focusing with my camera

[amyscott]

just in the garden messing about with my new dslr camera on a tripod , does anyone know how to focus on stars as im not doing too good ,my old camera had a infinity setting but cant find 1 on this thanks.x

[Gina]

Lens right in should be at infinity focus.

[FrankieValley]

Lots of lenses can focus past infinity, which makes things tricky. Google 'Hartman mask'. You can make one out of card and that may help when focusing manually. Good luck.

[Photosbykev]

Lens almost full in will be around infinite, most lens focus 'beyond' infinite to allow for thermal expansion and manufacturing tolerances. It would be rare to find that an infinity mark is the optimum focussing position even if the lens has one.

A focussing mask helps or if you can see a live view on a laptop it can be done that way. An alternative would be get a good focus on the moon and then take an exposure and fine adjust the focus depending on your result.

[MjrTom]

Yeah live view would be very useful in this case. Which model camera we talking about here?

[Trull]

Personally, I use Nebulosity's fine focus routine on laptop, so that I can see everything at a comfortable angle, and I'm not touching the camera.

Seems as good a reason as any to get that sparkly new 17" MacBook (other brands are available...) you really need :-)

Anyway, seriously, its hard, best plan can be to use a distant light then fix it with white electrical tape. Hartman masks are good btw.

[Tinker1947]

I you can focus on a bright star or planet, then give it a couple of F-stops to increase the depth of field you should be able to take so decent shots, you will need a remote control of some type so you don't touch the shutter button, don't stand near the camera when its taking a shot, those loose patio slabs will make it vibrate.