Let’s talk space. Shall we?

I have been messing around with a Modified(Ha+Visible light) Olymus E-PM2 and my Panasonic GH4 for Astro Photography lately. Let me just say that Micro Four Thirds is perfect for AP. The Panasonic cameras are great for videos and the Constant Preview mode allows me to Align and adjust focus directly on the camera.

The E-PM2 has an excellent sensor and having it modified has opened up a lot of new doors.

Here are some images I have taken lately with my AT8IN Astro Tech 8 Inch Newtonian 200mm F4.0. All of the DSO images are 10-30 stacked RAW images from the E-PM2. All solar system objects are done with the GH4. I also have a sample 4K moon video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaUsn1LEATs

Nobody else likes Space? Bummer. It is amazing what you can see out there with $1500 worth of equipment.

I'll admit I know nothing about AP, but I will say these are beautiful shots!  You've chosen a really specialized area and seem to be doing it well!

enjoy,
Bob G

Pictures are awsome.  I like space as well but in the heart of the city you can't see much more than the moon and a few stars...................Bummer!

The London night sky is too polluted with ground lighting to see much with a telescope. I'd love to be able to take pictures like these here.

I cannot speak for others but where I live and primarily have the opportunity to practice photography, these images would be difficult I believe.  Too much light pollution, that being said the images are captivating especially when you think of the distance and possibilities of what we are viewing.  Thank you for sharing them.  I wouldn't begin to critique what I have no understanding of.

I like space shots, but I don't have a decent telescope, so for the moment I make do with my 75-300.

Your shots are awesome. Sometimes I get some nifty shots.

Eclipse

Saturn and the Moon

Start of occulatation

Almost gone.

Hi

I think some of those shots are incredible. I did not think anything like that was even remotely possible with the equipment you are using. Well done, and well worth doing!

maggiemole wrote:

The London night sky is too polluted with ground lighting to see much with a telescope. I'd love to be able to take pictures like these here.

Hogwash! Most of these images were taken or could be taken in my RED/WHITE Zone(Very Light Polluted) backyard. Once you get to a certain amount of light pollution adding more doesn’t really make it that much worse.

The key is that you have to use filters to take out the light pollution. The spectrum of light that most lights use is known and in the past that spectrum of light was not that broad. You can use filters to simply take out that spectrum.

If you look at the two images of M27 below you will see that the core turns from Blue to Green when you use a Strong Light Pollution filter. This filter alone allows me to take 2 full stops more exposure in my backyard than without it.

Now adding the filters means you need to track and guide better as well for the longer durations. That isn’t quite as simple. Good mounts cost money. Lots of money. I prefer to use a lower end mount and just get a better camera and use a higher ISO.

The images below are composed of ISO 400 subs. They are really clean. If I go to ISO 1600 or higher I will get much better tracking but I also will get much more noise. The key is to reduce that noise by stacking the images together. Noise is chaotic. If you take several images of the exact same thing with the exact same settings then the only difference should be the noise. You can remove that noise simply by comparing the images programmatically and then removing the differences.

I have always said that I would do a tutorial on how to produce images like this. However, I never felt like I knew enough to do it justice. That and most established AP photographers won’t listen to any argument that doesn’t have the word “Canon” in it. That is different now. I finally am at the point where I feel like I can handle any situation that arises and the old school AP guys have finally started to see what m4/3s can do.

I take all of these pictures with about $1500 of equipment including the mount, scope, and camera. The videos require the GH4 for 4K but even the 1080p of the GH3 and GH2 were fantastic. It can be done and it can be done on a budget. It just takes a lot of work and tweaking.

M27 1 Minute Subs ISO 400 without any Filters

M27 8 Minute Subs ISO 400 with a Strong Light Pollution Filter

How many of you are interested in Astronomy enough to drop $1500 on it? If you could get the images I have shown in this thread with $1500 worth of investment would you do it?

I ask because I am trying gauge how far the average person is willing to go to see space for themselves. If you had an instructional video on what to buy and how to use it would you be willing to drop $1500 to get it?

Also are you willing to stay outside from sun down till after 1:00 AM in your area in order to see these things. Typically I am outside for 4-5 hours at a time. In the summer the bugs are miserable and in the winter the temperature is miserable. However, there are ways to do this and not have to be outside with the equipment but still get the same experience.

Martin.au wrote:

I like space shots, but I don't have a decent telescope, so for the moment I make do with my 75-300.

Your shots are awesome. Sometimes I get some nifty shots.

Eclipse

Saturn and the Moon

Start of occulatation

Almost gone.

I simply love these images. These are very rare things. In fact I have never experienced any of these situations myself. Very nice stuff there. Great Job.