Point and shoot Orion dawn

[pakarinen]

My cell pics have been mostly mediocre at best, so I thought I'd try my old Sony Cybershot on a tripod. 8 Seconds at ISO 400, F3.2. Not great and it looks like the altitude might have been slipping a bit, but it's a start (?) Mars is to the lower left.

[bobharmony]

Good to see our old friend in the morning sky. I think that might be Procyon to the lower left. Venus is also in the neighborhood, but I think it would appear brighter. Mars is parked in Pisces at the moment and would have been in the southwest at the time this photo was taken.

Bob

[pakarinen]

Duh. You're quite right. Must remember coffee before posting, coffee before posting...

[Baurice]

I used an old Cybershot that was really my wife's. I was amazed at what is possible with just 8 seconds! The Cybershot has packed up. I miss it, as it was great at taking afocal shots. I now use a DSLR for these types of shot.

You could also try taking multiple images and stacking them using Deep Sky Stacker (free). You can also try processing either a single or stacked image using GIMP.

[pakarinen]

I miss it, as it was great at taking afocal shots. I now use a DSLR for these types of shot.

Did you handhold the Sony or did you rig up something to hold it to the EP?

[JayTee]

I think that star motion might be "shutter jiggle". Nonetheless, it is a nicely framed image.

Next time use your hand as the shutter. Without actually touching the camera hold your hand so the lens is obscured, open the shutter, then move your hand out of the way and count to 8 second. Next put your hand back over the lens and then close the shutter. See if that makes a difference. This allows the sensor to stop wiggling before it accepts photons.

Cheers,
JT

[Makuser]

Hi Olen. A very fine nightscape image with Orion the Hunter well centered and the foreground shows up nice too. Thanks for sharing this with us on here Olen, and keep looking up.

[Juno16]

Very nice "in the moment" shot!

Good to see Orion rolling around again!

[Greenman]

I expect it's a bit dumb to have a favourite constellation - but even so this is mine nice shot heralding the hunter's return.

[pakarinen]

I think that star motion might be "shutter jiggle". Nonetheless, it is a nicely framed image.

Next time use your hand as the shutter. Without actually touching the camera hold your hand so the lens is obscured, open the shutter, then move your hand out of the way and count to 8 second. Next put your hand back over the lens and then close the shutter. See if that makes a difference. This allows the sensor to stop wiggling before it accepts photons.

Good idea, thanks.

There's possibly a timer on the thing, but then I'd have to read the manual and who does that, right?

[pakarinen]

A little better today. Still experimenting.

[Baurice]

I miss it, as it was great at taking afocal shots. I now use a DSLR for these types of shot.

Did you handhold the Sony or did you rig up something to hold it to the EP?

I hand-held it. Although I had a bracket, it was cumbersome to use when changing eyepieces. However, I have (had??) very steady hands.