My 1st Meteor Image - Geminid 13/12/2017

[BigRD]

My first attempt at imaging a meteor and quite chuffed with the result. Broken cloud up until around 0030 then total cloud cover. Visually I spotted 9.

Out of 110 frames this is the only meteor I captured and pity about those damn clouds covering Orion!

Nikon D5100, Samgyang 14mm on a Star Adventurer, 40secs at f4, ISO800

[slickfonzy]

Lovely image, personally I think the cloud adds another element and some more colour to the image, and at least it was kind enough to avoid the meteor!

I've just purchased a 14mm Samyang but have yet to use it in anger.  Do you have any tips/advice regarding the lens?  I must admit that I had a bit of a shock trying to focus it during the day, it's the first manual focus lens I've had since the days of my Olympus OM-20 when I was a nipper!

[geordie85]

11 minutes ago, slickfonzy said:

Lovely image, personally I think the cloud adds another element and some more colour to the image, and at least it was kind enough to avoid the meteor!

I've just purchased a 14mm Samyang but have yet to use it in anger.  Do you have any tips/advice regarding the lens?  I must admit that I had a bit of a shock trying to focus it during the day, it's the first manual focus lens I've had since the days of my Olympus OM-20 when I was a nipper!

First off it may need calibrating (mine did for star fields) so you may not reach focus on your first time out so if your planning on travelling to a dark site, test it at home first.

For achieving focus I crank up the ISO and select the longest exposure setting you can. Switch live view on and use the digital zoom.

I'd also make sure the lens is already as cold as possible as it is a big piece of glass that can dew up very quickly. Also because it's such a wide lens, I couldn't use a dew shield as it would intrude into the light path.

[BigRD]

Thanks Ian. i know what you mean about the clouds if only they'd drifted a past Orion a little more. Below the frame is rooftops and a halogen security light hence the framing I picked.

I've only just got the lens - early Santa  On my Nikon the lens gives electronic exposure and focus feedback through the viewfinder. I use the live view zoom to zoom in on a bright star and take test images then frame up. I found that at F2.8 the stars aren't as sharp as I'd want and stopped down to f4. F2.8 is great for day light shots. F2.8 may be fine for Milky Way images. Oh and the colours really stand out, it's a big improvement on my kit lens. Manual focus isn't so bad and like you it takes me back :-)

[slickfonzy]

2 minutes ago, geordie85 said:

First off it may need calibrating (mine did for star fields) so you may not reach focus on your first time out so if your planning on travelling to a dark site, test it at home first.

For achieving focus I crank up the ISO and select the longest exposure setting you can. Switch live view on and use the digital zoom.

I'd also make sure the lens is already as cold as possible as it is a big piece of glass that can dew up very quickly. Also because it's such a wide lens, I couldn't use a dew shield as it would intrude into the light path.

Many thanks for that.  In terms of calibrating, do you mean the scale on the focus ring?  I'd noticed that the focus scale is was way off, but it seems to be a common problem with the lens and a relatively easy fix (hopefully!).

[BigRD]

7 minutes ago, geordie85 said:

First off it may need calibrating (mine did for star fields) so you may not reach focus on your first time out so if your planning on travelling to a dark site, test it at home first.

For achieving focus I crank up the ISO and select the longest exposure setting you can. Switch live view on and use the digital zoom.

I'd also make sure the lens is already as cold as possible as it is a big piece of glass that can dew up very quickly. Also because it's such a wide lens, I couldn't use a dew shield as it would intrude into the light path.

I made my own dew strap which I tested in anger for the first time last night. It fits around the petal but doesn't protrude past the edge it worked fine last night it's just enough to keep that big lump of glass clear 

[slickfonzy]

5 minutes ago, BigRD said:

Thanks Ian. i know what you mean about the clouds if only they'd drifted a past Orion a little more. Below the frame is rooftops and a halogen security light hence the framing I picked.

I've only just got the lens - early Santa  On my Nikon the lens gives electronic exposure and focus feedback through the viewfinder. I use the live view zoom to zoom in on a bright star and take test images then frame up. I found that at F2.8 the stars aren't as sharp as I'd want and stopped down to f4. F2.8 is great for day light shots. F2.8 may be fine for Milky Way images. Oh and the colours really stand out, it's a big improvement on my kit lens. Manual focus isn't so bad and like you it takes me back :-)

Thanks for that, I did wonder if it would be a little soft at F2.8, that's useful to know.  My Canon doesn't get any exposure or focus feedback from the lens, but I guess it will just be a case of practice makes perfect!

[Pete Presland]

Congratulations on your 1st meteor image, not easy to catch them. That looks a nice bright one.

[BigRD]

Thanks Pete, I have to admit I missed this one visually think I was too busy setting my seat up to keep warm! Now I'm keen for more :-) 

[orion25]

Great shot! The cloud adds a nice dimension. I was out there myself last evening and caught one at the extreme left of the image. Tricky little things those meteors!