How to take Light, Flat, Bias & Dark Calibration Frames for Astrophotography

Want to improve your astrophotography? Let's explore how to take Light Frames, Flat Frames, Bias Frames & Dark Frames that can be stacked to bring out incredible details of Deep Sky Objects. To show each step of this process, we will be imaging one the best targets in the night sky, the Orion Nebula. If you have an interest in astronomy and astrophotography please like this video and subscribe to this channel. Also, be sure to let me know about your questions and any techniques that you use to capture these images in the comment section below.
"Best DSLR Settings For Astrophotography"
• Best DSLR Settings for...
"DeepSkyStacker Tutorial: How to Stack Light, Dark, Bias & Flat Frames For Astrophotography"
• DeepSkyStacker Tutoria...
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Book Link:
"The Deep Sky Imaging Primer: Third Edition" By Charles Bracken
www.amazon.com/Deep-sky-Imagi...
Time Stamps:
0:00 Intro
1:04 How to take Light Frames
5:14 How to take Flat Frames
7:15 How to take Bias Frames
8:11 How to take Dark Frames
Music: "Venkatesananda" by Jesse Jesse Gallagher
“The heavens declare the glory of God”-Psalm 19:1
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#Astrophotography #FlatFrames #DarkFrames #LightFrames #BiasFrames #CalibrationFrames

[@meghjoshi7031]

That's probably the only video showing calibration frames using a lens. Super useful. Thanks!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I'm glad you found it helpful. This setup and process has worked well for me over the past couple years!

[@BRP42]

I'm glad I found you! This is one of the few videos that explains in detail *WHY* we take these various calibration frames. The "how" part is well done too. Thanks Michael!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

You’re welcome! Let me know if you have anymore questions along the way!

[@allanmurray4156]

This video will help dearly when it comes to me adding flat and bias frames into my imaging as have only managed light and dark frames up to now. Awesome content dude. 📸

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Clear skies to you and keep my updated on how everything goes with your imaging!

[@W0GUN]

Finally, someone explained to me what it is and what the purpose of these photos is

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I appreciate that! Let me know if you ever have any questions.

[@scottwright8354]

I want to complement your presentation style! I'm a former pilot and flight simulator instructor. We had to learn numerous techniques, and then practice, to be sure we communicated precisely what was needed, hopefully with very few mistakes in our presentation. I'd say you did extremely well! I just acquired an MSM tracker a few weeks ago. Weather, schedule, etc. have prevented me from getting out so far. But I'm taking the time to learn what I can, and to acquire some additional pieces of equipment that I've seen recommended on the MSM page and other youtube videos. (like a right angle viewer for polar scope, how to calibrate the laser, what to order for an extra battery for the tracker on long, cold nights, etc.) I had listened to two other videos on the subject of calibration frames that still left me with a feeling that I just wasn't quite getting it. I got it now!!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

That's very nice of you to say, Scott! A right angle viewer for the polar scope would be a nice accessory to look at. I'm glad my video helped you out a bit and please let me know if you have any other questions regarding this or any of my other astrophotography tutorials.

[@jochenretter]

your videos are my favorites, cause they tell me the important stuff in a fraction of the time compared to others, thank you.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

That's so nice to hear! I'm glad you find them helpful and please let me know if you ever have any questions!

[@BLarsenPhoto]

Thanks for the video. I should have come here first - I just spent 15 minutes trawling through the internet and through other videos trying to find how to do flats and you're the first one that mentioned that the f number needs to be the same as your light frames. No one else seemed to mention that detail.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I'm really glad you found it helpful!

[@baranjen]

The definitive guide! Thank you very much for all your effort!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Of course!

[@cristianjara2211]

I am impressed by the simplicity and clarity to explain each process, I could understand everything perfectly, despite not speaking English, thank you very much for taking time to teach us, greetings from Chile

[@LateNightAstronomy]

That is very nice of you to say! Thanks so much and let me know if you have any questions.

[@drpetike]

Congrats Sir! The best 10 minute in the topic. This should be compulsary content to view for anyone who wants to start in this area. Well done!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I really appreciate that! Clear skies and let me know if you ever have any questions!

[@astrodad656]

Excellent, as always. Appreciate the straightforward and detailed explanation.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks for taking the time to let me know that! I appreciate your support!

[@hozaifashakeel7758]

wow man🔥🔥🔥🔥 u upload the best astrophotography tutorials.🔥🔥🔥

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I'm glad you enjoy them. Astrophotography is a wonderful part of this hobby and hopefully I can do a small part in helping to get people into it. Take care and clear skies!

[@astrovert.ed2321]

The best video out there. No BS, only BS (bias stacking).

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Haha! I like that!

[@PatEloBap]

perfect video, simple, straight to the point, thanks!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I really appreciate that!

[@EagleNebulaa]

Wauw, You are so well spoken not to fast not to slow... just perfect, explained everything i needed to know and more!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks so much! Stop back by if you ever have any questions!

[@bobvila1010]

Excellent tutorial! Merci beaucoup! Well done!!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

You are quite welcome! Take care!

[@alejandrobrenes6101]

Thank god! Finally someone who explains it in a clearly way!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

That is kind of you to say! Thanks and let me know if you have any questions.

[@DavidLilja]

Great video for explaining the difference and how to take the different frames. Appreciated!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

You're welcome. Clear skies and keep me updated on how your astrophotography goes.

[@paigebradley2490]

Wonderful video! Thanks!!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

That's very kind of you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@mentallama9123]

thanks man! well edited and detailed. especially liked the slides with written info so i can save them for later

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I appreciate your comment and am glad that helped to show you the process.

[@beerandbrat]

No one in any tutorials I have found on YT describe what these items are, mean, or how to achieve. Not even on post processing software websites do they explain. they all just assume you know what you are doing. So for the complete beginner, like me, your video was AWESOME! thanks so much from a new subscriber.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I appreciate you saying that and for your support of my channel! I hope your journey into astrophotography is rewarding!

[@overlordpres]

Appreciate the time you put into these lessons. They help me a lot. Subscribed. :)

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thank you for your support and keep me updated on what you are viewing and imaging!

[@nebulahound]

Had no clue about why these were important, nor about how to undertake them. Not only do I know now, but I also received useful information on what to expect and how much of each is needed. Very useful video. Thank you.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks very much! Stop back by if you ever have any questions!

[@avt_astro206]

Great Tutorial!! Thanks, I have Just, started to learn How To use Deep Sky Stacker. In My Work Flow I usually Take a Light Frames And Flats, I ignore Darks, Super Useful For Me!!🌌🔭

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks for the positive feedback! I'll have the video out walking through deep sky stacker in about a week. Let me know if you have any questions along the way!

[@alexandremueller6236]

This was an awesome tutorial! Thank you so much for the help!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

My pleasure! Thanks for your comment!

[@kryptox1424]

A very good Video. THANKS !

[@LateNightAstronomy]

You're very welcome! Let me know if you ever have any questions!

[@Katzenrads]

Thanks a lot for this tutorial. Good one!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

You're welcome!

[@Unlockfilm]

This is EXACTLY the video I've been searching for on this topic. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this to us beginners!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I'm glad you found it helpful.

[@nxu5107]

Charles’s book is a masterpiece. I recommend that to anyone. Thanks for the mention.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I couldn't agree with you more!

[@willdobson79]

Thanks. Great tutorial

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@spamcan9208]

I like the trick of putting the camera into aperture priority and letting it do the work for you. Nice video, it was to the point with no rambling and very helpful.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I appreciate you saying that! I've found the more direct things are regarding astrophotography the better. Especially for those who are just getting into the hobby! Clear skies!

[@spamcan9208]

@@LateNightAstronomy Yes, it's very overwhelming at first. There are a lot of new terms, concepts and disciplines to learn. I'm VERY picky when it comes to KZbin subscriptions but I subscribed to yours because it's a solid channel. Keep up the good work, I appreciate it.

[@justindesilets3526]

just subbed! very useful video! thanks!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks for the sub!

[@yonatan8834]

That was really well explained and helpful, thank you!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I appreciate that! let me know if you ever have any questions about AstroPhotography!

[@philipgowdy]

Great Info..

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks very much!

[@zamba3612]

This a really informative video and I like how you paced it slowly and clearly without fanfare

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I appreciate you letting me know that! Take care and clear skies!

[@jebediahkerman5770]

amazing...............................

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thank you so much 😀

[@MADHIKER777]

Very clear explanation! Thanks!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@rollosnook3031]

Brilliant, clear and simple, definitely understand it now :)

[@LateNightAstronomy]

That's exactly what I love to hear! Clear skies!

[@tekkietekkie]

Nicely done, exactly the topic I was trying to figure out as a newbie.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Glad to hear that. Let me know if you have any questions along the way!

[@martynh5410]

Great information and extremely clearly described. Although I’m using a dedicated Astro camera and not a DSLR, it looks like everything still applies. The only thing different will be the flat frames as my iPhone isn’t going to be large enough for illuminating the tee shirt on an 8” telescope!! I can probably build something to do it. Thanks for the great video.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Glad you enjoyed it. I've heard of people using an "iPad" to illuminate larger optics. Hope astro imaging keeps going well for you!

[@theaveragenick5554]

Thanks so much. Clear and to the point.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Are you getting into astrophotography or currently out imaging some things?

[@cristianponce5389]

Thanks! Very clear information.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

You're Welcome!

[@balamena]

Very helpful... grateful...thank you so much

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Glad you enjoyed it. Clear skies!

[@Jaymz007]

Great video. It was very informative and helpful

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks for letting me know. If you have any questions, please stop back by.

[@SergeiKotikov]

Man, thanks a lot for opening my eyes to the wonderful Bahtinov mask! I've started doing astrophotography recently and I'm always struggling to focus my teles well, and it ends up taking a lot of time. Seems like I can try and mitigate this with a couple of 3D printed grids now.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I'm glad you found it helpful. I love simple and affordable solutions like the Bahtinov Mask for something as complicated as astrophotography.

[@SergeiKotikov]

@@LateNightAstronomy Yeah, it's a clever thing - dunno why I've never heard about it before. Live and learn!

[@nataliebroomfield6750]

i will sharing on linked in..im inspire..job well done

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I appreciate that and clear skies!

[@22JakeWalker]

This was so helpful! Thank you

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I appreciate you letting me know that! Are you getting into astrophotography or been out to image anything lately?

[@dankoons5577]

excellent presentation. You are easy to listen to with your tempo

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thank you!

[@aaparky7039]

Really very useful, many thanks, peace and love from Scotland

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I appreciate that and best wishes to my friends in Scotland!

[@Paul-mx4fi]

Great video/tutorial. What Bortle scale do you normally shoot from? Also, considering the length of time to record the sequences - are you using an AC to DC power pack for your camera or does your battery - when fully charge - last the session?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks and good questions. I shoot under bortle 5 skies and just currently started using a CLS light pollution filter to help with light pollution and increase my exposure times. I have 3 DSLR batteries and normally go through 2 during most nights of imaging.

[@book3100]

Hey, just wanted to say I finally got enough of the basic ingredients together to get started with some basic imaging! Now the weather has to give me a break lol

[@LateNightAstronomy]

The clouds always come around right when we get everything in line for some observing or imaging! Best of luck to you and keep me updated on how things go.

[@book3100]

@@LateNightAstronomy I will do that

[@letszoomit365]

Thanks! Just became a follower 🤩 I am really looking forward to try take som astro images this year, Wan to try a little bit of different objects from milky way to orion nebula and the Andromeda galaxy. I´m not sure I will succeed but I hope I can at least get something 😄👍

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Best of luck to you and stop back by to let me know how things are going for you!

[@letszoomit365]

@@LateNightAstronomy I will let you know, just dont expect to much or too soon 😅👍

[@mikelockwood2104]

Good job....enjoyed it

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thank you! This was one took a while to put together and I'm excited to get it posted!

[@MarvelousLXVII]

Great video. I just ordered my life long dream of astrophotography equipment after saving for years and can't wait to get started.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Congratulations on your purchase! Please let me know of any questions you have along the way and how things are going for you.

[@MarvelousLXVII]

@@LateNightAstronomy Thank you it just came in. I might give it a whirl tonight and embarrass myself with my lack of skills lol.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

@@MarvelousLXVII We all started in the exact same position you are in. I was equally overwhelmed and excited the first time I went out to image the night sky!

[@MarvelousLXVII]

@@LateNightAstronomy I have Celestron 80ED that I have never looked-through. I've had it for probably 15 years. Never had a mount for it or a tripod that could hold it. I hooked it to the HEQ5 and of course looked at the moon and it blew me away how good the optics are. I was worried that this telescope would not be a good fit for astrophotography until I hooked my Canon up to it and snapped a few pictures. They turned out perfectly. I can't wait to try this rig on a DSO this weekend. Thanks for the encouraging words.

[@davidweir3917]

The best explanation ever 👍👍👍

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I really appreciate you saying that! Have you been out to image anything lately?

[@hulk7861]

You've earned a lifelong sub

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thank you so much!

[@Livewithlens]

Loved the T-shirt part

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Haha! Thank You!

[@mattwalkerncl]

I’m just about to embark on Astro photography - this video and your explanation process is just perfect. Thanks so much for posting!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Glad it was helpful! I appreciate your comment and please let me know if you have any questions along the way. I just started to heavily dive into this about 3 years ago. It's a great hobby!

[@MrMAReitz]

Great videos and thank you for sharing your knowledge. How do you determine what ISO to use?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I found a website that suggested the best iso to get the best dynamic range for my camera, the canon sl2. For most objects I shoot at iso 400. For very faint deep sky objects I will sometimes shoot at iso 800.

[@wwaqashussain]

Very helpful thanks

[@LateNightAstronomy]

You're welcome!

[@bigdaddygerb]

Excellent tutorial, thank you so much! Question: should in-camera noise reduction be disabled for all these?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Yes, it should be! Take care and let me know if you have anymore questions.

[@PeterMaddison2483]

I only thought we took light & dark frames, this has educated me quite a bit.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I'm glad you found it helpful! Let me know if you have any questions in the future!

[@KL-xr2lc]

Many thanks! am learning and this is of great help! quick question, does the Light, Flat, Bias & Dark have to be in sequence? Thanks!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

No, they don't. Light Frames are always the most important so shoot them first. After that I do light frames because you want the focus and orientation to match the light frames. The order after that is easiest for me to do but may vary for others.

[@aco2518]

Thank you so much!!! I just took my first images for astrophotography and I was so confused when the program asked me for all this strange terms lol.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I'm so glad this video helped you out!

[@RayPaganJr]

I would like to get into this hobby. I’m not into photography or how to use any kind of photo software. Just your typical taking pictures here and there throughout my everyday living. Im glad I stumbled into your video. I’ve seen others using lights and shirts on their lens and would wonder what the heck they were doing. I still haven’t purchased a telescope or a mount, just have a Nikon D90 and cheap tripod. Living in light polluted suburb is what I’m dealing with. Anyway, I am going to like and subscribe, purchase the recommended book and hope I will succeed. I am retired and need a third hobby. Thanks for this much needed video.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I appreciate your support of this channel. I started out with a DSLR and Tripod about 5 years ago doing star trails and testing the waters before I put more money into it. Check out my astrophotography playlist for more info on products to get you started!

[@hobbeeswe7472]

What an excellent educational video for us noobs, thank you!! Of course you have to decide where to draw the line from a details perspective and I believe you made an excellent choice. I am a little bit puzzled though since my Canon EOS D70 has Bulb mode on the program selector button and I run it with an ASIAIR Plus.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thank you! Do you have a remote shutter release controller to adjust the length of exposure you want to take?

[@hobbeeswe7472]

@@LateNightAstronomy Yes I bought one, but I can control it perfectly via ASIAIR Plus in "Bulb" mode. The main issue I have is that the scope has clear pictures when used for visual, but as soon as I fit the field flattener and camera, sharpness flies right out the window... bummer... So now I plan to use my D70 with a 70-200 lens (like in your video (withou ASIAIR Plus and EAF focuser etc). So can you suggest a good way to fasten it to my Sky-Watcher EQ6R Pro, will a simple dovetail Vixen with som stability mod be ok?

[@harunkhan549]

Nice tutorial. I recently watched it & subscribed. I need to know 2 things. You mentioned while shooting Flat Frames I must use 3 original setting, i.e. RAW quality, ISO & F# and change shooting mode to AV from Manual. What about position of camera & tripod? And can i shoot these indoor later with 3 original settings? Second question, how did you turn IPhone background brightness to 100%? Did you use an App to do it? Thanks.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Keep the position and orientation of the equipment the same. Best to shoot it outside with everything still in its original shooting state! I downloaded a picture of a white background and turn the brightness up to 100 percent under display settings. Great questions and thanks for your support.

[@michakubisz535]

Wonderful tutorial, thank you very much. I'm totally new to AP and just tried twice with some Milky Way pictures in my garden. I'm afraid my light frames are so poor yet that there won't be a lot of difference with flats, darks and biases... but we will see :) There's a lot of work to do to improve my photography skills and make better "lights". PS. What software do you use to postprocess photos after stacking? Good old PS, or is there any alternative?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Glad you enjoyed it and keep up the good work with testing the waters of Astrophotography. I use a program called Deep Sky Stacker and PixInsight for my post processing. Check out my channel for some tutorial on how to use those as well!

[@michakubisz535]

@@LateNightAstronomy Thank you. I've already found and watched this great tutorial on PixInsight and I'm definitely going to go through it step by step, as soon as I get some new material to work with (based on this particular tutorial of course). You are my guide into AP! Take care :)

[@GooberGoof]

Thanks so much for making an easy to understand video! I'm learning how to do Astrophotography for my degree and lots of videos go way too complex with little explanation so your channel has been very helpful for me! I was wondering though for the Flat Frames do you keep the shutter speed at the same speed as it was for the light frames or can it be changed?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks so much! For the flat frames I move the camera to AV mode which will create the proper exposure for the flat white surface.

[@GooberGoof]

@@LateNightAstronomy Ah of course, you said that in the video 😅 Sorry I'm still getting used to Canon's at the moment so completely forgot that's Apperture Priority Mode, thanks so much for the speedy reply!

[@RobertoPhoto]

Fantastic tutorial, thank you very much! As a newbie I would like to ask if it would be better logistically to take the different shots in the following sequence? 1, lightframes 2, Dark frames 3, Bias frames 4, Flat frames This way you don't need to adjust the camera after the light frames just put on the cap and take the Bias frames. Then you adjust the shutter to the fastest and take the darks. Finally change to Av mode and do the "T-shirt trick shots" for the flats. Thanks, Roberto

[@LateNightAstronomy]

You can go a number of ways with this. Do what works best for you but I've found doing the darks last is the best for me because I can go inside and get ready for bed or even go to sleep while it is still shooting darks if I know the weather is 100% clear for the night. Now, darks need to be roughly the same temperature so you probably can't let it run all night, but if it's shooting for an hour or so getting darks while I'm counting sheep, that's a win win in my book :)

[@RobertoPhoto]

@@LateNightAstronomy Ahh, it make sense now! Unfortunately I need to drive at least 1/2 hour from my home to get a decent place without too much light pollution - So leaving the camera out to take darks alone is not an option here, but I'll keep it in mind for the times when I travel and will be able to let the camera do it's job while I sleep. :) Thanks again!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

@@RobertoPhoto Best of luck to you and stop back by to let me know how your imaging is going!

[@TyppiHappo7]

Hi! This is a GREAT video, thank you so much! Your explanation is very clear. I photographed the comet C/2022 E3 ZTF using this method and it worked really well. I'm satisfied with the results. I have a question: are dark frames to be taken using the same zoom? In other words: during the same stargazing night, can I take darks only once, and use them for the stacking process of different objects at different zooms? (Taking the temperature as constant)

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks so much. Dark Frames will work as long as the ISO, Exposure length and outdoor temperature are the same for the night you are shooting.

[@TyppiHappo7]

Thank you!

[@tedtbc4261]

Good presentation. You advocate taking what seems to be a lot of calibration frames. Have you tested to see where the the break even point is?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thank you! Books I've read on the topic have said the more the merrier but obviously time and equipment restraints start to set in as a practical limitation. Also you get diminishing returns. Going from 1 to 2 frames and 2 to 4 for a stacking improvement is a lot easier to justify than going from 64 to 128 to continue that same type of improvement.

[@AstroRef68]

I learn so much from you as a begener very helpful video .

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Glad to hear that! Let me know any questions you have along the way.

[@AstroRef68]

@@LateNightAstronomy I’m sure I’ll have questions soon I will begin.

[@tommccrorie8022]

Thanks for this. Looks like I have been using Polar Align Pro all wrong LOL. Now sorted for tonight!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I'm very glad you found it helpful. Please let me know if you have anymore questions!

[@AstroRef68]

I'm new to this video and you explained it very well. T

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thank you very much.

[@AstroRef68]

@@LateNightAstronomy You are welcome

[@georgedicker9789]

Hi :) amazing video. I'm very new to this so excuse my ignorance. Do you change the exposure from finishing lights to stating on flats? You say only change to av but also said you did 20 seconds on each light so do you hold you phone at the end of the camera for another 70 images at 20 seconds? Thanks alot :)

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Great question on some complicated stuff! The only time you need to match the exposure length is for the dark frames. Flat frames with the T-Shirt and white light are in AV mode and the bias frames are with the lens cap on at 4,000 shutter speed or so. Let me know if you need more clarification or have any more questions!

[@pushkarshendre4274]

Wow man you grow my interest in astronomy

[@LateNightAstronomy]

That's why I do what I do here! Thanks for taking the time to let me know that and clear skies!

[@Shadowboy347]

How do you know how many Flat, Bias,and Dark frames to take? This video and others of yours was Super Helpful! I do have other questions... lol

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks so much and good question. You reach diminising returns eventually. Part of it depends on the length of your light frames but I've found around 75 to be the sweet spot for my equipment. Anything more and I have a hard time noticing a difference in how they clean things up.

[@brizzez]

Great detailed explanation, thanks! one question, wouldn't it be more logical to take them in this sequence, 1 Lights - 2 Darks - 3 - Flats - 4 Bias, since you need the same setting for darks, and then start to fiddle with the settings ?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Yes, that would work just fine. I tend to save darks for last because I like to be able to go inside and get ready for bed while the darks shoot away. Then I come back out and pack up right before bed with nothing left to do other than bringing things inside. I also like getting flats first because flats really need the orientation and lens focus to be the same. I worry that I may knock or accidently change focus if I wait to long into the evening. It's all a balancing act, if temperatures are changing drastically, I'll do darks first for example.

[@archaja]

Thanks. Fine made, good spoken! Some questions: Would it not be easier to take the Dark frames immediately after the Lights? Just put the lens cap on and press again the remote control. After that the Flats and at the end the Bias frames? Less changings necessary. And to the Flats: My mobile is smaller than the front of my lense. Is that a problem? And I would take the pictures also with the remote control, think it is more easy than to make it by pressing the button in the camera.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Great questions. I like taking the flats and bias first because they take more effort to do. Once those are done I can setup the remote to shoot the darks and then head inside to relax and get ready for bed while the darks shoot away. Then when the darks are done, all I have to do is pack up and call it a night. If you are shooting on a lens like the 135 it shouldn't matter if you are using the bright white screen of a large phone. If you are shooting with a telescope it probably wouldn't uniformly cover the fabric enough.

[@alanr1476]

Can I ask if the calibration frames are just as important for Mirrorless cameras? Not sure if it makes any difference? Excellent video!!!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

This is a good question. Having not used a mirrorless camera my best educated guess is yes due to similar effects going on with the sensor of a DSLR and Mirrorless camera regardless of their mechanical differences. Are you out imaging anything right now or just getting into astrophotography?

[@Polaris97]

Easy to understand. Thank you! 😊

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Anytime. I'm glad you found it helpful! Do you do any astrophotography?

[@Polaris97]

@@LateNightAstronomy yes. Just started recently 😊 I was trying to stack but stacking softwares has that requirements before stacking

[@LateNightAstronomy]

@@Polaris97 Congrats on getting into astrophotography. I just posted a video on how to use DeepSkyStacker if you are interested. It's pretty much a Pt 2 to this video.

[@Polaris97]

@@LateNightAstronomy great! I was using that yesterday that's why I look for a video about calibration frames hehe. Never thought dss is very hard for first time users

[@LateNightAstronomy]

@@Polaris97 Clear skies and stay in touch about how astrophotography is going for you!

[@harryl9077]

Hey great video. everything one needs to know in a relatively short time. One question, would it not be better to take the dark frames strait ofter the light frames, when sensor and camera are still "hot" from the long exposures? Also if I take 200 light frames, what would be the minimum number of dark frames you suggest? at 200x20 another 100 I would need to go to work (((-: Thanks again for a great video

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks and great point. The simple truth is that I like to take the dark frames last because it gives me time to start to pack everything else up and get ready for bed while the camera finishes up the long process of taking dark frames. The Flat and Bias Frames don't take to long so I don't think it would make to much of a difference on the sensor as long as the outdoor temperature is roughly the same. There are diminishing returns with each additional dark frame taken. I like to aim for 50 to 75 for longer exposure times and 150 or so for shorter exposures. Really just depends on how much time I have and how much the temperature has changed throughout the night.

[@cosmoscarl4332]

You should have mentioned that longer exposures at the proper ISO setting also results in higher signal to noise especially when using a DSLR on a telescope at a pre determined focal ratio. Also, guiding is necessary for longer exposures. You're only going to get so much detail out of thirty second exposures, even if you stack multiple short exposures. There's just not a high enough signal to noise ratio, even with calibration frames to cancel out unwanted noise. It's all about aperture. I recommend small Newtonians or Ritchey Cretien designed reflectors. Aperture is king and you can capture a lot more photons,(signal), with a six inch reflector than you ever can with a 60 millimeter camera lens. You could spend 4,000 dollars on multi element 60 millimeter camera lens and still not get the performance that you could get out of a six inch reflector. And they're probably close to the same weight.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Aperture is king for visual observing but I've been very surprised and pleased at the capabilities of the 135mm lens shooting at f/2 for long exposure astrophotography! I've found using a DSLR and Lens to be a wonderful and fairly budget friendly entry into this hobby. Also, shooting 30 second to 1 minute exposures at f/2 under my bortle 5 skies is the max I can do before light pollution engulfs the entire image. If I were under darker skies or needed exposure times beyond a minute a guide scope would definitely help. Thanks for your suggestions and clear skies!

[@HimachoPhotography]

Very Helpful! Thanks

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Glad it was helpful! Do you do any imaging?

[@HimachoPhotography]

@@LateNightAstronomy Actually I just started doing Astro Photography and so I Read All the Important Stuff then after I will go on to the shoot Mode and easily learn the way you present the all the stuff...Can I get your Insta Handle?

[@HimachoPhotography]

Also want to know one more thing that in Flat,Bias and Dark we will also Cover up viewfinder?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

@@HimachoPhotography I do not cover up the viewfinder but a friend in my local club does. It's never impacted my calibration frames but you could experiment with it's impact on your images.

[@HimachoPhotography]

Ok Thanks Mate :)

[@petertrahan9785]

I love your videos. Keep up the great work! Do you notice that you benefit from using dark frames when shooting with modern DSLR lenses? I have been reading articles by Roger Clark who claims to be a PhD from MIT who works for NASA reviewing imaging equipment for space missions and has been doing astrophotography as a hobby for 40 years. He says the dark current subtraction that is being done at the sensor level nowadays is 100x times what it was just several years ago and that dark frame subtraction is just not necessary these days. I am brand new to the hobby so I don't have an opinion but I have seen remarkable images from very experienced folks using DSLR cameras who say they don't bother with legacy calibration techniques. Have you come across this at all in your experience?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks for your comment! Thanks for putting that thought in my head. I may do some adjustments and experiment a bit next time I'm out imaging.

[@user-hi3qg5nm1e]

Very useful video congratulations i have aderstent al steps for taking calibration frames

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Glad you found it helpful! Clear skies!

[@user-hi3qg5nm1e]

@@LateNightAstronomy thanks

[@user-hi3qg5nm1e]

@@LateNightAstronomy Please can you create a video with lagoon nebula

[@user-hi3qg5nm1e]

@@LateNightAstronomy Can you create a video of lagoon nebula and all nebula in this area in the center of the galaxy that you captured???????

[@user-hi3qg5nm1e]

@@LateNightAstronomy can you create a video with beginners issues in astrophotography final images ,for example dust shadows and veinieting , very noisy image,and other issues???????

[@varadjahagirdar3329]

Such a Detailed Explaination Thanks a lot. 1 Silly Query for Bias and Dark Frames f (Aperture) should be kept same as Light Frames?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Good question. Yes, keep your F-stop the same throughout the process.

[@varadjahagirdar3329]

@@LateNightAstronomy Thanks a lot. 👍🏻

[@NorthOfSweden_Astro]

Thanks for this fantastic video! Must it be the exact same time for each exposures? Or can you adjust time and iso while shooting?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

For more advanced post processing, you can adjust the time for light frames to bring out various levels of brightness for a bright target like the Orion Nebula for example but I tend to keep it more simple and just shoot the same exposure throughout.

[@NorthOfSweden_Astro]

@@LateNightAstronomy Thanks! Trying out Ngc 7635 right now. Don't have any filters yet, only a 700D with removed filter on a eq3 pro with 150pds. Basic stuff but its all a process of learning.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

@@NorthOfSweden_Astro That's a great setup you've got there. A CLS filter did well for me under light polluted skies.

[@NorthOfSweden_Astro]

@@LateNightAstronomy Thanks for the tip!:)

[@kevinjack5184]

Very detailed video. What if I have a filter on for my Lights? Do I remove it or leave it for the other frames?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thank you! Leave it on for the other frames. It really only matters for the Flats but I just leave it on all night.

[@othonbenavente1876]

I have been struggling with these calibration frames so I really appreciate the insight. Specifically, I find that my camera will not take the dark frames because it decided there is not enough light to capture an image. There must be some setting I am missing. Same thing when I was trying to capture bias frames. I am also struggling with the ASIair. It writes jpg and fit files. Do I load both into Deep Sky Stacker? Or just the Fit frames? It really is a steep learning curve, but the challenge also makes it exciting. Appreciate your help here.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Are you shooting in Manual Mode for the dark and bias frames?

[@othonbenavente1876]

@@LateNightAstronomy That was probably the problem. Tried again last night and it all worked just fine. Thank you very much.

[@sykyyy]

Hello, fine video! What a wire trigger do you use for your camera?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

It is a remote timer shutter release that I bought off of amazon.com. I believe it is from Neewer and cost about 30 dollars.

[@sykyyy]

@@LateNightAstronomy okay, thank you for you answer!

[@tomedward8652]

Might be a stupid question, but if you forget how many Bias and Dark photos you took, how do you know the difference when putting them into deep sky stacker (I assume they are both just black images)?. Is there a way of saving them in a different folder on the camera so you know which were Bias and which were Dark? Great tutorial by the way, very clear and concise.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Great question and thanks for your compliment! I use a program called Digital Photo Professional 4 to preview the files on my PC before putting them into DeepSkyStacker. This allows me to make sure everything came out well and organize them into the proper folders. Check out a video I just uploaded on DeepSkyStacker to go a bit more into the process you are asking about.

[@wil46nl]

I was thinking of simple idea, just writing down the timestamp that you started with the lights and before you start with the darks als write down the starting time etc. Then in the end you can see by the creation time of the files, which belongs to what.

[@aykit08]

You could just take them in a different order. Light, Dark, Flat, Bias - so when viewing them on the computer you’ll see image as, light, dark, light and dark, then just place them in their own folders.

[@billmarson5378]

Glad I found this video. But I have a question on the white tee shirt, iPhone technique. How do you turn on the white screen on your iPhone. When I search for this, all I find is how to turn off the "white screen kiss of death" but nothing on how to enable it. What's the trick??? Thanks!

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Bill, I just saw this but will answer here so others can see my response. I downloaded a white background from google that I keep in my phone's photo library, temporarily turn off the display auto lock and turned up the brightness to 100 percent.

[@manualbo1879]

Hi . Great video. But I thought and read in a lot of places that flats and biases are to be taken at the lowest iso possible. I’m still struggling to get rid of that samyang vigneting…

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Thanks so much. From what I have read in a book I got on astrophotography you want the flats and bias to be the same iso. That has gotten rid of most of the vignetting on my Samyang 135.

[@harveybc]

Interesting video. I've done a bit over a half dozen deep sky shoots so far and they turned out pretty good. I had an interesting problem on my last shoot, M31. When I stacked, using Siril, I got a lot of negative pixel rejections. I tried stacking using only bias and flats, same result. I then tried stacking with only the darks, same result. Finally I stacked without calibration frames and got as good of an image as I hoped for with my equipment. I checked the meta data on the frames to make sure I hadn't reversed my dark and bias, I hadn't. Finally, in similar conditions, re-shot the calibration frames and again got the negative pixel rejects. Does anyone have any idea of what went wrong? (FWIW, I am using Siril instead of DeepSkyStacker because it failed to stack the last time I tried to use it.)

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Having never used Siril, I'm not sure what might be going on. But either way I'm glad you ended up with a great final image.

[@harveybc]

@@LateNightAstronomy it is a real puzzler. I started using a program, DeepSkyStacker or something like that. Not sure of the name. It worked good for a few but I had one that would get to the last stage in the image creating process and just seem to freeze. After a 3rd attempt I gave up and tried Siril and got a good image. Either way it doesn't have the image editing capabilities of Siril. At least I couldn't figure out how to use them if it did have them and did all my edting in GIMP. I now have to do very little in GIMP.

[@randyhess1658]

Thanks for the information. Since the flat, bias and dark frames are taken with a shirt or the lens cap on, can you shoot these later?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Yes, but make sure the temperature is the same for the darks and the orientation is the same for the flats. I normally shoot them at the end of my night imaging.

[@Teknoman300]

Will there be a different process if instead of a regular lens but a telescope SCT 8in at f/10? Because I have been trying and failing. Great video now at least I know what to do.

[@LateNightAstronomy]

The process should be similar if your mount is equitorial, polar aligned and tracking.

[@alanalain4884]

Hi, Thank you for the video. 2 or 3 questions come to my mind though. First, should we change focus for any of these calibration frames ? By the way, I guess that if you're on a tracker, you can turn it off for taking all these calibration frames, no ? Also, since the dark frames should be taken at the same sensor temperature than the light frames, wouldn't it make sense to start taking dark frames right after light frames, and only then the flat and bias which may heat the sensor even more, since both in successive fast sequences of 50 to 100 shots each ? And last, aren't the dark frames supposed to be taken in equal amount than the light frames ? Thanks for any insight...

[@LateNightAstronomy]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Keep the focus the same throughout all steps of the process, even though it really doesn't matter for the bias and dark frames. Yes, turn off the tracker once you are on these final steps. Yes, taking the dark frames right after the lights would be the best thing to do. I tend to save that for last so I can go back inside and get ready for bed while the darks are doing there thing. On most nights it won't make much of a difference but you are right that darks after lights would be best.

[@alanalain4884]

@@LateNightAstronomy Thank you for your useful insights. Best...

[@ediksidorov5037]

Hey great video man thanks alot you saved me! One quick question, i took 30 light frames 90 seconds exposure each of andromeda and before that i took some 30 frames but with 60 seconds exposure, when i finished the 30 frames of 90 seconds exposure my camera went out of juice, so now i have 30 light frames of 90 seconds exposure and 30 frames of dark frames with 60 seconds exposure the question is can i stack the 90 seconds with 60 seconds dark frames?

[@LateNightAstronomy]

Good question. I believe for the darks to work best they should line up with the light frames in terms of exposure time. But, I would encourage you to stack everything with just the light frames and then stack it a again with including the dark frames. Do some stretching and testing in Photoshop or PixInsight to see if it made any difference. I don't think it would hurt the image, but I don't know how much it would help it either! It's a bit more work to do that but it's better than losing the dark frames you put time and effort into. Let me know how things work out!

[@ediksidorov5037]

@@LateNightAstronomy totally forgot to replay hehe, so looks like it was better with only light frames