After taking the first few planetary images using the mono QHY5L-II camera, I quickly started thinking about the best way for me to acquire images in colour. I had two choices – either get a filter wheel with RGB filters to use with my existing mono camera, or purchase a colour camera instead. Although advanced […]
Category Archives: Cameras
D3200 vs h-alpha modded D5300
If anyone ever wanted to see how much of a difference a modded DSLR makes, these comparisons do a great job demonstrating that. Both images were done in the same location, using same gear and exposure length. The first example is the Veil nebula. It has equally strong Ha and Oiii signal. Ha comes out […]
Upgrading to a modded D5300
I’m really lacking the h-alpha response in my Nikon D3200. But more annoying is the fact that I can’t use BackyardNikon with it. I’m left with using a remote shutter for my imaging sessions. This leaves me using only the view finder of the camera for focusing. More importantly, I can’t setup a dithering routine […]
Nikon True Dark Current Hack
I’m having some difficulty with my flats. After integrading the masterflat and stacking using DeepSkyStacker, I noticed two dust motes even more pronounced than in the original light frames. After some helpful insight from cloudynights (https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/556028-trouble-with-flats-that-overcorrect-my-lights/), I was finally steered in the right direction. It appears quite a few Nikon cameras including my D3200 do […]
The path to Guiding
Entry level equatorial mounts don’t tack accurately for longer than 60 seconds. It gets even harder to track precisely with longer focal lengths. Guiding is the answer and my next major goal in improving the astrophotography setup. By guiding, you can keep exposing for much longer times (5-15min and even beyond). That will allow you […]