M45 - The Pleiades

ahh, so you're really pushing the levels here to get the horsehead, thus increasing the noise in the image.

Actually Dave the histogram is balanced just about as far as the vignetting will allow it but in fact its not pushed very far at all. The horsehead is clearly visible on the raws for example. We just pushed it as far as the noise/vignetting would allow it. If the vignetting were not there we could push it a bit further still. Because there is a good few images in the stack the histogram is quite tolerant of a bit of pushing.[/quote]

I should also add Dave, that pre-mod I could not record the horsehead nebula at all.

I should also add Dave, that pre-mod I could not record the horsehead nebula at all.

oh, I can believe it !!, I've tried long exposures of the horsehead through the 12" with my unmodified 300D and the results were completely laughable, its as if the nebula was mag 30 !!

I should also add Dave, that pre-mod I could not record the horsehead nebula at all.

All that lovely H-alpha detail, hidden from view, yet there for everyone to see plainly!
Its amazing, really, to see photos like your Horsehead one, showing the enormity of the scale of that nebula as it appears to that star (Alnitak?), and yet, without proper filters, there's little hope at all of seeing it! Many times I have tried, but have never seen it.

Seanie.

Dave/Michael,

Just for your interest heres a low res JPG which shows you what the raws look like on the back of the camera, now its not a fair representation because i used the canon file viewer to turn it into a jpg . Thats one thing you need to remember once the mod is done you have to shoot astro shots in raw mode otherwise the white balance feature of the camera kicks in and all your images will be this colour. Remember they are not this colour in the raw only when the camera/software applies what it thinks is a good white balance.

Its amazing, really, to see photos like your Horsehead one, showing the enormity of the scale of that nebula as it appears to that star (Alnitak?), and yet, without proper filters, there's little hope at all of seeing it! Many times I have tried, but have never seen it.

Seanie.

Seanie, I've seen the HH visually twice. Once in a 12.5" reflector and also in my 16"reflector. I used a lumicon h-beta filter to see it both times. BTW if anyone fancies giving the HH a go visually you would be welcome to borrow my h-beta as long as its taken care of.