Deep Sky Astrophotography - Using and Making Bahtinov Masks
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- čas přidán 26. 07. 2024
- The website in the video which hosted the mask generator is permanently down, but someone named Satoru Takagi has released a new online generator here: satakagi.github.io/tribahtino...
Learn about focusing for deep sky photography with a useful tool called the Bahtinov mask. Resources for this video can be found here:
nebulaphotos.com/resources/ba...
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Twitter: @nebulaphotos
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Music:
albatross by beat.dowsing is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
06:36 How to use a Bahtinov Mask
11:18 Live demo
13:32 Comparing 3D printed to generic commercial mask
14:28 Measuring the diameter of your telescope dew shield
15:59 Using Astro Jargon's Bahtinov Mask Generator
21:13 Using Tinkercad.com
Well, I did it: I found online Bahtinov mask generator, downloaded pdf file with mask image and printed it on dence paper, cut out and attached to lens. Tried to focus on tiny lamp, works fine!
mind sharing the pdf?
Excellent video, your explanations are very clear and easy to understand. More videos please, good job and many thanks
Steve UK
For those who use Canon models with wi-fi feature: there is dedicated android app which can allow you to precisely steup focus point remotely. For this who have older Canon models: there is Magic Lantern external software, you can use buttons on your camera instead to rotate focus ring.
Thank you so much! This is very educational and of much value. Kind regards from Germany!
Great video's, like to watch more in the future!!!
Nico, once again thanks for your clear explanation.
Thanks Jack! Clear skies, Nico
Wow, fantastic video.
Good job Nico!
thank you for this video. I have just bought a Celsetron Astromaster70AZ. i plan to get an adaptor to use my canon DSLR. this focusing aid is going to be very helpful.
Great pedagogical skills! thanks
For all the aligning you can select multiple objects (shift+click) and use the "align" menu in the upper right next to where you used "group" to do it precisely. Thanks for the great videos!
Michael Krizner thank you! Totally forgot about that
Great video! I did bathinov mask for my scope following the video, and it took me 15 minutes from the end of video to order in 3d printing service, for 30% less than mask from astro shop.
Fantastic Jan! And I bet it will work better than the non-custom one from the astro shop too!
Great video. Very clear. thanks
Very cool!
Thank you very much. As always, very very good videos.
Glad you like them Adrian! Clear skies, Nico
Thank you for this video NP! I've been using a Bahtinov for a few years now and always was concerned about the little stubby spikes that showed up 90 degrees to the long central spike. I always thought it was an issue with my telescope and didn't realize until I watched your video that not only is it normal, but it's bad if you DON'T see them 🤣What a relief! TYVM!
Thank you for this information
Thank you Nico I learned a lot!
Hi @NebulaPhotos, for TinkerCad, I find it easier to create the mask base with the same outside diameter as the ring and use the ring thickness to get the inside diameter. This eliminates all the fiddling looking for gaps between the ring and the base. I created my first one and love it. Many thanks for your tutorials! -Ray
Thank you so much!
Nico.. I find your style of explaining things so simple and informative - my wife reckons you’re my new hero 👍🏻
Keep up the great work man, and if you get chance, could you do a full polar align tutorial (without the polemaster) please?
There must be an easier way to do it than messing about with those clock circle things? 🤣
Keep on keeping on, and clear skies bro ✌🏻
A full polar alignment video is on my list, but at my slow rate of making videos, it could be a long time before I get around to it. So, in the mean time, let me try to help! First watch this part of my deep sky setup video: czcams.com/video/ksFO3d6XvH0/video.html
That "rough" polar alignment can be all you need. That is all I did before I got the polemaster. The clock circle things don't really matter as long as you get an app that tells you where polaris should be on the circle for your mount. If you have an iPhone, get Polar Scope Align Pro: apps.apple.com/us/app/polar-scope-align-pro/id970161373
If you have Android, get Polar Finder: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.techhead.polarfinder&hl=en_US
If you don't have a smartphone, then you will have to learn the clock circle thing or use a different polar alignment method like "Sharp Cap" (there should be videos on this if you search.)
Let me know if you have any other questions, and I'd be happy to answer.
Nebula Photos hello Nico..
thank you for your reply, advice and the links 👍🏻
Quick question..
When I polar align, do I rotate the RA until 6 o’clock is at the bottom of the view in my polar scope, line up with the info on PS Align Pro and reset RA to home?
Thank you again man..
Rory. ✌🏻
@@specialized415 No need to rotate the RA. Just use the Alt/Az adjustments to put polaris as it appears on to the circle in PS Align Pro. Ignore all numbers, etc.
Nebula Photos thank you very much nico.. it’s going to be clear here on Saturday night and 0% moon - I can hardly contain myself 👍🏻✌🏻
Thank you for the helpful video. I had questions about a few of the fearures of masks which you answerred clearly. I wondered why some maske were made with different slot spacings and slot widths and whether it made much difference. Now I have slot spacing & width preference and I know why.
thank you I just used this video to make two different sized mask
Awesome!
I give it a C. Montgomery Burns rating of Excellent! If only all tutorials were this great...
Glad you enjoyed it!
On TinkerCad, i recommend making friends with the align tool, it's right next to import button :) Shift select two or more objects you wish to align and click the button - guiding points appear.
gelisob thanks!! I swear I used to know that, but by the time I was making the video I totally forgot to use it
Awesome video. New to astrophotography. Starting out with some Sigma lenses. Question. One is a Sigma 150-600. Can one 3D mask work for the various focal lengths of the lens? Or would more than one be required for each focal length?
Thank you Nico. What do you think of live view batinov focusing with APT instead of taking images. Thanks Warren
Thanks for your excellent and informative videos! I am new to astrophotography but managed to take a picture of Orion nebula without tracker that i am proud of. Now that i have got myself a Star Adventurer and a Canon 200mm EF L 2.8 II lens to my DSLR i was wondering, since you have had the same lens, could you possibly share the file needed to 3d-print a bahtinov mask for the lens hood? And if anyone knows a 3d printing service in Sweden, please let me know. Thanks.
drive.google.com/file/d/1ecADtXCHGuwokhJ4dEdCbX6JreG8hz1N/view?usp=sharing
Here is the STL file I designed and printed for the 200mm lens hood. Please be aware that it probably won't work on a normal 3D printer that prints in PLA due to the very narrow spacing. I printed it in vinyl.
I greatly appreciate your excellent and practical videos on astrophotography. Others recommend the "zoom" method for focussing DSLRs, using live view video and a bright star zoomed 5 or 10 times. Does a Bahtinov mask typically give greater accuracy than that method?
Yes, you still zoom with live view with a bahtinov mask, but I think it is more accurate than just trying to make the star as small as possible due to the fallibility of human vision. The most accurate is likely computer-assisted v-curve focusing, but that is more expensive.
@@NebulaPhotos Thanks!
I just discovered this helpful video. For my Canon 70-200mm L and/or Canon 100-400mm L do I place a bahtinov mask directly on the lens itself or on the lens hood, which I assume serves like the dew shield you mentioned. Thanks.
Yep, on the lens hood. It will work either way, but for astrophotography, you will want to have the lens hood on to keep out stay light and prevent dew. It's fine for the Bahtinov mask to be a few inches away from the front of the lens.
great video budy , i'm BINCH WATCHING your video's :D
are there any Bathtinov Filters for DSLR's aswell ?
yesterday i photographed a closeup of engravings in a wedding ring , and noticed a slight color diffraction on the tiny edges the engravement,
when focussing it chanced color from reddish to the thru color at perfect focus and bleu when i overshooted the focus .
love the deep technical/ physic behind it also very intresting .
thank you for the top quality video's !
grtzz Geerts Johny
Yes, you can get threaded like a lens filter (check Amazon and ebay) but if you were focusing indoors, you would need an artificial star quite far away to use one. Also they only work for infinity focus
I just got one from Amazon, made by Farpoint Astro. It snaps into a UV filter, and I had to pry the third contact point in for a tight, level fit. Therefore, if you want to keep a UV filter on for protection at other times, I suggest getting another one dedicated for the Bahtinov mask and keeping the mask mounted in it. Mine is 72mm.
@@NebulaPhotos thanks alot Nico for your reply !
Great video and learnings , and your narration is so nice to listen to .
Realy enjoy and always watch till the end.
Grtzz Geerts Johny
Nice u got motorized focuser. How do u like that one? Could u give review on it?
Seems nice, still learning it. I will probably do a review eventually, but it might be a while. If you have any specific questions in the mean time, let me know.
thanks! Astrojargon site does not work, do you have an alternate site to generate the mask?
Hi, Thanks for spelling this out! I am trying to follow this to make my own. In my case, I am fitting a camera lens, not a telescope. At around 15:40 you show how to measure the outer diameter. Then you state the diameter of the "clear aperture" of your scope is 86mm, but we don't see how you measured that. What exactly is the "clear aperture"? I presume it is something I can measure with a ruler, but what part/feature of a camera lens should I measure? This is fun!
Not sure if this is too late for you, but to work out the Aperture field, take the [Focal Length] / [f-value]. So for example a 300mm focal length divided by your fastest aperture, f/4 = 75. Put 75 in the Aperture field. I used the Canon EF 75-300 f/4-5.6 in this example assuming you would zoom to 300mm @ f/4. Hope that makes sense.
Tremendous video...may I ask a favor. Can you create a video showing your workflow for a basic capture of M42? I am new to DSO imaging however have been doing planetary imaging a few years. Your videos are perfect for my level of attention and detail. Please keep up the good work.
Hi Patrick,
Yes, one idea I've had is a video showing basic capture of an easier DSO like M42 with just a DSLR and no autoguiding/ no laptop. And then show basic stacking/processing with free software like DeepSkyStacker and GIMP. Is that sort of what you would be looking for? If so, I could probably have it done by the end of year.
Nico
@@NebulaPhotos that is exactly what I am looking for. I am interested in the basic capture via a DSLR and what the data should look like in the raw from beginning to end. Again...thank you.
@@revpatrickchand Hi Patrick, I have finished the video you requested. It is here: czcams.com/video/Qb1ceFM-DkQ/video.html It ended up being quite long to cover everything. Hope it is close to what you are looking for. Thanks for the suggestion; keep them coming! Clear skies and happy new year! -Nico
The comment that started it all 😆
Hello Nico.
Great video, excellent explanations.
I have a question, can I design a mask that I can put outside the rubber sunshield on a 300mm lens as it was a telescope dew shield?
I think that if I use the mask and then I have to screw the rubber shield on the lens, I would ruin the focus achieved.
Thanks a lot
Yes, I design mine to fit loosely (not super snugly) on the outside of the sun shield/ lens hood and that works perfectly fine. The important thing is the pattern itself, the distance between the front lens element and the Bahtinov mask does not matter very much.
Thanks for excellent videos! I have that exact lens: Canon 200mm f2.8 II with (I think) the exact same lens hood. ET83-BII. Is there anyway to get hold of the 3D-template for that one?
Let me look for it and get back to you
Whoops, I'm sorry I never got back to you. Here it is: www.tinkercad.com/things/8XVPQzA38ui-bahtinov-200mm
@Jason C www.tinkercad.com/things/8XVPQzA38ui-bahtinov-200mm
@@NebulaPhotos No worries. Thanks!
Thank you for explaining everything so well. I've designed a mask for my telescope and am now looking for a place I can print it (not easy during a lock down).
Why didn't you print it black? is there any advantage for a white mask? or was it the only color available?
Color has no affect on function, so I prefer white for working at night. With the red flashlight, it shows up much better, so its easier for me to see what I'm doing. Same reason I prefer white telescopes and mounts.
@@NebulaPhotos If it has no affect on function then I agree. Thanks for answering so quickly, and thanks for all your tips :)
I noticed your 1200 MK II in the background.. what kind of vinyl are you listening to on that? ✌🏻👊🏻
I like prog and instrumental rock like King Crimson, Mike Oldfield, and some jazz like The Bad Plus. I also just pick up lots of old vinyl at Goodwill, estate sales, and try to find things I like that way.
Yesterday I tried to shoot Orion Nebula (but it is a hard task when it's -25° C), so stars all were like bubbles and the nebula looked like insect smashed over car front window. And I searched how to make Bahtinov mask to get right focus and here it is!
I have the same OTA. What motorized focus do you use?
Optec DirectSync SV. Just take off the coarse focusing knob on the left side by loosening the set screw and pulling it off. And then install the DirectSync. The Optec DirectSync can be controlled by the FocusLynx (what I have) or a FocusBoss. Product page with installation instructions here: www.optecinc.com/astronomy/catalog/focuslynx/19778.htm
if you need such a fine pattern for a shorter focal length the why is it so hard to find them? I've been racking my brain trying to find one on line but all the ones that fit my camera lenses are really coarse
Thank you for VDO I made a mask bahtinov on acrylic sheet 3mm thick cut on Lazer cutter how do I send it's photo here
Post to imgur or other image sharing service and then comment with the link
Greetings to you, I would like to ask if I make it according to the specifications of my telescope it will focus better than the commercial one or there will be no difference.
Hi Nico! When using a full frame lens on a crop sensor (Rokinon 135mm / Canon 70D) do you print the mask based on the 135mm or the 202mm (result of crop sensor)? Thanks!
135mm
Astrophotography noob here...Thanks, Nico for getting us noobs started!
I've noticed many bahtinov mask 3d models have such thin indication lines that they do not render. (Shell prints without line pattern). Playing around with line thickness, I've found the Ender 3Pro can handle 1mm thick lines with ~ 1mm spacing between lines.
Not sure if this is optimal yet; I will keep testing/modifying these models until I get the "perfect" diffraction pattern.
Does anyone have advice on optimal pattern dimensions for a wide-angle or super wide-angle lens? I assume there is not a "one size fits all" pattern for all camera lenses but I could be wrong.
Generally the lower the focal length, the finer the grid has to be to get a good diffraction pattern. However, I have found at 50mm and wider, Bahtinov Masks become impractical and I rarely see the X pattern even on bright stars. So in that case, I just focus by making the stars as small as possible and taking test shots to make sure the stars look in focus.
I have a tamron 70-300mm lens, I plan that for andromeda I will use the zoom lens at 200mm focal length. But for the design of the Bahtinov mask, what focal length do I make it for? Do I make it for 200mm or 300mm? Regards master!
Either will work. The 200mm design will have more closely spaced slots, and give you a higher resolution pattern at 200mm. The downside is not every 3d printer will print with slots that thin. So if you need to design it for 300mm, it will still work when zoomed to 200mm.
Hi Nico So every target needs to be focused, depth of field is always there???
Hello and thank You for your videos , I have a question I have a telescope with 430 focal L , f 5.9 , using the 500 rules shutter speed to avoid star trail should be 1.3 S if I want to set up intervalometer should look like this set up Delay 0” L 1.3 “ interval 0” to 1 minutes depend of time I want to take a shot between pic , and N let s say 20 is that set up right?
@Salim Prado Cconislla debe de haber pero yo uso la aplicación q trabaja específicamente con el equipo q tengo
@Salim Prado Cconislla Hola Prado la unico q puedo sugerir es sharcap pero necesitas una pc
@Salim Prado Cconislla de nada usa sharcap es muy buena y reconoce cualquier camara web
Any idea how to do it manually with wood or something like that ?
TRhanks for the video man
Not sure about wood, but I've heard people have had success just cutting the pattern out with an x-acto blade from a piece of plastic (notebook cover) or thin cardboard.
Hi! Thanks for this stuff, but I have a question, is the focusing the same for all object onthe skey as they are infinite distance?
I mean if I set focus once and glue the focus ring (with some temporary but strong glue) can I use it for all deep sky objects?
On the Lens I use I can fine tune the maximum possible infinity position, so if it set once I I can fix it no need a real glue there and for any other pctures Imake I need objects sloser than the stars so would be not an issue setting upper focus limit to the starts fine tuned. If it is good for any astro shooting I could calibrate it once.
Good question, but no, do not glue your lens. Due to thermal contraction /expansion, perfect infinity focus is always changing whenever there is any change in temperature. So infinity focus in the summer will be different from infinity focus in winter. Even a 10 degree change can throw off focus, which is why I check focus throughtout the night. Wish it were easier. To answer your other question, yes all objects in space are at the same focal distance, including the solar system objects. To us they are all at infinity.
@@NebulaPhotos Thank you for the quick answer! I was also thinking about thermal changes, but withind a small temperature range it could be ok.
I have and old 135mm f3.5 Jupiter37-A M42 lens converted to NIKON, removing about 3millimeters from the bottom of the body with a lathe machine (flange-to-film-plane distance difference plus the no optics M42-Nikon F mount adapter ring height) and I have infinity when I just focus to max distance with it, if I want to focus a bit more far I have to sand some 0.0X millimeters off from the mount I made :) it would be easier to tune it only once, but I'll see how the temperature changes will affect its infinity focus.
when would you advice to purchase a metallic mask instead?
Wouldn't it be easier to just leave the whole bathinov block at 20mm and create a round pocket/hole in the middle that leaves the border in tact? That way you don't have to play with multiple objects.
The Orion mask is not compressed paper. It has protective paper that peels off the plastic. However, the plastic breaks very easily.
Oh, thanks, good to know Ralph. That makes sense!
Hi Nico! Thank you for this incredible video. I am not technically savvy at all to do this, unfortunately. I am looking for exactly something like this for my Tamron 15-30mm lens for Canon R8 that has a fixed lens hood. Would you be able to kindly point me to somewhere that has the files for this specific lens? Thank you and Merry Christmas.
Hello! Unfortunately, 3d-printed Bahtinov masks don’t work well at that wide a focal length. I’d say 70mm f.l. and up, they are worth using, anything wider and they are impractical. There are some glass or acrylic sheet types on the market for very wide-angle, but they are expensive and require special filter holders. What I do for wide angle is just get the stars as small as I can with live view and then take a test exposure, zooming in on playback and you will start to develop an eye for when it’s in focus. It’s a bit more trial and error than the mask, but it’s definitely possible. Good luck and merry Christmas!
@@NebulaPhotos Thank you Nico. You are an inspiration to the entire astrophotography community.
Question: when making the mask for a Lens, does one use the manufacturer stated focal lenght (lets say samyang's 135mm) or the value my camera will get from it? (for my aps-c sony, 202mm) - wasnt touched on and might be something other astrophotographers also would like to know.
gelisob the stated focal length, 135mm in this case. Unlike regular photography, we don’t usually discuss the idea of “modified” focal length (also called crop factor) based on sensor size in the astrophotography world.
Instead we use pixel scale (based on focal length and pixel size) and field of view (based on focal length and pixel size and sensor size)
Hope this makes sense!
@@NebulaPhotos thanks, I'll make mine for 135 then. But the "we usually dont discuss" part is a bit confusing. Because I know that I'm not using the full width of my "telescope" (lens) due to having crop sensor. dso-browser site also calculates the "modified" focal lenght, if I inserted my 135mm lens and told it my sensor size, it did present a realistic field of view in the simulator part. I will experiment with 1.7x extender too.
gelisob yes, it is a different (cropped if you’d like) field compared to a full frame. I’m just saying actually calculating the crop factor and then stating the effective focal length isn’t common in astrophotography. Instead we would simply state the size of the field of view in degrees or in arcminutes for your particular camera + lens/scope. You can find this info in Dso browser or the imaging toolbox. For example, my camera+ lens produces a 2 x 1.5 degree field. The reason for this is twofold: there are many different sensor sizes used in AP from 12mm up to 50mm+. And once you do AP for awhile it makes more sense to use degrees, arcminutes, arcseconds, rather than effective focal length to express FOV or how “zoomed in” you are.
I see, thank you for your time and explanations. I'm sure it makes sense in the world of AP and time will teach me to better use proper terminology regarding that. Looks like mine equals to 9.8 x 6.6 degrees, 5.9 per pixel. Bit better with extender, 3.5 per pixel, will see how it turns out, when the effing clouds decide to stop blocking the skies..
gelisob I hear you on the clouds! Definitely do some tests with and without the extender. A lot of times extenders that work just fine for normal photography have a deleterious effect on stars (common things are “coma” stars away from center take on a triangle shape and “chromatic abberation” magenta/purple fringing.) Best of luck, and keep in touch!
Quick question for you good sir, when you focus and slew to a new location do you redo your focus? I am using a ZWO 183MC on a ED80 and I found that the focus got soft from Polaris to Deneb - I am thinking maybe atmospheric haze causes slight variations in focus or my dual focus is a slacking during shooting.
Just seeing how you would go about focusing as part of a night of shooting - is it do once and go or do you adjust based on certain conditions ?
You will likely need to adjust it a few times in the night. When the telescope cools down, the glass contracts and focus shifts. I always check focus again right before starting taking photos, and then try to check it about once per hour after that.
i can't seem to generate the masks from the website. It just reloads when I hit generate. do you have any other site from where I can generate these masks. I am making this for skymaster 20x80 binoculars.
Tinkercad is the only website-based 3D modeling software I know of, but there is other free software like: Blender, FreeCAD, etc. Check with your local library or community center to see if they offer classes or tutoring on 3D printing.
Fusion360 CAD is web based and has free licenses for hobbyists. Or you can try this OpenSCAD mask generator that directly creates STL files: www.thingiverse.com/thing:4581618
i am looking into a mask for collimation of a SCT. i have found 2 that are very interesting . one is called a duncan mask . that you make a perfect Y shape for collimation . each arm of the Y is a screw .. and the other is called a tri-bahtinov that gives you 3 bahtinov X`s. one for each screw of the secondary mirror.. have you heard of these masks ? are they any good ? can you do a video please on these masks ? as i don't have access to a 3d printer. i did get a quote and they wanted . ranging from $63 to $180 depending on material and i was supplying files i found for the job . so i am finding it hard to commission the job to see if they work and thoughts or input you can give would be greatly appreciated great video and it has come at a very handy time for me seen i am looking into getting these masks made thank you
cheers
james D
Hi James,
I would do a video if I could, but I don't own an SCT so I have no way to test these kinds of masks for collimation. If you just need a mask for focusing, I recommend a classic bahtinov mask like in the video designed for your size SCT like this: agenaastro.com/farpoint-bahtinov-focus-mask-astrophotography-fp410.html
Does your SCT not hold collimation well? I thought they held collimation much better than newtonians, but I could be wrong about that.
Cheers, Nico
@@NebulaPhotos thanks for the reply i purchased a edgeHD 8" second hand and tested it and found it to be out of collimation and i am going through the process now and i am up to the 3rd stage the finest adjustments that can only be done on a real star and i find the airy disc hard to see properly(usually due to seeing) and have been doing some research into other ways that may be easier to attain perfect collimation for planetary astro imaging and i liked the idea of the 2 masks especially the tri-bahtinov mask as i have a farpoint bahtinov for my 6" standard XLT STC for focus and thought the tri bahtinov with 3 X`s one for each screw would work great like the standard bahtinov mask does... my assumption is that they don't work very well or they would be commercially available which they are not.. or the companies making masks do not know about the tri bahtinov as its only a year or so old based on my research and i was looking for some advice on their effectiveness before i commission one to be made as the 3d printing in australia seems to be very expensive from the quotes i have asked for $63 pla $186 nylon with me supplying all info and files needed for the job
cheers
james D
How do you find a clear aperture for a camera lens? Im using a 17-28mm 2.8 tamron with a 67mm filter. I'm trying to get the file together for my buddy that has a 3d printer. Any help would be awesome! Thanks!
on an a7rii
You can just use the filter size (67mm) or a bit smaller as the aperture if you can't measure it. I will warn you that at that wide a focal length, Bahtinov masks are difficult to use as it can be very hard to see the pattern when the stars are so small. But I guess if your friend can print it for free, you may as well try and see?
@@NebulaPhotos hmm. Thank you for the info. The cool thing with sony is that you can zoom in to 15x during live view, but I still find it a bit difficult to obtain perfect focus on stars, especially because focus changes when you turn off camera
Do you have an IG with any of your work?!
Yes. @nico2ghouls. Thanks
Sweet just started following ya 💪🏼
Hi, I'm interested in creating my first Bahtinov Mask for my Panasonic Gh5 (micro 4/3 sensor) and 100-300mm f/4-5.6 panasonic lens. When calculating the focal length and aperture diameter for the Drawing's Calculator, I'm unsure whether to use the full frame equivalent for my lens/camera set up, or what it says on the lens.
I assumed that I should fill out focal length: 300x2crop =600
But would that then mean that I should use the equivalent: f/5.6 x2crop =f/11.2, (then 600/11.2= 53mm)?
Then what would I do for inner diameter?
Is there a better way to go about this?
Thank you.
You should use true focal length of lens (not a micro 4/3 equivalent). Inner diameter should be 0 for a lens, you only use that for telescopes with a central obstruction like a newtonian with a secondary mirror.
Great explanation. :) Couldnt be better.
When I try to create a mask with the data of my Laowa (15mm f2) Lens, the creator just gets completely broken. Any advice?
15mm is too wide for Bahtinov masks unfortunately. This laser-etched product was made for that purpose: www.lonelyspeck.com/sharpstar/ but in my testing it didn't work very well below about 40mm f.l.
I focus wide angle lenses, but just looking for chromatic abberation (magenta fringing) on a very bright star, and then taking test exposures and making sure the dim stars look like little pinpoints. It takes some practice to get good at it, but it is possible. Best of luck!
@@NebulaPhotos oh, damn ok. I didnt know that there are technical limits. Thanks again. :)
@@mexmax1657 Yeah, I should have made that clearer in the video. The star has to both bright enough and take up enough pixels on the sensor to see the pattern, so Bahtinov masks are easier to use with telescope, but still usable down to about 40mm focal length. It's technically possible even wider with the laser-etched Sharpstar product and a *very* dark sky to see the pattern with a 3-5 second exposure, but there are enough caveats there that I can't recommend it.
@@NebulaPhotos mh Yeah. I think I will be better with classic focusing then. I dont have problems with it, I just thought maybe this is a much faster way. Sad.
Did you notice the mask generator is down? I was just working on a few, managed to make the first two and then the link went dead.
Ah, sorry, it has gone down before and come back up. There are some generator /customizers on thingiverse in the mean time. I think someond in the comments of this video made one and linked to it.
@@NebulaPhotos No need to apologize :)
And thanks, I'll look it up. Hopefully soon your channel will be so big it will be difficult to search in the comments.
I tried out the Windows app for generating a Bahtinov mask SVG and it seems to offset the straight part. Am I doing something wrong? I guess I'll see if I can edit it manually, but I'm afraid it'll mess up the settings. i.imgur.com/hSUu6o4.png
Oh, weird. Please send an email to the software's author with your settings and the result. I think he was open to fixing bugs. I haven't tried it yet, I was just in touch with him over the site being down and he told me recently about the Windows app. That said, it looks to me like you could just edit that manually and it will be fine!
I'm wanting to make a mask for my 70-200mm camera lens, but when I plug in the dimensions to the generator it doesn't look right to me... Can you tell me where specifically I need to measure to get accurate measurements to enter into the generator?
Here's what mine for my 200mm lens looks like: www.tinkercad.com/things/8XVPQzA38ui-bahtinov-200mm
If I remember right, I used the filter thread size (77mm) for the clear aperture and then just added the appropriate amount to get to the lens hood size.
@@NebulaPhotos thanks, I will try that
@@NebulaPhotos after several failed attempts to print it I finally got a good one... I can't wait to get out and try it, just got to wait for the weather to clear up
@@CaptAmerica8706 Great! clear skies!
I'm trying to do this for my Canon 24mm f1.4 lens and it's just showing a black box when I put in the numbers (on the new downloaded generator since the web is no longer available). Am I doing something wrong or miss a conversion? I am using 24 for focal length and 89 for aperture
24mm is too wide a focal length for a 3d-printed bahtinov mask to work. My guess is it is black because the slats are so close together or it just gives an error. There are specialty filters with laser-etched lines that may work for such a wide focal length, but personally I just focus by live-view and trial-and-error (looking at stars in playback zoomed all the way in) with wide-angle lenses like that.
I just saw your video which is exactly what i was looking for however, when i try to reach ASTROJARGON.NET, it comes up as not found. I tried several browsers over a 2 week period with same results. Do you know if its moved or do you know of another online mask generator program ? Thanks, Frank
I don't think it moved, and my past attempts to reach out to the owner of the website have not worked. In the meantime, someone in the comments of this video, made a tool on Thingiverse for customizing Bahtinov Masks. I haven't tried it, but worth a try: www.thingiverse.com/thing:4581618
Update: the author of the website told me it's not coming back, but he updated the mask generator to be a standalone Windows app, which is available from this Google Drive link: drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aXpW4Oh1Gkh4bLMYJflw5xIYWG7pymq9?usp=sharing
@@NebulaPhotos It apparently moved from there to Github.
I'm looking at making my own mask, I will be using it on a 70-300mm f4 lens (I know it's not the best choice but this is all new to me and part of learning). I plan on using the lens at 150mm but when making the mask, to calculate the clear aperture (focal length/f number) should I calculate it at the focal length I intend to use (150mm) or should I calculate at a different length due to being telephoto?..... This is my first attempt at anything like this and completely new to astrophotography but wanting to learn and make the masks for other lenses as I purchase them.
Yes, try to make it for the focal length you tend to use, but if you want to use multiple focal lengths, just pick one in the middle and it will still work pretty well. Bahtinov Masks are pretty flexible and still work on bright stars even if not designed completely optimally
@@NebulaPhotos thank you for the reply! I'll re watch the video before attempting to make my own and no doubt be watching it as I attempt my own. Glad to have come across your channel as it's made me realise I can still attempt astrophotography whilst saving for a tracker and learning a lot from the videos so far!
@@NebulaPhotos hoping you may be able to give me some pointers... I've tried to make a mask through the webpage and through the updated zip file but the options are different on the zip, the web page won't generate a mask as the site no longer works apparently so I've found an archived page instead... I've tried to make one through the zip file for a DSLR lens, I've set it at 150 focal length with a clear aperture of 33 (150mm/f4.5) which I planned as my test print to let me get into focusing easier, this is to fit in front of the hood which measures 89mm. Each time I put the details in, I get a full black circle. Where am I going wrong?
@@phileames1983 The clear aperture is probably not 33. To get the clear aperture just measure the front element with a ruler or use the filter thread size as a rough approximation. Hopefully that helps fix it.
@@NebulaPhotos ah I've been thinking it's the focal length divided by the f.stop for a DSLR lens but of it's the size of the front glass then it's definitely different. I'll give it another go in the morning.
Does the mask need to be centered? I ordered a cheap one from Amazin. It came with no instructions
At least roughly centered will make it work better
Hi Nico, i m looking for mask for my two lens, 58mm (pentax DA 55-300) and 95 mm (Irix 15mm Firefly), where i can buy? this masks works with a 15 mm lens? i ve an ASP-C. Thank you very much!
Hi Manel, No, I wouldn't recommend a Bahtinov Mask at 15mm f.l. You won't be able to see the pattern in live view, and even in playback it doesn't show up very well with such a small aperture. For your 55-300, you could definitely design a mask or just buy one that fits, and it will work fine.
Cheers, Nico
@@NebulaPhotosThanks Nico for your quick response, I will look for a mask for my 55-300, a pleasure to follow your channel, it hurts that the subtitles cannot be translated automatically into Spanish, on CZcams (I have tried) so I see them in English, so the less I follow the videos the better, XD. I don't know if I can put you a web link where I have seen one that can be compatible with 58mm, if I can, I can put it.
@@manellobo3318 Could you do me a favor and see if you can see Spanish subtitles on this video: czcams.com/video/iuMZG-SyDCU/video.html
? and are they helpful (google translate)? If so, I think I have a solution, and I can add them to all my videos.
@@NebulaPhotos
Yes, in this video the subtitles are in Spanish! If you can add it in all the videos I will be very grateful!
@@manellobo3318 Gracias! I will work on it
Have any of you dudes been able to use the app version of the mask generator? Because, I downloaded it....and I don't get it :'(
I may be looking weird, but I don't see where I can put in my focal length. Also, I'm using a camera lens, so like...I know f stops relate to aperture, but I'm not sure what number exactly I would put in that field
He said in one of the other comments to plug in the filter thread size for the clear aperture size, and that seems to work. For a 200mm lens, it looks like the results he got. However, I was trying to do it for a wide angle lens, and it turns out that Bahtinov masks don't work for lenses smaller than about 100mm focal length. (src: www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3852549).
Not sure if this is too late for you, but to work out the Aperture field, take the [Focal Length] / [f-value]. So for example a 300mm focal length divided by your fastest aperture, f/4 = 75. Put 75 in the Aperture field. I used the Canon EF 75-300 f/4-5.6 in this example assuming you would zoom to 300mm @ f/4. Hope that makes sense.
@@gavincrouch Never too late to add useful information to the internet, if not to help me, maybe someone else.
I ended up not taking pictures of the sky or making a mask, but who knows, maybe at some point
Would a MAK need a bahtinov mask?
A properly designed bahtinov mask can be useful for focusing any type of telescope.
I recommend using one of the OpenSCAD Bahtinov Mask designs on Thingiverse like this one: www.thingiverse.com/thing:3601829
It has support for several lenses already and can be easily customized to generate custom 3D printable masks for other lenses.
Thanks for the link Tim. Do you know if it automatically adjusts the width of the slots when you change to a different lens aperture?
@@NebulaPhotos It does not currently, rather it has pre-determined settings for the lens is supports. I am thinking of enhancing it to do so however, it would not be difficult.
@@NebulaPhotos I made another thingi that does what you asked:
www.thingiverse.com/thing:4581618
This will let put in your focal length and other parameters via a graphical dialog to make a custom mask. It works best if you download OpenSCAD but the Thingiverse customizer also works except for the presets.
@@tim1398 Awesome work.
astrojargon is down and has been 11/23/20......
Yeah, not sure what the deal is. Someone in the comments of this video, made a tool on Thingiverse for customizing Bahtinov Masks. I haven't tried it, but worth a try: www.thingiverse.com/thing:4581618
Why can't you use a planet like jupiter to focus?
Do you mean with a Bahtinov mask? The mask requires a point source to work properly, jupiter resolves to a disk so wouldn't be as ideal.
You told you will talk about using thin metal masks and you did not do that :)
Whoops! This was so long ago now, I don't remember what I was going to say about them. Maybe just that it's usually not possible to 3D print very large masks for large scopes, so thin metal masks may be the way to go.
@@NebulaPhotos sorry I just pay atention sometimes too much 😁😁
And what about thickness is that any factor, I think it should influence the difraction significantly if it is very thin oposed to very thick, did you do any tests whith different thisness masks, can you ?
@@mmenjic It would be a good thing to test. I haven't done those tests myself.