It is so hard to find anyone who explains this stuff as well as you do. You are a life-saver and I suspect your channel is going to explode if this consistency keeps up.
@@LateNightAstronomy great to know. I remember watching your Saturn video a couple of months back. I learnt from it soo easy. Went straight in spent a fortune and got great results on the planets following your methods. I’ve got pretty much all I can from planetary imaging now as they’re so low in the U.K. Just got myself an eq6 r pro mount and a skywatcher esprit 100ed. So deep space for me now. I’ll look forward to seeing your videos along the way. Keep it up.
Excellent presentation. I like the different planetary images you've created and it's a huge help for understanding the camera component and software interface to get results that are so much better than the raw images
One thing I like about this channel is that you get what’s in the title. Other astrophotography channels title their videos like “DSO with only your DSLR”, but once you start watching, turns out it’s not “only” a DSLR what you need, but also some accessories that sometimes are hard to find or are not available for your gear. For well experienced people it might be obvious, but for beginners like me it’s not. THIS channel is awesome, and definitely deserves more subscribers. Thank you for all the effort you put on every video.
Wow! That is so nice of you to say. I try to keep things as straightforward as this complicated hobby can allow for the channel! I appreciate your comment and let me know if I can ever help you with anything!
Thank you for saying that! It has taken several attempts at trial and error to get it down to a working sequence. I'm trying to maximize my imaging techniques and quality with the equipment I already have.
@@LateNightAstronomy Got in a couple of hours observing Mars (10-4-20), no imaging though. #15 Yellow and #80A filters gave good contrast. XT8+, 2x Barlow, 10mm & 20mm eyepieces.
So nicely explained, and with a warm and calm voice, thank you for all the tutorials. Seriously, I have no questions, you've been through everything, you've explained everything.
@@LateNightAstronomy thanks, i have an Celestron 127 slt, and my main objectiv was to make dso, but is not for this astrophotograhy, and now i want to learn to make nice photo planets.
Nice pacing and nicely edited. Excellent demonstration of the three pieces of software and your process.Thank you. I will definitely be saving this video for future reference.
Thanks for doing this series on the planets. The videos are well explained by getting into the necessary facts. Very well done, Michael. Regards, Alfredo
Hi Michael, Martin here, finally the skies cleared somewhat and I could point my C8 towards mars. I thought I had my dslr set up correctly. But it seems I was very confused about the settings. Later I discovered my setting were for photography an not video capturing. So all my clips were terribly over exposed. With no chance of spotting any detail. Almost burned a hole in my comp screen. Now consulting the manual I found the video capture settings and finally your explanations made sense. So here I am with the correct settings and again cloudy skies...... I also found out that my barlow 2x doesn't fit in my camera adapter. Too wide. So I used 10mm eyepiece. I will have to see where that takes me. Waiting for freezing clear skies. Cheers for now. Martin
Martin, thanks for checking back in and giving such a great observing report. I was out observing with some local astronomy club members this weekend and got some nice views of Jupiter, Saturn, Andromeda Galaxy and the Double Double Cluster. Keep up the attempts with imaging, every time it will make more sense to you and get a bit easier to set up and get going! Clear Skies.
Thanks for your suggestion. Other than what I adjusted manually in the video, everything was loaded to it's default settings from the initial install. Hopefully that helps a little!
Hi Michael. My name is Martin ,go figure. As I an new to astrophotography I welcome your explanations of your workflow. The power is in how you leave almost any settings untouched. And still have these great results. I have already tried to copy your workflow on a downloaded piece of raw footage of saturn. It worked out so so. It would be really great if you could share some of your Canon raw .mov files to see if I could achieve more or less the same result. I.e. the saturn clip. I was really impressed with what you did there. Ofcourse I would prefer to shoot my own footage. But I live in one of the most light polluted areas of Holland. And I haven't seen clear skies due to heavy rain filled clouds. I hope you will take my suggestion in consideration, and in the mean time wait for your next video. Cheers Martin
The process is very interesting. A lot depends on the adjustments. Mars is mostly red, except for the polar area, due to frozen CO2, carbon dioxide. In processing, no white shade should be introduced near the equator where ice never appears. There is a limit on how much you can adjust colors due to the climate on Mars.
@@LateNightAstronomy Hi there. I am starting in astrophotography. I did visual observing before. I've been using an 8" Meade LX200 ACF and cameras for astronomy (SV305, Meade LPI-GM, MallinCam). I want to use a Canon/Nikon camera as well. I took Mars videos a few days ago and will be processing them using your procedures. It's a great tutorial for planetary astrophotography.
Thank you for explaining everything! I have a 4 inch goto and an orion xt8 basic. I have done Jupiter with x2 barlow on the small go-to Can wait to try it on the xt8 for better image!
Thanks for your videos, and the info about those image processing programs. I downloaded them today. Now I just need to get a better telescope. Maybe next month. I’m thinking about getting a Celestron Starsense Dx 130 AZ.
I'm glad you found the videos helpful. The Starsense is a popular and well reviewed telescope right now. Have you also looked at a 6 inch or 8 inch dobsonian?
@@LateNightAstronomy not yet. I am still gathering information, and I have not yet learned very much at all about Dobsonian telescopes. Thanks to the magic of the interweb, I hope to learn about those soon. Especially since you mentioned them. But I have to say, I really like the idea of using my iPhone’s processing power to help to locate POIs with Starsense. I have an iPhone 11, but I am thinking of upgrading to the iPhone 12 for this very reason.
@@bobbya8622 The starsense does look to be a very user friendly telescope to get you into the hobby. A favorite app of mine for tracking down the stars is SkySfari 6 Plus. I use it with my dobsonian telescope to find things. Here is a video I made reviewing it if you are interested ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-S5HDAEdTgio.html
@@LateNightAstronomy thanks very much for being helpful. I have gotten re-interested in astronomy after getting energized/interested from spending a lot of time investigating/viewing the Great Conjunction, so I am trying to get together as much information as I can to make the best informed buying decision. I am thinking that maybe my telescope purchases will be in two useful stages: first a smaller goto type telescope using up-to-date technology, and as I’ve mentioned I really like the Celestron Starsense, for the first phase, and then for the second stage a much larger Classical Cassegrain 8-10. I have seen some comparisons of smaller Cassegrains to larger Dobsonians and right now I am leaning towards a Cassegrain. I spent last night trying to gather information and comparisons of the two, and I am very impressed with what a Cassegrain can do. I definitely like the smaller size. Without a doubt, the larger Dobsonians will capture a bunch more light, but I’m not sure I want to deal with size/weight.
Wow! Great tutorial! I wish I had seen this back in October. Question, can you focus on stars first to get focus set and then move the scope to mars or will the focus need to be changed?
Thanks again! Yes you can, that is probably the best way to get the sharpest focus possible. Mars is still a nice target to observe and image right now. But each day it gest smaller and smaller...
Love your video. I also watched the one you did on Jupiter. Is there a reason you didn't use GIMP with Mars? Just curious. Love the videos. Please keep them coming.
Thanks so much for your comment. I decided to simplify the process for Mars down to 3 programs. All I needed to do for my image of Mars was some basic light adjustments and color saturation. Depending on the quality of the image and how many corrections are needed, sometimes I use GIMP and sometimes I don't. Look out for a Saturn video coming early next week!
Great video, just like the others you do. Many thanks for taking the time to create them. Was just wondering why you use the variable camera adapter without a lens? Can you not just attach the camera direct to the barlow?
Thanks for your kind comment and good question! I have found using an eyepiece with my DSLR creates final images that are more blurry then simply connecting the camera/adapter to a barlow lens. This may not be the case for other cameras or telescope, but in this case less glass between the sensors and telescope seems to help.
Hi to LNA. Enjoying watching your videos and very informative. I am a beginner at all of this since the beginning of "Lockdown". I live near Luxembourg but am Scottish by birth and I purchased a GSO Dobsonian 10" and have the following lens'. a 2 x Barlow, Super Plossel eyepieces 4mm, 10mm, 15mm, 25mm. I am not sure yet what I am doing but am struggling to get a clear image of Mars. Everything looks like indistinct stars. What kind of magnification should I be using and why am I struggling to get an image. I follow your advice and acclimate the scope at least an hour before viewing. Any thoughts?? Keep up the great work.
Thanks for your kind words and support of the channel! So, Mars right now is not at the best placement to view it. Mars and Earth close in on each other about every 2 years and that last approach was October 2020. Right now you will be hard pressed to get much out of imaging it. Are you able to view the moon and other objects clearly? Thankfully Jupiter and Saturn will be making their way back into view this Spring and Summer.
really nice explanation! 👏👏👏 the reason in two barlow lens is only because the magnifier or ... can be possible to have same results taking video using a ocular projection? thanks Roberto
I have found that ocular projection tends to dim the image a good bit with my setup but you could definitely give it a try. My best results have been just with a barlow lens and DSLR.
Thanks so much. I used to use only use PIPP and Registax but have found Autostakkert to be much better software for stacking. Also, Registax hasn't been updated in quite a while but Autostakkert has new versions that are released frequently.
Yes, mine normally come out as a 400x400 pixel image. I'm always surprised though at how much detail I still get. I just images Mars over two nights this week and hope to have results soon!
@@LateNightAstronomy Ok...thanks. I know I'm still on the right track. Just aligned my first EQ Platform for my dob. Took several hours but turned out pretty accurate. Next step is imaging.
Yes, terrific. I was out with my dslr in my celestron the other night. The problem was as i focused tighter the planet kept getting smaller and smaller until it was virtually impossible to see of it was in focus. How do you do it?
@@LateNightAstronomy I think I figured out the problem: just had to find the digital zoom function on my DSLR. Looking forward to the next clear night to try it out.
@@LateNightAstronomy it didn't quite work out. I was able to enlarge Mars and focus in on it (same issues with Jupiter) but then as soon as I hit record (Canon software), the planet became dot sized; when processing, the planet was again small, even zooming on it didn't help much, as it blurred any changes I made to sharpen it in software. I'm thinking that it must be a setting in PIPP or Autostacker that I'm missing which sets the image large enough to crop it and still be able to reproduce it. My powermate is 2.5x, not quite as large as yours, and my digital zoom also doesn't render it on the camera lcd as large as it is on your canon.
@@jeffisme I'm sorry your are still having difficulties with it. These things can be quite frustrating when they don't go right. One possibly suggestion would be to restore default settings to both of those programs just in case.
Amazing video, thanks! I tried to apply this technique but when recording the video on my DSLR Jupiter appears too bright, burned (even when I used lowest ISO). The only difference is that I'm not using a Barlow lens that naturally reduces amount of light. What else can I do? Thanks!
Hi there. New to this. Did you have to modify the DSLR Camera in any way? I have a EOS 80D, so want make use of it, in a same way as you described. Thanx also for taking the time and effort in making these Video's. Really appreciate them.
Thanks for your comment! I chose not to modify my DSLR because I also use it to film these videos. Many do get their DSLR modified to bring out more faint details on certain objects but it's not a necessity in my opinion if you are just getting into this.
@@LateNightAstronomy That's good to know. I also do not want to modify mine, as I use it often still for normal photo taking. Will as I progress, and when the need arises, invest then in a dedicated Astro Cam.
I tried imaging Mars with the same setup you're using, but couldn't get it on the screen of my Canon T5i. I was able to focus on the moon and take some shots, but Mars would not show up at the same focusing distance, nor any other I tried. What am I doing wrong?
It is possible it was too dim to see in the live view mode. Put the ISO as high as it will go at first and then once you find it bring it down to a better level for imaging. When I made this video a few months ago Mars was a good bit brighter than it is right now! Let me know if that helps any!
I do not use digital zoom. The results have never been good for me and as you said it inhibits high frame rate filming. The 3x barlow is what I use to get a good bit closer to the target.
I did not use any filters for this because of how they can throw off the color of the planet for imaging. They do make specific mars filters however for visual observing that can help bring out surface details. If you are using your phone you could use an eyepiece that would provide about 200x magnification if the skies are clear. Do you own any of the equipment shown in the video for connecting your DSLR to your telescope?
I do not use eyepieces with the setup shown in these videos. I have found better results to come from simply attaching a barlow lens to the DSLR. I use 3x because it pushed my telescope up to a 3,600 mm focal length which is a nice sweet spot for my scope and dslr.
My son Thomas and I tried the processing of the saturn clip you sent. I have mailed you the result. We were absolutely amazed by the amount of detail we got in the final image. It was great fun. Now we are waiting untill finally this monsoon clears and we can see the night sky again. When we get a chance we will try our luck on the moon, Cheers for now Martin
@@MartinJReij That is a beautiful image you sent me. It brings me joy to know you and your son were able to work on that together! Keep up the great work and stop back by for any questions you may have. Take care and clear skies!
Yes, during its close approach you should be able to. If you have an eyepiece that can take your telescope up to 150x magnification that would be great. Also, the rotation of Mars makes it so land features don't always face our side. So try to check in out over several nights!
@@LateNightAstronomy 3x barlow .5.6 mm eyepice 1x zoom digital zoom . probably I got 400x plus ➕magnification .im planning go out the city to take the best pictures and videos and process them in pipp .autostack .and Photoshop . I hope I can see some details.thanks for the answer.
Good question. That is going to depend a good deal on the specific phone you are using. I would encourage you to start in the range of what I show in the video and then go from there if your smartphone allows for fine tune adjustments of iso and shutter speed.
@@LateNightAstronomy yeah my phone does have a full manual mode but my telescope in only 130mm and I have a 2x barlow with 10 and 20mm eyepiece will it work.
@@astrolyfe8097 For how bright Mars is I bet you will be able to resolve some dark land features and polar caps on it using that equipment. You may want to forgo the 2x barlow at first and see if you can work up to that higher magnification it will provide.
What is the minimal focal length to get any acceptable image of mars? I made some shots with a refractor at 250mm, but could not get anything but a white point :(
1900mm + 2x barlow = 3800mm. It will be tiny still. I've an 8" with 2036mm focal length and even with 5x Barlow it's only about 300 pixels in diameter.
That's a tough but good question. The images I captured in this tutorial are taken with a 1,200mm FL and 3x Barlow lens equally 3,600 mm. Most of my images of the planets are being shot around f/18. What are the exact specs of your telescope?
It's always worth a try but getting sharp results will be difficult. With a 300mm lens you may be a able to resolve a small disc of Mars if the focus is accurate but it is unlikely you would see surface details. For example, the focal length of the telescope and 3x barlow lens I was using for this video was 3,600mm. Try some test shots on the Moon and then move over to Mars and give it a shot. Let me know how your results turn out.
@@moisessolanilla1093 With the included 10mm eyepiece for that telescope you should be able to make out some slight land features when Mars is at it's closest to Earth. It's moving away from us now so it's possible that is what is going on. Give it another try in a few night using the 10mm and 2x barlow included with your scope to see if the side of it is facing us with some land features that night.
I hope you found the imaging and processing portions of this video helpful. If you have any specific questions on how I used PIPP, Autostakkert or Registax please let me know. Clear skies and take care!
