Winter Milky Way Time Lapse - (Canon 5D MK II)

[JR]

Wow really well done Harles99.  I was wondering how this is done in another post just this morning and now realize it takes a bit more talent and patience then I originally expected!     I will have to give this a try at one point...

[Harles99]

Great work, really enjoyed it.

Two questions:
1/ which mode did you shoot in (P, Av, Tv, M) ?
2/ What was the aperture?
3/ did you shoot in Raw or Jpeg ?

Best regards,
Thomas

I shoot Manual, @ f2.8 , in Raw.

Also to add: 30 second exposures, ISO 3200, White Balance 3400K. I don't think I mentioned those settings on here.

[kubelik]

Harley, that is a great time-lapse video (good job on the music pairing as well).  I found the clouds that wafted through the field of view absolutely mesmerizing against the backdrop of the stars ... something surreal about that image.

[Axilrod]

Great work, really enjoyed it.

Two questions:
1/ which mode did you shoot in (P, Av, Tv, M) ?
2/ What was the aperture?
3/ did you shoot in Raw or Jpeg ?

Best regards,
Thomas

I would always do manual for these types of things, and you usually want to shoot pretty close to wide open.  If you're in a place with very little light pollution you can get away with much shorter exposures.  I've gotten some amazing results shooting at f/2, ISO 1600 for 5 seconds. 

I saw the OP didn't like the DP dolly, but I LOVE it.  It's super easy to set up and the intervalometer is built in to the controller.  You can set it up to move anywhere from .12 inches per minute to 30 inches per minute, or you can put it in SMS (shoot, move, shoot) mode and that will give you the smoothest motion possible. 

You can also mount it upside down and get some really cool shots (since the track is no longer visible).  This is an example of that :

http://vimeo.com/32800222
	Small | Large

Sure it's kinda pricey for the money, but it's not that bad carrying it around in a ski bag.  I'm just going to ship the rail to the west coast when I fly out there. 

[spaced]

I shoot Manual, @ f2.8 , in Raw.

Also to add: 30 second exposures, ISO 3200, White Balance 3400K. I don't think I mentioned those settings on here.

Harles99 - I was blown away by your video - truly well done.

One question though...  if you're taking 30 second exposures, how have you not got star trails?

Inspired by your pictures, I tried taking some images of the stars a few nights ago and found that above 15 seconds the stars start to trail   

[PaperTiger]

Looks awesome!

[Axilrod]

I shoot Manual, @ f2.8 , in Raw.

Also to add: 30 second exposures, ISO 3200, White Balance 3400K. I don't think I mentioned those settings on here.

Harles99 - I was blown away by your video - truly well done.

One question though...  if you're taking 30 second exposures, how have you not got star trails?

Inspired by your pictures, I tried taking some images of the stars a few nights ago and found that above 15 seconds the stars start to trail   

It depends on the focal length, the wider you're shooting the longer exposure you can use.  What lens were you using?

[stefsan]

Wow, well done! I love time lapse videos of the milky way and this one is particularly beautiful. Fantastic work Harley!

[spaced]

It depends on the focal length, the wider you're shooting the longer exposure you can use.  What lens were you using?

thanks for the reply - now that you pointed it out, it does makes sense that a wider view would allow for longer exposures.

(For the record I was using the 24-105 - taking the photos at 24mm)

[ams2d]

Harley,

That is the worse video I have ever seen ... in fact I think you should keep making them until it is decided that you finally got one that is acceptable.

 

Obviously I am kidding was an amazing video and reading the time and effort you put into it only adds to the WOW factor of the video.  Thank you for your effort and for sharing your work.  I didn't read (maybe missed it) but what kind of post processing was done on the photos?  Given the volume of photos am curious.

[Harles99]

Great work, really enjoyed it.

Two questions:
1/ which mode did you shoot in (P, Av, Tv, M) ?
2/ What was the aperture?
3/ did you shoot in Raw or Jpeg ?

Best regards,
Thomas

I would always do manual for these types of things, and you usually want to shoot pretty close to wide open.  If you're in a place with very little light pollution you can get away with much shorter exposures.  I've gotten some amazing results shooting at f/2, ISO 1600 for 5 seconds. 

I saw the OP didn't like the DP dolly, but I LOVE it.  It's super easy to set up and the intervalometer is built in to the controller.  You can set it up to move anywhere from .12 inches per minute to 30 inches per minute, or you can put it in SMS (shoot, move, shoot) mode and that will give you the smoothest motion possible. 

You can also mount it upside down and get some really cool shots (since the track is no longer visible).  This is an example of that : http://vimeo.com/32800222

Sure it's kinda pricey for the money, but it's not that bad carrying it around in a ski bag.  I'm just going to ship the rail to the west coast when I fly out there.

I do love the DP Dolly. Its a great piece of equipment.

Harley,

That is the worse video I have ever seen ... in fact I think you should keep making them until it is decided that you finally got one that is acceptable.

 

Obviously I am kidding was an amazing video and reading the time and effort you put into it only adds to the WOW factor of the video.  Thank you for your effort and for sharing your work.  I didn't read (maybe missed it) but what kind of post processing was done on the photos?  Given the volume of photos am curious.

When Im done shooting I import to Adobe Lightroom and make color corrections or noise reduction ( if necessary) then use Quicktime Pro 7 to make a .mov file, then its off to Final Cut.


Thanks

[g2]

Two words sir,
Absolutely Stunning.

[Harles99]

Two words sir,
Absolutely Stunning.

Thanks!

[UltraReef]

Fantastic video, thanks for sharing.

[dturano]

Really nice work, here is another great one,

Plains Milky Way - Watch in HD	Small | Large