Basic Question

[keef_uk]

Hi,

Is it just me or do stars not show up in the lens of a camera?

I have a Canon 400D with two lenses (Canon 18-55 & Tamrom 70-300) but when pointing at the heavens I can see nothing in the view finder so just have to guess and make several attempts before I can line up a shot.

Is this right or am I doing something fundemantally wrong - I have dark skies with minimal light pollution.

[beamer3.6m]

Only the brightest stars will show up in the viewfinder.

Other than that it is trial and error I am afraid.

[timetraveller]

hello keef your problem is basicaly this, the CCD chip is not sensative enough to directly view stars. your camera will see them but it will need time to gather enough light to show up trouble is star light is very faint even the brightest stars arent that bright so it takes time for your camera to gather enough light to actually see them. I think you would need a night vision camera to actually see stars directly how exatcly are you trying to take these photo's are you trying to take just snap shots with the camera or are you using a telescope

[EA2007]

Taken the lens cap off??

I have had many camera's both digital and film SLR and been able to see stars okay through the viewfinder. It helps to look at the brightest ones as already said. Betelgeuse, Capella, Sirius spring to mind...but also make sure your eyes are adapted to the dark, by this I mean stay outside in the dark for a good few minutes before you try looking through the viewfinder and don't spoil your eyesight with any lights!

[Andrew*]

If there is any display in the viewfinder disable this if possible.

Also, might you be having a problem with dew?

If you can't see any stars brighter than 1st magnitude, then something is probably wrong. Deneb, for example, ought to be visible.

Andrew

[keef_uk]

OK bit of a mixed bag here - but from whats been said is that due to star light is faint the camera wont be able to pick ALL stars out but maybe the fewer brighter ones?

[RichieJarvis]

Hi Keef,

When taking images through the 400D, the auto-focus won't work for a start, so you are going to have to manually focus things. Secondly, as others have said, the stars are pretty dim - if you aren't tracking the sky, then you will need to keep the exposure length quite low, below 30 seconds, otherwise you will get star trails. You are going to need to use a longer exposure than normal for daytime photography though - try 10 seconds, and see what you get.

Cheers,

Richie

[EA2007]

The 'iso' level also makes a huge difference.

I usually set my camera to expose for 25 seconds at an iso of 400 for a decent widefield shot. You may find that due to the noise filtering being better on the Canon's you can get away with 800 or even 1000 iso. The higher the 'iso' the less time you have to expose for, but its entirely camera and user dependent.

Mess around with the settings, but like RJ said, you will have to manually focus the camera. Zoom in on a bright star to focus and then zoom out to get a widefield image. Good things to focus on at the moment are Vega, Deneb, Arcturus, the moon and Jupiter.

Be aware that for lunar shots then you need a far less exposure time, something around 0.2 sec or there abouts. Its setting-dependant though.

Good luck

[Ant]

The 'iso' level also makes a huge difference.

Not for seeing stars through the view finder it doesn't - you'll see some stars through the finder but it will only be the brighter ones. If the camera is out of focus then you not see anything at all.

I have now marked the positions on the lens where focus is acheived - I can now go out zoom in or out and then manually focus to a predetermined point and I know that the focus will be almost spot on (different temp's alter the focus point slightly).

Zoom in on a bright star to focus and then zoom out to get a widefield image.

If the 450D lens is the same as the 300D lens then this doesn't work. The infinity focus points betwwen maximum and minimum zoom are completely different.

Good things to focus on at the moment are Vega, Deneb, Arcturus, the moon and Jupiter.

Auto focus will work on the moon, but you have to ensure that there is nothing else that the camera could focus on elsewhere in the FOV. The brighter stars are not bright enough to focus on - some people say that Jupiter is but I haven't managed to.

You could always auto focus on a far away object during the day (as far away as possible) and then change the lans to manual and leave it alone till the evening. You'll be close enough then to only make very minor changes come night time...

Cheers

Ant

[EA2007]

"Not for seeing stars through the view finder it doesn't"

I never said the 'iso' would be better for looking through the viewfinder..... I said that the 'iso' ALSO makes a huge difference, the word ALSO indicates another area of the imaging process, I was on about exposing.

[RichieJarvis]

EA is right about the ISO - that controls the 'sensitivity' of the 'film' - I had completely forgotten about that.

As for zoom - it depends on the lens you have fitted whether the focus will change when you zoom. The standard 18-55mm lens that comes with the Canon's does change.

For focusing, the only reliable way I have found to do it is to use the PC to display the image, and take repeated shots - I just can't see the image through the tiny viewfinder.

Best thing to do is meet up with someone local who has done it - just ask on here - whereabouts are you?

Cheers,

Richie