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Rob, I gotta weigh in here
too...
First of all, I guess it depends on your
interpretation on what "wide field" is. _Most_ of us "film guys" don't
think of an ST-10/300mm lens shot as wide field. I'm not necessarily thinking
that it has to be a constellation-sized shot, but certainly a larger field shot
than a pic that just *barely* covers the extent of the California neb, for
instance.
Now before statements are made that "CCD gives much
better ...."
Let me say that I'm planning on
CCD myself soon. Most likely an ST-10E using optics ranging
from my 12" SCT on down to several telephoto lenses. I live in a light
polluted area also (10 miles N of Boston), so CCD is *very* attractive for a
number of reasons. And while I am currently lurking there, I do subscribe to the
SBIG and FLI lists. Once I'm 'up and running', I plan to actively participate on
one or more of those CCD lists.
But many people interested in this hobby start out in
_film_ astrophotography. And that's what the APML is _supposed_ to be
about. And generally, the films themselves keep getting better and better, but
fewer people are exploring this end of astrophotography. That's a shame. Unless
very large prints are planned in conjunction with the results from the better
CCD cameras, there are several current films that _do_ give CCD a run for it's
money, at least for some subjects in the kind of skies some people have good
access too. Usually with 'wide', but in some instances even with what most of us
would consider 'narrow' field shots. And with film, in most cases, for many
people it only involves adapting already existing photo equipment to
get good results. Much of our so-called "isolation" is due to how much $$
we are willing to commit to this hobby.
I've used MaxIm DL for some of my film work. So I can
_easily_ say I welcome CCD processing insight into this list for a variety of
reasons. There are many similarities in processing between the two mediums that
are only just beginning to be explored with
film.
Although I enjoy and look forward to your image
postings, I'd like to see more of your
processing tips or questions on images than another "here's my
latest..."
And as far a wide field mosaics, wasn't John Gleason's
recent SBIG post a film based image?: http://www.celestialimage.com/page21.html
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