Stars above.
- Thread starter Mr Bean
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I had all but given up on trying to get a good star trails photo. The 1/2 hr exposures I tried produced star trails, but only for the brightest stars in the sky. The rest were absorbed in the light pollution. So, I decided to try and make time lapse videos of the stars. In the winter, that usually means sitting out in a field for a couple hours freezing your butt off, and learning your lens will frost up after about an hour.
But yesterday I came across some free software called Star Trails that creates a composite of a set of photos. This software salvaged the two hours I spent freezing in a field, using just the photos before my lens frosted over. It's about 150 photos, taken with a Rokinon 14mm @ f/2.8, ISO 1250 & 13s exposures.
Star Trails by yorgasor, on Flickr
But yesterday I came across some free software called Star Trails that creates a composite of a set of photos. This software salvaged the two hours I spent freezing in a field, using just the photos before my lens frosted over. It's about 150 photos, taken with a Rokinon 14mm @ f/2.8, ISO 1250 & 13s exposures.
Star Trails by yorgasor, on Flickr
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Here's one I did last night. I loved the reflections of the stars in the still pond.
Stars and mirrors by yorgasor, on Flickr
Stars and mirrors by yorgasor, on Flickr
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I've discovered that astrophotography does horrible things to your sleep cycle. You start looking at the weather forecast and thinking, "Oh, clear skies tonight. I guess I can stay up until 4am." On a side note, there was a recent solar flare that should produce low latitude northern lights. They should arrive around 3am eastern time: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/Auroras-in-Our-Future-239252891.html I guess it'll be another late night for me.
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fwiw the other model has it arriving at 6pm central time. This model first had it at noon today but the update pushed it back to 6pm. http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/IswaSystemWebApp/iSWACygnetStreamer?timestamp=2038-01-23+00%3A44%3A00&window=-1&cygnetId=261
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/1074665_765473593482676_121729842_o.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/1074665_765473593482676_121729842_o.jpg
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Wow, fantastic pic. Love ityorgasor said:Here's one I did last night. I loved the reflections of the stars in the still pond.
Stars and mirrors by yorgasor, on Flickr
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These shots are not really worthy of posting but they represent my first ever, using the iOptron tracker. I haven't even done any serious shots period other than the moon before deciding to buy this unit (it is well made). I'm looking for feedback on how to locate Polaris, which in this case I did by holding up a paper print of the big dipper and eyeballing where it was on the circle. The app I downloaded to my computer did not agree at all. I'm assuming for 30 sec. exposures I must have been pretty close. I don't yet have a ball head so all I could do was mount my camera at 90 degrees to Polaris, facing south.
I'd like to become more involved in the type of landscape shots such as in this thread so any helpful advice would be very welcome. One shot was the 24-70 F4 at 24, the other two were the 70 - 200 at 70 and 200.
Jack
I'd like to become more involved in the type of landscape shots such as in this thread so any helpful advice would be very welcome. One shot was the 24-70 F4 at 24, the other two were the 70 - 200 at 70 and 200.
Jack
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Looks like you got pretty close, although 30sec @ 24mm is on the edge of a single frame from a tripod. The 6D should give real nice results at iso 800, the first photo exposure is right at minimum ( assuming no post), the banding and color noise in the other two are from under exposure get your sky up off the bottom of the histogram without blowing out the brightest stars , shoot raw, and stack. You will be amazed at how full the sky actually is of interesting things.
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niteclicks, thanks for the feedback. I've never stacked in my life but I imagine it's just sequential shots without tampering, assuming the tracker is doing its job and then I think DPP can do the job??
I think I may have dropped the brightness of the 24 mm a bit thinking it was overexposed.
I assume B is used for the longer exposures and I need a remote release although I've started using the 6D WiFi and that might be a solution (it is to the cold).
Can you suggest the manual settings that you might use and the time for a couple different scenarios?
What do I look for in terms of judging the quality of results, say between my lenses and focal lengths?
Can you suggest any threads or links that would be aimed at my situation as a beginner with stars?
I'm an handyman machinist and welder and am planning to modify the final attachment point of the tracker so that my mount location is up and level rather than angled at Polaris. Do you foresee any problem with placing my gimble (quite light Jobu) on that as I would place it on a tripod? I prefer gimbal to ball head (which I don't have at the moment).
Asking a lot with all these questions! :-[
Jack
I think I may have dropped the brightness of the 24 mm a bit thinking it was overexposed.
I assume B is used for the longer exposures and I need a remote release although I've started using the 6D WiFi and that might be a solution (it is to the cold).
Can you suggest the manual settings that you might use and the time for a couple different scenarios?
What do I look for in terms of judging the quality of results, say between my lenses and focal lengths?
Can you suggest any threads or links that would be aimed at my situation as a beginner with stars?
I'm an handyman machinist and welder and am planning to modify the final attachment point of the tracker so that my mount location is up and level rather than angled at Polaris. Do you foresee any problem with placing my gimble (quite light Jobu) on that as I would place it on a tripod? I prefer gimbal to ball head (which I don't have at the moment).
Asking a lot with all these questions! :-[
Jack
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Sporgon said:
As a beginner (me), would you mind sharing the details of how you get this kind of shot?
Jack
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Its hard to give general settings because the sky varies from literally mile to mile . Here is a single frame of M8 and the final from some years ago when I started. The single frame is at iso 800 (max the 40D could really do cleanly) 60 sec with a 200mm f4 scope. The stack is 30 frames processed with Images Plus. I haven't done much since I moved but hope to get my mount setup permanently this year and get started again. If I could manage this from a noisy 40D I can't wait to see what the 5DIII can do, and I've learned since then too.
http://src3rsteve.zenfolio.com/p289498573/e39116171
http://src3rsteve.zenfolio.com/p289498573/e12589ca0
http://src3rsteve.zenfolio.com/p289498573/e39116171
http://src3rsteve.zenfolio.com/p289498573/e12589ca0
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Thanks niteclicks, keep me in mind if other thoughts pop into your head. Since I got my first DSLR a couple years ago, and now being retired, I'm like a kid at Christmas with his first camera. Moving up to the 6D was a great boost too.
Jack
Jack
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I would think you should have some really nice skies up there. Nice way to retire shoot all night, process all day, who needs sleep. 8)
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niteclicks, right on, but I have a wife. Of course that has its benefits too! Night sky here is often very clear.
Jack
Jack
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Stellarium Mobile on a smart phone can help you get oriented to the stars outdoors. I use Stellarium on my desktop/laptop to scout things before hand. There are a few methods that can help you find Polaris using other constellations at reference points.
http://survivaltopics.com/how-to-find-the-north-star/ (simple version)
http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~huffman/finddip.html (shows seasonal orientation change)
http://davidburchnavigation.blogspot.com/2013/03/finding-north-star.html (other constellations)
Practice helps. Go out at night, even when you don't shoot and pick out the stars. I can consistently pick out the dippers, North Star and several constellations without any help.
http://survivaltopics.com/how-to-find-the-north-star/ (simple version)
http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~huffman/finddip.html (shows seasonal orientation change)
http://davidburchnavigation.blogspot.com/2013/03/finding-north-star.html (other constellations)
Practice helps. Go out at night, even when you don't shoot and pick out the stars. I can consistently pick out the dippers, North Star and several constellations without any help.
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