Photographing a starfield ?

[JLB768]

I'm new to shooting the night sky, and have a question. If I were to go out, and try to get a picture of the little dipper, what settings would I use? For a full moon, I set to ISO 200..F8...1/800. So trying for something like the little dipper, being much darker, what would be a good starting point?

[Adrena1in]

Hi there. I would go for ISO 800 or 1600 and expose for about 6 to 10 seconds, aperture wide open then stopped down a couple. That's usually enough to get the brighter stars to appear. Depends what lens you're using though.

I'd guess you'd want to shoot at about 40mm or 50mm to get the Little Dipper to fit in the frame as well.

Basically though, once you have a clear night you've got hours of time to get a good shot, so experiment with the settings.

Good luck and show us how you get on.

[JLB768]

Thank you. I'll try that, and see what happens. The skies are cloudy today, and it appears it will be that way for a few days and nights.

[snatcher]

I am also waiting to have my first attempt at Star photography. I go over to Drummore,Mull of Galloway this Friday for 3 weeks. Hardly any light pollution at all so this is where I will make my first go at it.

Had the plough in mind and possibly the Milky Way as well. My camera is a 400D with a Sigma 18-200 lens. Like you say we will have hours to try out different settings. Looking forward to the challenge.

John

[Adrena1in]

Good luck John, stick with around 18-35mm and you should get some really nice shots, especially if the skies are clear and the moon's not around.