Thanks, yes, it's nice to test things out. One of the things I enjoy most about having a KZfaq channel.

Thanks Helena! Hope you enjoy it

I loved y'all's interaction/interview and y'all's previous collaboration. Great job, and tip of the hat to you, for inspiring young people and especially girls/women to get involved in science.

@@kevinashley478 aw I really appreciate that Kevin, thank you so much! Hope you are doing well 🙂

I completely agree! Love both your videos 😁

Cheers Bruce! Glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks Katie! Glad it was helpful

🤞Wishing you clear skies for your holiday! Glad to have inspired you to start. Clear skies!

This was Bortle 4. Yes, a challenge video with the different Bortle classes is a great idea.

Yeah, thinking about it more I think I set the sample radius too high for how packed the stars were on the left.

Thank you! Cheers!

Yeah, just takes lots and lots of practice. Clear skies!

Yes, I think my issue was I set the sample radius a bit too high for how tightly packed the stars were on the left side of the image. So it was picking up a lot of the stars in the samples and gave that weird result. 15px would have likely worked a lot better. I never use the default settings with ABE or DBE. The default settings always over-fit for my data. With ABE, i basically always turn the function degree down from 4 to 2. Cheers! Clear skies!

😂 The amp glow on that 183 is very distinctive!

Thanks Illia!

Thanks! You'll get there!

One 15 minute exposure remember. Not exactly a standard or even average exposure people would take.

Ha, untracked? Rho is super hard untracked. If it was easier, I'd probably already have a video up 😂

I used ISO400. Back of camera histogram peak was at around 50%.

If money is no issue go for the gti. Its go to and you can use nina and all of the other gizmos combined with a pc. Its a real mount not just a startracker.

@@realmcerono yeah, money isn't too much of an issue, however portability is. I'm a Pimp Gimp, with a right leg that barely functions from the knee down and my left leg is starting to follow suit. I am hoping that I have about 10 years before I'll be changing my name to Hot Wheels. The point being that I can't be lifting, carrying, whatever, 50-60 lbs of stuff. If I can keep it under 25 lbs, thats about the only restriction I have. But thanks for the advice.

@@kevinashley478 yeah you can go with the GTI and a camera with a Rokinon 135mm to start and that’ll be a great wide field light weight setup, moving up to a 200mm f/2.8 canon if you want a little more reach or even the 800mm f/11 RF that he reviewed recently. All good lightweight setups that’ll keep your body from groaning too much!

@@stevenneaves8079 great! Thanks for the info!

Ah, sorry to hear that. Widespread problem right now. Hopefully it gets worked out soon

This was Bortle 4 with Antares about 25 degrees above the horizon. You should be able to get it with your conditions, but I maybe wouldn't go for the single shot challenge, and use the power of stacking to bring down the noise from the light pollution. Clear skies!

@@NebulaPhotos Thank you!

Its hard. I am in Switzerland and it is as low in the sky as yours on my bortle 5 sky. Shot over an hour to see whats there... it wasn't much :-(

Found it, thanks!

Tons of stuff doesn't work properly in Photoshop in 32 bit mode. And doesn't matter so much after the stretch. 16bits is plenty to work with (no perceptible difference - I could do a video explaining why).

@@NebulaPhotos I'm using The Gimp, so less of a constraint i guess. Thanks for the files btw, i can compare it to my untracked version using the same processing, that's cool.

@@TheNoon56 Nice, Yes, GIMP is much more full-featured (even no limitations?) with 32-bit files.

Hi Dinesh, No particular reason. As I said in the intro, I just got the Nikon D810a so was excited to try out one of it's unique features of allowing up to 15 minute exposure without a bulb timer.

Nah, not a big mistake. Either way can work and I know many prefer to add *only* the stars back in. For my "lazy" style of processing I always do it this way because it avoids artifacts. If you work a starless image and then add just the stars back in, you have to be super careful to avoid artifacts from the star removal process itself. If you do it my way, it results in a bright image that needs to be adjusted with curves, but I find I never get ringing around stars or any of the other problems people talk about with using starless images in processing.

@@NebulaPhotos It is worth a try for my Crescent image. Thanks for this!

Hi Sergio, yes for this image I was using a full setup: Askar FRA300 pro telescope, William optics guide scope, zwo guide camera, skywatcher EQ6R mount, Nikon D810a camera. The only thing I didn’t do that I normally would is take calibration frames (and stacking).

​@@NebulaPhotos great! Thanks!

I haven't used it as much as I'd like. I've had some problems with circular banding, but I've read that with the right exposure time on the flats, I might be able to get rid of it. I probably wouldn't recommend it today unless you can get a very good deal or are a bit of a camera collector like me.

@@NebulaPhotos Hi Nico, Thank you very much for your quick and honest reply. If you happen to solve the banding issue(s) that you mentioned, that may make a great future video. Also, what a wonderful advantage to have the ability on the 810A to dial in “any” exposure in camera with out the need for extra accessories.

Depending on how your PixInsight is setup, it may automatically debayer the raw file when you open it. I think the default installation of PI does this, but I have probably changed mine for some reason so it doesn't.

Thanks Nico.

Definitely possible with a cheaper camera. The Nikon D810a is nice, but a similar result could be had with a much cheaper modified DSLR and an intervalometer

@@NebulaPhotos Any good suggestions for a mid-range DSLR mainly for astrophotography (not single-exposure 😀) and good all rounder as well?

​@@bhaktibhandari7379My experience is with Nikon and Canon. Nikons have lower noise, Canons have better selection of clip-in filters and other astro accessories/ support. Under $500 - Nikon D5300 or 5600, Canon T4i, Canon T7. Under $1000 - Canon EOS RP (Mirrorless) or Nikon Z30 (Mirrorless)

@@NebulaPhotos Woah! Thanks for all those suggestions! Will definitely save up and buy one. I love astronomy and videography and thus astrophotography is a natural hybrid interest... But I lack a good camera (all I have now is a 10 yr old Nikon Coolpix S8100) ... Love seeing your vids instead. Loads to learn just by watching!!

I'm not sure I understand the question. Vignetting and dust can usually be corrected with flat fielding, but I did not take flats here since it was a single frame. I could have cleaned the sensor before taking the photos to avoid the dust.

@@NebulaPhotos my question is why crop a single frame, is any artifacts present different than mentioned before? If the guiding is doing incorrectly, the complete frame will be a disaster.

nicocarver AT gmail DOT com is my email. Or message me on twitter/instagram.

You will not be able, nor should you try to do single shots. In term of noise, a 15*1min or 8*2min would probably have been better, and calibration frame ARE important. The Star Adventurer is not a precise enought mount for 15 min exposures (periodic error is really high) and it can only be guided on RA axis. But, you can do a lot with your set-up, just get a good fast prime lens, and you will do amazing wield field images

Sure, you can. It's not going to give you the best result, but it simplifies things. With the Star Adventurer, I'd suggest an 85mm or 135mm lens. A dark sky is also essential if you want something reasonable in just a single shot. Cheers, Nico

@@NebulaPhotos Thanks so much. I will try with star tracker and lens 105mm f2.8…..I hope I nail it…. Happy hunting

Ha, sorry to your wallet 💸 😂

@@NebulaPhotos I want to see videos about D810a. I am getting one today and want to see what you do with it.

@@cemoguz2786 Congrats! I have a couple ideas. Might take me a while, but I'm sure I'll do them eventually.

@@NebulaPhotos I am sure you will execute that ideas perfectly. Good luck clear skys.

@@NebulaPhotos you may not know this but there is a Coloured Concentric Rings problem on Nikon d 8XX series I have faced with you might want to check it before wasting alot of time. I have been dealing this last 3 days.

It depends on a lot of factors, but for most people/setups/skies, the 60x30 sec. will give the better result IMO.

Yes, it can. The photos looking weird with just an autostretch is normal for any DSLR. Try unlinking channels and using stf autostretch like I show at 05:06. And/ or try AutoBackgroundExtractor like I show next - that should also remove a color cast

@@NebulaPhotos I tried, but unfortunately when I do that it's like losing all the color information, when I increase the saturation it doesn't show any color information that would be common to see. I've always liked to stack and process in pixinsight, with cell phone photos, but with the T7 I have to stack in another software to later be able to process in pixinsight due to these problems.

@@NebulaPhotos Anyway, great video! I'm always following you around here.

It's great! I have a review: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/a86PZadiyLaZZ2w.html

Yes, just for fun

@@NebulaPhotos I admit, it's pretty cool :)

I was using an Orion Atlas mount and guiding setup (William Optics 50mm Uniguide scope with a ZWO ASI290mm mini guide camera). As long as autoguiding is working well to correct the periodic error of the mount, there is no limit to how long you can expose for. I could have probably done an hour long exposure at ISO100!

For a given number of MPx and for same technology, a full frame sensor will have bigger photosites then the APS-C ones, allowing a better SNR straight out of the box. This is one of the reason one of the best mirrorless camera is the 12MPX Sony A7s, because it's photosite are huuuge. Also, full frame DSLR are not that expensive (A canon 6D, that is really good already is like 4-500€); at for wield field image, it is always nice to have a bigger sensors. Dedicated camera have smaller sensors, because they are freaking expensive (look at the price of a full frame 6200mm ! ) and if you want really clean images, using a big sensor is a really annoying process (really few telescopes correct a full frame well enough, and fine tuning of the OTA is required, due to tilt, and the filters get really expensive)

@@Thefuror38500 wow. Thanks for the information. That is good to know. I have been looking at full frame cameras, but I think I will have to stick with my T3i for right now. My focus now is getting a star tracker so I can get images with exposures higher than 2 seconds, lol. I will fine tune my upgrades from there.

@@kevinashley478 Some kind of motorised mount is really the way to go indeed ! My advice would be to really define your needs, and buy the best you can get; because having to upgrade mount is annoying ! If you need portability, a star adventurer is good, extrem portability LX4 is awsome, but if you are using it from the backyard, go for at least an EQ-5 or HEQ-5, so you have room for lens/scope upgrade :) I would say that mount > optic > filters > camera in term of importance

@@Thefuror38500 thank you very much for your input. I was planning to use my tax return to get my full setup, but the good ol IRS, every citizen's best friend, has said they will be holding my $9,000 refund as they "verify everything, and they may not give me my refund". If terrorists ever start attacking the IRS or Duke Hospital, I'm switching sides. However, my disability is essentially peripheral nerve damage to my legs. I have to use a brace for my right leg, currently, but now my left leg is starting to play catch up. I know that at some point I will end up in a wheelchair, so I am trying to do things that I want to do that require some mobility before that day comes. As for a mount, I am looking for either the 2i or the new one (braindead moment, can't remember it). I might consider the HEQ6, but only if I get a setup that can stay connected 24/7 as one unit. I'm thinking that if I get to that, I might get an enclosed trailer and mount it to a dolly that I can just roll in and out of the trailer. Or get a trailer that the top and sides are removable. Other than that, I'm not trying to outdo the JWST, so a simple scope, maybe a 60 or 70 will do just fine. Plus I gotta keep the weight limitations in mind for the mount. As for a camera, I don't think I'll ever go with a dedicated camera, or guiding. I'm not trying have set up a command center, I left the army a long time ago, lol. Plus, it's a lot of connecting to do since most locations I'll be going to will not be WiFi friendly zones. So I'm following KISS. I have two goals: I want to get a good image of the Heart and Soul and I want to be able to image the upcoming total solar eclipse. I know that will require special equipment and filters, but I want to see if I can figure out a way to image the eclipse in totality and be able to show it they way it looked to my eyes. I was in totality for the 2017 solar eclipse, and every image I have looked at looks nothing like what I saw with my eyes. I appreciate your advice, though, so thank you

The advantage of a dedicated astro camera over any general purpose camera, is without any doubt cooling; that allow to remove a lot of unwanted signal. The second big advantage is that you can have a monochrome sensor, that is absolutely awsome to use with propre filters (personnal opinion, color dedicated camera are a waste). Other minor advantage are more mechanical, (compatibilité with astro gear is easier); and no useless features, such as autofocus that is unusable at night. Sony camera tend to be excluded, because of Sony not allowing access to real raw file, they have a filtration algorythm that tend to ruin stars shape (=star eater). First generation Sony only have it after more than 30s exposure, so they are suitable (I use an A7s mk1, and it really, really rock) The "A" version has the inner low pass filter modified in factory to allow Ha signal to be more recorded. A regular D810 would struggle to record the red part of nebulae. However, there is negligible difference between a modded D810 and a D810A

@@Thefuror38500 so a D810 with an added filter could come close to the same performance as a D810A? I have a few ZWO cameras - one is cooled, but they are really priced like they are made of gold. Adding a Nikon to my DSLR "fleet" would make more sense then adding another dedicated astro-cam (on a budget).

@@allenbaylus3378 You need to remove a filter, not add one ! And yes, a modded D810 is absolutely the same as a D810A, there is no other trick than the inner filter ! Consider also options like the Canon 6D, on a budget it is really good, and the A7s mk1

I actually owned a modded D800 for a about a year before selling it to get something else. After buying a used D800 and getting it modded, it would be similar to the price I paid for D810A. And part of my motivation was having the camera for my collection (would like to eventually own all the factory made astro DSLRs)

I was using a telescope mount that tracks the stars and a guiding system to make the mount very accurate.

@@NebulaPhotos ah yes. now I get it. Congratulations, phenomenal photo and editing.

ISO 400