Nikon Z6 First Light - Veil Nebula Complex

[MarkS]

Here's the first light from my (unmodified) Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera, processed to give natural colour:



Full size version here:  http://www.markshelley.co.uk/Astronomy/2019/veil_20190823_srgb_v2.jpg

This is a stack 60 x 2min dithered exposures at ISO 800 on the Tak Epsilon ED180. 

I used 2x Bayer Drizzle during stacking and then reduced the size by 50% following noise reduction.  The sky quality during the shoot averaged 20.7

Mark

[Carole]

Looking good Mark, loads of stars, I guess this is still within the milky Way which passes through Cygnus. 

Been a few good nights in the last week.

Carole

[RobertM]

That's very nice Mark, not sure I can remember you taking a sub over 30 seconds for a long while !

Been following your work on Cloudy nights and already seen the Astrobin version, unfortunately this iPad is a little compromised when trying to view what you've posted here so I'll scrutinise it a bit later when I've got time.  It seems that you're quite impressed ... so... have you finally found the equal of the A7S ?

Best wishes
Robert

[Hugh]

As Carole says ~ "loads of stars"!

When you click into your link and expand, there is hardly a gap in the sky.

If you don't mind I'd like to copy and perhaps use in my 'Space is BIG!' talk ~ attributed, of course.

Stunning!

Hugh

[MarkS]

That's very nice Mark, not sure I can remember you taking a sub over 30 seconds for a long while !

Been following your work on Cloudy nights and already seen the Astrobin version, unfortunately this iPad is a little compromised when trying to view what you've posted here so I'll scrutinise it a bit later when I've got time.  It seems that you're quite impressed ... so... have you finally found the equal of the A7S ?

I can't believe how easy it is to process the Z6 data.  It was really easy to pull out the brown dust in this image - it's very rare to see it even in cooled mono LRGB images.  I think LRGB is overrated but that's a story for another day.  I'm no longer fighting the weird A7S green and purple gradients and no longer fighting the dreaded "star-eater".  The H-alpha response for an unmodded camera also seems remarkable so I'm designing some new experiments to fully understand the H-alpha response.

It's still early days but this looks to be my new camera of choice.

It's also worth taking a look at my North America Nebula, also on Astrobin:  http://www.astrobin.com/422848/
Again this uses natural colour processing. 

Mark

[MarkS]

As Carole says ~ "loads of stars"!

When you click into your link and expand, there is hardly a gap in the sky.

If you don't mind I'd like to copy and perhaps use in my 'Space is BIG!' talk ~ attributed, of course.
Hugh

Stunning!

Of course - go ahead.  Yes, space is big!

Mark

[NoelC]

Really inspiring Mark
And exciting too.

Noel

[Carole]

So glad you have found a camera you are happy with Mark after all your problems with the A7S. 

Carole

[Roberto]

Fantastic shot Mark!  The colours and framing are spot on.   
Tell us more about the Z6 please - or point me to where you have already discussed it.
Thank you

Roberto

[The Thing]

That camera looks like a good find. Lovely image.

[MarkS]

Fantastic shot Mark!  The colours and framing are spot on.   
Tell us more about the Z6 please - or point me to where you have already discussed it.
Thank you

Roberto

Thanks Roberto. 

You can find the details of my testing here on a Cloudy Nights thread:   https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/670370-nikon-z6-testing/

The thread is still being updated and I hope to have some definitive information on the (unmodified) H-alpha sensitivity quite shortly.

You will also find a couple of images (not yet posted on OAS) in this thread:   https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/673959-ngc7000-nikon-z6/

Long story short:  this is an exceptional camera for astrophotography.

Mark

[RobertM]

Apologies for not replying before !  That's a wonderful image Mark.  One thing I find with your images, and this is meant as a complement, is that it's only worth seeing the hires version - nothing else quite does them justice.

I'm waiting to see the results of you latest exploits with the Z6.  I think it'll suit wide fields better then my 7s due to the increased resolution so I may end up replacing it in the not too distant future.

Robert

[MarkS]

Apologies for not replying before !  That's a wonderful image Mark.  One thing I find with your images, and this is meant as a complement, is that it's only worth seeing the hires version - nothing else quite does them justice.

I'm waiting to see the results of you latest exploits with the Z6.  I think it'll suit wide fields better then my 7s due to the increased resolution so I may end up replacing it in the not too distant future.

Robert

Thanks Robert.  Actually you did already reply! 

Unfortunately when I look again at that image now, all I can see are the Z6 coloured bands running through it and the left/right discontinuity up the middle (as discussed on Cloudy Nights).  I really hope I can work around this issue else it's going on eBay and I'll try the Canon EOS R mirrorless as one last gamble.

Mark

[RobertM]

...

Thanks Robert.  Actually you did already reply! 

Shows how good it is

I hope you can sort it out !  On that front have you tried flats at different ADU levels and Flat-darks ?  It could be an issue related to those that Duncan had with the 294 sensor (also Sony back illuminated colour sensor with a stepped sensitivity curve).

Robert

[The Thing]

Maybe its your glasses Mark, but I think the rest of us are blissfully unaware that there might be some residual banding in you lovely images.

Yes, I now use Darks, Flats and Dark Flats, no Bias as that really screws things up. Flats are at a median level of 32k ADU (half well depth) and 2.75s at gain 10 with my new light tube device. Flats and Dark Flats need to be seconds of exposure, not hundredths of a second. I only see a little banding if I turn the gain way up and blotches appear if I use the recommended camera Offset level of 30 (out of 80). I use 8 at the moment and that seems to do the trick with unity gain set. My last couple of images were stacked in PI using the BatchPreprocessingFD script which is BP mullahed to use FDs instead of Bias. Micheal Covington made the changes. Oh and definitely no dark optimisation, that makes a real mess of my data.

Duncan