Hey Pier 3 Members,
I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying their photography sessions!
Today, I wanted to share a useful tip for those of you who are planning to submit runs. I recommend setting your single exposure time to at least 180 seconds, or even better, 300 seconds, for improved results and time efficiency.
By opting for longer exposure times, you'll be able to capture more details and effectively reduce noise in your images. This is particularly important when shooting in low-light conditions, where high signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) can make a significant difference in the quality of your photos.
Here are some of the benefits of using longer exposure times:
Improved Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR): Longer exposure times allow your camera's sensor to gather more light, which means a higher signal in your final image. As a result, the ratio of the signal to the noise (undesirable random variations) increases, giving you cleaner, more detailed images.
Time Efficiency: By using longer exposure times, you can reduce the total number of shots needed to achieve your desired image quality. This means less time spent shooting and processing your images, ultimately saving you valuable time.
I hope you find this tip helpful as you continue to explore the wonders of photography at Pier 3. Don't forget to share your beautiful images with the rest of the community, and feel free to ask any questions or share your own tips in the comments below. Happy shooting!
Best regards,
shane1999
Hi Shane
Pier 3 is a light bucket and too long exposures risk saturating pixels on many targets. The difference between 100 X 5 minute and exposures and 200 x 2.5 minute exposures in SNR is negligible. Take a look here and play with it to see how little difference it makes
https://snrcalc.vercel.app/home
Additionally longer subs expose you to more risk of failure - clouds, tracking, aircraft etc. You stand to lose less with shorter subs.
Undoubtedly it takes longer to process shorter exposures but only in initial calibration and stacking.
With the quality of modern processing software, CMOS sensors (which do not need long exposure like CCDs did) and the fact that p3 is an absolutely photon guzzler I would suggest that very long subs are not needed. Lots of subs are always good, and you can always add more.
Excuse my brevity I am on mobile.
“There are no bad pictures; that's just how your face looks sometimes.”
― Abraham Lincoln
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656 Imaging
10 Micron
Planewave
ZWO
Roboscopes
802 Kingsbury Road
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B24 9PS
United Kingdom
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