Jupiter, which has emerged in considerable detail, has a large red spot in the lower right corner.
Welcome to the blog of a cameraman who works across Africa and Japan.
The caretaker, who is also a star lover, spends as little money as possible and uses the equipment he has at hand to shoot celestial bodies.
I introduced the planetary photography with Sannippa before, so this time I will introduce the planetary photography with Goyon (500mmf4) as the second step.
I would appreciate it if you could read that there is one way to take a picture of a planet.
This year, in the latter half of July in 2020, all planets from Mercury to Neptune are lined up in the dawn sky.
In autumn, Mars is approaching the Earth. It can be seen in about 90% of the size of the previous 2018 approach.
And on December 21st, the end of the year, Jupiter and Saturn seemed to be so close to each other that there were a lot of planetary events.
2020 is the year of the planet.
Furthermore, it is the year of the turning point of the solar system planet, where the giant planet Jupiter overtakes Saturn.
The stagnation of solar activity and the milestone years of the planet overlap, and it seems that human economic activity is undergoing a major change as if for some reason.
Content of this blog
Jupiter and Saturn rendezvous
This shooting system
Image processing with Registax
summary
Saturn
■
Jupiter and Saturn rendezvous
This year 2020 is a hit year for the planet.
From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, Jupiter and Saturn can be seen in the night sky almost all year round.
On December 21st, the two giant planets, they were so close that they could enter the narrow field of view of the telescope together.
The angular distance is very close to 0.1 degrees (6 minutes), which is about 1/5 of the diameter of the moon, and it fits in the same field of view of a high-magnification telescope.
Until then, Jupiter and Saturn are shortening their distance every day.
With that said, it was hard to see the sunny days, and the sky in Nairobi began to look into the sunny days.
I decided to revenge the planetary photography in Sannippa.
This time, instead of using Sannippa, I tried to shoot the planet again with Goyon and a 500mm f4 telephoto lens.
Both Jupiter and Saturn are near the zenith, so the influence of the atmosphere is minimal and the conditions are perfect for shooting.
This shooting system
This time, I used Nikon's 500mm lens, Ai Nikkor ED500mm f4P, for planetary photography.
Compared to Sunnipper's 300mm, Goyon's 500m has a longer focal length and a larger aperture, so if you take a picture of the planet, you can expect to see much more detail than Sunnipper.
The details of the image at high magnification are determined by the basics, lens diameter, and aperture.
Its caliber is 107mm and F2.8 for Sunnipper, and 125mm and F4 for Goyon.
F4 against F2.8. Since the aperture is large and the lens has plenty of power, you can expect high-magnification planetary photography and even higher image quality.
So, I decided to attach Vixen's NPL6mm eyepiece to the Nikon manual Ai Nikkor ED 500mm f4P, which I have been using for many years, and shoot Jupiter with the magnified photography method.
A little explanation about this lens
This Ai Nikkor ED 500mm F4P is a lens released in March 1988.
The one with the letter P at the back is a lens that can electronically communicate lens information with the camera even though it is a manual lens.
It's one of the rare formats that Nikon has released only three.
Before shifting to autofocus, this lens was well-received by professional purveyors.
As for the lens configuration, one protective glass is added to eight elements in six groups. A 39mm rear plug filter can be used.
The caretaker bought this lens in 1994.
A short-focus telephoto lens that uses a special low-dispersion glass ED lens, and the image quality is sharp enough to be used even now, and the image quality is good.
Color development is equivalent to 50mm f1.2 and contrast.
So-called Nikon color.
The contrast is slightly higher, and the color is cool and astringent.
Managers like this cool color development more than the color development of new lenses using Nanokuri.
Recent lenses and coatings have improved and the transmittance has become extremely high.
Furthermore, as a result of careful attention to the stray light shading treatment inside the lens, it seems that there is almost no difference in color development between any lens of any manufacturer.
It's just sweet, and it feels like a fruit that has lost its acidity and is no longer tasteful.
A high-performance lens that was well-received even with old lenses, and still has high performance even when used now.
In addition, although it has high image quality, it has a deep taste due to the remaining acidity and astringency.
Using these lenses makes it fun to take pictures.
This 500mm lens is lighter than the original AFS sunnipper in terms of weight, but the lens barrel is very long because it is only 500mm.
As it is impossible to use Sky Memo T, I used Vixen and Super Polaris equatorial mounts for the mount.
Long system, with support attached to prevent bending
I bought this Super Polaris equatorial mount in 1985, just before Halley's Comet came when the caretaker was still in the sixth grade of elementary school.
It is a very expensive shopping for elementary school students, and in addition to the handsel, it was purchased by asking relatives for a campaign.
It was possible because Japan at that time was at the height of the economy before the bubble, and everyone was in good shape.
I can't think of it now.
Also, the era of manufacturing in Made in Japan. Whether it's an introductory machine or a good product, I feel that each product contains the soul of a craftsman.
The lens barrel of the set I bought at that time was a 102mm achromat refracting telescope.
I brought only the equatorial mount to Nairobi, but the lens barrel has some mold on the lens, but it is still alive in Japan.
The lens barrel and equatorial mount are so well made that even after 35 years, they aren't afraid.
Of course, it is made in Japan and the warranty is 5 years.
Such a Super Polaris equatorial mount is still importantly brought to Africa and used.
This year, my son's age is exactly the same as the year of the caretaker when he bought the telescope and equatorial mount.
The shooting method is as introduced before.
I put an eyepiece between the lens and the camera and took a picture with the magnified photography method.
The difference is that the focal length of the lens has increased from 300mm to 500mm.
This time, let's calculate the total focal length of the magnifying photography method using this system.
500 x (120 ÷ 6-1) = 9,500 mm
Since it is a Micro Four Thirds system, it is equivalent to 19,000 mm when doubled to convert to 35 mm format.
The angle of view is considerably narrower than the 11,400mm shot with the Sunnipper last time.
It is extremely difficult to get the planet into view, but this time it is an equatorial mount with a fine movement device.
It's incomparably easier than introducing it with a free platform.
The field of view was narrow, and I was using a small sight instead of a viewfinder, and looking at the planet was still a daunting task.
However, once in the field of view, the rest is easy, and you can easily introduce it to the center with the fine movement handle.
Ease of doing that is unmatched by the free platform. Obviously.
Observation and photography were carried out with my eldest son on the roof of an apartment in Nairobi.
The eldest son was also curiously watching the planet appearing on the screen.
This time, I just looked at the planet on the LCD, not Jupiter, but the LCD screen.
It is just the illusion of Jupiter, which is electronically processed and projected on the LCD.
Music is like the difference between live music and recorded sound source playback.
That's what you see on the LCD screen.
That will also lead to the difference between mirrorless and single-lens reflex cameras.
Next time, let's show his son the real light that has traveled directly through space through his eyepieces.
I cut out a piece of the video
For shooting, I used Panasonic's GH4.
With a minimum sensitivity of 200, the aperture is set to f4.5 with a half aperture, and the exposure is 1/30 second.
With this setting, I shot a movie for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
The GH4 and EX teleconverters are equipped with a function that allows you to shoot at the same pixel size.
After looking at the planet, record in HD using the EX teleconverter.
This function and the resolution of the sensor can be used to the maximum, which is very useful for planetary photography.
During the recording, wait for the time to come, keeping in mind that the wind will not blow.
As long as the wind doesn't blow, it doesn't matter if the mount or tripod is weak.
Image processing with RegiStax
Looking at the picture above, it looks dull, but when you actually look into the LCD, you can see even more details.
The afterimage of the moment when you can see the details of the image projected on the LCD screen will be burned into your mind.
Therefore, even if you take out a piece, you can't see what you actually see.
It keeps recording the ever-changing appearance of Jupiter while shooting the video.
If you shoot 30 frames per second and shoot 1 minute 30 seconds, it will be the same as taking 2700 still images during that time.
When I look into the LCD screen, I sometimes see extremely detailed patterns.
The stacking process may be the work of taking out only those parts that look good as still images, superimposing them on top of each other, and emphasizing the light shades.
By doing this, even the finest patterns that were not seen when shooting the movie emerge, so I am surprised every time I see the processed image.
For stacking processing, I used the free software called Registax6 that I used before.
Can a free app do this? It's an excellent and recommended app.
However, the display is in English.
It automatically handles the time-consuming work that would be daunting if done manually in no time.
However, since it is possible to process only the video file format, AVI and MPG, it may be necessary to change the MOV format of the video once.
Moreover, SD image quality of 480x720.
The SD image quality is sufficient because it is shot at ultra-high magnification and slightly exceeds the resolution of the optical system.
The magnified shooting method is a shooting method that goes beyond the resolution of the optical system.
For Registax6, I still don't fully understand how to use it, and as usual, I fumbled around to make the planet more visible.
And the image finished this time is the photo below (similar to the photo above).
The magnified shooting method, upside down, left and right, and north, south, east, and west are upside down.
For the time being, I put it out as it is.
The image of Jupiter completed this time after trying various things
In order to finish the picture of Jupiter above, I changed the stacking process several times from the same video.
Through various trials and errors in Photoshop, I worked on synthesizing the three good ones so that the details of the tone could be displayed in more detail.
summary
Although it was a rough cut, the shades were clearly visible even in the finest parts of Jupiter's surface.
The manager himself is surprised to see the details of Jupiter with a diameter of 125 mm.
As I had expected at first, it represented much more detail on Jupiter than it was taken with Sunnipper. This is probably due to the difference in aperture and focal length.
At the bottom right is the Great Red Spot.
The Great Red Spot, which has been swirling since the surface of Jupiter was first observed with a telescope, is a huge typhoon that far exceeds the diameter of the Earth.
With this shooting and image processing, the appearance of such a Great Red Spot was captured in a fairly easy-to-understand manner.
I'm thinking of trying various things for a while to see how much detail Jupiter can be expressed with this planetary photography system using a 500mm telephoto lens.
I'm sure that more detailed patterns will come out.
Regarding image processing
Since the processing method and synthesis method are different each time, the finish will be significantly different.
We are currently searching for a uniform processing method and synthesis method.
Saturn
Saturn's appearance on the screen
The appearance of Saturn, which is much darker than Jupiter. It was a little dark with this system, and the moment I focused on Saturn, the tracking of the equatorial mount stopped.
The battery was fully charged.
As I learned later, it turned out that the cause was poor contact and the load due to imbalance.
So, at a later date, I set the eyepiece to 10 mm, reduced the magnification, made it a little brighter, changed various settings, and tried again in the photo below.
The gaps in Casini are now clearly visible
There is still a feeling that even the smallest details can be captured, so I'm thinking of trying various things and trying to shoot the planet so that I can get a satisfactory finish.
After all, the 500mm Goyon showed overwhelming resolution compared to the Sannipper with a focal length of 300mm.
It's been a long time since it was sold, but its resolution is necessary and sufficient as seen in planetary photography.
It turned out that it is an ultra-high performance lens that can still be used even in general shooting if autofocus is not necessary.
Also, compared to Vixen eyepieces, NPL6mm, and old PL10mm (purchased by the caretaker in high school a long time ago), it is easier to pull out, has less aberration, is easier to see, and has higher performance.
The eyepiece that came with the Vixen telescope set was this high performance, and I was deeply afraid of it.
I knew again that the eyepiece was also the source of aberrations.
■
Until the end Thank you for reading.
Related article
Mars, planetary photography with Goyon (500mm f4 telephoto lens), 40 days after quasi-large approach
Jupiter image, Saturn image, challenge for higher image quality (Goyon, planet photography with 500mm f4 telephoto lens)
Planet shooting with Sannippa! Part 3, Mars very close, details of shooting method
Planet shooting with Sannippa! Part 1, the planet is in full bloom this summer of 2018
Comments