Meade ETX125 and Fujifilm XT1 and Orion Nebular M42 & Moon

My ETX125 has been sitting idle for quite a while as I've been exploring the world of camera only Wide Field Astro.

I thought it was time to have a go with my new camera. With its very sensitive sensor the long focal length of the ETX may not be as much of a problem, so off to the shed to make an adapter.
The following Pic is taken from our Backyard in Melbourne Australia, never gets very dark where we live. I'm pretty happy with the result.
This is stack of three images, no cropping, the ETX has a narrow field of view.
I'm finding with the Fuji camera that reducing noise by stacking, whilst helpful, is not as important as it used to be with my old camera. A good single image with some "curve", "contrast" and "wavelet denoise" works well, all done with "GIMP"

I tried some more imaging on the following two nights, with poor results due to periodic error.
I must have just been using the good part of my drives "worm" this night. Gives me something to think about... A new mount maybe.

Meade ETX 125.
 Fuji XT1 at Prime Focus.
 25sec. f15. asa25600 stack of three images

Moon
Meade ETX 125 Fuji XT1 At Prime Focus un-cropped

Some Diff Post Processing. Straight out of Camera jpg

Fujinon XF 18mm f2.0 Astrophotography

I've just received my second XF lens 18mm f2.0 and I'm really happy with it.

My first Astro shots with this lens were on our last holiday to Fitzroy Island.
The skies are quite dark here so I had a go at some "Milky Way" shots.

The following is a composite of three images. I only had my "Gorilla Pod" so it was a bit difficult being so low to the ground, next time I’ll take a bigger tripod with some kind of panorama head.

Milky Way camera pointed straight up. Three image panorama. 3200asa 15sec f2.2

The second shot is just a single frame with some post process.

Fitzroy Island & Snorkeling

Fitzroy Island is a fantastic spot located just off Cairns in Queensland Australia.
Winter, or the dry season as it's known in QLD is a good time to visit, not too hot about 28C.

Plenty of walking and snorkelling, this pretty butterfly was abundant, I had to get a shot, didn't fly away either.

Fujifilm XT-1 with XF35mm lens

You get the idea

A few Snorkelling  Pics From Fitzroy Island.

 I now take mostly movies, although it takes ages to piece them together.

Fujifilm XT-1 Third Party AC - Adapter

About six months ago In preparation for some Astrophotography I purchased a third party AC adapter.  I was being pre-emptive as my XT-1 was yet to be delivered.
Turns out it wasn’t needed as the exposure times required by this camera allowed the use of the internal battery, and a couple of spares.

Third Party AC Adapter for Fujifilm XT-1. Power Lead removed for clarity

With my old Pentax camera the long exposure required, 40 seconds plus, demanded external power as the shutter being held open for such a period would flatten the internal battery in no time.

I have to report though that upon testing it, it didn't work properly. Although the the box that emulates the battery looks to be the perfect size, it's not and as a result doesn’t make proper contact with the camera.
I fixed this simply with two small pieces of electrical tape placed in the corner where the battery door catch contacts the battery. After this it seems to work just fine.

Tapes a bit Crooked

On a tripod in a studio is a situation you may need one of these. If this problem happens to you, it's a simple fix.
Remember any kind of AC Adapter for the XT-1 will require that the battery door is left open so the cable can pass out, just make sure that this will work in your situation.

Snorkelling Port Phillip Bay. Rye & Blairgowrie Piers

A few more Snorkelling pictures that have been waiting around to be posted.
Not sure exactly which one is where, the diver is definitely under Rye Pier though.

We didn't see a lot of fish on the day, but the colours were amazing. We are slowly getting used to our wet suits, you are so much more buoyant that you bob around like a cork.

All taken with the Sony TX 210.

You see the funniest Fish at Rye

Fujifilm MCEX - 11 Extension Tube

 I have just received my Fujifilm MCEX - 11 Extension Tube.

I'm no stranger to the world of macro photography having a pair of vintage Macro lenses in the shape of the Pentax M 100mm and 50mm F4.
I wanted to see how my Fuji 35mm f1.4 lens would work in conjunction with an extension tube. It makes sense if you want to travel light and only carry one lens, also auto focus is back in the game and all the EXIF data as well.

There are some third party tubes available through sellers on Ebay,  I have read some comments about the "pass through contacts" damaging the lens or camera and I'm so in love with this camera and lens I didn't want to risk it. The Genuine one was "on special" so the difference in price was only about A$40.
This one is made in China, the build quality is the same as my Fujinon 35mm lens, so, excellent.
I've only had a quick go with it and I’m not disappointed, the 35mm is still as crisp as ever and everything works fine, it mounts perfectly as you would expect.
The focus range is very small with the XF 35mm. Min = 5cm  Max = 10cm from the lens nose, that's it.
Just tried it with my 55mm f1.8 with M42 adapter and it works well Min = 15cm Max = 28cm.

It's not intended to replace a dedicated Macro lens, as a macro lens will focus "close" and all the way to infinity, so keep that in mind.

I think it's pretty good.

Edit: Dec 2016
I've been using the little flash unit that came with the XT1, in conjunction with the extension tube. It works really well, as this little spider demonstrates.

F5.6 Using MCEX 11 and EF-X8 Flash

Fujinon 35mm f11 with MCEX - 11

F8 Fujinon 35mm with MCEX - 11

Dandelion Fujinon 35mm with 11mm extension f5.7

Dandelion Fujinon 35mm with 11mm extension f5.7 100% Crop

Daisy 35mm 11mm extension @f8

Daisy 35mm 11mm extension @f8 100% Crop

Green Tree Ant From Queensland

Astro-Photography Image Proccesing

A little bit about how I currently do my "image stacking" and post-processing.

I'm using "linux Ubuntu" and have loaded "Hugin Panorama Creator" from the software repository.
With this installed and two simple commands you can align and stack your images. You need to be a little conversant with using a command shell.
First put all you jpeg images in a folder and open a command shell and type the following at the prompt

align_image_stack -a  drag and drop all your files from your folder onto the terminal window, then hit return. Nothing will happen for a while....then it should start writing .tif files to the same folder as your jpegs.

When this has finished type enfuse -o 'name.tif' where "name.tif" is the file name you want to use complete with the full directory path, then drag and drop the tif files previously created onto the terminal window, it should then start stacking them and you will end up with a composite image called whatever you nominated at the "name.tif" part.

I then follow up with "Gimp"  adjusting "Curves" and "wavelet de-noise" for a final image.

There is also a good "Java" based program called "Regim" and it runs on any platform and has a nice user interface. This will do the aligning and stacking, but no post processing.

For "Windows" users "DeepSkyStacker" is another good option. Just do a Google search and you will find plenty of options.

I will post some more info and pics soon.

Snorkelling, Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia

Saturday the 11th of April greeted us with a reasonably sunny, but not too warm day.
Just before lunch Lisa my wife suggests a trip to the beach to do a bit of snorkelling, OK sounds great I said, its a good job we've got wet suits.

Another opportunity to take the little Sony TX10  out for a swim, and nice to get some pictures from our local waters.

Moondah beach on Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne ,Victoria

Perfect Snorkelling Depth

There's quite a diverse variety sea life in the Bay, most are very shy, and hard to sneak up on, if you manage to take a picture you will most likely have to crop the image to bring it closer.

A good technique when snorkelling is to just float and let the fish come to you. Taking pictures becomes a bit tricky though, as soon as you move your arms they tend to scatter, that's when you learn how fast fish can swim.

Snapper, Port Phillip Bay

Porcupine Fish Port Phillip Bay

Purple Sea Urchin

School of "White Bait"

Pentax SMC K 28mm f3.5 Lens Review

The Pentax K 28mm f3.5 Wide Angle lens is quite rare, you don't see too many coming up on Ebay.
It is very well received by most reviewers and some believe it to be one of the best lenses Pentax ever made, not sure if I agree, still a very good lens.

I had, and sold the M version of this lens. The optical formula is different for the two lenses but I have to say that I couldn't see a lot of difference in images that I took. I suppose with lenses, it all about how hard you look and what you're looking for. I kept this one, and it certainly is the rarer of the two.
As with all the Pentax lenses I have, or have had, the build quality is excellent, with very smooth focus. It's quite heavy, but feels very nice in use. This lens is of course "Super Multi Coated" resulting in better transmission of light.

• Focal Length:     28mm
• Aperture:            f3.5 thru f22 in half stops up to f16 5 blades
• Focus Throw:     50 degrees approx
• Min Focu:           30cm
• Filter Treads:      52mm
• Weight:               286 gm
• Elements:           8 in 7 groups

F3.5 Close Focus

F3.5 Bokeh

"Out House" Valhalla Vic

Rubbish day in our street

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX10

My wife and I are keen snorkelers. Trying to Explain to others the wonders and beauty that's under the water was just becoming to hard, this meant  purchasing a camera that wasn't afraid of the water.
I spend quite a long time trolling through reviews without really finding a clear winner, they all had their good and not so good points.
I eventually decided on the Sony TX10, this guy is water proof to 5 meters and can take a knock or two.

Sony TX10 With Lens guard slid down

All things considered I would have to give this little camera a 8.5/10 score.
Its been on many trips with us both overseas and at the Great Barrier Reef and has never let me down.
Couple of tips, always set the camera to "Underwater Mode" before getting in the water, as you can't use the touch screen after that.
The quality and clarity of underwater shots vary immensely being dependent on water depth the amount of particles in the water and the angle of the sun.
I also move my divers watch from my left to right arm so I can loop the strap through its band. If your wearing a "stinger suit" you can then tuck the camera in the sleeve leaving both hands free to get back on the boat.
Its not easy taking pics under water, just be prepared to take many and delete many, as with most things you get better as you go along.
I have always followed the washing instruction supplied with camera, and have no leaks or issues so far.

OK a select few pictiures, I have hundreds, possibly thousands.

Dinner on the beach. Navini Island Fiji

Turtle Lady Elliot Island QLD Australia

Black Tip Reef Shark Navini Island Fiji

Manta Ray. Lady Elliot Island

Clown Fish. Navini Island Fiji

Blue Fin Trevally. Navini Island Fiji

Clown Fish (Nemo) Vanuatu