tip for an amature

Hey guys i recently got a new camera so that i can take pics of the night sky..there are so many photos there and i would love to get one like the amazing stars..the nebula and the color effects with it...i have a canon 600d and i got the kit lense i played around with it last night a bit and got some pics but i want to do better..i would like to get a better lense that can do a bit better..i want to take it step by step..so i just need some suggestions on what i should get next...
and this pics below was taken at f2.8 and exposure of 30sec..it was pretty cloudy last night and very windy 2...and the iso is 400


and i would love your suggestions on this pic thanks in advance
Nick

Hi Nick

I'm an amateur too but I've found with 30 second exp you need to be pointing towards the north to avoid star trails so much. Also for single 30 second exposures i stick to iso 1600 and get a lot more stars.

To shoot Orion try f2.8 and iso 1600 but shorten your shutter time maybe try 15 or 20 seconds.

I'm sure some of the pro's on here will guide you some more.

Keep snapping!!

Just noticed Orion is upside down to how I usually see it so I'm guessing you're in the southern hemisphere and should therefore aim south to avoid trails.

Increase your ISO to 800 or 1600, and then adjust your shutter speed according to whatever focal length you are using to minimize star drift. To get a close estimation of the shutter speed you will want to use, divide 500 by the lens focal length.
For example, you shot that image at 23mm focal length. 500 / 23mm = 21.73 seconds. So adjust your shutter speed close to that. A little longer won't hurt. If you see a little trailing/drift when previewing the image at such large sizes, it will be harder to notice when reduced to smaller presentations sizes, Which By The Way, the maximum allowable size here at POTN is 1024 on the longest side.
Don't be afraid to experiment! All we can do is recommend. Sometimes those recommendations will work for you and your situation, and other times it might not.

Here is a little introduction to DSLR Astro Imaging which might help.
http://www.scribd.com …y=key-gnoflczzrljkxl1qzzd

Exif says this was shot for 60 seconds, which would explain the movement.

thanks "tkerr"

Beano exactly thats how you can tell i am an amature

tkerr wrote in post #13813243
Increase your ISO to 800 or 1600, and then adjust your shutter speed according to whatever focal length you are using to minimize star drift. To get a close estimation of the shutter speed you will want to use, divide 500 by the lens focal length.
For example, you shot that image at 23mm focal length. 500 / 23mm = 21.73 seconds. So adjust your shutter speed close to that. A little longer won't hurt. If you see a little trailing/drift when previewing the image at such large sizes, it will be harder to notice when reduced to smaller presentations sizes, Which By The Way, the maximum allowable size here at POTN is 1024 on the longest side.
Don't be afraid to experiment! All we can do is recommend. Sometimes those recommendations will work for you and your situation, and other times it might not.

Here is a little introduction to DSLR Astro Imaging which might help.
http://www.scribd.com …y=key-gnoflczzrljkxl1qzzd

stumpusmaximus wrote in post #13811889
Hi Nick

I'm an amateur too but I've found with 30 second exp you need to be pointing towards the north to avoid star trails so much. Also for single 30 second exposures i stick to iso 1600 and get a lot more stars.

To shoot Orion try f2.8 and iso 1600 but shorten your shutter time maybe try 15 or 20 seconds.

I'm sure some of the pro's on here will guide you some more.

Keep snapping!!

Thanks a lot Bro i am going to try this tonight

Example: Nothing special. It looks fine as a background.

This shot of Orion is at F2.8, 13 seconds and ISO 800 on a 40D 1.6 crop sensor, using a 16mm focal length. At 35mm you can start to see slight movement. These parameters were selected to cut down on light polution and to prevent movement. I just wanted a new pic for my desktop. It is a single shot with no stacking.

The time you expose and the focal length you select will show or not show movement. Going beyond a point requires tracking. You will need to play with the settings to see where the movement is too much for your liking.

And we had some high sirrus as well. Orion was sitting slightly west of north-west.

nice shot. i have one question (know its not the proper topic, but this last shot brught it up on my mind).
im not sure how to explain that, my english aint the best hehe


like this last shot, where we can clearly see the trees lit up. but i think its cooler when we can only see the dark shape of the trees (know what i mean?). im not sure how to do this effect. maybe its the light polution? or some technic im not aware?

victorelessar wrote in post #13877751
nice shot. i have one question (know its not the proper topic, but this last shot brught it up on my mind).
im not sure how to explain that, my english aint the best hehe


like this last shot, where we can clearly see the trees lit up. but i think its cooler when we can only see the dark shape of the trees (know what i mean?). im not sure how to do this effect. maybe its the light polution? or some technic im not aware?

No, in my yard, I have large lights to light up the garden, because burglars like dark areas. i normally switch them off, but in this shot - coupled with the city lights - they light up the trees. You get the full moon effect, because there is a lot of light.

Note that this last shot was taken in a big city with light everywhere.

David

cool. thanks for the answer

cheers

waoo thanks for the tips mate..i just got a new lense the 50mm f1.8 see how that goes tonight....