Shooting all night for stars? - DPChallenge Forums

02/03/2008 06:41:11 PM · #1

im just writing this to see what anyone can tell me about shooting stars and make it so as if the stars are moving around a certain star(north star?)..if someone knows what im talking about ...what settings and what shutter speed...im shooting with a canon rebel xti and i have a 18-55mm lens and a 50-300mm lens along with a tripod which i think will be good..also the whether is cold not wet but cold could this affect it?

Message edited by L2 - Changed large image to thumb.

paddles

Pentax K10D

Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 AF

02/05/2008 06:57:04 AM · #2

Originally posted by silencio530:

These star trails require using shutter speeds of anywhere from half an hour to twelve hours (i.e. using bulb setting) - the longer the time, the longer the trails are - the trails will be fifteen degrees for every hour the shutter is open. The sample you posted would be an hour or less.

Some people suggest using a wide open aperture to let plenty of light in - others suggest using a narrow aperture so that the sky remains quite dark instead of purplish. In any case, a low sensitivity (ISO 100) is much better than a high one (ISO 1600), whether you're shooting digitally or with film.

You'd need a decent tripod that won't sway in wind/breeze (weigh it down with something heavy if you can). Also, exposure length might depend on how long the batteries last (noting that there will be some processing to do even after the shutter has closed). This is a case where the old manual-everything film SLRs come into their own. :)

In the northern hemisphere, you'll get trails that rotate around a star (the "north star", Polaris). The effect will be weaker in the southern hemisphere, because the star closest to the south celestial pole, Sigma Octantis is the much fainter (and further away from the true pole).

strangeghost

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

02/05/2008 07:47:46 AM · #3

A little bit of star trails info here.

02/06/2008 02:27:41 AM · #4

thanx for the support...il keep posted to see how it turned ot...soon to try this.....

fotomann_forever

02/06/2008 02:33:55 AM · #5

I assume this photo was probably taken the hour before sunrise? Hence the introduction of orange light on the horizon?

strangeghost

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

02/06/2008 07:52:06 AM · #6

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

I assume this photo was probably taken the hour before sunrise? Hence the introduction of orange light on the horizon?

Probably not. Since the photo is shooting straight north, it's more likely city lights or some populated (lit) area. It's amazing how much glow will emerge from a seemingly dark location once the shutter is opened for a few minutes.

inshaala

Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM for Canon

02/06/2008 07:59:12 AM · #7

Originally posted by strangeghost:

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
I assume this photo was probably taken the hour before sunrise? Hence the introduction of orange light on the horizon?

Probably not. Since the photo is shooting straight north, it's more likely city lights or some populated (lit) area. It's amazing how much glow will emerge from a seemingly dark location once the shutter is opened for a few minutes.

True that, my recent entry into the Old Ways was a 30second night exposure and someone mistook it for being just after sunset...

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

02/06/2008 01:55:48 PM · #8

whats that?....bulb?

bradshaw

Spypen QX-O

02/06/2008 02:02:02 PM · #9

Originally posted by silencio530:

whats that?....bulb?

bulb is a shutter speed setting on your camera all you all you have to do is bring the shutter speed down as far as you can and one after 30 seconds it well say bulb witch means the shutter well stay open for as long as you hold the shutter release button or a remote trigger.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

02/06/2008 02:05:36 PM · #10

Originally posted by bradshaw:

Originally posted by silencio530:
whats that?....bulb?

bulb is a shutter speed setting on your camera all you all you have to do is bring the shutter speed down as far as you can and one after 30 seconds it well say bulb witch means the shutter well stay open for as long as you hold the shutter release button or a remote trigger.

As a point of interest, it's named "bulb" because in the very old days photographers tripped the shutter by means of squeezing a rubber bulb and forcing air down a rubber tube to actuate the shutter mechanism; as long as you squeezed the bulb the shutter stayed open.

R.

strangeghost

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

02/06/2008 02:09:17 PM · #11

Originally posted by inshaala:

True that, my recent entry into the Old Ways was a 30second night exposure and someone mistook it for being just after sunset...

Took a look and had to post here. It's a great shot!

levyj413

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

02/06/2008 03:25:46 PM · #12

Hi there. Are you new to DPC? Before you ask a bunch of other folks, you might try contacting the photographer. You might also try giving that photographer credit when you start asking questions about his photo. Who knows? You might find out that the photographer is always delighted to help people, including having written tutorials, answering questions in the forums, and giving people advice via PMs and email.

The nice thing about DPC is that you can do so by clicking the "Private Message" link on the photographer's profile page. You can get there by clicking the name under the photo.

Can you guess why I'm suggesting that you contact the photographer? ;)

You can often find a lot of info on the image page itself, including the box on the left with the settings and the one on the right with whatever the photographer chooses to type. Some of us put a lot of info on the page to help people understand how they can do it, too.

Here's what's listed on that page:
- 22.5 minute exposure
- bulb mode (held open with a cable release)
- 1:00 am
- 10 mm on a D200 with a Sigma 10-20
- wide open (F/4)
- nowhere near any large cities
- the original was quite dark (and to my eye, it was pitch black - cameras pull amazing amounts of light out of the dark when the shutter's open long enough)

What else ... Just ask any other questions you may have.

One last point: the forum rules ask people not to post large images to the forums, to help folks who are still on modems. The guidelines are no bigger than 500 pixels on a side or about 30K. That image is 640 wide and 131K. DPC makes posting thumbnails easy, too: just go to the image page, and instead of copying the actual image location, just copy the code number at the very end. In this case, that's 575002. Then click the little icon above the forum post box that's second from the right - it looks like two little rectangles. Paste the image number in there, and it'll show a thumbnail, like this:

So you can see how dark the original was, here it is:

Message edited by author 2008-02-06 16:10:53.

hihosilver

Nikon D200

Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED

02/06/2008 03:36:28 PM · #13

Originally posted by levyj413:

Who knows? You might find out that the photographer is always delighted to help people, including having written tutorials, answering questions in the forums, and giving people advice via PMs and email.

Can you guess why I'm suggesting that you contact the photographer?

Jeffrey...are you the Mystery Man? I thought that image looked familiar. Please do share your secrets...star seekers and inquiring minds want to know about your lovely photo...I want one in my own portfolio!

levyj413

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

02/06/2008 03:38:40 PM · #14

Originally posted by hihosilver:

Originally posted by levyj413:
Who knows? You might find out that the photographer is always delighted to help people, including having written tutorials, answering questions in the forums, and giving people advice via PMs and email.

Can you guess why I'm suggesting that you contact the photographer?

Jeffrey...are you the Mystery Man? I thought that image looked familiar. Please do share your secrets...star seekers and inquiring minds want to know about your lovely photo...I want one in my own portfolio!

Ding ding ding! I went back and edited my first response in this thread to add loads of info, so check that. :)

hihosilver

Nikon D200

Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED

02/06/2008 03:43:28 PM · #15

Originally posted by levyj413:

Ding ding ding! I went back and edited my first response in this thread to add loads of info, so check that. :)

Gosh...I have to get that bell fixed! Thank you for the details, Dear!