Shooting at the stars (night photography) - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

MBeige · #1 01-28-2012, 12:14 PM

Hi folks,

I was wondering if some members have advice for a newbie star photographer?

Tried my luck last night on shooting stars, since it was a clear sky. However it was windy, so I just timed my shots between gusts.

Aimed for the Orion Nebula last night and I was pretty surprised to see this in my camera:

Nikon D90 + Sigma 150mm APO HSM + Sigma 2x Teleconverter

Then there's the long-exposure shots, this one at 2 minutes and then some, with the same lens setup as above. I was surprised the stars moved that much in 2 minutes!

With a different lens, I was able to capture the Big Dipper but it's harder to see. The lens I used makes objects smaller.

Nikon D90 + Tokina 12-24mm AT-X Pro DX II

Looks like I see myself looking for more opportunities like this.

LaRondo · #2 01-28-2012, 01:30 PM

Our planet Earth moves. I don't know about the stars. You need some advanced lens equipment and a solid tripod.

@ 2 minutes or more of exposure time, even the slightest movement will effect your image.

catmandoo62 · #3 01-28-2012, 02:19 PM

when i was setting in my hot tub last night the big dipper handle was at about the 6 o clock position.i have thought about night photos.as i set out in the hot tub every night and live in the country so have no residual light.a front rolled thru last night so when i went out i had no starts but time i got out it was clear as a bell.

MBeige · #4 01-28-2012, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaRondo

Our planet Earth moves. I don't know about the stars. You need some advanced lens equipment and a solid tripod.

@ 2 minutes or more of exposure time, even the slightest movement will effect your image.

Well, it's all relative. Yeah, Earth was the one moving

Would you consider the lenses mentioned above to be advanced enough? Those are what I used when I took those shots. The Sigma 150mm used has no Optical Stabilization.

The Manfrotto tripod seems pretty sturdy, I hardly use it though. Mostly for group shots where I'm included. But for most of my shooting I basically go hand-held. I was surprised even at the 2-minute exposure times there was no movement.

I don't think I'll get too serious about this, probably just have fun.

JiveTurkey · #5 01-28-2012, 03:17 PM

Use film. And a Canon.

TheDon · #6 01-29-2012, 12:24 AM

Film is dead.

Shoot on the lowest ISO, aperature to 15, and use a remote to release the shutter or the timer.

I shoot on bulb and do many different increments. Also, a high quality tripod helps. You photo of star trails is very noisy and the colors look way off. You should be able to get some stunning shots with just the kit lens. No need to zoom into the sky.

If I have time this week I'll play around with stars too and see what I get.

pj67coll · #7 01-29-2012, 01:02 AM

The big dipper shot is quite nice. I have a few star shots laying around. I'll try to see if I can find them. I took them many years go before I left South Africa so if I remember correctly I have one of the Southern cross one of Scorpius and one of Orion. These were all on film. The Orion Nebula has a distinct pinkish glow to it. Astrophotography is fun indeed. Especially if you can get a really dark sky with minimal light pollution. I can see thirteen street lights from my current property so in that respect I'm pretty much screwed

- Peter

MBeige · #8 01-29-2012, 03:28 AM

Thanks Peter! You'll probably notice I included the star Vega in the same photo (lower left corner).

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDon

Film is dead.

Shoot on the lowest ISO, aperature to 15, and use a remote to release the shutter or the timer.

I shoot on bulb and do many different increments. Also, a high quality tripod helps. You photo of star trails is very noisy and the colors look way off. You should be able to get some stunning shots with just the kit lens. No need to zoom into the sky.

If I have time this week I'll play around with stars too and see what I get.

Yes I do have a remote which was very handy.

The noisy star trails is because it was windy and shook the camera a little during its 2-minute exposure time. Now I see why people do it in increments then just merge them for the final photo.

I hardly use my kit lens anymore (18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G). Instead, for normal shooting I basically use the 24-85mm 1:3.5-4.5G.

Please share what you can get from your shots.

When the winds die down I'll probably sneak out and grab a few more, hopefully the sky is clear. Can't do much about the unwanted light around here, unless I drive all the way out into the fields.

Also heard that Canon on film format is better for astrophotography. It's a bit hard to switch to Canon and film format if I've invested on a handful of Nikon equipment already, using digital format (DX, with 1.5x crop factor). So how can I maximize my equipment's performance?

JiveTurkey · #9 01-29-2012, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBeige

Thanks Peter! You'll probably notice I included the star Vega in the same photo (lower left corner).

Yes I do have a remote which was very handy.

The noisy star trails is because it was windy and shook the camera a little during its 2-minute exposure time. Now I see why people do it in increments then just merge them for the final photo.

I hardly use my kit lens anymore (18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G). Instead, for normal shooting I basically use the 24-85mm 1:3.5-4.5G.

Please share what you can get from your shots.

When the winds die down I'll probably sneak out and grab a few more, hopefully the sky is clear. Can't do much about the unwanted light around here, unless I drive all the way out into the fields.

Also heard that Canon on film format is better for astrophotography. It's a bit hard to switch to Canon and film format if I've invested on a handful of Nikon equipment already, using digital format (DX, with 1.5x crop factor). So how can I maximize my equipment's performance?

I was just giving you a hard time

I can't give you any digital pointers because I've never made the switch. If I did buy a digital though it would probably be a Nikon. All my canon lenses are FD mount, which basically interchange with nothing.

One tripod tip. Rest a brick or something heavy so it leans on each leg of the tripod when you're using a remote shutter release. This helps cut down on wind jiggles.

MBeige · #10 01-31-2012, 01:58 AM

It wasn't a clear sky, but the moon was out, and it wasn't windy.

300MM, 1/125, f/5.6, ISO 200

Graplr · #11 01-31-2012, 08:43 AM

I always thought star trails were cool shots with a camera. Try shooting the horizon in the 4 different directions. Then center on the north star as well. Wide angle lenses would probably work best for star trails.