Posts Made By: Jeff Hapeman

It's been a while since I posted, as I haven't had clear skies at my dark-sky site in northern WI. We are up here for a week for the holiday, and I got one clear night, and it looks like I might get one or two more.

This is a 50-minute composite exposure comprised of 5 10-minute exposures. I used a Kenko SkyMemo II mount to track the stars during the long exposures. My goal was 60 minutes, but one of the exposures had a tracking problem. The images were combined with Registar and then tweaked/adjusted in Photoshop CS2.

In the upper right corner you can see the Crescent Nebula, which is formed by hot winds/energy coming off of a Wolf-Rayet star, forming a bubble in space.

Canon 20Da, 200mm f/2.8L II USM, f/3.5, ISO 800, 5x10-minutes.

Jeff

Well, we last had a Long-tailed Weasel here, so why not a Short-tailed Weasel? They are very similar, but the Short-tailed is overall a bit smaller. This is the winter coat, typically called an ermine.

Canon 5D, 400mm DO lens w/1.4x TC, f/5.6, 1/160s, ISO 800.

Jeff

Not something you see here every day . I just got back from a vacation in Puerto Rico, and after three days in El Yunque (officially Caribbean National Forest), I finally found a nest with a nice perch nearby. These little birds burrow into mud banks to make their nests, and the perch is covered with mud. This is the female, and you can see the mud on her head feathers.

Jeff

Here's the male, taken at the same spot and the same perch as on the other shot, which was the female.

Jeff

Well, it's been ages since I posted here. In the last few months, I have moved to CA and had to settle in. The skies here are much clearer than WI 8)! Anyway, I have a dark sky site here that I can go to, with observing pads and bunkrooms, very nice. Definitely a plus for my astrophotography. This is a shot I took this past weekend.

Canon 20Da, 9x2-minutes, ISO 800, f/3.2, 300mm f/2.8L IS, Kenko SkyMemo II, aligned and stacked with Registar.

Jeff

Another image from my trip to my new dark-sky site out here in CA. This is a stack of 16 2-minute exposures, Canon 20Da, ISO 800, 300mm f/2.8L @ f/2.8, Kenko Sky Memo II mount.

Jeff

I think I will write up a review shortly on the 40D. In the meantime, here's a short summary. The 40D definitely has lower noise than the 20D, which is a plus for astrophotography. The colors at higher ISOs are also a bit more saturated, however, this can be fixed in post-processing. Live View works extremely well for focusing; it's like the 20Da only better, as the screen has some some sharpening applied to make focusing easier, and it also lets you use the multi-function controller (joystick) to pick a part of the screen to magnify. This lets you pick a star for focusing without having to center in the viewfinder like you have to do with the 20Da. Compared to the 20D or the 30D, the 40D seems to have better red sensitivity. While subjective because I didn't have a standard 20D or 30D on hand for direct comparison, it is definitely more sensitive to the red nebulae than previous Canon cameras. However, it still shows them as a bit cyan, so it takes more post-processing to correct the color. The larger screen is nice for checking focus, and the anti-dust system works as advertised. The 14-bit data definitely helps a bit when shooting in RAW, but its not dramatic. The extra pixels really don't make much of a difference, some, but not enough to make it compelling to go out and buy a 40D.

Bottom line, if you don't have a camera, then the 40D is the best choice. If you already have a modified 20D/30D or have a 20Da, then no need to make any changes. The 20Da is still the king of utility--great for astrophotography and perfectly fine for daylight photography. To get similar red response, you would have to buy a modified 40D (not available yet), or modify yours. In all, the 20Da is also still the king of value, even if used ones are commanding a good premium, as modifying a 40D and adding the AC power supply will make the 40D cost more than a used 20Da. On top of that, both the modified cameras and the unmodified cameras take a lot of post-processing work to get a good image; contrast this to the 20Da where the images are pretty close to fine right out of the camera, and you have a lot of time saved.

That said, I am selling my 20Da...because the wife says I have to sell one camera, and I love to play with new things. Like most things I sell, I am sure I will regret it and buy another one soon 8O .

Attached is a shot taken with a 40D last week. It's a combination of 5 5-minute shots taken at ISO 800, f/3.2, Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS USM. Aligned and stacked in Registar, post-processing in PS.

Jeff

Thanks for the comments. For those who want to know, I took this with a Takahashi FSQ-106N and an SBIG ST-10E with a Custom Scientific amateur grade H-alpha filter. Mount was a Takahashi Temma NJP-160, exposure is three hours (18 x 10 minutes). Guided with an SBIG STV using a Takahashi FS-60C as a guidescope.

And yes, I bought it all at Anacortes <g>.

Jeff

I have always rated buyers! Some people are much heavier buyers than sellers, and it is nice as a seller to know you have a good buyer...just as nice as the reverse. Lately I have been buying more than selling (good time to be buying used with the economy down a bit), so I like it when I am rated as a good buyer...

Jeff

Jeff,

Actually the picture you are referring to is not from a Starlight Express camera. Roland took that image with an SBIG ST-10E.

You can see the image on Astro-Physics' web site in the Gallery at: http://www.astro-physics.com.

Jeff