Imaged by: Shawn Nielsen, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
This is my 2010 M45 image using a Skywatcher Equinox 80mm APO and a modded Canon 350XT.
This was a bit of an experiment in two ways. First off I set out to acquire various exposure data in order to try an HDR combine. I also used the Celestron 6.3 reducer on the 80mm after reading it had possibility to work effectively at reducing the focal length (down to 300mm from 500mm). Always experimenting in order to further my skills in Astrophotography, You don't know until you try!
With the reducer in place, it turned out the center of the FOV was quite good overall but the outside edges suffered greatly. This image is a crop of the original FOV and there are still noticeable star issues on the outside which after doing some corrections, was eventually left with the realization that it was what is was in this area. So I tried to make the best of it considering I accumulated 4hrs and 40min of data. I probably won’t use the 6.3 reducer in this way again though.
Imaged from NW of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada at a KW RASC (Royal Astronomical Society of Canada) dark site.