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[starbux]

Experimenting with the "new" camera. First started with attempting the moon, but seeing wasn't so great. Later as the moon set I tried a couple of dsos even though I was only using my 8" dob that evening.

M45 two exposures combined in Photoshop 800iso 8seconds each. 32mm PL. No filter.



M42 single exposure. 800 iso for 8seconds no filter.


M42 combination of 4 exposures 2 at iso 800 and 2 at 400 iso. No filter. "Star Rounder" photoshop plug-in to reduce trailing. Alignment slightly less than perfect.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Malcolm,

Good practice will result in good images with time and patience. But these first shots show good promise. Even with the blur and trails, the colors are starting to come out. When you get the dob tracking down just right, I bet the results will be excellent!

I'm looking into upgrading my trusty Kodak digital camera to a more professional type.

The Canon Powershot S2/5MP is looking mighty good about now, and since the S3 has been introduced, the price of the S2 is around $250.00. Reading reviews on the Canon, I have found overwhelmingly good stuff. Many features including a 15 sec-1/3200. shutter, stereo video, 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom.

Still researching cameras, and would appreciate any reviews from our membership/visitors on their own experience with digital cameras.

As the Chicago Astronomer will start to ease into first hand reporting on astronomy/space flight reporting, I will need a dependable camera to work with.

[starbux]

Well, I would rather be doing tracked/driven images of M42 thru the LX200, but right now I can't really because of trees blocking the southeast of my backyard. When M42 get near the meridian it is no longer blocked by trees. The dob and my smaller scopes can be more casually moved around, hence why you've seen images of M42 taken thru them. I did learn a little more about stacking this time around, so I could take pics with longer equivalent exposures this way than is possible with a single shot.

If your main purpose in getting another digicam is for field reporting, rather than astrophotography (though if you stack, you can get beyond the 15 second maximum of the Canons), then (short of getting a dSLR), then I think the Canon IS series is likely an excellent choice. You might also want to look into the new Canon Powershot A710-IS which is lighter than the others (and only goes to 6x though) but still has advanced features that the A series (which I have used until now) have. Plus it has image stabilization as the others do.

I did what must be hundreds of hours reading about the various models and features before upgrading to the Nikon. But I think Canons rock and you're probably on the right track for what you want. Just do your homework before making the final decision.

Malcolm