Canon 20D does Sun and Moon

Also, I couldn't achieve focus on my 8.75" DTG Dob without the 2x lens in the barlow. Any idea how I could solve that.

Yes you need to move the primary mirror up/down the tube as necessary. That may require drilling three new holes for the mirror support bolts but no biggy. If the focusser cant get in close enough to acheive prime focus move the mirror up the tube, if the focusser wont rack out far enough then move it down the tube. In fact if its the latter I'd bring it back to A&S for a replacement tube. The tube just shouldnt be too short.

If t Not sure what you mean by flat, but I think the severe under-exposure of the moon might be to blame.

I dunno Dan I like your image a lot. I hate over exposed moon shots theres a very natural quality to your image.

Very nice image that you linked. We have our benchmark! :lol:

Its certainly a nice shot, but benchmark? I dunno about that. The RGB alignment is waay off. I'd say the title of benchmark image is still open for offers :lol:




Daniel

some nice images,
Not alot of activity on the sun at the moment.

Dave,

Yes you need to move the primary mirror up/down the tube as necessary. That may require drilling three new holes for the mirror support bolts but no biggy. If the focusser cant get in close enough to acheive prime focus move the mirror up the tube, if the focusser wont rack out far enough then move it down the tube. In fact if its the latter I'd bring it back to A&S for a replacement tube. The tube just shouldnt be too short.

I see. That's a lot of work! I'll come back to it in a month or two. But thanks for explaining it out to me. I can't recall if the the focusser couldn't get close enough or rack enough. I'll check that out another clear night.

I dunno Dan I like your image a lot. I hate over exposed moon shots theres a very natural quality to your image.

Cheers. Yes, to be honest, when I viewed it with levels, warts and all, I preferred the original image. It's still underexposed though. I had to bring it up one full exposure just to get there. USM was completely necessary.

Its certainly a nice shot, but benchmark? I dunno about that. The RGB alignment is waay off. I'd say the title of benchmark image is still open for offers :lol:

Fair enough, but I certainly am impressed by the detail! Lovely image of Jupiter on the other tread. Good work!

Dan - like anything else, I guess photographis aesthetics are a personal preference. You'll get some who prefer a more natural looking sun and those who balk at anything other than a h-alpha image. Personally, I like them all but I do like the natural colour better - albeit a processed colour. I did the same with my image of the Venus transit - I processed the hell out of the colour to get that lovely sunset-colour effect. It looks great on the wall!

As for the moon, I meant that it doesn't 'look' 3D - but on reflection, that's very hard to do on a full moon - and more so on a full image. Partial shots of quarter and half moons can show great 3D relief. Popping up the brightness a bit would help but again, that's just my particualr preference - its still a nice shot!

The moon shot I posted was done in H-Alpha - and by the way, its not mine! I'm not sure why h-alpha was chosen but I like it just becasue its different if you know what I mean. Other than that, the focus is exquisite absolutely pin-sharp and in contradiction to what I said just before, there's good amount of relief - especially at the edges.

Hope the exams go well for you and you can get back out there and give us more lovely images!

All the best

Dave McD

Daniel, Those are fine shots, plenty of detail in both, you've got a gem in the 20D! Wish I had one
Keep it up!
Keith..

Dave McD,

Thanks for the extra info on the picture. Yes, a lot of aesthetics in photography come down to personal opinions. I used to think processing was cheating but now I see it as a necesity! Thanks also for the good wishes in the exams. I can't wait to finally be finished the degree!





Keith,

You're right - the 20D is a dream. I was jumping between the Canon 300D, Canon 10D and the Nikon D70 around my 21st birthday. I waited a little while and then the 20D came out and I jumped at it.

I wanted to get the extra performance because I do a lot of general photography and travel photography. My little splash into photojournalism paid off last month when I got a picture printed in the The Irish Times. Now, only another 30 shots need to be printed before it's paid off :roll:

I should mention that I've had some issues with the camera. I'm glad I bought it in Germany (€1331) and not the US. It has had to have parts replaced and sensors cleaned. The EU warranty has been a saviour. That said, all the lenses come from the US