14
That 'shoot in raw' advice from a forum guy ruined my first nebula
Some random on here told me to always shoot raw for deep sky, but I didn't understand I needed stacking software too... ended up with 200 useless files and a blank screen. Has anyone else wasted a night because of one-size-fits-all tips?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
ward.mason1mo ago
...and nobody ever mentions that raw files need debayering too, which is like the secret handshake of astrophotography. You can't just open a raw in a normal viewer and expect to see anything, especially not a faint nebula. I spent a solid hour thinking my camera was broken or I'd messed up the focus because all I got was this greenish-black grid of noise. The real kicker is even if you have stacking software, if you don't understand calibration frames - darks, flats, bias - your stack will still look like garbage. So you're not alone, that one-size-fits-all advice is basically a trap for beginners.
8
victor_carter511mo ago
Secret handshake" is a bit dramatic, the debayering is literally step one in every guide I've ever seen.
5