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10/23/2008 12:17:50 AM · #1 |
I'm going to see a nighttime space shuttle launch at the Kennedy Space Center next month.
I have a Canon 40D, 100-400L, and am considering getting a 1.4 extender.
Any advice on ISO, exposure, manual vs. auto focus,etc.?
Thanks!! |
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10/23/2008 12:20:42 AM · #2 |
Can't comment on that, just make sure you post pictures!!!
The Space Buffs around the world, like me in Aus, don't get the chance to go over and see these things.
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10/23/2008 12:22:47 AM · #3 |
Originally posted by gzupruk:
Any advice on ISO, exposure, manual vs. auto focus,etc.? |
Check the tiles and kick the O-rings. |
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10/23/2008 12:32:05 AM · #4 |
| OOOOO When is the launch? I'm just down the road in Orlando and will have to drive over!! Night launches are pretty amazing! Do you have a spot picked out??? I wish I had some advice on settings but last time I only had a point and shoot, and 2.3 meagapixels at that! lol |
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10/23/2008 12:52:13 AM · #5 |
| Try this: Shoot straight up from underneath the solid rocket boosters during liftoff. Never seen a shot from that angle before. :) |
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10/23/2008 12:59:56 AM · #6 |
I am sooo jealous. I would love to go watch a night launch...
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10/23/2008 01:24:51 AM · #7 |
It will be impressive. I once saw a night launch as well. A friend of mine got me a base pass so I got to sit on the strip of land where there was just water and the shuttle. The only people closer to the shuttle were the astronauts on the ship.
The sensation was intense and the flame very very bright. |
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10/23/2008 02:02:48 AM · #8 |
My spouse's dad works for NASA and he occassionally sends us photos taken by a photographer who works there. This photo was taken with the following settings:
Length: 400mm
Shutter: 1/640 sec
Aperture: f/6.3
Mode: Manual
Metering: Multi-segment
ISO: 400
Flash: Off
Date/Time: 2008:03:11 00:24:38
Message edited by author 2008-10-23 02:04:35. |
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10/23/2008 03:10:39 AM · #9 |
No real suggestions I'm afraid but very jealous, I'd love to watch a launch.
My only suggestions ... maybe a battery grip as you most likely will want to shoot in portrait (even a cheapy hong kong one would do the trick, I've just got one and am impressed). Shoot in raw as well so you have more data to work with.
Remember, if you have a 1.4 (or 2x) convertor you will have to manually focus anyway (as the 1.4 will be max aperture of f/8 and the 2x f/11) but it shouldn't be too much of a problem as you'll be focused @ infinity anyway (remember the lens focus's past infinity.
Good luck and looking forward to seeing the pics :) |
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10/23/2008 06:58:07 AM · #10 |
Date: Nov. 14 +
Mission: STS-126
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 7:55 p.m. EST
Landing Date and Time: Nov. 25 +
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility
Description: Space Shuttle Endeavour launching on assembly flight ULF2, will deliver a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to the International Space Station. |
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10/23/2008 08:13:09 AM · #11 |
For a night launch, to me anyway, I think you have way to much lens. Things happen fast and it's at night. It's not like you're going to get a close up of the launch, but it depends on what you are going for, or if you have a pass to get that close.
On a very cloudy night I shot these with a 16mm fisheye and a 12-24, both cameras were at f/7.1, 30 sec, ISO 100.
Jaker if you or gzupruk or anyone else for that matter, want to come up to Daytona I'm going back to this same spot to try again. I'm hoping for a clear night, I sold the D70 with it's incredible ability to penetrate the cloud cover!
Message edited by author 2008-10-23 08:16:48.
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10/23/2008 08:30:59 AM · #12 |
Somewhere on the NASA web site they used to have a sheet you could download with suggested camera settings. They had it as a handout when I went down as a member of the press for a night launch in 2000, and it was very helpful. It has been a good while since I found it on their site, but it exists out there somewhere! :)
You'll have a great time -- it's an incredibly awe-inspiring thing to witness!
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10/23/2008 08:42:35 AM · #13 |
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10/23/2008 08:55:10 AM · #14 |
Ha -- yeah, that's the one! ;)
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11/14/2008 10:36:51 PM · #15 |
OK this is what I came back with tonight.
Still needs a ton of work but it's a start.
4 images merged, a bitch to work with.....
Message edited by author 2008-11-14 22:41:24.
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11/14/2008 11:01:46 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by jrtodd:
For a night launch, to me anyway, I think you have way to much lens. Things happen fast and it's at night. It's not like you're going to get a close up of the launch, but it depends on what you are going for, or if you have a pass to get that close.
On a very cloudy night I shot these with a 16mm fisheye and a 12-24, both cameras were at f/7.1, 30 sec, ISO 100.
Jaker if you or gzupruk or anyone else for that matter, want to come up to Daytona I'm going back to this same spot to try again. I'm hoping for a clear night, I sold the D70 with it's incredible ability to penetrate the cloud cover! |
I just about spit coffee all over my keyboard at that second shot. lol. |
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11/14/2008 11:58:06 PM · #17 |
Tonight's launch from Collier Co, 175 miles to the south west.
These are cropped to about 1/8 of the original frame, and not otherwise edited. Shot all manual, so shutter speeds vary with cloud conditions and the brightness of the flame at different parts of the flight. They are not much to see, but it was enjoyable to watch the launch with my son. We went out on the taxiway at the local airport to be at a dark place with a very low tree line. A place on the horizon glows right when the boosters ignite, then about 10 or 15 sec later the shuttle comes up over the horizon. From this distance, it appears to rise until a little after the boosters separate, then it is just a moving bright spot. It appears to stop for a while as it is moving northward, then the rotation of the earth makes it appear to move to the N east until it goes into the cloud line at the horizon.
Message edited by author 2008-11-14 23:59:47.
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11/15/2008 08:13:37 AM · #18 |
I've run out of talent in photoshop to make this any better, at least for now.
Hope you like it.
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11/17/2008 09:56:45 PM · #19 |
Great photo! I've saw several launches as a child, nothing beats experiencing one at night.
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11/17/2008 10:03:27 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by K10DGuy:
I just about spit coffee all over my keyboard at that second shot. lol. |
I second that - so funny!
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11/17/2008 11:37:56 PM · #21 |
Shuttle and ISS fly-over, S W Florida Nov 17.
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