wjdrijfhout Posted January 23, 2019 Share #1 Posted January 23, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) Tried for the first time to connect the SL to my telescope (1000mm, F7.7 refractor). Target was the total lunar eclipse, so plan was a series of photos (every 15s) with varying exposures to capture the changing brightness and color. The difference between a full moon and an eclipsed moon is about 13 stops. For some reason the Photos app could not be used, as WLAN and interval exposures seemed mutually exclusive. Turn on WLAN and Interval exposures are greyed out. Turn on Interval exposures and WLAN is greyed out. So I decided to use Leica Image Shuttle for tethered shooting in combination with a hot folder in Capture One, allowing me to judge histograms as shots were coming in and modify shutter speed and (later) ISO accordingly. This proved to be a very reliable combination. The conditions were pretty tough, it was -8 degrees Celsius and all equipment got covered under frost, but the SL happily went on, shot after shot. I got about 600 shots from one battery, which in this cold and with exposures up to 5 sec. was well more than I had expected. The image quality was very good as well and left room for some post-processing. But... Leica, can you please give us an on/off switch for the LENR? After each shot of 5s, it did its noise reduction for 5s, then downloading, and just be ready for the next shot. So it only just worked..., but the moon is the brightest target (except for the sun) in the sky. Comet 46P/Wirtanen would be another great target for the SL, but it will require 1-2 minute exposures. Having the camera doing its LENR will most likely give discontinuities in the star trails when tracking on the comet. And several dozens of 5-minute exposures of a galaxy is just a big waist of valuable observation time. Anyway, I mostly just wanted to praise the SL for what it can do. Attached a proof of its capabilities. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 12 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/293602-sl-could-be-a-great-astro-photography-tool/?do=findComment&comment=3670470'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 Hi wjdrijfhout, Take a look here SL could be a great astro-photography tool... I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
EUSe Posted January 23, 2019 Share #2 Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) vor 15 Minuten schrieb wjdrijfhout: Tried for the first time to connect the SL to my telescope (1000mm, F7.7 refractor). Target was the total lunar eclipse, so plan was a series of photos (every 15s) with varying exposures to capture the changing brightness and color. The difference between a full moon and an eclipsed moon is about 13 stops. For some reason the Photos app could not be used, as WLAN and interval exposures seemed mutually exclusive. Turn on WLAN and Interval exposures are greyed out. Turn on Interval exposures and WLAN is greyed out. So I decided to use Leica Image Shuttle for tethered shooting in combination with a hot folder in Capture One, allowing me to judge histograms as shots were coming in and modify shutter speed and (later) ISO accordingly. This proved to be a very reliable combination. The conditions were pretty tough, it was -8 degrees Celsius and all equipment got covered under frost, but the SL happily went on, shot after shot. I got about 600 shots from one battery, which in this cold and with exposures up to 5 sec. was well more than I had expected. The image quality was very good as well and left room for some post-processing. But... Leica, can you please give us an on/off switch for the LENR? After each shot of 5s, it did its noise reduction for 5s, then downloading, and just be ready for the next shot. So it only just worked..., but the moon is the brightest target (except for the sun) in the sky. Comet 46P/Wirtanen would be another great target for the SL, but it will require 1-2 minute exposures. Having the camera doing its LENR will most likely give discontinuities in the star trails when tracking on the comet. And several dozens of 5-minute exposures of a galaxy is just a big waist of valuable observation time. Anyway, I mostly just wanted to praise the SL for what it can do. Attached a proof of its capabilities. Outstanding! How did you connect the SL to the scope? I have been searching for an L-mount T2-adaptor, but so ar could not find any. Edited January 23, 2019 by EUSe Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
helged Posted January 23, 2019 Share #3 Posted January 23, 2019 11 minutes ago, wjdrijfhout said: Tried for the first time to connect the SL to my telescope (1000mm, F7.7 refractor). Target was the total lunar eclipse, so plan was a series of photos (every 15s) with varying exposures to capture the changing brightness and color. The difference between a full moon and an eclipsed moon is about 13 stops. For some reason the Photos app could not be used, as WLAN and interval exposures seemed mutually exclusive. Turn on WLAN and Interval exposures are greyed out. Turn on Interval exposures and WLAN is greyed out. So I decided to use Leica Image Shuttle for tethered shooting in combination with a hot folder in Capture One, allowing me to judge histograms as shots were coming in and modify shutter speed and (later) ISO accordingly. This proved to be a very reliable combination. The conditions were pretty tough, it was -8 degrees Celsius and all equipment got covered under frost, but the SL happily went on, shot after shot. I got about 600 shots from one battery, which in this cold and with exposures up to 5 sec. was well more than I had expected. The image quality was very good as well and left room for some post-processing. But... Leica, can you please give us an on/off switch for the LENR? After each shot of 5s, it did its noise reduction for 5s, then downloading, and just be ready for the next shot. So it only just worked..., but the moon is the brightest target (except for the sun) in the sky. Comet 46P/Wirtanen would be another great target for the SL, but it will require 1-2 minute exposures. Having the camera doing its LENR will most likely give discontinuities in the star trails when tracking on the comet. And several dozens of 5-minute exposures of a galaxy is just a big waist of valuable observation time. Anyway, I mostly just wanted to praise the SL for what it can do. Attached a proof of its capabilities. Great photo! LENR has been discussed/debated/questioned ad infinitum on these - and other - pages. Hopefully and eventually, Leica will allow an optional LENR on, in particular, SL and S. I guess - but do not know - that the Panasonic S1R will be the first L-mount body to allow optional LENR (or possibly no LENR at all). Only time will tell... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wjdrijfhout Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share #4 Posted January 24, 2019 10 hours ago, EUSe said: Outstanding! How did you connect the SL to the scope? I have been searching for an L-mount T2-adaptor, but so ar could not find any. I’m using a Wide-T to EF Adapter (https://www.ov-optics.be/adapters-/t-ringen-en-caa/reducer-qe-073x---fsq-85ed053492911682206219981579724012703936590831383234) from Takahashi. Then the EF to L-adapter from Novoflex. Have to tape off the electrical contacts in the Novoflex though. Otherwise the SL communicates with the Novoflex and they assume an EF lens mounted. Since it’s only a dumb telescope, the SL gives an error and locks up. I’ve tried it with a pure mechanical EF>M adapter coupled to an M>L adapter, but that gives too much vignetting. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EUSe Posted January 24, 2019 Share #5 Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) vor 18 Minuten schrieb wjdrijfhout: I’m using a Wide-T to EF Adapter (https://www.ov-optics.be/adapters-/t-ringen-en-caa/reducer-qe-073x---fsq-85ed053492911682206219981579724012703936590831383234) from Takahashi. Then the EF to L-adapter from Novoflex. Have to tape off the electrical contacts in the Novoflex though. Otherwise the SL communicates with the Novoflex and they assume an EF lens mounted. Since it’s only a dumb telescope, the SL gives an error and locks up. I’ve tried it with a pure mechanical EF>M adapter coupled to an M>L adapter, but that gives too much vignetting. Well, it seems so much easier with a Canon 6D DSLR, sigh! I wish Leica would develop features (proper noise reduction settings/disabling) and adaptors for astrophotographers. I never understood why there are digiscoping adaptors for Leica birding scopes only. Edited January 24, 2019 by EUSe Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted January 24, 2019 Share #6 Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) 15 hours ago, helged said: Great photo! LENR has been discussed/debated/questioned ad infinitum on these - and other - pages. Hopefully and eventually, Leica will allow an optional LENR on, in particular, SL and S. I guess - but do not know - that the Panasonic S1R will be the first L-mount body to allow optional LENR (or possibly no LENR at all). Only time will tell... Ditto. The need for LNER seems to be very sensor dependent ...... the MF X1d/GFX 50R/Pentax (which I believe all use the same sensor) get away without it presumably as it doesn't heat up and generate much random noise. I'd hope Leica would include reducing this issue in whatever new sensor they are intending to use. Another 4 years of mandatory LNER in an SL2 may well drive me to Panasonic .... or even MF, much as I'd like to stay with Leica bodies for the sake of complete compatibility with their lenses. Edited January 24, 2019 by thighslapper 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno_photoguy Posted January 31, 2019 Share #7 Posted January 31, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) Fully agree that the SL has a lot of potential for this. I also gave it a go, but had mixed results. The 15 deg F conditions did not help (at least as far as telescope tracking, or lack there of due to the cold), but I was impressed with the SL. This is a composite of images taken with an 8 in Celestron (equivalient to 2000mm). Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/293602-sl-could-be-a-great-astro-photography-tool/?do=findComment&comment=3674864'>More sharing options...
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