Milkyway nightscapes

irishguy0224 wrote in post #18536986
So i presume that is manual focus like most of their others. How are you finding it is to dial that in for nightscapes and what not without auto focus and setting it to infinity?

I use the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, also manual focus. I dial in focus on a distant object in the daylight, then use some electrical tape on the lens to hold the focus ring in place.

moose135 wrote in post #18537519
I use the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, also manual focus. I dial in focus on a distant object in the daylight, then use some electrical tape on the lens to hold the focus ring in place.

That’s never worked for me. I always bump it where the electrical tape didn’t hold. I usually just live view the moon or some brighter star in 5x mode and then switch to MF and recheck every so often.

I zoom in with live view to a bright star and set focus manually then try not to touch the focus ring from that point on

all great recommendations. thanks a ton everyone!

TRhoads wrote in post #18537052
most, if not all lenses don't work in AF for shooting dark sky images, and many in my experience require some fiddling and experimenting to get proper focus, most do not get critical focus at infinity. I have rented two different Sigma 20Art lenses, and both of them were a bit different for what was critical. My Batis 18 is pretty easy with the OLED, you can see it at night and after using the SharpStar to help, I know what point is perfect focus for stars.

Sounds like you are looking the Sharp Star. I heard they are more for longer lenses rather than wider ones. It is basically a bhatinov mask commonly used on telescopes, which are longer focal length. Is it worth getting?

rezcar wrote in post #18539592
Sounds like you are looking the Sharp Star. I heard they are more for longer lenses rather than wider ones. It is basically a bhatinov mask commonly used on telescopes, which are longer focal length. Is it worth getting?

I do have the SharpStar and find it works great for wide angle too...

TRhoads wrote in post #18539706
I do have the SharpStar and find it works great for wide angle too...

Thanks, I'll have to look into again.

I haven't posted in here for a bit but went out in the country for some night shooting recently......

Really nice shot......if I may be a bit nosey? was this stacked or just PP? You use the 24-70 ? I try to shoot MW as I travel as I home in a urban area....... again, very nice work! ( your composition makes it to me!)

I like the composition for sure. I also wonder about how many images were used etc.

On another note, your profile mentions you are from Central CA, where about?

I live in Salinas and always looking to get out with some local people to shoot. Couple friends and I get out occasionally and I am trying to plan a night shot in late Sep. Perhaps you might want to join?

This was actually taken just east of Pinnacles National Park...then I drove home throughSalinas. I live in Visalia but I am always out & about in Central Cali. We could for sure plan a meet up. Just PM me.

This was two shots.....the foreground I took a little earlier in the evening while the moonlight was available. The sky was later at night & I had to darken it a bit to bring out the MW. Rarely do I do a composite so this was fun for me.

Smooth Reflection milky way blend. Sony A7mkii, Zeiss Batis 18mm. Foreground 16 shot SR app, milky way, single shot.

I went out on Saturday night to shoot the milky way and wanted to try the smooth reflection app for the foreground and blend a single sky shot in. Went to bed early and the sky was crystal clear and unreal. Milky Way core was rising at around 2am so got up and went to the beach for this shot. Unfortunately the cloud had started to come in (was supposed to be crystal clear all night) I managed to get one shot with a little bit of the milky way showing and then shot my SR foreground to blend in.
I stuck it out for an hour and then I couldn't see a single star for the cloud so went home. I will definately try this again for a clean foreground shot.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/24Dt​zQU

gaabnz wrote in post #18572875
Smooth Reflection milky way blend. Sony A7mkii, Zeiss Batis 18mm. Foreground 16 shot SR app, milky way, single shot.

I went out on Saturday night to shoot the milky way and wanted to try the smooth reflection app for the foreground and blend a single sky shot in. Went to bed early and the sky was crystal clear and unreal. Milky Way core was rising at around 2am so got up and went to the beach for this shot. Unfortunately the cloud had started to come in (was supposed to be crystal clear all night) I managed to get one shot with a little bit of the milky way showing and then shot my SR foreground to blend in.
I stuck it out for an hour and then I couldn't see a single star for the cloud so went home. I will definately try this again for a clean foreground shot.

Nice shot, so do you use the app for noise reduction or for long exposure simulation? I think you mentioned the beach so I'm assuming the latter. Does the app do nose reduction similar to median stacking in PS?

You said you got 16 shots but also say you will try again for a clean foreground? I'm just trying to see if I should use the app, I already have it, but do stacking in PS. Thanks

rezcar wrote in post #18572965
Nice shot, so do you use the app for noise reduction or for long exposure simulation? I think you mentioned the beach so I'm assuming the latter. Does the app do nose reduction similar to median stacking in PS?

You said you got 16 shots but also say you will try again for a clean foreground? I'm just trying to see if I should use the app, I already have it, but do stacking in PS. Thanks

Hey

I was aiming for noise reduction and being able to bring a lot more detail out in the foreground. The single shot of the milky way I took, the foreground is just black. I've never done the stacking in PS, but really like the SR method. I need to trial and error a little more and keep trying.

I do use the SR app for long exposure simulation instead of my filters too.