BIG HELP needed :D

Hey, today, after some weeks of cloudy ugly sky, i woke up and we had clear sky.
I have been following POTN for a week or so, and i am really amazed with the Astronomical Photo section, so today i decided to give it a go.

I wasn't worried in finding a really beautiful place or with composition.
I just wanted to try it out to see how it works and practice the "practicalities" of it (like the photo stacking, the timing, the exposure times,...).

So i went here to the back of the house, i mounted the camera on tripod, manually focused to infinity (it was already to dark to see), and CLICK.
I started making 3 minutes exposures. So in between each photo i have 3 more minutes wait.

And then FIRST PROBLEM came.
I am living in Finland and today we have -20C. I had battery almost full and after 3 photos (3 and half actually) the battery went completely dead. There is no way it could be empty, i think it was maybe because of the cold.
Any of you had this problem? How can we work around it?

So, no more pictures tonight. I came inside, fired up PS and stacked the pictures using the Smart Object function.

But i got "holes" in the middle of the start trails...
How can i get rid of them (without "cheating" in PS)?
I think my camera (EOS 400D) has always a Processing Time equal to the Exposure Time, so will i always get this kind of gaps? Really hope not...

Well, here is what came out of it...
(is that on the right upper corner the Polar Star? =) )

The 'processing gaps' are caused because you have noise reduction switched on in your camera. It doesn't really notice when you are making exposures measured in fractions of a second, but will definitely show up when doing exposures that are measured in seconds rather than fractions.

Not sure what you can do about shortened battery life due to the cold. Obviously you will be able to get twice as many shots in if you turn the noise reduction off, as you can take another image instead of waiting for the processing. The only other thing I can suggest is to make sure that your batteries are freshly charged and keep them as warm as possible before starting, only putting them in the camera when you are ready to go. Having a spare battery will also help you to take more images.

i feel such a BEGINNER!!! =)

Thank you so much for you advice!
I will for sure check the in camera noise reduction settings as soon as my battery is loaded.
I can imagine that changing the battery without "shaking" the tripod can be quite tricky, but i imagine there is no other way to shoot in the wild for long periods of time. (i need to get a second battery)

Also a good idea to keep the battery warm before using it. =) I had the camera in the car and i remember noticing how cold it was already when i went to get it.

Thanks!

a grip doubles the battery life, as it contains two batteries. and it might make changing batteries easier on a tripod, as it uses a tray that slides out horizontally. and it usually comes with a tray that allows the use of AA batteries, if you got some rechargables you can further extend your battery life with those.

if you started with a frozen battery it's no wonder you didn't get far... always keep them warm. a cold camera might be an advantage, as it can reeduce noise. be careful about condensation when bringing the camera back inside, while we're at it.

Never heard cold cameras could be an advantage. It seems that cold weather is good for something! =)

Thank you for your pertinent advices!

The feature to look for is Long Exposure Noise Reduction. Turning that off will get rid of the long gaps between being able to shoot.

Getting a timer remote would help, also. One with an intervalometer on it would allow you to set the length of exposure, number of exposures you want to take and time period within which to make the shots; then you could leave the camera alone and just monitor your battery periodically.

boguz wrote in post #11646570
Never heard cold cameras could be an advantage. It seems that cold weather is good for something! =)

Thank you for your pertinent advices!

http://ghonis2.ho8.com​/rebelmod450d16c.html

Sorarse wrote in post #11646448
...

Not sure what you can do about shortened battery life due to the cold. Obviously you will be able to get twice as many shots in if you turn the noise reduction off, as you can take another image instead of waiting for the processing. The only other thing I can suggest is to make sure that your batteries are freshly charged and keep them as warm as possible before starting, only putting them in the camera when you are ready to go. Having a spare battery will also help you to take more images.

If you're close enough to the house to run an extension cord, you can use an AC adapter for your camera, so no batteries required. Also, were you using live view? That uses a lot more battery power than normal shooting.

archer1960 wrote in post #11647061
If you're close enough to the house to run an extension cord, you can use an AC adapter for your camera, so no batteries required. Also, were you using live view? That uses a lot more battery power than normal shooting.

Nop, i have a Canon 400D. No Live View at all... =( and also no AC adapter. =(
Maybe i have to wait for warmer nights. Anyway, the forecast for the next week is "cloudy and snow", so...

Thank you all for your help. Your comments are really useful! =)

Sorarse wrote in post #11646448
The 'processing gaps' are caused because you have noise reduction switched on in your camera.

if you are a chick... I WANNA KISS YOU!!! if you're a dude... then i'll buy you a beer... i was trying to figure out for the life of me... why it takes so damn long to process. I have a 7D, my buddy has a 40D and his long exposures processed INSTANTLY... i was like WTF????
I can't believe i'm JUST figuring this out... thanks yo

RLPhoto wrote in post #11647429
if you are a chick... I WANNA KISS YOU!!! if you're a dude... then i'll buy you a beer... i was trying to figure out for the life of me... why it takes so damn long to process. I have a 7D, my buddy has a 40D and his long exposures processed INSTANTLY... i was like WTF????
I can't believe i'm JUST figuring this out... thanks yo

I'll take the beer thanks.

RLPhoto wrote in post #11647429
if you're a dude... then i'll buy you a beer...

Sorarse wrote in post #11650638
I'll take the beer thanks.

Hey, don't I deserve a beer too? =D

= = = = = =

Well, anyway, i got my battery charged and indeed i had the darn Noise Reduction On! =|
I turned it off and am now waiting for a nice clear night sky to try it again.

What kind of setting do you use? Like what kind of ISO and exposure times?

Once again, thank you!
=)

boguz wrote in post #11651119
Hey, don't I deserve a beer too? =D

= = = = = =

Well, anyway, i got my battery charged and indeed i had the darn Noise Reduction On! =|
I turned it off and am now waiting for a nice clear night sky to try it again.

What kind of setting do you use? Like what kind of ISO and exposure times?

Once again, thank you!
=)

Take a look at the posts in this forum that are of the objects you want to shoot, and see what they use. As a general rule, the moon exposes like a daylight object, Jupiter is a few stops dimmer, and for deep-sky objects (nebulae, etc), just crank up the ISO, open up the aperture, and see how long you can shoot without getting trails (unless it's trails you're looking for). I was shooting Orion on Friday at 39mm FL, ISO 1600, f/4.5, and 3 to 6 second exposures.

I usually use ISO 400 or 800, a fairly wide aperture, maybe f/2.8 or f/4, and then take loads of 30 second exposures.

30 seconds helps to minimise light pollution from nearby towns, and you can dial it in on the shutter dial.

where is clear sky when we want it...?