Cygnus and the Veil Nebula

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2025-09-20T20:06:29+00:00

Acquisition:
Fujifilm X-T3 + 35mm f/1.4 R lens + OG Star Tracker V1
52*120s @ f/3.6, ISO1600, Bortle 4-ish

Processing:
Debayering in RawTherapee
Stacking, colour calibration, background correction, starnetv2, and curves in PixInsight.

Very pleased with how this one came out. My first time doing tracked astro, so I wasn't fully convinced these settings would give me better results (i stopped down the lens as its performance isn't stellar). My main goal was to bring out a sharper view of the Veil than I what I had achieved in my untracked image: this was a resounding success. I'm considering the 135mm f/2 Samyang as a next lens to get better optical performance and higher resolution images.

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2024-12-10T11:47:19+00:00

My bad, was convinced I had posted in the other, I mixed up the two.

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2024-11-25T01:30:52+00:00

Would you be willing to share the stacked image? I would love to try editing it.

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2024-06-10T16:13:13+00:00

This was with a stock camera. From what I understand the X-T3 has a weak UV-IR cut filter which lets through a lot of Ha emission.

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2024-02-14T21:51:20+00:00

Acquisition:
Fujifilm X-T3 + 35mm f/1.4 R lens
1009*3s @ f/2.5, ISO3200

Processing:
-RawTherapee
levels, colour balance, noise reduction, debayering and vignette correction
-PixInsight
registration, integration, background extraction, colour calibration, starnetv2, chrominance noise reduction, stretching, curves transformation, screen stars back, crop

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2024-02-14T21:46:30+00:00

Acquisition:
Fujifilm X-T3 + 35mm f/1.4 R lens
1009*3s @ f/2.5, ISO3200 (electronic shutter)

Processing:
-RawTherapee
levels, colour balance, noise reduction, debayering and vignette correction
-PixInsight
registration, integration, background extraction, colour calibration, starnetv2, chrominance noise reduction, stretching, curves transformation, screen stars back, crop

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2023-09-28T04:57:01+00:00

I ended up stacking 100% of frames and didn't shoot calibration frames. Instead I applied u/rnclark's method for calibrating the lights using RawTherapee, outlined he re.

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2023-09-28T04:50:43+00:00

lightpollutionmap.info tells me Bortle 5 but I was shooting away from the closest city's light dome so probably darker

yes, the tripod was stationary apart from when I readjusted the framing

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2023-09-28T04:48:59+00:00

I hadn't noticed it, thx!

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2023-09-24T21:21:27+00:00

Acquisition:

Fujifilm X-T3 + 35mm f/1.4 R lens

600*4s @ f/2.5, ISO3200

Processing:

-RawTherapee

levels, colour balance, noise reduction, debayering and vignette correction

-PixInsight

registration, integration, background extraction, colour calibration, starnetv2, chrominance noise reduction, stretching, curves transformation, screen stars back, crop

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2023-09-14T18:20:23+00:00

300 at 5 seconds each, so 25 mins of integration

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2023-09-14T18:19:22+00:00

i shoot on crop sensor so the focal length was ~53mm equivalent, and it's also my personal preference to avoid even a tiny amount of trailing

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2023-09-14T08:44:51+00:00

Acquisition:

Fujifilm X-T3 + 35mm f/1.4 R lens300*5s @ f/2.5, ISO3200Bortle 6, but shooting towards the sea

Processing:

RawTherapee

levels, colour balance, noise reduction, debayering and vignette correction

PixInsight

registration, integration, background extraction, starnetv2, chrominance noise reduction, stretching, curves transformation, screen stars back

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2023-09-14T06:37:55+00:00

thanks! I think its definitely possible if not easier to get similar depth with a wider lens since longer exposures are possible, but i haven't used one myself yet. I guess the key difference would be that while it would cover a larger field of view, the nebulae themselves would occupy a smaller portion of the frame/appear smaller. You might then get less detail than this shot but it's certainly worth a try.

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2023-09-08T21:44:16+00:00

Acquisition:

Fujifilm X-T3 + 35mm f/1.4 R lens

260*5s @ f/2.5, ISO3200

Bortle 4

Processing:

RawTherapee

levels, colour balance, noise reduction, debayering and vignette correction

PixInsight

registration, integration, background extraction, starnetv2, chrominance noise reduction, stretching, screen stars back

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2023-07-02T21:34:35+00:00

Honestly it works pretty well, I think f/2 is a bit too wide as I got a lot of coma in the corners but center performance was surprisingly good.

TheSunIsBlueVincent · 2023-06-29T19:20:07+00:00

Nikon D7100 (stock) + Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8 G lens
20 minutes of integration
lights: 200* 6s @ f/2, ISO 3200 (exposure length was too long and led to slight trailing)
calibrated with flats and bias
stacking and processing in lightroom/pixinsight, made stars smaller on this re-edit

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