(Image links to higher res version)
- ED80T CF on a HyperTune CG-5 Mount
- EOS 450D
- HoTech HCA Field Flattener w/ Baader 2" Nd Skyglow filter
- 7 x 600" Lights at ISO 400
- 5 Bias
- 8 flats @ 100 ISO (I simply can't count...meant to take 10)
- No darks, PHD Dithering
- BYE Session management
- PHD Guidance through Orion 50mm Guidescope and Orion SSAG
- Post process in /r/StarTools, final color adjustment in PS CS2
- Shot from a Red zone just outside of Nashville, TN
- Full tech card and link to TIF at astrobin
First, the ED80 is really starting to come around to me. It and I are getting along very well, and I'm continually pleased with what it can see.
The new Baader SkyGlow filter REALLY made a difference. Previous attempts at this target had been disappointing at best, downright useless at worst, as I simply couldn't pull ANY of the red nebulosity or darker dust out of the light pollution. The Nd filter is superb.
The HoTech Field Flattener really does the job as well. I reviewed it on Reddit.
And finally, based on some conversations elsewhere earlier in the week, I gave this session a shot with no darks, using only PHD dithering. I feel like the end result was noisier than it would have been (though, i did not shoot darks to test, so I could be wrong) but, importantly, the noise wasn't unmanageable. So long as the stack is workable with StarTools or another platform in some reasonable period of time, then I'm happy...and this one was certainly workable.