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SL2-S for astrophotography, anybody?


Pierre68

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10 minutes ago, Pierre68 said:

Now, if Sigma can offer a 14mm f/1.4 DG DN lens, that would be my dream astro lens. Sigma can even price it the same as the Sony 14mm f/1.8 GM and I’d still want it.

How about this one?

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1463163-REG/sigma_14mm_f_1_8_dg_hsm.html/reviews

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Hi

 

I don't know if this post will help you. I tried a few days ago to do such a photo. It was the first time and the conditions were not good (body on a table for example).

SL2S with the 50mm SL summicron, f2, 6400 isos and 20s (not really the 500/f rule 😄, we can see that the the stars have moved).

Antoine

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15 hours ago, robb said:

Heard they are not built super solid so will have to check them out first.

I have the ioptron sky guider pro.  it's built like a tank.  It's all metal except for the top cover and the buttons.  

The included wedge is another story.  It's not so precise and difficult to adjust.  I bought the Williams Optic one to use instead. 

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Hi everyone, I’m considering the SL2-S and would like to understand if it has the same shutter speed limitations at high ISO of the Q2 or M.

That information is not on any Leica manual and I found out about that on the Q and Q2 only by using the cameras: at ISO 6400 or 3200, for example, the max shutter speed is 4 secs, at 1600 is 8 secs, etc.

I find it very limiting for night sky photography. Looking at the pictures you posted and the exposure times it seems the SL2-S doesn’t have the same limitations on shutter speed on high ISO that the Q2 and the M cameras have.

Could you please confirm that the SLS-2 allows longer exposures at high ISO? Is it still limited like the Q but with different values?

thanks!

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8 hours ago, NicoTheStan said:

Hi everyone, I’m considering the SL2-S and would like to understand if it has the same shutter speed limitations at high ISO of the Q2 or M.

That information is not on any Leica manual and I found out about that on the Q and Q2 only by using the cameras: at ISO 6400 or 3200, for example, the max shutter speed is 4 secs, at 1600 is 8 secs, etc.

I find it very limiting for night sky photography. Looking at the pictures you posted and the exposure times it seems the SL2-S doesn’t have the same limitations on shutter speed on high ISO that the Q2 and the M cameras have.

Could you please confirm that the SLS-2 allows longer exposures at high ISO? Is it still limited like the Q but with different values?

thanks!

It doesn't have the same limitations as the M and Q. It can expose for up to 30min regardless of ISO setting.

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10 hours ago, snoopss said:

Hi

 

I don't know if this post will help you. I tried a few days ago to do such a photo. It was the first time and the conditions were not good (body on a table for example).

SL2S with the 50mm SL summicron, f2, 6400 isos and 20s (not really the 500/f rule 😄, we can see that the the stars have moved).

Antoine

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The 500/f rule is not really enough for modern high resolution cameras. You should follow the NPF rule which accounts for sensor resolution.

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1 hour ago, beewee said:

It doesn't have the same limitations as the M and Q. It can expose for up to 30min regardless of ISO setting.

That’s good to read!

wonder if the SL2 behaves the same way or if there’s a difference between SL2-S and SL2 on shutter speed limitations.

I would expect the sensors of Q2 and SL2 to be pretty similar, so they should have similar limitations… But anyway I’m looking at the SL2-S because of its sensor so I’m glad to see it has a lot more flexibility on ISO-Shutter speed combinations.

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20 hours ago, NicoTheStan said:

Hi everyone, I’m considering the SL2-S and would like to understand if it has the same shutter speed limitations at high ISO of the Q2 or M.

That information is not on any Leica manual and I found out about that on the Q and Q2 only by using the cameras: at ISO 6400 or 3200, for example, the max shutter speed is 4 secs, at 1600 is 8 secs, etc.

I find it very limiting for night sky photography. Looking at the pictures you posted and the exposure times it seems the SL2-S doesn’t have the same limitations on shutter speed on high ISO that the Q2 and the M cameras have.

Could you please confirm that the SLS-2 allows longer exposures at high ISO? Is it still limited like the Q but with different values?

thanks!

I took 30s exposure with the M10R in B mode. No problem. I think the limitation applies when A mode is used.

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3 hours ago, Pierre68 said:

I took 30s exposure with the M10R in B mode. No problem. I think the limitation applies when A mode is used.

The limitation varies with ISO setting. The M10R has a couple more stops longer shutter duration than the M10. Likewise the M11 has a bit longer shutter duration than the M10R. But they’re all limited at high ISO (6400+). 

The SL2 and SL2-S does not have the same limitation. The difference is the amount of heat dissipation that the SL2 and SL2-S can provide to the sensor as compared to the M bodies. The SL2 and SL2-S was designed with video in mind where the sensor is always running and it needs to be able to pull enough heat away from the sensor, unlike the M10 and M11 series.

On the M10, even if I used bulb mode and held the shutter release down manually, it will still be limited to the maximum duration for a given ISO setting.

Edited by beewee
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9 hours ago, beewee said:

The limitation varies with ISO setting. The M10R has a couple more stops longer shutter duration than the M10. Likewise the M11 has a bit longer shutter duration than the M10R. But they’re all limited at high ISO (6400+). 

The SL2 and SL2-S does not have the same limitation. The difference is the amount of heat dissipation that the SL2 and SL2-S can provide to the sensor as compared to the M bodies. The SL2 and SL2-S was designed with video in mind where the sensor is always running and it needs to be able to pull enough heat away from the sensor, unlike the M10 and M11 series.

On the M10, even if I used bulb mode and held the shutter release down manually, it will still be limited to the maximum duration for a given ISO setting.

The picture of the Milky Way I have posted earlier in this thread was taken with the M10-R at 3200 ISO, 14mm f/2.8, 34s in b mode.

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13 hours ago, Pierre68 said:

The picture of the Milky Way I have posted earlier in this thread was taken with the M10-R at 3200 ISO, 14mm f/2.8, 34s in b mode.

Yeah, bulb mode works for as long as you’re within the shutter duration limit for a given ISO setting. As you increase ISO, the maximum exposure duration will be reduced and the same limit applies to both manual and bulb exposure.

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Hello,
I use a 180APO R F2.8 with 1 or 2 APO doublers + a 7mm Celstron eyepiece for observation.
I was thinking of trying to mount my SL2S behind the 180APO R F2.8 with 1 or 2 APO doublers, or behind my 90-280 APO.
I have already handled some very personal montages, including 2 lenses one behind the other!!!
I see that the Vixen Polaris motorized ball head supports an SL2S + the 90-280! It tempts me a lot!
My question: In short, the part explained above doesn't bother me too much, but I don't know how to simply stack the images! How can we do it simply? with LR would it make things easier for me (on macBookPro)?
Best regards from France

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4 hours ago, Jox said:

My question: In short, the part explained above doesn't bother me too much, but I don't know how to simply stack the images! How can we do it simply? with LR would it make things easier for me (on macBookPro)?

There are a number of dedicated software available. Some are free, others are not.

Here’s a nice comparison of some options: https://nightskypix.com/astrophotography-stacking-software/

And an example of how one might work: https://astrobackyard.com/deep-sky-stacker-settings/

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  • 3 weeks later...

Posted also on the Sigma lens thread, as it was the first time I used that lens.

Sigma 14mm f1.4 Art and SLS-2, at 6400 ISO. Single shot, as a rain shower was starting and I didn’t have time to take a proper foreground exposure to blend. So the shadows of the foreground have been lifted quite heavily and then denoised.

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7 hours ago, NicoTheStan said:

Posted also on the Sigma lens thread, as it was the first time I used that lens.

Sigma 14mm f1.4 Art and SLS-2, at 6400 ISO. Single shot, as a rain shower was starting and I didn’t have time to take a proper foreground exposure to blend. So the shadows of the foreground have been lifted quite heavily and then denoised.

 

Magnificent!

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On 8/13/2022 at 2:58 PM, Jox said:

but I don't know how to simply stack the images! How can we do it simply? with LR would it make things easier for me (on macBookPro)?
Best regards from France

You don't have to buy extra software: Photomerge in Lightroom does an excellent job:

https://expertphotography.com/merge-photos-lightroom-hdr/

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