After watching that, it is easy to see why you have one of the very best astrophotography channels. You make it a joy to watch. Thanks for your dedication to this amazing hobby and willingness to help others.
Thank you for taking the time to explain these things and not just say the words and expect everyone to know what the heII you're talking about. Glad to see you posting videos again! Keep it up!
Hey Nico! I've been enjoying your other instructional videos. I have a mono camera on the way, but just with LRGB filters, for now. This is a very timely video for me. Looking forward to the PixInsight video.
Stu E true, but this is a narrowband video! Ha imaging actually works pretty well with the full moon out. I should have said that in the video. There is just SO much to say! 😅
Thank you Nick for such amazing content. Just took my first image a week ago by following your tutorial. You have taken much time to explain to newbies like me so much. Keep up the amazing content. Hopefully i can share my images with you one day. Narrowband looks sooooo cool. THANK YOU!
Thanks so much for this mini series Nico - like others, I learn so much from your videos: I find your style, approach, and depth of explanation perfect for me, and probably the easiest to understand of any astro youtuber! Many thanks for investing the time and dedication to putting this content up: looking forward to more content and hoping its not another year before you are able to upload :-) on that issue - any ETA for the PixInsight upload?
Thanks Ian, It is definitely my goal to upload more in 2020. I enjoy planning the videos, and have lots of ideas, but have trouble finishing them. I hope to have the PixInsight video uploaded by the morning of Tuesday, 1/21.
Thanks for your super interesting video :) I have a question though: if I'm lucky enough to live not too far (~4h drive) from a bortle 2 location, do I stll need narrowband filter? Or will the sky be dark enough to capture nice photos even without them?
Hi Paolo, You do not need any filters for a Bortle 2 location, that is plenty dark enough to shoot with a DSLR unfiltered and get good results. Clear skies, Nico
Thank you for taking the time to create this video, it’s great to take some time for the science behind the art! I was curious if you have an opinion on the diameter of filters to be used. I suppose they go so close to the sensor that you don’t really need the larger diameter filters and filter wheel?
John Mart for the ASI1600 1.25” filters work fine for me. There is some vignetting when I shoot at f2.8 but corrects with flats. At f5.4 the vignetting is barely noticeable. I’d rather get high quality smaller filters with some vignetting that corrects with flats vs. bigger lower quality filters. All that said, if I was just starting today I might get 2” filters to future proof for then new full frame mono CMOS sensors coming out. So I guess it just comes down to buy what you can afford keeping in mind there are a lot of little e pennes in building a rig. Are you already imaging? What do you have?
Nebula Photos thanks for the reply . I just started imaging this past year with crop sensor DSLR on an explore scientific 102 APO triplet. I put a couple photos on astrobin /dsobrowser for feedback, but am starting to get curious about trying a mono camera with filters. It seems literally everyone online is using that same asi1600mm-c camera with filters, so I figure it must be popular for a reason. Thanks for the info on vignetting, that’s exactly what I was wondering about.
John Mart another affordable option that’s pretty popular is the ASI183. Smaller sensor with smaller pixels. I am planning to try it out and compare it to the ASI1600. Apparently it doesn’t have microlensing artifacts on bright stars that is a small blemish on the image quality of the ASI1600. If your budget is higher, people are very excited by the new full frame mono ASI6200 (2” filters are $$$). But yes, the ASI160O is officially the new KAF8300. A fair affordable, fairly large mono sensor that attracts many people jumping into mono.
@@NebulaPhotos Matching the camera to your optics is very critical in determining the types of objects you can easily shoot. I started with a Meade 8" newtonian and a ZWO ASI178mm-c. Then got a Meade 10" f/8 SCT on a great deal, but just this Christmas treated myself to the Meade 80mm APO because it will work best with the camera at regular, x2 and x.5 for capturing large objects like the moon, Andromeda, Orion and other nebulae, without having to resort to making mosaics. The later two (x2 and x.5) being just barely outside the margins to avoid under and over sampling. I don't say this to brag about my pile of scopes but to warn that research, research, research will help you avoid spending heaps on gear that isn't the best at what you want to do. The newtonian gets used now for public outreach, and the SCT will get used during Galaxy Season and planetary imaging.
Wow, thanks. Imaging in a bortle 2 site, where there is no light pollution, would you need to shoot in narrow band? Would a 1SC camera capture the color as well? I live at Bortle 2 and am researching 1SC vs mono. Thanks Warren
Hi Warren, You wouldn't need to shoot in narrowband, but still might want to if the goal is a false color mapping like this. In broadband, this object (and most emission nebulae) come out mostly red. One shot color vs. mono is a hard choice. I talk about it a bit here: ruclips.net/video/kJptGyDVCZ0/видео.html and Lukomatico has done some cool comparisons on his channel. With the new dual band filters and very low noise cameras, it is definitely possible to get good results with 1SC, but mono still has an advantage in narrowband- the downside being complexity and cost.
@@NebulaPhotos thank you so much. Along with your “narrow band in the city” vid, your comment has assisted me to choose 1sc. This decision has been a long term project because up to now all the ramifications were not clear.Thanks Warren
alejandrix03 good question! I’m so focused on nebulae at the moment, I forgot to mention other DSOs. Usually galaxies will work best in LRGB because, but a number will also look great blending Ha in to the R channel. The reason for this is many galaxies have visible Ha regions (nebulae) just like our Milky Way galaxy. The best candidates for this are the galaxies close to use like those in our local group: M31, M33, and the Magellenic Clouds. Star clusters are best in straight RGB or possibly LRGB (depends on how you like to process). Hope this answers your question. Clear skies!
Whoops hit reply to fast. The reason most galaxies look best in LRGB is you can think of galaxies as just a condensed clump of stars and stars look best in broadband because they are all kinds of different colors (large range of yellows, oranges, reds, blues, and whites).
Great explanation. The pixinsight workflow for color camera and sho filters and the one for monochrome with sho should be the same right? Just final details are better on the last. Thank you
Glad you liked it. Re: workflow. Basically. There would be a couple additional steps involved. You would want to extract the appropriate channel from the color data (red from Ha/SII, blue/green from OIII) as a grayscale layer before recombining. There is an easy button to extract channels in PixInsight, so this isn't hard. Just a bit difficult to explain what I mean without showing it. Feel free to email me if you are stuck: nicocarver at gmail dot com.
Hi Samuel, it really depends on the object, but typically OIII and SII are the much weaker channels than Ha, so it would be better to get more OIII and SII than Ha. For example, when I did the flying bat and squid, I did 7 hours OIII to 3 hours Ha and honestly for that object the ratio could be even more lopsided. Sorry, I don't have a more definitive answer. I always take multiple nights to capture one object so I'll often do some processing and then decide which channels need more attention
Yes Ha and SII are both deep reds right on the edge of our color vision. OIII is a teal green. There are no narrowband channels that give yellow, blue and orange. When you see that, it is mapped (false) color as I talk about in this video.
After watching that, it is easy to see why you have one of the very best astrophotography channels. You make it a joy to watch. Thanks for your dedication to this amazing hobby and willingness to help others.
Thank you for taking the time to explain these things and not just say the words and expect everyone to know what the heII you're talking about. Glad to see you posting videos again! Keep it up!
Glad it was helpful! I hope to post more regularly in 2020!!
You sir, made an outstanding video! Thank you so much for the in depth information and dedication!
Thank you! Glad you liked it.
this damn near feels like a college course condensed into one 20 min video. your videos are so informative and well made. thanks for the inspiration.
Being someone doing research in visual ecology, I loved your intro on vision! Really well explained!
Hey Nico! I've been enjoying your other instructional videos. I have a mono camera on the way, but just with LRGB filters, for now. This is a very timely video for me. Looking forward to the PixInsight video.
Al Neid great! Congrats on the mono camera. PixInsight video will be up soon
What a cracking start to the year, you explain things in great detail that's easy to understand. Thank you happy new year!
Stu E thank you Stu! Happy new year to you and clear skies in 2020!!
Nebula Photos If it’s clear the full moon will be out to ruin things haha. Hopefully see more from you this year ✌️
Stu E true, but this is a narrowband video! Ha imaging actually works pretty well with the full moon out. I should have said that in the video. There is just SO much to say! 😅
Nebula Photos Yes I remember astrobackyard blowing my mind with that. One day I’ll go down that route, would that help with Elon’s satellites?
Another excellent video from you, awesome work!
PS: Super cute kitty :D
Galactic Hunter thanks! Very attached to my cat!
This was such a helpful video, Nico. Well done!
Glad to see you back, Nico!
Thanks, hope to post a lot in 2020
Thank you Nick for such amazing content. Just took my first image a week ago by following your tutorial. You have taken much time to explain to newbies like me so much. Keep up the amazing content. Hopefully i can share my images with you one day. Narrowband looks sooooo cool. THANK YOU!
Very glad to hear Hishal! And I am always happy to see astro images! nicocarver at gmail dot com Clear skies, Nico
@@NebulaPhotos Awesome. I will mail you my first pic with my canon 200d and old lens. Thank you
Thank you for the interesting and informative explanations. Now I understand more of the "whys" of camera and filter selections.
Wow! Excellent intro - thank you!. Gotta go and watch the next video!
Great video! I was missing you.
Thanks! Glad to be back
Nice job, very clear on explaining the basics,, looking forward to watching more :)
Finally i really understand this topic! Thank you so much!!
Great video. Nice to have some issues really clarified.
Thanks so much for this mini series Nico - like others, I learn so much from your videos: I find your style, approach, and depth of explanation perfect for me, and probably the easiest to understand of any astro youtuber! Many thanks for investing the time and dedication to putting this content up: looking forward to more content and hoping its not another year before you are able to upload :-)
on that issue - any ETA for the PixInsight upload?
Thanks Ian, It is definitely my goal to upload more in 2020. I enjoy planning the videos, and have lots of ideas, but have trouble finishing them. I hope to have the PixInsight video uploaded by the morning of Tuesday, 1/21.
PixInsight video is now available: ruclips.net/video/BxSNUNhYniI/видео.html
Thanks for your patience!
Thanks for your super interesting video :)
I have a question though: if I'm lucky enough to live not too far (~4h drive) from a bortle 2 location, do I stll need narrowband filter? Or will the sky be dark enough to capture nice photos even without them?
Hi Paolo,
You do not need any filters for a Bortle 2 location, that is plenty dark enough to shoot with a DSLR unfiltered and get good results.
Clear skies, Nico
Outstanding.
Thank you!
Very nicely explained! Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to create this video, it’s great to take some time for the science behind the art! I was curious if you have an opinion on the diameter of filters to be used. I suppose they go so close to the sensor that you don’t really need the larger diameter filters and filter wheel?
John Mart for the ASI1600 1.25” filters work fine for me. There is some vignetting when I shoot at f2.8 but corrects with flats. At f5.4 the vignetting is barely noticeable. I’d rather get high quality smaller filters with some vignetting that corrects with flats vs. bigger lower quality filters. All that said, if I was just starting today I might get 2” filters to future proof for then new full frame mono CMOS sensors coming out. So I guess it just comes down to buy what you can afford keeping in mind there are a lot of little e pennes in building a rig. Are you already imaging? What do you have?
Nebula Photos thanks for the reply . I just started imaging this past year with crop sensor DSLR on an explore scientific 102 APO triplet. I put a couple photos on astrobin /dsobrowser for feedback, but am starting to get curious about trying a mono camera with filters. It seems literally everyone online is using that same asi1600mm-c camera with filters, so I figure it must be popular for a reason. Thanks for the info on vignetting, that’s exactly what I was wondering about.
John Mart another affordable option that’s pretty popular is the ASI183. Smaller sensor with smaller pixels. I am planning to try it out and compare it to the ASI1600. Apparently it doesn’t have microlensing artifacts on bright stars that is a small blemish on the image quality of the ASI1600. If your budget is higher, people are very excited by the new full frame mono ASI6200 (2” filters are $$$).
But yes, the ASI160O is officially the new KAF8300. A fair affordable, fairly large mono sensor that attracts many people jumping into mono.
@@NebulaPhotos Matching the camera to your optics is very critical in determining the types of objects you can easily shoot. I started with a Meade 8" newtonian and a ZWO ASI178mm-c. Then got a Meade 10" f/8 SCT on a great deal, but just this Christmas treated myself to the Meade 80mm APO because it will work best with the camera at regular, x2 and x.5 for capturing large objects like the moon, Andromeda, Orion and other nebulae, without having to resort to making mosaics. The later two (x2 and x.5) being just barely outside the margins to avoid under and over sampling. I don't say this to brag about my pile of scopes but to warn that research, research, research will help you avoid spending heaps on gear that isn't the best at what you want to do. The newtonian gets used now for public outreach, and the SCT will get used during Galaxy Season and planetary imaging.
Wow, thanks. Imaging in a bortle 2 site, where there is no light pollution, would you need to shoot in narrow band? Would a 1SC camera capture the color as well? I live at Bortle 2 and am researching 1SC vs mono.
Thanks Warren
Hi Warren, You wouldn't need to shoot in narrowband, but still might want to if the goal is a false color mapping like this. In broadband, this object (and most emission nebulae) come out mostly red. One shot color vs. mono is a hard choice. I talk about it a bit here: ruclips.net/video/kJptGyDVCZ0/видео.html and Lukomatico has done some cool comparisons on his channel. With the new dual band filters and very low noise cameras, it is definitely possible to get good results with 1SC, but mono still has an advantage in narrowband- the downside being complexity and cost.
@@NebulaPhotos thank you so much. Along with your “narrow band in the city” vid, your comment has assisted me to choose 1sc. This decision has been a long term project because up to now all the ramifications were not clear.Thanks Warren
With a mono ccd, what do you recommend more for galaxies, (lrgb) or (sho)?
alejandrix03 good question! I’m so focused on nebulae at the moment, I forgot to mention other DSOs. Usually galaxies will work best in LRGB because, but a number will also look great blending Ha in to the R channel. The reason for this is many galaxies have visible Ha regions (nebulae) just like our Milky Way galaxy. The best candidates for this are the galaxies close to use like those in our local group: M31, M33, and the Magellenic Clouds. Star clusters are best in straight RGB or possibly LRGB (depends on how you like to process). Hope this answers your question. Clear skies!
Whoops hit reply to fast. The reason most galaxies look best in LRGB is you can think of galaxies as just a condensed clump of stars and stars look best in broadband because they are all kinds of different colors (large range of yellows, oranges, reds, blues, and whites).
@@NebulaPhotos it definitely does, thanks!!! Clear skies
Great explanation. The pixinsight workflow for color camera and sho filters and the one for monochrome with sho should be the same right? Just final details are better on the last. Thank you
Glad you liked it. Re: workflow. Basically. There would be a couple additional steps involved. You would want to extract the appropriate channel from the color data (red from Ha/SII, blue/green from OIII) as a grayscale layer before recombining. There is an easy button to extract channels in PixInsight, so this isn't hard. Just a bit difficult to explain what I mean without showing it. Feel free to email me if you are stuck: nicocarver at gmail dot com.
@@NebulaPhotos thanks a lot for explanation :)
How much exposure time do you give each filter. Is it as close to equal as possible.
Hi Samuel, it really depends on the object, but typically OIII and SII are the much weaker channels than Ha, so it would be better to get more OIII and SII than Ha. For example, when I did the flying bat and squid, I did 7 hours OIII to 3 hours Ha and honestly for that object the ratio could be even more lopsided. Sorry, I don't have a more definitive answer. I always take multiple nights to capture one object so I'll often do some processing and then decide which channels need more attention
Excellent. Thank you
The Best content!
S2 and Ha are both red? Shouldn't one be red, the other blue, and the Oiii green?
Which narrowbands gives yellow, blue and orange?
Yes Ha and SII are both deep reds right on the edge of our color vision. OIII is a teal green. There are no narrowband channels that give yellow, blue and orange. When you see that, it is mapped (false) color as I talk about in this video.
thx. outstanding again.
Thanks!
Thanks!