x80 Astronomical Binoculars
Orion Paragon HD-F2 Tripod





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Mare Nectaris
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Reged: 03/09/08
Posts: 1069
Loc: Toijala, Finland
Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: trever]
      #2692424 - 10/11/08 07:59 AM

Trever,
very cool pic of the Moon!

You have processed it naturally, charising nice presence yet enhancing sharpness impressively. Very good work

About processing pics, I would say it is only natural and almost essential to process digital pics. The version camera delivers is only an interpretation of the data gathered into the lightwells of a censor on a CMOS or CCD chip.

Most effective with a DSLR - for instance - would be shooting in RAW mode and then processing the pic completely from the raw data in Lightroom or such.

As any webcam or usbcam is seldomly perfectly controlled during the exposure by the user, it is most essential to process the pic to deliver the best possible impression.

So, all in all, I would say there exists nothing like "authenticity" in the realm of digital pics. With gentle and wise processing a lot will be gained: natural presence, good contrast, natural coloration. In a word: nice correspondence to the actual observation of the human eye! (which the camera tends to average in its own processing of the image). - On the other hand, overprocessing - of course - or manipulating the pic is a completely different story, and should be avoided and rejected in any case!

Be well!

--------------------
Share - and you shall have it all

Timo Keski-Petäjä

CtheMoon

Observation shelter KuuMaja (MoonHut)

TAL 250K*Celestron C8-N*SkyWatcher Skymax 150 Pro*TAL1(Mizar)*EQ6 Pro SynScan*Celestron Advanced GT (CG-5 GOTO)*Baader Hyperion Clickstop Zoom 8-24*17 mm UWA-70*TeleVue BIG 2x Barlow*Celestron 2x Barlow Ultima SV Series


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chutch44
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Reged: 02/23/07
Posts: 319
Loc: Pontotoc, Ms
Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: Mare Nectaris]
      #2692500 - 10/11/08 09:13 AM

Looks great to me, very sharp and natural. I was looking at it last night before the ISS pass and it looks almost exactly as I saw it in the eyepiece. Very nice.

--------------------
Hutch

Celestron ASGT C8
William Optics Z66SD
Meade 3.3 Focal Reducer
Meade Dsi-c
Meade Dsi-Pro II
Plillips SPC900NC



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trever
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Reged: 08/18/03
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Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: chutch44]
      #2693223 - 10/11/08 03:49 PM

Thanks for the comments! That is one thing I try to maintain is an enhanced natural view which is not overprocessed but to bring out the details. The key is to know when to stop and not get greedy. Sometimes I do well, sometimes I don't. This one turned out pretty well.

--------------------
Trever

Coronado PST Solar Telescope
Vixen A80MF 80mm Refractor with Porta Mount
Orange Celestron 8 inch SCT on AS-GT mount
Zhumell 20x80 Astronomical Binoculars
Orion Paragon HD-F2 Tripod





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smc89
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Reged: 11/27/05
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Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: trever]
      #2693681 - 10/11/08 08:25 PM Attachment (7 downloads)

Hey Trever, that's a REALLY good afocal!!!! It's very crisp.

Here is one from the night that the lunar x was visible on 10/06/08. just resized for the web. Taken with a G9 through my 8" Dob.

--------------------
Scott M.

Olympus E-500 & E-510
Coronado PST
Stellarvue 80ED
Orion XT8I Dob.
Orion XT12I Dob.
Celestron 15x70


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trever
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Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: smc89]
      #2694107 - 10/12/08 01:54 AM

That looks excellent. Loads of detail and contrast is great. Did you process the image with software?

--------------------
Trever

Coronado PST Solar Telescope
Vixen A80MF 80mm Refractor with Porta Mount
Orange Celestron 8 inch SCT on AS-GT mount
Zhumell 20x80 Astronomical Binoculars
Orion Paragon HD-F2 Tripod





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trever
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Reged: 08/18/03
Posts: 2695
Loc: North Alabama
Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: trever]
      #2694137 - 10/12/08 02:47 AM Attachment (13 downloads)

Tried another one tonight. I left it in color so there is a slight amount of false color.

--------------------
Trever

Coronado PST Solar Telescope
Vixen A80MF 80mm Refractor with Porta Mount
Orange Celestron 8 inch SCT on AS-GT mount
Zhumell 20x80 Astronomical Binoculars
Orion Paragon HD-F2 Tripod





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ducatirob
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Reged: 06/15/05
Posts: 529
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Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: trever]
      #2694156 - 10/12/08 03:21 AM Attachment (8 downloads)

Trever,
Heres a pic I took awhile back, this has no processing ,Meade 90mm refractor 26mm Plossl, Canon SD300 4 mp , hand held to the eyepiece.
Rob

--------------------
C6-R /Atlas EQ
Meade AR-5
Meade 90mm refractor
10x50 binoculars
15x70 binoculars


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ducatirob
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Posts: 529
Loc: Centerville, Ohio
Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: ducatirob]
      #2694163 - 10/12/08 03:29 AM Attachment (6 downloads)

Trever,
Here's one more. I really like the way this one turned out.
Rob

Edited by ducatirob (10/12/08 03:31 AM)


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ducatirob
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Posts: 529
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Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: trever]
      #2694186 - 10/12/08 04:16 AM

Trever ,
That's very nice photo, shows good detail.
Rob

--------------------
C6-R /Atlas EQ
Meade AR-5
Meade 90mm refractor
10x50 binoculars
15x70 binoculars


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smc89
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Reged: 11/27/05
Posts: 3193
Loc: Northern Berks Co. PA
Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: trever]
      #2694598 - 10/12/08 11:19 AM

Quote:

That looks excellent. Loads of detail and contrast is great. Did you process the image with software?




Thanks Trever!!! No processing with that shot, your seeing right from the camera. I only resized it for posting.

--------------------
Scott M.

Olympus E-500 & E-510
Coronado PST
Stellarvue 80ED
Orion XT8I Dob.
Orion XT12I Dob.
Celestron 15x70


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trever
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Posts: 2695
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Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: smc89]
      #2695029 - 10/12/08 04:00 PM

Ducatirob, Both of the pics are great! I like the first one best. It give me a sense of final approach before landing. :lol

Scott, your image is really nice considering it was straight from the camera. You can tell the difference from using an Achro compared to a color free scope such as an ED refractor or a reflector. I have my Starblast 6, but when using low powers, the spider and secondary get in the way.

Note: the first image I took was with the Televue 40mm Plossl while the second image was taken with the Orion Sirius 25mm Plossl. It seems the view through the Televue was a bit better, but it is hard to tell.

--------------------
Trever

Coronado PST Solar Telescope
Vixen A80MF 80mm Refractor with Porta Mount
Orange Celestron 8 inch SCT on AS-GT mount
Zhumell 20x80 Astronomical Binoculars
Orion Paragon HD-F2 Tripod





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Rat8bug
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Reged: 01/07/05
Posts: 1350
Loc: Michigan
Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: trever]
      #2698230 - 10/14/08 09:31 AM

A tip. If you want a lot of detail, you need a larger telescope. Resolution (i.e. detail) is directly related to aperture.

http://www.barrie-tao.com/vixen80ss.html

Ciao...Barry

--------------------
Nikon D40/D50/D70 DSLR
WO 105mm Triplet APO
WO Zenithstar 66SD APO (Black 'n Blue)
WO 8 x 45mm APO Bino
UO 20 x 80mm Bino
Vixen 80SS Refractor
Orion 127mm Apex Maksutov
Vixen GP-DX with Skysensor 2000
SBIG STV and e-finder


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trever
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Re: Tonights Moon with Vixen A80MF new [Re: Rat8bug]
      #2699848 - 10/15/08 12:58 AM

That is true, but these wide field images aren't designed to pick out minute detail inside craters. I love high power views but I also love wide field lunar images so that one can take it all in from a different perspective. In comparison, high res Saturn images are excellent to pick out detail in the rings and the planet itself. But lower power views of the entire Saturnian system also have their place.

I think for lunar imaging an 80mm scope is on the low side. But it is still a capable scope. My C8 would run rings around it I am sure, but the A80MF is a grab and go scope and for that it is perfect.

--------------------
Trever

Coronado PST Solar Telescope
Vixen A80MF 80mm Refractor with Porta Mount
Orange Celestron 8 inch SCT on AS-GT mount
Zhumell 20x80 Astronomical Binoculars
Orion Paragon HD-F2 Tripod





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