The difference in a single nebula photo 10 years apart is wild

I was looking at my old shots of the Orion Nebula from 2014 on a basic DSLR and tracker, compared to one I took last month with a dedicated astro cam and narrowband filters. The detail in the gas clouds is night and day, but part of me wonders if the old style of wide field shots actually captured the 'feel' of the sky better. Did we lose something in the quest for scientific precision, or is this just pure improvement? Anyone else torn between nostalgic grain and crystal clear data?

2 comments

2 Comments

graceprice14d ago

Doesn't the grain just get in the way of what's actually there though?

uma_webb2814d agoTop Commenter

Try a quick rinse and pat dry before shooting, it softens the effect a lot.