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Astro photography not easy

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Posted by Eric: Mon Sep 28th, 2015 06:18

1^st Post

I know there are/were some astrophotography experts on here and I tip my cap to them! Its a whole new (complex) ballgame to me.

I took a shot of the moon on my 500mm / D750 combination before going to bed then set the alarm for 3:30 (though my bladder was 15 minutes a head of it!!!) and stubbled on to the back lawn. That's when you realise that the settings (ISO, shutter speed) are different to a full moon DUH!!!!
Fumbling about was a good exercise in finding all the buttons you want in the dark !!! (yeah I know they invented torches for such a moment)

I suppose I should have whacked the D750s ISO right up, taken multiple shots and superimposed them in levels to null out the resulting noise...but I was still half asleep. So when you look at the results (several hours later) you realise a 2sec exposure means you get star sausages...and a blurry moon. Unless of course the moon was shivering with fear at the darkness? And I got gnat bit!!

:whip:

Attachment: 2moons.jpg (Downloaded 20 times)

____________________
Eric

Posted by jk: Mon Sep 28th, 2015 06:38

2^nd Post

Good shot.
Showing the two different moons in shot shows that the moon is also rotating.

I want to do some astrophotography and it seems like the recommended way is to use a medium wideangle lens e.g. 20-35mm on a FF. Use full aperture f1.4-f2.8, ISO 2000-3200, exposure 10-20 seconds. This shows all the stars and you get very little movement.

Remember with your telephoto if you dont want sausage stars you need to shoot even faster.

A tip. If you push the Info button then the exposure settings are shown in the TFT screen on the camera for 15-20 secs. Should work for all Nikons with an Info button. Also if you push the Off/On toggle collar past On then it lights up the top LCD panel.

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Posted by amazing50: Mon Sep 28th, 2015 12:17

3^rd Post

jk wrote:

Remember with your telephoto if you dont want sausage stars you need to shoot even faster. There are tracking heads available at reasonable prices. :-)

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There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept ;~) Mike Grace

Posted by Robert: Mon Sep 28th, 2015 14:40

4^th Post

What a coincidence! I just happened to be driving South through the Lakes last night after midnight, listening to radio 5 Live. I heard mentioned about the Lunar event and sure enough as I approached Ulswater I started to get glimpses of a spectacular scene which I knew I couldn't capture.

I stopped several times in Glenridding by the shore of Ulswater to admire the wonderful scene, it was probably the most spectacular view I have ever seen in the Lakes. The reflections in the mirror like water and the wonderful shades of dark grey were so beautiful. Yet I had no way of capturing it.

I yearn for my D3, I have considered going back up there tonight but it won't be as bright and even with the D200 I can't even hope to get a clean image. I took several images with the iPhone at about 1 O'clock but they were useless. Just blotchy shades of black!

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Robert.

Posted by Eric: Mon Sep 28th, 2015 15:28

5^th Post

jk wrote:
Good shot.
Showing the two different moons in shot shows that the moon is also rotating.

I want to do some astrophotography and it seems like the recommended way is to use a medium wideangle lens e.g. 20-35mm on a FF. Use full aperture f1.4-f2.8, ISO 2000-3200, exposure 10-20 seconds. This shows all the stars and you get very little movement.

Remember with your telephoto if you dont want sausage stars you need to shoot even faster.

A tip. If you push the Info button then the exposure settings are shown in the TFT screen on the camera for 15-20 secs. Should work for all Nikons with an Info button. Also if you push the Off/On toggle collar past On then it lights up the top LCD panel.
Don't understand the long exposure not having a more movement than my 2 sec??? These are stars from between moons.

Attachment: image.jpeg (Downloaded 14 times)

____________________
Eric

Posted by jk: Mon Sep 28th, 2015 16:46

6^th Post

Eric, Angle of change caused by rotation is magnified when you use a telephoto compared to a wideangle.

Try to get a lens that is at least f/2.8 for fixed tripod shots so you can use relatively short exposures. This will lessen the amount of star trailing you get when shooting on a fixed tripod. If you are shooting on a polar-aligned equatorial tracking mount, the f/stop of the lens is not as critical because you can always shoot longer exposures without trailing.

This is a good primer.

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2015/08/23/best-camera-settings-for-astrophotography/#null

____________________
Still learning after all these years!
https://nikondslr.uk/gallery_view.php?user=2&folderid=none

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