Astrophotography

Anyone into it?

got myself a Sony A7II today, attached my trusty Sigma 30mm 1.4

changed my iso to 1000

set to manual, opened up the aperture and adjusted the time. Set a 10 sec timer and then manually focussed (not f’ing easy in the dark haha)

pure pitch black photos!!! Not even the light from a house over the way.

anyone any pearls of wisdom for me?
 


Anyone into it?

got myself a Sony A7II today, attached my trusty Sigma 30mm 1.4

changed my iso to 1000

set to manual, opened up the aperture and adjusted the time. Set a 10 sec timer and then manually focussed (not f’ing easy in the dark haha)

pure pitch black photos!!! Not even the light from a house over the way.

anyone any pearls of wisdom for me?
Maybe take the lens cap off?
 
Yep, me. Did you aim the camera at anything and how did you focus? If way out of focus, the stars can blow out and barely be visible.
 
Anyone into it?

got myself a Sony A7II today, attached my trusty Sigma 30mm 1.4

changed my iso to 1000

set to manual, opened up the aperture and adjusted the time. Set a 10 sec timer and then manually focussed (not f’ing easy in the dark haha)

pure pitch black photos!!! Not even the light from a house over the way.

anyone any pearls of wisdom for me?
Do you mean a 10 sec shutter speed or the 10 sec timer, if the first you must have got something at those settings. If the second what shutter speed did you set in 'manual'?
 
Do you mean a 10 sec shutter speed or the 10 sec timer, if the first you must have got something at those settings. If the second what shutter speed did you set in 'manual'?

I managed it! Although can’t for the death of me get any site that hosts images anymore!

I had it all set up the other day correctly except...massive schoolboy error, I adjusted my shutter speed the wrong way:oops::oops:

so this is it in ultra lo compressed instagramovision

Link
 
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I managed it! Although can’t for the death of me get any site that hosts images anymore!

I had it all set up the other day correctly except...massive schoolboy error, I adjusted my shutter speed the wrong way:oops::oops:

so this is it in ultra lo compressed instagramovision

Link
Not bad, do you know what that was pointing at?

Do you have a remote shutter release? If not, consider using a 10 second delay timer. The stars look a little off. It could be focus or it could be small vibrations in the camera and tripod setup, caused by you pressing the shutter. If you use the delay for the vibrations to dampen, you should see a sharper image.
 
Not bad, do you know what that was pointing at?

Do you have a remote shutter release? If not, consider using a 10 second delay timer. The stars look a little off. It could be focus or it could be small vibrations in the camera and tripod setup, caused by you pressing the shutter. If you use the delay for the vibrations to dampen, you should see a sharper image.
No idea, but I did catch a constellation...just about :lol:

it‘s quite a learning curve. My most difficult thing so far is focussing for sure. As I’m up every night, this gives me something to learn and enjoy. Took this a few minutes ago...

Linky
 
No idea, but I did catch a constellation...just about :lol:

it‘s quite a learning curve. My most difficult thing so far is focussing for sure. As I’m up every night, this gives me something to learn and enjoy. Took this a few minutes ago...

Linky
Nice. It will not be long before you are desiring a tracking mount!

For focus, I tend to zoom in on the brightest star, including a digital zoom. For other advice, it is worth looking at the star gazers lounge forum.
 
Nice. It will not be long before you are desiring a tracking mount!

For focus, I tend to zoom in on the brightest star, including a digital zoom. For other advice, it is worth looking at the star gazers lounge forum.

thanks mate! I find sometimes I can see stuff on screen/viewfinder but other times, absolutely nothing, so it’s a gamble haha! I’ve got an app called SkySafari which seems pretty good.

I have been on reddit, and was amazed to see that the done thing is to use a mobile, or webcam, due to the smaller sensor :eek: think that’s getting into the hardcore though. My aim is to just create a nice little library I can use for work/personal.
 
thanks mate! I find sometimes I can see stuff on screen/viewfinder but other times, absolutely nothing, so it’s a gamble haha! I’ve got an app called SkySafari which seems pretty good.

I have been on reddit, and was amazed to see that the done thing is to use a mobile, or webcam, due to the smaller sensor :eek: think that’s getting into the hardcore though. My aim is to just create a nice little library I can use for work/personal.
If you want detailed pictures then a DSLR like you are using is far better. I follow Stargazers Lounge and also the readers photos in Sky At Night Magazine. There is something in the community to post what equipment you used along with the picture. I have rarely seen pictures from mobile phones.

Adapted webcams are generally used through a telescope for bright objects, such as planets and the moon. You get a lot of turbulence through the atmosphere so the moon can look very wobbly. A 1 minute video will consist of around 1500 stills. Stacking software goes through each frame and selects the clear bits from each one and puts them together for a crisp detailed image.

One thing I have never done is star trails, which can be done with shorter images (to avoid over exposure) and stacking software. I might give that a go the next clear night.
 
If you want detailed pictures then a DSLR like you are using is far better. I follow Stargazers Lounge and also the readers photos in Sky At Night Magazine. There is something in the community to post what equipment you used along with the picture. I have rarely seen pictures from mobile phones.

Adapted webcams are generally used through a telescope for bright objects, such as planets and the moon. You get a lot of turbulence through the atmosphere so the moon can look very wobbly. A 1 minute video will consist of around 1500 stills. Stacking software goes through each frame and selects the clear bits from each one and puts them together for a crisp detailed image.

One thing I have never done is star trails, which can be done with shorter images (to avoid over exposure) and stacking software. I might give that a go the next clear night.

I've just been looking at Exposure Stacking....gawd!!! :lol: let us know how you get on!!
 
I'd love some advice on this also, a few weeks ago I got myself a canon powershot sx540 hs and need a few pointers.
Start simple. First you need a tripod and next learn how to work manual mode. You need to know how to change the ISO, the aperture and the shutter speed. It is also worth having a go at focussing at distance in daylight first. Pick a distant object and get a feel for where your focus point is. On my lenses it is all the way to the left then back a tiny bit. Best to get to know how to change settings in daylight. It can be hard to find the right buttons in the dark.

Stick your camera on the tripod, point it to a bright star, open the aperture as far as it will go ( f/3.4 on yours ), set a mid range ISO, say ISO 800 and a shutter speed of 10 seconds. If possible, go to live view and see if you can focus sharper on a star. If not, take a series of shots changing the focus each time until you get something you are happy with.

Astrophotography is pretty much about capturing as much light as possible. A wide open aperture lets in as much light as it can, a long exposure is more time to capture light and ISO settings make the sensor chip more sensitive but can introduce noise. If you are getting lots of coloured speckles or noise on your image, lower the ISO. If it is too dark, increase either the ISO or the shutter speed.

Basically play around with ISO and shutter speed until you get something you are happy with. A lot depends on how dark your sky is and atmospheric conditions such as moisture in the air. A longer shutter speed might give you a lot of orange light pollution. Going for 20 seconds will likely see the stars turn into commas as you start to pick up the curve of the earth.

Once you have a few settings you are happy with, take images with a 10s delay, unless you can remote trigger the camera. This will remove any camera shake and give a clearer image. There is a canon app that might work for this.
 
Start simple. First you need a tripod and next learn how to work manual mode. You need to know how to change the ISO, the aperture and the shutter speed. It is also worth having a go at focussing at distance in daylight first. Pick a distant object and get a feel for where your focus point is. On my lenses it is all the way to the left then back a tiny bit. Best to get to know how to change settings in daylight. It can be hard to find the right buttons in the dark.

Stick your camera on the tripod, point it to a bright star, open the aperture as far as it will go ( f/3.4 on yours ), set a mid range ISO, say ISO 800 and a shutter speed of 10 seconds. If possible, go to live view and see if you can focus sharper on a star. If not, take a series of shots changing the focus each time until you get something you are happy with.

Astrophotography is pretty much about capturing as much light as possible. A wide open aperture lets in as much light as it can, a long exposure is more time to capture light and ISO settings make the sensor chip more sensitive but can introduce noise. If you are getting lots of coloured speckles or noise on your image, lower the ISO. If it is too dark, increase either the ISO or the shutter speed.

Basically play around with ISO and shutter speed until you get something you are happy with. A lot depends on how dark your sky is and atmospheric conditions such as moisture in the air. A longer shutter speed might give you a lot of orange light pollution. Going for 20 seconds will likely see the stars turn into commas as you start to pick up the curve of the earth.

Once you have a few settings you are happy with, take images with a 10s delay, unless you can remote trigger the camera. This will remove any camera shake and give a clearer image. There is a canon app that might work for this.
Brilliant mate thanks for the advice
 

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