Starry night

[armando_m]

On Friday night I drove about 1hr to get this photos
I wanted to retry, but it has been cloudy since then

Anyone has some suggestions how to get better star pictures?? just with the camera ( no telescope)

Both are 15 secs exposures, ISO 800, 11mm lens, I wanted to get as much of the sky as possible, exposure triggered with the timer, manual focus at infinite

During PP I did a +2 exposure and a lot more stars showed up.

F4 on the first one, light on the bottom left is from a near town, a tiny one, reduced the saturation of the light as it shown nearly orange, I can drive another 10 more mins and avoid any nearby towns ( or so I think).

F5.6 on the second one, cropped about 40% to show the star trail (right side , near the middle)

I can go to f2.8, and I think focusing to infinity with the 11mm will not be a problem
I can also try the 35mm f1.8, manual focus to infinity may be a problem
Longer exposures I think will start to show the rotation of the earth.
Higher Iso is another option, but I 'll like to try that last to avoid more noise

I went by myself, next time I'll try to convince someone to come along, I know the area, and I was a bit uneasy about stumbling into someone that might be walking around, and might consider that my camera look attractive.

[daq7]

Nice shooting star in the second one. I have no knowledge of how to do this. Sorry I cannot help.

[Frog]

That shooter in the second is nice but I like the one with the tree foreground just for the perspective. There's a shooter or two in it, too, but not as prominent.

I sometimes get nervous in some of the places I go to shoot, too. Be careful!

[armando_m]

Thanks for the comments

[n8]

I think stepping down your iso might help with the noise. I'd imagine that with longer exposures it starts multiplying. I'd use a higher f stop, but that's just me. I'm not sure about the laws in Mexico, but perhaps you should considering some "extra gear" if you're going places that make you uneasy.

[Greg McCary]

I think there is some software avaliable that will bring out more stars/detail. It has been posted here before but it has been awile. You might do a google search. I think the software combined exposures like an hdr. But you are technically doing the right thing. You might try shooting film if noise is an issue.

[armando_m]

Councel, extra gear it depends, but guns are not legal , it has been a while, there use to be random checkpoints for gun control

Greg, thanks, I'll look for the software, and will reshoot when possible

[Grandpaw]

Frog said.......That shooter in the second is nice but I like the one with the tree foreground just for the perspective. There's a shooter or two in it, too, but not as prominent.

Frog, they don't count if you have to move your head back and forth to see them! Jeff

[Frog]

Frog said.......That shooter in the second is nice but I like the one with the tree foreground just for the perspective. There's a shooter or two in it, too, but not as prominent.

Frog, they don't count if you have to move your head back and forth to see them! Jeff

Ha! I did have to look a bit but wanted to make sure there weren't any there. They are no where near as good as the one in the first.

[SmartWombat]

Try RegiStax, astronomical image stacking noise reduction software.
http://www.astronomie.be/registax/
http://www.astronomie.be/registax/re...usermanual.pdf

[armando_m]

Smart wombat I'll take a look , Thanks!

[GB1]

Though somewhat noisy, these are very impactful Armando. Being black and white, they seem like a 1950s Sci-Fi movie (ever see It, The Terror From Beyond Space?) They also seem real and not post processed, a good thing

I don't have any advice on how to get astronomy shots, but it's an art that I'm sure is worth learning. A clear night away from clouds and light contamination is key. Looks like you're on the right track.

G

[Canyon Hiker]

Right on Armondo. Glad to see you are experimenting. Astrophotography is amazing to me. I live in a area where I can walk outside at night and see every star in the sky on a clear night. I try and take advantage of that. In doing so i have learned a little. If you are just going to shoot the sky and you are not worried about getting any detail from the foreground trees I would open up the ampeture as far as it will go. use the f1.8 at 100 ISO for 45 seconds.Anything over 1 minute and you will get blurr from the movement of the earth. Turn your mirror lock on and use a wireless shutter release if possible or the timer on the camera set to 10 sec minimum. You would be amazed to see that even with a 10 second timer there is still some movement from you releasing your hands off the camera after 10 seconds when mounted on a tri-pod. Also just walking away from the camera will cause shake, even on stable ground. If you are shooting on sand or pavement then your ok. I shoot on dirt and have done some experiments and was shocked to see movement from me walking away and the camera still shaking slightly after 10 seconds. The slightest movement in the camera will cause blurr in the stars (if you want to get picky).
The last meteor shower in April I had short window where the clouds cleared. i tried to get a shot at some meteors. No luck, I was too early in the night. The picture will give you an idea about how a low ISO (200 in this one) will make the photo much cleaner with little to no noise. There is no processing in this one..
Shooting Date/Time
4/18/2010 23:24:56
Tv(Shutter Speed)
2163Sec.
Av(Aperture Value)
F3.5
Metering Modes
-
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
200
-
Focal Length
18.0 mm


Hope this helps you some. I look foreward to your future shots.

Darin

[Canyon Hiker]

oops forgot to leave the EXIF for the moon shot..
10/9/2009 14:41:15
Tv(Shutter Speed)
1/125Sec.
Av(Aperture Value)
F5.6
Metering Modes
-
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
100
Lens
-
Focal Length
300.0 mm

[armando_m]

Thanks Darin and GB1!!!

I knew someone had done this before and would have some recommendations