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Hello! Photographing stars... any tips?

astronomy d40 newbie

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34 replies to this topic

#1
Ramshackl

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Hello everyone!

 

I've owned my (beloved) D40 from new, and have very much enjoyed using it. Recently, I've gotten into portraits with my new Prime lens & SB700 flash.

 

However, my first love (that I've never properly cracked) is photographing stars. I love the idea of shooting celestial events- so much so that I shot the 1999 solar eclipse on the Channel island of Guernsey with my old Minolta SLR.

 

I haven't managed to successfully capture any shots that I'm proud of with my D40 though :-/

I'm hoping I can meet some like-minded people here to give me some pointers though.

 

Good to meet you all.

Matt



#2
Adam

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You will definitely need a remote control and a tripod, though I'm sure you aready have both of those.  I also recommend getting a fast prime lens, as shooting at wide apertures lets you reduce the required shutter speed.

 

IMO the best way to go about it is to experiment a bit with different compositions and exposures.  Here's a shot that I got a couple of weeks ago with my D800 (5s, ISO 400, 35mm @ F1.6).  I think I shot a total of 50+ different versions of this photo and only got 2 that really stood out.

 

gallery_1_6_248850.jpg

 

You probably won't want to bump the ISO too much on your D40.  I tried to stay at ISO 800 or below.  Here's one shot at ISO 800, 84.s, F2.5:

 

gallery_1_6_175011.jpg

 

Longer shutter speeds mean you'll start getting star trails- if that's what you're going for, then make sure the moon isn't around!

 

I'm definitely just brushing the surface here, as enthusiast astrophographers go as far as stacking images and using astrotracers to enable much longer exposures.  My suggestion is to go out there, experiment a bit, and post the results!  Also, I wouldn't recommend using walkaround zoom lenses for shots like these.  I tried using the 24-120mm/4 and the photos were nowhere near as sharp as the ones from the 35mm prime.



#3
Stas

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Here is topic from this forum Night photography - Photographic Technique - NikonForums.com

I hope you will find something interesting here. Good luck.



#4
Ramshackl

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Hello Adam and Stas, thanks loads for the pointers.

I'm heading on holiday next week to the Lake District (North of England), and it'll be very remote. I'm hoping for some clear skies so I can try out some of the techniques mentioned in the links, and your suggestions Adam.

 

I had a teacher at school who built astrotracers, and I've been meaning to have a go for years. Perhaps a couple of good shots of static skies will help motivate.

 

I'll post some results... although I can't promise quality!

 

Ps. Adam, I do have a tripod (it's not great, but will do), but I was going to use the self timer instead of a remote. As a side point, I didn't think there was a remote for the D40?

 

Nevermind - I just bought the ML-L3 Remote Control from Amazon- hopefully it'll arrive before I go...



#5
Stas

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Good luck) 



#6
rockjedi

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Looking forward to seeing the results all the best.

#7
morticiaskeeper

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I wish I was heading up to the Lake District! All that lovely darkness.

I've just gone out and taken 10 frames of the western sky, hopefully with that big meteor I saw.

Then I took 19 frames looking straight up to the Milky Way.

All shots were taken at ISO 1600, 20 seconds shutter open, 18mm, f3.5.

Two terminal windows opened on the computer to stack and align the sets. Might be done by the morning. Then I can put them into Darktable for editing!

#8
Ramshackl

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Sounds great- I'm looking forward to seeing those- I think I need some more practice post processing.

I'll get some shots and ask your advice I think?

 

I'll also experiment with some different ISO settings... think it'll take some practice to see what the D40 does best.



#9
morticiaskeeper

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Just popped home to see how they came out - absolute rubbish!

Not sure what went wrong. 20 seconds,f3.5,ISO 1600.

I did set the long exp NR to on and the high ISO NR to high. Perhaps that's what went wrong.

Try again tonight if the weather plays ball.

#10
Adam

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Just popped home to see how they came out - absolute rubbish!

Not sure what went wrong. 20 seconds,f3.5,ISO 1600.

I did set the long exp NR to on and the high ISO NR to high. Perhaps that's what went wrong.

Try again tonight if the weather plays ball.

The NR shouldn't be a big deal.  That exposure sounds a bit long to me, but can you post a sample?



#11
morticiaskeeper

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This is one of the shots. Taken in RAW, save to JPEG in darktable.

Attached Thumbnails

  • image.jpg


#12
Stas

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When I did such photos I set F at minimum. So it was 1.8 or maximum 2.8. So I think you just hadn't enough light.



#13
morticiaskeeper

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That's the minimum aperture I've got!

It's a Nikkor 18-70 f3.5. The only other lens I could use is an old M42 Asahi 50mm f1.4. It will be 75mm on the D80, not very sharp below f2.8 and then add a stop for the thread adaptor - back to f3.5 again!

I'll try again with all the NR turned off, maybe extend the shutter a little bit and go to a darker site.

I might have a go at Dark,Bias & Flat frames to reduce the noise.

#14
nbanjogal

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That's the minimum aperture I've got!

It's a Nikkor 18-70 f3.5. The only other lens I could use is an old M42 Asahi 50mm f1.4. It will be 75mm on the D80, not very sharp below f2.8 and then add a stop for the thread adaptor - back to f3.5 again!

I'll try again with all the NR turned off, maybe extend the shutter a little bit and go to a darker site.

I might have a go at Dark,Bias & Flat frames to reduce the noise.

 

 

I wish you could use the 50mm at 1.4! You wouldn't be able to get as much in your frame, but you will get some stars to show up. Is 1600 as high as you can go on ISO? I usually have to go up to 3200 or even 6400 to get decent exposures at night. I wouldn't worry about NR in camera--you can get rid of it in post, especially if you're using Lightroom.

 

I took this one with my 50mm 1.4 at f/4.5 (!), ISO 6400, 15 sec., so it IS possible to use a slightly smaller aperture. For me the key is in the high ISO. (I shoot with a D600, so I can get pretty high on the ISO.)

 

 

2013-10-07_0016.jpg



#15
morticiaskeeper

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The 50mm is an old Asahi, so will be 75mm on the D80. It also needs a mount adaptor with a correction lens, losing a stop. So it's back to f3.5 but at 75mm rather than 18mm. Those Asahi lenses seem to fetch good money on eBay, might have to sell it. I went out last night, just as the cloud started to come over. I fired off a quick shot of mainly light polluted cloud. The hole in the cloud showed stars! All NR turned off, ISO3200, f3.5,10 seconds. It's almost as if the NR thought the stars were sensor hotspots.

#16
nikoninjection

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welcome and would love to see shots of stars. would love to learn about some time lapse stuff. I love to shoot nature so I am interested in different plant life and animals in different areas!



#17
Stas

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nbanjogal another greate photo. What camera did you use? So law noise on so high iso it is really cool.



#18
nikoninjection

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Some Star Shots from Big Bear Ca



#19
nbanjogal

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nbanjogal another greate photo. What camera did you use? So law noise on so high iso it is really cool.

 

Thank you, Stas! I shoot with the D600, and I love how well it does with super high ISO. Of course, I did some noise reduction on my RAW file in Lightroom, so it's not all in camera. (I do not use the noise reduction feature in camera.)



#20
morticiaskeeper

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I've finally got somewhere!

A bit cold and windy tonight, with lots of light pollution, but worth it.

I saw an aircraft, so just pointed in the general direction.
image.jpg

Pleiades.
image.jpg

Cassiopeia and just a hint of M31 Andromeda Galaxy
image.jpg





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