BrƎИsꓘi
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They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Feb 10, 2021 12:59:16 GMT
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Feb 10, 2021 13:20:36 GMT
Great images!
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Raf
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Post by Raf on Feb 19, 2021 12:02:47 GMT
We had decent weather last night, and I was able to have a go at the Moon and Mars. It's still very amateur work, but it was my first attempt at composing a decent-ish pic from other two shots. I took them both using the finderscope on my telescope (as I couldn't fit both bodies on the main lenses). I took a pic with larger exposure to make Mars visible, and one with less exposure to make the Moon less visible/not-a-shiny-white-potato. These are the two original shots: I'll gladly accept feedback from you guys who have more experience! The only thing I can't improve right now is my gear, but at some point I will
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BrƎИsꓘi
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They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Feb 19, 2021 14:40:47 GMT
Raf nice grab. what software are you using? and what camera/lens combo (and settings) I use an old version of Photoshop & Affinity Photo. For using CR2 files with Pshop I have to use DNG Converter. When using Photoshop, decent Filter plugins and Action sets are required. These are what I'd deem the essential toolkit: Astroflat pro Harry's Filters 4.11 Annie's Astro Actions v7 Photokemi's Star Tools v 3.1.3 Astronomy Tools v1.6 Free Astro Photoshop Actions I use my Samyang lenses mostly for nightsky stuff. 14mm (F/2.8) is great for wide field, 85mm (F/1.4) with brighter stuff and 135mm (F/2.0) is the Deep Sky king. Last night I deliberately produced a really bad image - flooded with streetlighting, to see what can be achieved. Here's a before and after:
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Raf
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Post by Raf on Feb 19, 2021 18:07:10 GMT
Wow, it's really impressive!! I really should up my game sometime. Right now all I'm using is a 3-year-old smartphone and a cheap 60mm telescope.
I put the pics together manually using GIMP. As it was only 2 pics taken only a few seconds apart, and with a very easy reference to correctly position one on top of the other (the moon), I didn't see the need to use anything "smarter". However, I'd like to try one of those programs that stack several frames of astronomic pics together to get a clearer image. The very few attempts I was made of taking any pics of planets (such as Mars last night) leave me with blurry orange/brown-ish blobs, even if on the scope it looks a little bit better.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Feb 19, 2021 19:14:02 GMT
several years ago Adobe disabled the activation servers for Photoshop CS2. At that time, they issued a universal serial number for one-and-all - as a means to be able to withdraw support but allows access to the download/install. Eventually they removed the download links. However, - if you can still find CS2 (the license number is widely available) you'll have a great piece of software - mine still works in Win10 (64). Additionally, all of those filters/actions i mentioned work with CS2.
Stacking software is another matter - most available are Freeware, but each have their own peculiarities. I like Sequator for it's speed and ease of use. PM me if you need any links to find the software I mentioned.
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Post by katydyd5 on Feb 21, 2021 2:42:38 GMT
Last night I deliberately produced a really bad image - flooded with streetlighting, to see what can be achieved. Here's a before and after: That is absolutely stunning. I live in an area that is too well lit to see much of the night sky. Your photos let me see the possibility. Wow.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Feb 26, 2021 8:56:19 GMT
Black Wings Chief Mouse ThomasQuinn jon_innuendo HelloDelilah Chopin1995 pg emrabt The Real Wizard Lord Fickle Raf katydyd5 SteveLast Night was a little clearer, and the faint smudge that is Seven Sisters was easy to spot (with the naked eye). Sitting squarely above Mars in the sky, it was just a matter of pointing my DSLR and grabbing some images. Some details: All source images were untracked, therefore only 9 images were usable. iso=3200 shutter= 2secs aperture=F/2 Images were converted from CR2 to DNG for processing in Photoshop. Stacked in Sequator, and single image as then cropped and processed in Photoshop. My next attempts will be on tracked EQ mounts - this will allow for longer exposure times - which should help to bring out the nebulosity missing from these two untracked images.
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Feb 26, 2021 10:57:50 GMT
Great pics, Martin.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Feb 26, 2021 19:38:24 GMT
That is absolutely stunning. I live in an area that is too well lit to see much of the night sky. Your photos let me see the possibility. Wow. Just take a drive out into the country - you only have to get a half hour out of the city.
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Raf
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Post by Raf on Feb 27, 2021 20:58:24 GMT
several years ago Adobe disabled the activation servers for Photoshop CS2. At that time, they issued a universal serial number for one-and-all - as a means to be able to withdraw support but allows access to the download/install. Eventually they removed the download links. However, - if you can still find CS2 (the license number is widely available) you'll have a great piece of software - mine still works in Win10 (64). Additionally, all of those filters/actions i mentioned work with CS2. Stacking software is another matter - most available are Freeware, but each have their own peculiarities. I like Sequator for it's speed and ease of use. PM me if you need any links to find the software I mentioned. Great advice! I didn't know about that, thanks! As a teenager I really enjoyed Photoshop (although I didn't legally own it), but as nowadays I don't use illegal software, I'm often limited by the free options, as some licenses can be very expensive. I didn't know Adobe kind of gave away an older version. I'm going for it! Been using GIMP for years now, and I never learned to like it. Instead, I just started to enjoy picture editing less and less.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Feb 27, 2021 22:44:00 GMT
if you can't find it, just PM me
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Feb 27, 2021 22:51:06 GMT
Stunningly bright moon this evening. Did anyone get any pics?
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Post by katydyd5 on Feb 28, 2021 2:37:08 GMT
That is absolutely stunning. I live in an area that is too well lit to see much of the night sky. Your photos let me see the possibility. Wow. Just take a drive out into the country - you only have to get a half hour out of the city. I'd have to go a ways to get a good view of the night sky. We vacationed on the Outer Banks of North Carolina one year and the sky there was incredible. We would sit out on the deck and be awe struck by the stars. Our kids had never seen anything like that and had no idea there were so many stars. When they were little, I'd wake them in the middle of the night to lay out on sheets in the yard for the Perseid Meteor shower every August. I've always been fascinated by the heavens and that's why I'm really enjoying this thread.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Feb 28, 2021 9:05:50 GMT
Just take a drive out into the country - you only have to get a half hour out of the city. I'd have to go a ways to get a good view of the night sky. We vacationed on the Outer Banks of North Carolina one year and the sky there was incredible. We would sit out on the deck and be awe struck by the stars. Our kids had never seen anything like that and had no idea there were so many stars. When they were little, I'd wake them in the middle of the night to lay out on sheets in the yard for the Perseid Meteor shower every August. I've always been fascinated by the heavens and that's why I'm really enjoying this thread. you've given me an idea here. i'll see if i can pull together an "essentials" mini-guide.
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pg
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Post by pg on Feb 28, 2021 9:20:20 GMT
Stunningly bright moon this evening. Did anyone get any pics? Yes and no.... Yes, that's the moon and it was bright. No, not taken in the evening. that's about 7.15am
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BrƎИsꓘi
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They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Feb 28, 2021 10:00:50 GMT
supermoon today
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Egietje
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Post by Egietje on Feb 28, 2021 12:23:57 GMT
Stunningly bright moon this evening. Did anyone get any pics? I didn't yesterday, but I did the day before yesterday, it was quite bright for me then as well (once again, taken on my phone, Huawei P30 Pro, ~30x zoom, focal length 1082 mm (equivalent to 35mm focal length film), ISO 50, S 1/326s, F/3.40). I'll keep my eye out for the supermoon tonight
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Feb 28, 2021 13:11:56 GMT
Stunningly bright moon this evening. Did anyone get any pics? I didn't yesterday, but I did the day before yesterday, it was quite bright for me then as well (once again, taken on my phone, Huawei P30 Pro, ~30x zoom, focal length 1082 mm (equivalent to 35mm focal length film), ISO 50, S 1/326s, F/3.40). I'll keep my eye out for the supermoon tonight That's great. I'm sure my phone could take better pictures if I knew how to use it properly, but the ones I've taken are hopeless. It also doesn't help that I'm in an area awash with street lighting, and I don't think driving out to take photos of the moon would be seen as a reasonable excuse to leave home under the current restrictions.
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Egietje
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Post by Egietje on Feb 28, 2021 13:21:34 GMT
I didn't yesterday, but I did the day before yesterday, it was quite bright for me then as well (once again, taken on my phone, Huawei P30 Pro, ~30x zoom, focal length 1082 mm (equivalent to 35mm focal length film), ISO 50, S 1/326s, F/3.40). I'll keep my eye out for the supermoon tonight That's great. I'm sure my phone could take better pictures if I knew how to use it properly, but the ones I've taken are hopeless. It also doesn't help that I'm in an area awash with street lighting, and I don't think driving out to take photos of the moon would be seen as a reasonable excuse to leave home under the current restrictions. Depends, I think to take great shots of the moon with your phone you're basically required to have a dedicated optical zoom camera, my phone has a 5x optical zoom camera, or otherwise have an external zoom lens. For me it's literally as easy as pointing my phone at the moon, zooming in, and taking the picture, I don't think the light pollution affects it that much as the moon itself is very bright. I am by no means an expert however, so I could easily be mistaken.
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Feb 28, 2021 13:57:13 GMT
That's great. I'm sure my phone could take better pictures if I knew how to use it properly, but the ones I've taken are hopeless. It also doesn't help that I'm in an area awash with street lighting, and I don't think driving out to take photos of the moon would be seen as a reasonable excuse to leave home under the current restrictions. Depends, I think to take great shots of the moon with your phone you're basically required to have a dedicated optical zoom camera, my phone has a 5x optical zoom camera, or otherwise have an external zoom lens. For me it's literally as easy as pointing my phone at the moon, zooming in, and taking the picture, I don't think the light pollution affects it that much as the moon itself is very bright. I am by no means an expert however, so I could easily be mistaken. My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S10+. I think it has a pretty good camera but I've never really bothered to experiment with it properly.
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pg
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Post by pg on Feb 28, 2021 16:56:03 GMT
I have the same phone and there's no way I'd try a shot of the moon by itself. You have 2x optical zoom and 10x digital.
It would be crap, but feel free to prove me wrong!
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Feb 28, 2021 18:08:11 GMT
I have the same phone and there's no way I'd try a shot of the moon by itself. You have 2x optical zoom and 10x digital. It would be crap, but feel free to prove me wrong! This was my best effort from last night, so I think this proves you right!
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Post by saintjiub on Feb 28, 2021 18:57:29 GMT
That is a great picture of the crab nebula at the bottom right of your photo, as well as a nice picture of Pluto.
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Steve
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Post by Steve on Feb 28, 2021 19:09:11 GMT
Black Wings Chief Mouse ThomasQuinn jon_innuendo HelloDelilah Chopin1995 pg emrabt The Real Wizard Lord Fickle Raf katydyd5 SteveLast Night was a little clearer, and the faint smudge that is Seven Sisters was easy to spot (with the naked eye). Sitting squarely above Mars in the sky, it was just a matter of pointing my DSLR and grabbing some images. Some details: All source images were untracked, therefore only 9 images were usable. iso=3200 shutter= 2secs aperture=F/2 Images were converted from CR2 to DNG for processing in Photoshop. Stacked in Sequator, and single image as then cropped and processed in Photoshop. My next attempts will be on tracked EQ mounts - this will allow for longer exposure times - which should help to bring out the nebulosity missing from these two untracked images. Amazing pics mate!
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Raf
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Post by Raf on Mar 14, 2021 13:44:23 GMT
Last night was somewhat clear, and I thought I'd give it a try. I had nothing but my phone, but inspired by BrƎИsꓘi's deliberately bad picture, I took a picture of Orion and another of the Southern Cross using my phone's night mode (probably some mix of multi-camera stacking, high exposure and some AI processing), which makes the sky look pretty gross: Here's some of the metadata, with the settings you guys usually ask about Here's what I achieved. Definitely miles from BrƎИsꓘi's ultra shiny stars, but I'm happy I can actually picture stars visible to the naked eye and make the sky look like anything other than some weird shiny orange mess! For this I just did some level adjustment following this tutorial and then I used Free Astro Photoshop Actions to improve overall quality.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Mar 14, 2021 16:00:12 GMT
Raf those are beautiful pictures. my phone {Redmi Note 9 Pro] is supposed to have some useful night settings, must have a play soon. what version of pshop are you using? and which set of actions ? there are quite a few good ones around
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Raf
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Post by Raf on Mar 15, 2021 2:43:26 GMT
Raf those are beautiful pictures. my phone {Redmi Note 9 Pro] is supposed to have some useful night settings, must have a play soon. what version of pshop are you using? and which set of actions ? there are quite a few good ones around Photoshop CS2 and a couple of actions from Free Astro Actions, both following your tips, so thanks for that!
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Egietje
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Post by Egietje on Apr 27, 2021 20:15:12 GMT
There was a supermoon tonight which I got some pictures from, as always taken with my Huawei P30 Pro using automatic settings. Here's one slightly edited picture first, I like how it turned out (S: 1/33s, F/3.40, ISO:400, focal length 769mm equivalent to 35mm focal length film) (edit to add: about 20x zoom of which 5x is optical):
And here's the unedited picture:
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Apr 27, 2021 20:36:21 GMT
There was a supermoon tonight which I got some pictures from, as always taken with my Huawei P30 Pro using automatic settings. Here's one slightly edited picture first, I like how it turned out (S: 1/33s, F/3.40, ISO:400, focal length 769mm equivalent to 35mm focal length film) (edit to add: about 20x zoom of which 5x is optical):
And here's the unedited picture: Cool! Nice pics.
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