Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well it's good to know you can get such wonderful results without having to modify the camera, very nice shots folks.
Cedew, the one thing we do have in common are DLSRs which are known top perfomers at higher ISOs, the 5D2 is really good here. Its a full frame sensor DSLR like the Nikon D700. These usually have lower noise. Although I'm sure there will be future bodies which will be even better. The one problem with a ot of newer p&s cameras as well as some DSLRs is that they focus more on increasing MPs without addressing noise.
Kdog, I stayed on the eastern side of Rainier at the Crystal Mountain Hotel which is close the Sunrise entrance. But you can camp there as well. This was an anniversary trip rather than a 'photo' trip. And while my wife doesn't mid camping on occasion that wasn't high on the list.
Fuzz, interesting info about the Long Exposure NR. I had read somewhere else about it adding in 'some' noise while cleaning up other noise. I have just never done an A/B comparision to see which of these two options I would prefer. I never had much success with stacking. I tried it a few times and ended up with mediocre results. Plus it seemed like a ton of extra work shooting 30, 40 or 100+ (light, dark, flat, bias) frames just for one image. With the nights I took I definately didn't have that kind of time. But I still may play with stacking again in the future. It would be nice to find a happy medium like maybe 3-10 frames. But I don't think that few makes enough of a difference.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 08-20-2010 at 07:44 PM..
Derek, in general, stacking light frames will always help gather more light and reduce noise at the same time. How many light frames to stack depends on the target and whether you have the time/patience to do so.
Here's an example:
Single 1-min frame of Andromeda Galaxy (shot with stock 40D + 70-200mm f/2.8L lens at 200mm f/4):
Fuzz, that is a killer shot and makes a good case for the effort involved. I've seen many astrophotos like this which blow me away. I just don't know if I have that kind of patience both in taking lets say 200 shots and then processing them afterwards. But it odviously can produce a beautiful image such as the one you have shown here.
BTW, were those 200 images all light frames or were they a combo of light, dark, flat and bias? Also did you use a tracking mechanism to follow Andromeda Gallaxy over the ~200 minutes?
** Edit: I just saw your post in the other thread with all the tech info. Looks like you are really growing in your deep space photo skills with some new gear as well.
Fuzz, that is a killer shot and makes a good case for the effort involved. I've seen many astrophotos like this which blow me away. I just don't know if I have that kind of patience both in taking lets say 200 shots and then processing them afterwards. But it odviously can produce a beautiful image such as the one you have shown here.
BTW, were those 200 images all light frames or were they a combo of light, dark, flat and bias? Also did you use a tracking mechanism to follow Andromeda Gallaxy over the ~200 minutes?
Thanks for posting,
Derek
My guess would be you bet your sweet bippy he took tons of the various kinds of noise reduction frames that can be used by his deep space stacking program. These are incredibly clean images and old Fuzz here is almost certainly on the cutting edge. My guess is also that he uses his equatorial telescope mounts to pan the camera. Although, I believe the stacking programs will actually do the alignment in software as well.
Just my worthless guesses.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
