Dark side of the Milky Way

Testing my new M6 mk II Silver, it seems the read noise on the new M6ii is very low at 1600 (when I read Bill Claff's PhotonsOnPhotons M6ii has read noise only 1.6 electrons at 1600 I thought he was on crack), and the low light metering makes focusing extremely easy.

The new M6ii is very responsive, especially the annoying bug on Manual mode on M6 where I have to half-press the button before pressing full for it to start capture (yes in M mode), I'm happy with my purchase, I guess I might get another one.

The new camera is extremely good, what you see is the Carina Nebula, that is almost touching the horizon under class 5 Bortle scale sky, with sky glow from nearby city and street lamps, the H-alpha response is damn good.

EF-M32mm @ 3.2, 67x30s, ISO 1600

EF-M32mm @ 3.2, 67x30s, ISO 1600

As an Australian, I recognized the Southern Cross immediately.  And the coal-sack nebula (the dark patch to the left).   You appear to be located in Vietnam.. does the this region of the Milky Way show up higher in the sky for you there?.
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The crimson hue in the Carina Nebula is normally not that visible (saturated) without modifying the sensor (on a Canon Mirrorless camera).  But the colors are indeed visible, even with the tungsten WB (if used). It's interesting that the 32mm lens is more likely to pick up on this over lenses like the 11-22mm which, whilst less sensitive (presumably due to the aperture), is unable to produce much color.
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With the EOS M6, I tend to use around ISO 1600, 2000 and 2500 as there's very little noise for me to deal with - yet I get quite an improvement on sensitivity. The M6 II obviously has its own rules. Great shot. Nothing beats a nice image of the night sky!
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I tend to take singular exposures without a tracking mount... but your image details suggest you've stacked  67x 30 second frames together to produce this image.  Is that correct?

Marco Nero wrote:

EF-M32mm @ 3.2, 67x30s, ISO 1600

As an Australian, I recognized the Southern Cross immediately. And the coal-sack nebula (the dark patch to the left). You appear to be located in Vietnam.. does the this region of the Milky Way show up higher in the sky for you there?.
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Yes it is the Southern Part, this part of Milky Way peak the most at Altitude of +15, which is a little higher than the horizon, you could see the light polluion glow from the nearby city below.

The crimson hue in the Carina Nebula is normally not that visible (saturated) without modifying the sensor (on a Canon Mirrorless camera). But the colors are indeed visible, even with the tungsten WB (if used). It's interesting that the 32mm lens is more likely to pick up on this over lenses like the 11-22mm which, whilst less sensitive (presumably due to the aperture), is unable to produce much color.
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With the EOS M6, I tend to use around ISO 1600, 2000 and 2500 as there's very little noise for me to deal with - yet I get quite an improvement on sensitivity. The M6 II obviously has its own rules. Great shot. Nothing beats a nice image of the night sky!
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I tend to take singular exposures without a tracking mount... but your image details suggest you've stacked 67x 30 second frames together to produce this image. Is that correct?

The noise from M6 II at 1600 is so great that when I saw the histogram at such a short sub-exposure (usually I have to exposure 1 min per sub for M6 to suppress read noise), i got confused as compared to my old M6 (in which the noise swamp the H-alpha signal, as I had struggle to capture the outer rim of Milky Way near Orion).

From my initial observation, Canon does indeed improve the sensitivitive a lot on M6 II, especially the H-alpha sensitivitive. One more thing, with the M6 mk II, the annoying bug of having half-pressing shutter before full-pressing for exposure in Manual mode is gone which is helpful. I need to test more subjects, I have a feeling there is some raw filtering in M6 II raw file, but so far so good compare to old M6.

PS: here's a link to the OOC jpg and raw file for you to have a look Marco (I use faithful picture style for night photography)

Raw: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eui9VjEOgWg1-QPguN9--w5QgOUUyNnC/view?usp=sharing

JPG: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UCijtMbx9KUNpCLqH45PspAGOqJsuBAj/view?usp=sharing

zero214 wrote:

PS: here's a link to the OOC jpg and raw file for you to have a look Marco (I use faithful picture style for night photography)

JPG: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UCijtMbx9KUNpCLqH45PspAGOqJsuBAj/view?usp=sharing

Holy smokes! That's a lot of light pollution from that nearby city.  I tend to get that sort of wash-out from a full moon when I'm waiting for it to set.   Have you considered using some type of Light Pollution Filter?  I tend to drive to where the sky is very clear and sometimes I'll use one of the NiSi Natural Night Filters to try to enhance the image further.  I think Hoya make one of their own as well for Light Pollution.  I just went over some of my own shots of the same region from a shoot about a year ago with the M6+32mm and the same nebula had quite a bit of color to it with this lens.  More than I remembered.  I'm seriously thinking about buying the new EOS Ra model which has a factory altered sensor (no IR) especially for astrophotography and nebulae.  Great to see the M6 II is doing such a fine job.

Marco Nero wrote:

zero214 wrote:

PS: here's a link to the OOC jpg and raw file for you to have a look Marco (I use faithful picture style for night photography)

JPG: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UCijtMbx9KUNpCLqH45PspAGOqJsuBAj/view?usp=sharing

Holy smokes! That's a lot of light pollution from that nearby city. I tend to get that sort of wash-out from a full moon when I'm waiting for it to set. Have you considered using some type of Light Pollution Filter? I tend to drive to where the sky is very clear and sometimes I'll use one of the NiSi Natural Night Filters to try to enhance the image further. I think Hoya make one of their own as well for Light Pollution. I just went over some of my own shots of the same region from a shoot about a year ago with the M6+32mm and the same nebula had quite a bit of color to it with this lens. More than I remembered. I'm seriously thinking about buying the new EOS Ra model which has a factory altered sensor (no IR) especially for astrophotography and nebulae. Great to see the M6 II is doing such a fine job.

Well I'm thinking of using Astronomik clip-in CLS, maybe it will fix my problem , as far as light pollution, my sky is kind of darkest around here, if I want much better sky, I have to travel almost 300km to get to a better place (but it is dangerous because no one lives around there), and at the mercy of weather.

Good luck with your EOS Ra, I'm sure you will make lovely astroworks with it.

zero214 wrote:

Marco Nero wrote:

zero214 wrote:

PS: here's a link to the OOC jpg and raw file for you to have a look Marco (I use faithful picture style for night photography)

JPG: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UCijtMbx9KUNpCLqH45PspAGOqJsuBAj/view?usp=sharing

Holy smokes! That's a lot of light pollution from that nearby city. I tend to get that sort of wash-out from a full moon when I'm waiting for it to set. Have you considered using some type of Light Pollution Filter? I tend to drive to where the sky is very clear and sometimes I'll use one of the NiSi Natural Night Filters to try to enhance the image further. I think Hoya make one of their own as well for Light Pollution. I just went over some of my own shots of the same region from a shoot about a year ago with the M6+32mm and the same nebula had quite a bit of color to it with this lens. More than I remembered. I'm seriously thinking about buying the new EOS Ra model which has a factory altered sensor (no IR) especially for astrophotography and nebulae. Great to see the M6 II is doing such a fine job.

Well I'm thinking of using Astronomik clip-in CLS, maybe it will fix my problem , as far as light pollution, my sky is kind of darkest around here, if I want much better sky, I have to travel almost 300km to get to a better place (but it is dangerous because no one lives around there), and at the mercy of weather.

I think I know what you mean... I tend to drive to one of several remote spots in the mountains where the air is clearer.  It's not exactly ideal but it's much, much better than in the city... but I'm aware that always at risk from either bad people or wild animals when I do this.  Fortunately, all the people I've met out there have been nice.  They normally don't approach me in the dark but they can see what I'm doing and sometimes ask questions when there's a comet in the sky or a lunar eclipse etc.  But when shooting the Milky Way one night I had a pack of wild dogs kill a large animal about 30 meters away from me and the sounds were utterly ghastly in the dark.  I quietly packed up and drove someplace else. I returned to the new location and something qizzed past me in the dark.  It was either a bullet or a meteorite.  I'm hoping it was the latter... which is why I didn't report it.
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I live in the Sydney suburbs so for me to drive to a suitable spot in the mountains takes about an hour and a half each way - plus any time I spend taking pictures.  Bit it has always been worth it when I get out of the car and see that clear night sky overhead.  I've sometimes taken other people out there with me and surprised them with the view when they get out of the car.

Good luck with your EOS Ra, I'm sure you will make lovely astroworks with it.

I'm still weighing it up at the moment.  The price here in Australia is almost $4K for the EOS Ra.  There's other things that are more pressing for me at the moment and I already have a few cameras so that makes anything new a bit of a luxury for me at the moment.
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I'm using a larger 77mm filter so I can place it on other lenses via a step-up ring set.

77mm NiSi NN Fikter on the 32mm + OES M6.

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I can recommend the NiSi Natural Night Filters although my choice of White Balance and hue might not appeal to everyone with some of my test shots using the EF-M 32mm f/1.4 lens.  The alternative is the sensor-fitted filter which you mentioned.  I stacked 6x 8 second shots for a comet that was in the sky in Dec 2018 and caught a few images of the Milky Way (both sides) with it for testing purposes.  I really need to get a solid EQ mount with tracking so I can do some experimental work with other lenses using longer exposures.

Marco Nero wrote:

zero214 wrote:

Marco Nero wrote:

zero214 wrote:

PS: here's a link to the OOC jpg and raw file for you to have a look Marco (I use faithful picture style for night photography)

JPG: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UCijtMbx9KUNpCLqH45PspAGOqJsuBAj/view?usp=sharing

Holy smokes! That's a lot of light pollution from that nearby city. I tend to get that sort of wash-out from a full moon when I'm waiting for it to set. Have you considered using some type of Light Pollution Filter? I tend to drive to where the sky is very clear and sometimes I'll use one of the NiSi Natural Night Filters to try to enhance the image further. I think Hoya make one of their own as well for Light Pollution. I just went over some of my own shots of the same region from a shoot about a year ago with the M6+32mm and the same nebula had quite a bit of color to it with this lens. More than I remembered. I'm seriously thinking about buying the new EOS Ra model which has a factory altered sensor (no IR) especially for astrophotography and nebulae. Great to see the M6 II is doing such a fine job.

Well I'm thinking of using Astronomik clip-in CLS, maybe it will fix my problem , as far as light pollution, my sky is kind of darkest around here, if I want much better sky, I have to travel almost 300km to get to a better place (but it is dangerous because no one lives around there), and at the mercy of weather.

I think I know what you mean... I tend to drive to one of several remote spots in the mountains where the air is clearer. It's not exactly ideal but it's much, much better than in the city... but I'm aware that always at risk from either bad people or wild animals when I do this. Fortunately, all the people I've met out there have been nice. They normally don't approach me in the dark but they can see what I'm doing and sometimes ask questions when there's a comet in the sky or a lunar eclipse etc. But when shooting the Milky Way one night I had a pack of wild dogs kill a large animal about 30 meters away from me and the sounds were utterly ghastly in the dark. I quietly packed up and drove someplace else. I returned to the new location and something qizzed past me in the dark. It was either a bullet or a meteorite. I'm hoping it was the latter... which is why I didn't report it.
.
I live in the Sydney suburbs so for me to drive to a suitable spot in the mountains takes about an hour and a half each way - plus any time I spend taking pictures. Bit it has always been worth it when I get out of the car and see that clear night sky overhead. I've sometimes taken other people out there with me and surprised them with the view when they get out of the car.

That’s scary, my place is kind of a country side, but astro is not taught in school so not many here appreciate the beautiful night sky, especially in summer, where the Milky Way Core rises past +30 altitude, I can see the lovely core and the dust lanes with my own eyes, it’s a great sight to behold.

Good luck with your EOS Ra, I'm sure you will make lovely astroworks with it.

I'm still weighing it up at the moment. The price here in Australia is almost $4K for the EOS Ra. There's other things that are more pressing for me at the moment and I already have a few cameras so that makes anything new a bit of a luxury for me at the moment.
.

I'm using a larger 77mm filter so I can place it on other lenses via a step-up ring set.

77mm NiSi NN Fikter on the 32mm + OES M6.

.
I can recommend the NiSi Natural Night Filters although my choice of White Balance and hue might not appeal to everyone with some of my test shots using the EF-M 32mm f/1.4 lens. The alternative is the sensor-fitted filter which you mentioned. I stacked 6x 8 second shots for a comet that was in the sky in Dec 2018 and caught a few images of the Milky Way (both sides) with it for testing purposes. I really need to get a solid EQ mount with tracking so I can do some experimental work with other lenses using longer exposures.

I did buy the Hoya red intensifier, but the filter did not do much, so I guess stronger one like astronomik might do, and the clip-in will be more convenient when I need to change between focal lengths.

I think the Fornax Lightrack II might be what you need, light, portable, easy to use, able to track unguided at 5 mins @500mm, it is suitable even with your R + 100-400mmII , no need for those big heavy EQ unless you are into multi scopes territory. I’m saving to replace my SkyTracker with LTII, it weights double more, but tracking accuracy and periodic error is ten fold better, and I despise using computer for guiding at night, too much cables and hassle.

Link below:

https://fornaxmounts.com/products/lightrack.html

I think the 32mm is the best lense at this focal length for wide field astro, even rival the Sigma Art 35mm from all the charts I read and compare the two with real life data, this lens makes lovely nebula color, and the focal length is good enough for panorama astro nightscape.