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Re: [APML] Introduction & Film Question



Hi Dave,
 
Welcome to astrophotography.  It's a challenging but also rewarding hobby.  The best films available for astro work are slide films, Kodak E-200 and Fuji Provia 400.  They can be scanned on your scanner (I have the 1640 that works well).  However, slide film needs to be exposed correctly to get good pictures.  Too long exposures create "sky fog" where the dark sky is too light.  This reduces the range of image "signal".  You can experiment with long exposures to find how long you can shoot with your scope in your skies, then note that time as you maximum limit.  On the short exposure side, a dark slide is difficult for the scanner to scan.  There's no set minimum exposure time because it depends on how bright the target is.
 
There are other films used by astrophotographers with varying results, but the consensus is the above films are best for now.  There are a few color negative films being used, but they can be hard to find - Konica 400 Centuria and Fuji SHQ200.  The SHQ200 sometimes is carried by Walmart.  It isn't as sensitive to red nebula as the E200 and Provia400.  Color negative film is much easier to scan and is much less likely to reach a sky fog limit.
 
Good Luck,
Don
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