DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 

DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Perseid meteor shower
Pages:  
Showing posts 1 - 25 of 43, (reverse)
AuthorThread
 08/10/2013 02:07:55 PM · #1
Everything you need to know: Perseid meteor shower

I think I have the gear to capture a usable image at ISO 1600 and 30 seconds and wide open aperture. Will venture out to 12,000' elevation on Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights. The moon sets by 2300 those days, so after midnight excursion for me to find the dark sky.
 08/10/2013 02:51:33 PM · #2
I look forward to seeing them -- it's been persistently cloudy/foggy around here. From what I've heard prime viewing time is 2-5 am. If you are interested, the NPR program Science Friday has put out a call for listener-submitted photos of the Perseids.
 08/10/2013 02:54:53 PM · #3
Thanks for the information, gentlemen! I was lucky enough to catch one in my test shots from the other night:

08/10/2013 03:02:48 PM · #4
Originally posted by cgino:
Thanks for the information, gentlemen! I was lucky enough to catch one in my test shots from the other night:


Looks like you might have two -- there's another streak on the right edge ...
 08/10/2013 04:29:10 PM · #5
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by cgino:
Thanks for the information, gentlemen! I was lucky enough to catch one in my test shots from the other night:


Looks like you might have two -- there's another streak on the right edge ...


Nice catch Colleen!

I think that's just one long streak General.
 08/10/2013 04:31:20 PM · #6
Originally posted by Cory:
I think that's just one long streak General.

Yes, I missed seeing the obscuring cloud the first time. Great capture anyway!
 08/10/2013 04:37:23 PM · #7
Originally posted by cgino:
Thanks for the information, gentlemen! I was lucky enough to catch one in my test shots from the other night:


Very nice. Inspiration to me.
 08/11/2013 09:58:03 AM · #8
Originally posted by hahn23:
Originally posted by cgino:
Thanks for the information, gentlemen! I was lucky enough to catch one in my test shots from the other night:


Very nice. Inspiration to me.


Very nice.

I was out almost three hours last night. Saw a fireball cross the sky before I got set up. Then I waited and waited, taking shots. I got this. About half way through. I enjoyed the night air, the smell, the cool air. I was an avid stargazer a while back and it brought back some good memories.

Might try again tonight.
 08/11/2013 12:10:37 PM · #9
It is almost impossible to get a dark sky within a two hour drive of my home. The light pollution is just too severe. We tried a few years ago, went to the top of Mt. Wilson, and it was still pretty light out. Not very good for this sort of photography
 08/11/2013 12:31:19 PM · #10
We had a couple hours of clear skies here last night, other than that, clouded in. I was a leeetle preoccupied with a wedding yesterday (our only daughter!), so no observing for moi.
 08/11/2013 12:39:11 PM · #11
Clouds and rain last night. A little better forecast tonight. I'll try between 0100 and 0300. Light pollution from Denver and Boulder (East and South) is a problem. But, I should be able to shoot north towards Wyoming and capture the "Radiant" portion of the unpolluted sky.

Message edited by author 2013-08-11 12:40:15.
 08/11/2013 12:39:11 PM · #12
Originally posted by kirbic:
We had a couple hours of clear skies here last night, other than that, clouded in. I was a leeetle preoccupied with a wedding yesterday (our only daughter!), so no observing for moi.


Congratulations!!
 08/11/2013 01:03:01 PM · #13
Originally posted by kirbic:
We had a couple hours of clear skies here last night, other than that, clouded in. I was a leeetle preoccupied with a wedding yesterday (our only daughter!), so no observing for moi.


Congratulations! Your only daughter getting married is a major step in her life and that of her parents :)
And now...on to the following step ;)
 08/11/2013 02:53:34 PM · #14
Will have some time to take a few shots before work tomorrow on I-91 20 miles north of St. George, UT. Can someone give me a suggested shutter speed to use before stars start looking like shooting stars themselves.
 08/11/2013 03:16:37 PM · #15
Originally posted by see:
Will have some time to take a few shots before work tomorrow on I-91 20 miles north of St. George, UT. Can someone give me a suggested shutter speed to use before stars start looking like shooting stars themselves.


For you, assuming that you're using the 1.3 crop and your 50mm lens, you need to stay around 9 seconds total exposure time.

ETA: for those who are interested, here's the way to figure this out.

First, choose a lens and body...

Next, figure out your effective focal length (crop factor * focal length)

Finally, do a bit of math (600 / effective focal length)

This will give you the correct time to expose for sharp stars.

..

One important note: Compensate based on sensor resolution - see for example, uses a 1D mkII @ 8.2MP on a 1.3 crop sensor - this gives us a relatively large sized pixel area, and therefore the exposure time can be pushed out - see can probably safely go up to 11 or 12 seconds before blur will become problematic. Take a 7D though, and you've got some very small pixels on a 1.6 crop sensor - this is where you'll need to compensate the other direction, and that 9 seconds should probably be 7 or 8 seconds.

Of course, this only matters at a pixel level, in theory, the images should look the same at a macro level, since the stars will still move the exact same distance regardless of sensor size/density.

..

Hope all of that makes sense.

Message edited by author 2013-08-11 15:31:08.
 08/11/2013 03:27:35 PM · #16
Thanks Cory
 08/11/2013 03:36:10 PM · #17
One more consideration for those interested - noise reduction software likes stars that are slightly blurred, since it's then easy for it to determine what is a star, and what is noise. (Most noise is single pixel, just like a sharp minor star is.)

So, there is a potential reason (especially for those with slower lenses and noisy sensors) that you might want to use 450/focal length, or even 300/focal length for your exposure, not only will you get an extra half or full stop of light, but you'll also be able to deal with the noise in post more effectively without killing your stars... Of course, then you have eggs, not stars. :)

ETA: You're welcome see!

Message edited by author 2013-08-11 15:36:29.
 08/11/2013 03:58:19 PM · #18
So using my 70-200 F4L @ 200mm, It should be a 3 second exposure, but will come out better?
 08/11/2013 04:02:49 PM · #19
Originally posted by see:
So using my 70-200 F4L @ 200mm, It should be a 3 second exposure, but will come out better?


A couple of considerations - that 70-200 is slower (f/4 vs f/1.4) so you'll get less light (and you should stop down 2/3 of a stop or so for the best results) so you'll have a harder time getting good shots without cranking up that ISO (not that 1 series bodies are bad about noise, especially at under 5 seconds)...

The other issue is with the nature of the meteorites themselves - they originate from a small portion of the sky, but often travel quite a ways across it - so a wider lens is actually preferred. Even your 50 is pretty tight IMO - I'm borrowing schlake's 15mm f/2.8 in fact, because I want to go wide and fast. Then again, I'm not entirely certain that I'll get better results from this than you would with your longer lenses, but it's where I'm laying my bets tonight. ;)
 08/11/2013 04:09:28 PM · #20
Originally posted by see:
So using my 70-200 F4L @ 200mm, It should be a 3 second exposure, but will come out better?


Personally I wouldn't go for 200mm as a single option, as your field of view is so limited you are really limiting your ability to catch a meteorite. If you have a couple of cameras going, sure, put one at 200mm, but where do you point? Meteors come from a radiant around the constellation Perseus, so @ 200mm it would be a crapshoot where to point.

Ha, what Cory said :-)
 08/11/2013 04:11:29 PM · #21
From what I have read Mon. Tues are the best nights, I will try the 50 for a hour Mon, if I capture something worth keeping I will try the 70-200 Tues.
 08/11/2013 04:12:51 PM · #22
Umm, Mon & Tue UT time perhaps, but for we folks here in the states I think it is tonight and tomorrow night :-)

Originally posted by see:
From what I have read Mon. Tues are the best nights, I will try the 50 for a hour Mon, if I capture something worth keeping I will try the 70-200 Tues.
08/11/2013 04:18:03 PM · #23
Mon and Tues early morning, 5AM
LOL, UT = Utah

Message edited by author 2013-08-11 16:18:53.
 08/11/2013 04:32:52 PM · #24
You are so right, Mon and Tues early morning :-)

Originally posted by see:
Mon and Tues early morning, 5AM
LOL, UT = Utah
08/11/2013 04:41:47 PM · #25
We went to Cajon Pass in California to watch the shower. My kids had a great time. We camped out about 25 feet from a rail line. Naturally a freight train rolled through at 130am (several minutes long). This image has blur from time, wind, and a freight train. ;)

Pages:  
Current Server Time: 08/09/2025 02:20:18 PM

Please log in or register to post to the forums.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 08/09/2025 02:20:18 PM EDT.