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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> Star trails
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04/07/2004 09:16:33 PM · #1
Originally posted by marshalf:

Originally posted by Spazmo99:



Go someplace dark, away from city light pollution.


And, speaking from experience, someplace outside of heavy air traffic patterns. I've had planes fly through my field of view more than once...


Yeah, that too, though you will likely pick up satellites too, not much you can do about that.
04/07/2004 09:05:13 PM · #2
Originally posted by Spazmo99:



Go someplace dark, away from city light pollution.


And, speaking from experience, someplace outside of heavy air traffic patterns. I've had planes fly through my field of view more than once...
04/07/2004 08:34:07 PM · #3
Originally posted by kirbic:

But you really don't need time lapse capability specifically. You can just take 30s or 1-minute exposures, then re-trigger manually immediately after the previous exposure. About 10minutes like this and you will have some pretty nice trails.

I think my camera's longest exposure is something like 1/2 sec. and it has no remote. :(
04/07/2004 08:28:40 PM · #4
Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by kirbic:

For imaging stars at wider angles, the low resolution of the video might not be the best.

I don't have any time-lapse capability. I was thinking of letting a video camera run for an hour, then grabbing a frame from every 30 seconds or minute or so; stacking those to show the trails. As long as the stars register as light, I'd think no "detail" would be needed.


True enough, you would certainly capture the brighter stars, and you could choose how often to "sample" your video to achieve continuous-looking trails. An interesting idea.

But you really don't need time lapse capability specifically. You can just take 30s or 1-minute exposures, then re-trigger manually immediately after the previous exposure. About 10minutes like this and you will have some pretty nice trails.
04/07/2004 08:23:14 PM · #5
Originally posted by kirbic:

For imaging stars at wider angles, the low resolution of the video might not be the best.

I don't have any time-lapse capability. I was thinking of letting a video camera run for an hour, then grabbing a frame from every 30 seconds or minute or so; stacking those to show the trails. As long as the stars register as light, I'd think no "detail" would be needed.
04/07/2004 08:10:39 PM · #6
Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by jab119:

1 way is to take lets say 50 1 minute exposures then stack them ...
James

What a great idea. There's a couple of other recent threads with links to a couple of different stacking programs.

If your camera has a time-lapse setting, you could use that.

Do you think stacking frams from a video capture would work? They are low-res but sensitive ...


Stacking frames from video is a widely recognized technique in planetary observing. by taking a thousand or so frames of video, you can select out the ones where the atmosphereic interference is least destructive. Stacking the best frames yields much more detail than a single image, and comparable to or better than what can be resolved with the eye.
For imaging stars at wider angles, the low resolution of the video might not be the best.
04/07/2004 07:55:42 PM · #7
Originally posted by jab119:

1 way is to take lets say 50 1 minute exposures then stack them ...
James

What a great idea. There's a couple of other recent threads with links to a couple of different stacking programs.

If your camera has a time-lapse setting, you could use that.

Do you think stacking frams from a video capture would work? They are low-res but sensitive ...
04/07/2004 07:50:38 PM · #8
Remember to block the viewfinder and aything to keep stray side light out of the lense, from lens hoods to curtains around the camera. And although I tend to keep my tripod at a height near my head when standing up, I have been told it would get pushed around by the wind less if it was closer to the ground.
04/07/2004 07:20:58 PM · #9
A remote shutter release would probably be top on the list. And a fully charged battery. I'm not sure what the max time the shutter will stay open on Bulb setting, since I'm still experimenting myself. But should be long enough to get decent trails.
04/07/2004 07:20:06 PM · #10
1 way is to take lets say 50 1 minute exposures then stack them, or 30 exposures, its up to you. I have only done 1 single 5 minute exposure and the star trails are not very long

or you can just do one long exposure, but kep the ISO down to 100 or 200 or it will get washed out.

Not sure about remote options for the 300D, but the one I have I can set the exposure for as long and I want.

It usually takes at least 20 to 25 seconds before you start to see movement in the stars at wide angles

James
04/07/2004 07:18:54 PM · #11
Originally posted by cainn:

I trying to acheive very long exposures with the 300D in order to capture star trails. any ideas?


Remote Switch RS-60-E3

This will help

Go someplace dark, away from city light pollution.

Message edited by author 2004-04-07 19:20:00.
04/07/2004 07:10:06 PM · #12
I trying to acheive very long exposures with the 300D in order to capture star trails. any ideas?
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