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DPChallenge Forums >> Individual Photograph Discussion >> Astro(star)photography
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Showing posts 1 - 14 of 14, (reverse)
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02/24/2004 11:44:17 AM · #1
Ok, I know this picture is pretty lame, but it is my very first attempt at shooting stars...no pun intended. I'd like to you YOUR pictures of stars or other heavenly body, specially if taken WITHOUT a telescope.

June

Here
02/24/2004 12:02:34 PM · #2

couple of the moon and venus from 2-23-2004
they are both the same image - one not cropped, the other cropped to show the moon



canon 75-300 f:4-5.6 - 480mm equiv - iso 100 - f:8 - 1/80 - timer release
02/24/2004 01:45:26 PM · #3
here are a few of mine ( not through a telescope)

Orion

this was taken with my Sony 707
Another Orion Shot

on this link there are 3 images, one is the Milky way, My D60 was mounted on the top of my telescope and is a single 2 1/2 minute exposure, one os of an irridum flare (a satalite that shines really bright for a few seconds) and the third is of the big dipper

Wide Field Astro photos

James
02/24/2004 01:47:01 PM · #4
I've been waiting more than a week now to take a picture of the stars... it's been overcast every night and it looks like that is going to continue for a few days.

I want to point the camera up, set up for bulb exposure and attempt a 30-60 minute exposure to capture some movement of the stars. I have no idea what stop to use, so it may be a long learning curve. 60 minutes might be too little time, I really don't know.
02/24/2004 01:50:54 PM · #5
June, I forgot to mention that your photo of Orion is pretty good.

The only thing I would suggest is to keep the shutter speed below 20 seconds and bump the ISO up to 400 or 800 if you camera will do that.

Once you go over 20 seconds you start to get elongation in the stars (movement) unless you have a way to track the stars like mounting your camera on a telescope that will auto track the stars or there is a gizmo called a Barn Door Tracker, that you can make, but from the directions I read, its a little too much for me to mess with

James
02/24/2004 01:55:45 PM · #6
Originally posted by garrywhite2:

I've been waiting more than a week now to take a picture of the stars... it's been overcast every night and it looks like that is going to continue for a few days.

I want to point the camera up, set up for bulb exposure and attempt a 30-60 minute exposure to capture some movement of the stars. I have no idea what stop to use, so it may be a long learning curve. 60 minutes might be too little time, I really don't know.


Gary one thing you can do is instead of taking one long exposere of 60 minutes, is to take 60 1 minute exposures and stack them in your image editor. Or take a 1 minute exposure wait 20 seconds then take another 1 minute exposure and keep doing that until you get the amount of exposures you want.

I usually use an f3.2 to f8
02/24/2004 02:04:35 PM · #7
James, can you tell me the specific settings for te first picture of Orion? I took mine in Dahab, Egypt on thursday night. It was a completely cloudless night. My shutter speed was 16" and ISO was Auto. I got the brightest stars, but your picture has a lot more stars in it...I'm jealous ;)

Another thing, I know that telescopes sometimes can be powered through the cigarette lighter in cars. If I was to go out to the middle of nowhere to shoot the stars and wanted to take say... a 60 minute exposure, how the heck could I power my camera so the batteries don't die in the middle of the exposure?

Message edited by author 2004-02-24 14:07:59.
02/24/2004 02:04:41 PM · #8
Thanks James! Those are excellant ideas. I'm looking forward to doing this and following up with spending a evening in Joshua Tree which is perfect for viewing the stars.
02/24/2004 02:49:48 PM · #9
Originally posted by chiqui74:


Another thing, I know that telescopes sometimes can be powered through the cigarette lighter in cars. If I was to go out to the middle of nowhere to shoot the stars and wanted to take say... a 60 minute exposure, how the heck could I power my camera so the batteries don't die in the middle of the exposure?


Use an inverter
02/24/2004 03:01:53 PM · #10
Originally posted by chiqui74:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another thing, I know that telescopes sometimes can be powered through the cigarette lighter in cars. If I was to go out to the middle of nowhere to shoot the stars and wanted to take say... a 60 minute exposure, how the heck could I power my camera so the batteries don't die in the middle of the exposure?

Use an inverter


A what???
02/24/2004 04:21:45 PM · #11
Originally posted by chiqui74:

James, can you tell me the specific settings for te first picture of Orion? I took mine in Dahab, Egypt on thursday night. It was a completely cloudless night. My shutter speed was 16" and ISO was Auto. I got the brightest stars, but your picture has a lot more stars in it...I'm jealous ;)

Another thing, I know that telescopes sometimes can be powered through the cigarette lighter in cars. If I was to go out to the middle of nowhere to shoot the stars and wanted to take say... a 60 minute exposure, how the heck could I power my camera so the batteries don't die in the middle of the exposure?


Im not sure on the exact setting for that PIC, the original is on a PC i dont have regular access to. But my sony 707 will only do ISO 400 and I think it was for 20 seconds....

Also an inverter is a device you plug into the cigerette lighter and it has a connection on it just like your wall or house power to plug your camera or other electronic device like a laptop or what ever.

James
02/24/2004 04:39:14 PM · #12
I'v been trying astrophotography for a couple of weeks, getting no bad results aswell.

Even though i'm just shooting images without a telescope, some of the results are quite good.

Heres an image i took a couple of nights ago of Orion.

03/06/2004 03:27:45 PM · #13
Finally my very own Moon pictures!!!!!!

This one was taken with the Dimage7i
//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=63448

And this one with the 300D I got my hands on to try out.
//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=63444

June
03/06/2004 04:04:14 PM · #14
You can take excellent star field images without a telescope and without tracking.

You original image does not contain the whole constellation (perhaps by design) and shows star trails. Generally speaking you can take a non-telescopic timed exposure of stars up to 45-60 seconds without showing star trails. The best ones at DPC usually have sihouettes or lighted earthbound scenes in the frame.
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