skypointer2000
Winter Sky
This is a still image produced with several frames out of my lately posted time lapse movie:
The single images were taken with the following equipment and settings:
- Astro modified Canon EOS 6D
- Samyang 24mm f/1.4
- 13sec @ ISO 5000
Stacking drastically reduces the inherent noise of high ISO long exposures and also allows much stronger post processing.
While stacking the sky from untracked images, without producung startrails, requires dedicated software and at least some experience, stacking the foreground part is very easy and allows better recovery of the deep shadows. The resulting image is almost noise-free and looks much better than a noisy single shot.
Nevertheless, there are limits to this technique:
In this image, Orion is just rising above the horizon and is immersed in rather strong light pollution and haze at the horizon. While light pollution can be corrected to some extent during post processing, the colors of the red nebulas in this sky area remain too faded to make them pop. Even after rather strong processing of this stacked image, taken with an astro-modified camera, they remain almost invisible.
So the best thing to do is to wait until your target rises higher above the light pollution and haze or to shoot from a dark sky site.
Of course this will make the foreground even darker and therefore the benefit of stacking even greater...
Winter Sky
This is a still image produced with several frames out of my lately posted time lapse movie:
The single images were taken with the following equipment and settings:
- Astro modified Canon EOS 6D
- Samyang 24mm f/1.4
- 13sec @ ISO 5000
Stacking drastically reduces the inherent noise of high ISO long exposures and also allows much stronger post processing.
While stacking the sky from untracked images, without producung startrails, requires dedicated software and at least some experience, stacking the foreground part is very easy and allows better recovery of the deep shadows. The resulting image is almost noise-free and looks much better than a noisy single shot.
Nevertheless, there are limits to this technique:
In this image, Orion is just rising above the horizon and is immersed in rather strong light pollution and haze at the horizon. While light pollution can be corrected to some extent during post processing, the colors of the red nebulas in this sky area remain too faded to make them pop. Even after rather strong processing of this stacked image, taken with an astro-modified camera, they remain almost invisible.
So the best thing to do is to wait until your target rises higher above the light pollution and haze or to shoot from a dark sky site.
Of course this will make the foreground even darker and therefore the benefit of stacking even greater...