New to Astrophotography (3 Viewers)

[tbc]

Hi Jason,

Thanks a lot for the tips. For the issue of underexposure, I guess its my monitor that's not calibrated. I'll keep in mind to boost up the ISO and experiment it in the field again. Its always a challenge to shoot in harsh lighting to get proper exposure on one side and preventing burnt out on the others.

I have decided to keep the barlow as I'll be incurring shipping cost twice to ship to & fro from US and me.

tbc

 

[tbc]

How far away was the bird? A 2X converter results in half the depth of field and depth of field gets less the closer something is. I suppose the rule of thumb would be if using 2X then don't photograph anything too close. As a guide, at about 20m I can get all of a Pigeon in focus with the barlow.

The 2X Kenko should be fairly versatile because you can put a cheap macro tube between the camera and teleconverter to alter its magnification. Something like a 35mm macro tube would take it to around 3X for example.

Paul.

Hi Paul,

The subject is about 30 meters away. I am contemplating a cheap macro tube soon. The current set-up with the barlow has totally offset the balance on the tripod and the clampshell is already at the maximum position. Its either a longer base plate or something else which I will figure out later.

tbc

 

[tbc]

Some recent shots. Feel free to comment.

tbc

 

[Paul Corfield]

They are all sharp and in focus which is good. The last one has some processing artifacts, any chance you could post the original without any processing at all?

Were any taken with the new barlow?

Paul.

 

[Fowl Mouth]

Exposures look good on all of them, nice work, TBC. The first image is fantastic. I agree with Paul regarding the processed look of the last one (otherwise a nicely composed shot).

 

[tbc]

Paul,

The Heron, lapwing and Common Moorhen was taken with the new Antares barlow but not the owl which is too close. (Reattached saved from RAW to jpeg & resized only)

See Buffy Fish Owl on 600mm as low light and slow shutter is killing the shots. (Shutter speed : 1/2 Sec, ISO : 1600, Raw, Saved from RAW to jpeg & resized only)

tbc

 

[Paul Corfield]

Good stuff.

The reposted image has come out much better with the simple conversion from RAW to jpeg. The owl in the dark is good too.

Paul.

 

[Fowl Mouth]

1/2 sec?!? Holy cow, nice work. :clap:

 

[tbc]

1/2 sec?!? Holy cow, nice work. :clap:

That's the best part of shooting the owl, they'll stare at you for a few seconds motionlessly then turn their heads away. ISO 1600 only gave me 0.5 secs. Imagine other species?

tbc

 

[tbc]

Shots taken last Sat.

Paul,
I felt the Antares 1.6X is not giving me the sharpness I want, even after re-focussing, the shots turn up below expectations. These shots were taken either prime of with Kenko 1.4TC.

 

[Paul Corfield]

Due to the high magnification with the Antares 1.6X you need to use mirror lock up and a shutter release pretty much all the time. Air quality also needs to be very clear with no heat effects like quivering/shimmering air currents. Use a high enough ISO like 800 to get the highest shutter speed. Going by my tests, if all those things are adhered to then it's the sharpest thing around in that price bracket.

Paul.

 

[tbc]

Due to the high magnification with the Antares 1.6X you need to use mirror lock up and a shutter release pretty much all the time. Air quality also needs to be very clear with no heat effects like quivering/shimmering air currents. Use a high enough ISO like 800 to get the highest shutter speed. Going by my tests, if all those things are adhered to then it's the sharpest thing around in that price bracket.

Paul.

Paul,

Would it be better to test indoors where the elements are pretty much more predictable / controllable? Would'nt using lock up means framing using live view?

tbc

 

[Paul Corfield]

On the Canon cameras you can use mirror lock up without using liveview. You go into custom menus and select mirror lock up. Then use it with the 2 second timer. When you press the shutter remote it first locks up the mirror and then the 2 second timer starts and then it takes the photo. The 2 second timer is selected so that any vibrations from the mirror lock up have time to dampen. My old Pentax dslr had the same functions.

From what I read on the web you can do the same thing with your Nikon.

Paul.

 

[Paul Corfield]

Paul,

Would it be better to test indoors where the elements are pretty much more predictable / controllable?

tbc

I do all my tests in the shade and at only 7m range so there wouldn't be much influence from contributing factors. Plus I take loads of photos, refocus each one with 10X liveview and only keep the sharpest.

Paul.

 

[tbc]

Paul,

Thanks for the tips, I'll try it over the weekend.