First time trying deep-sky imaging tonight. Shot from a Bortle ~4 site in Norfolk, UK around 22:15. Conditions weren't the most ideal - 92% gibbous moon, 17-19mph wind, around 7°C. Probably got some star softening from tripod vibration but I went out to give it a try anyway.
Images (stacked, cropped and astrometry.net annotated) - Google Drive Images
Kit:
- Canon 1300D (stock, unmodified)
- Kit lens 18-55mm at 55mm f/5.6
- Just a tripod, no tracker
- Wired intervalometer
Captured:
- 100 × 5s lights at ISO 1600
- 18 darks, 50 bias (skipped flats this time - I modified the OSC_Preprocessing script to bypass)
- Manual focus on Pollux using Live View 10x zoom
Processing:
- Stacked in Siril with the modified script
- Background extraction (RBF, 15 samples per line) to remove the moonlight gradient
- Asinh stretch (factor 60, black point 0.05)
- Plate-solved on nova.astrometry.net to confirm M44
A few things I'd love thoughts on:
- Star colours feel muted compared to images I've seen with similar integration time. With 8 minutes total at f/5.6 on a stock DSLR, is this the realistic ceiling, or is there meaningful colour data I could extract with better processing technique (StarNet++, saturation masking, etc)?
- Trying to decide between two upgrade paths for the next ~£200-£300: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 (10x more light at same focal length) or used Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i. Which would have more impact for a beginner doing untracked wide-field deep-sky and Milky Way work? UK-based, mostly imaging from Bortle 4 with occasional trips to Bortle 3.
u/JDoy99 — 23 days ago