Can I do multiple exposure with my Nikon D3100?

[Seoras]

Hi everyone, another noob question! I bought an old Nikon D3100 camera (body only) a couple of months ago and have been spending some time trying to learn how to set it up for astrophotography. I know it’s not ideally suited for the job but it was cheap and I thought it would be ok to practice on since I have no other cameras; I’ve bought a T adapter and can now fit it to my scope. One thing I’m not sure about is if the camera can be set to take multiple exposures for a given period of time automatically, I have a remote shutter thingy which has a locking facility, is that how I can do it or is there a setting on the camera for this?

thanks in advance, Geo

[Mandy D]

15 minutes ago, Seoras said:

Hi everyone, another noob question! I bought an old Nikon D3100 camera (body only) a couple of months ago and have been spending some time trying to learn how to set it up for astrophotography. I know it’s not ideally suited for the job but it was cheap and I thought it would be ok to practice on since I have no other cameras; I’ve bought a T adapter and can now fit it to my scope. One thing I’m not sure about is if the camera can be set to take multiple exposures for a given period of time automatically, I have a remote shutter thingy which has a locking facility, is that how I can do it or is there a setting on the camera for this?

thanks in advance, Geo

The D3100 does support multiple frame continuous shooting mode, but only at a maximum of about 3 fps until the buffer is full, then it will slow down even more. You cannot set it take exposures for a set time period as far as I know and what you need is your "remote shutter thingy" to do this.

It has a resolution of 14 MP, which is quite low compared with later cameras, hence it's pixel size of 5 um is large, so to get high resolution on small objects, like the planets you will need extreme focal lengths. For deep sky, it's sensitivity is low, so will need long exposures. Overall it is not a bad camera. It will work great on the Moon.

[Seoras]

22 minutes ago, Mandy D said:

The D3100 does support multiple frame continuous shooting mode, but only at a maximum of about 3 fps until the buffer is full, then it will slow down even more. You cannot set it take exposures for a set time period as far as I know and what you need is your "remote shutter thingy" to do this.

It has a resolution of 14 MP, which is quite low compared with later cameras, hence it's pixel size of 5 um is large, so to get high resolution on small objects, like the planets you will need extreme focal lengths. For deep sky, it's sensitivity is low, so will need long exposures. Overall it is not a bad camera. It will work great on the Moon.

What a fantastic answer! Thanks very much for bearing with an old guy trying out a new hobby. I’ll have a go at photos of the moon first, I think this week will be good for that,

take care, Geo

[Mandy D]

2 minutes ago, Seoras said:

What a fantastic answer! Thanks very much for bearing with an old guy trying out a new hobby. I’ll have a go at photos of the moon first, I think this week will be good for that,

take care, Geo

It is my pleasure to help and glad you found my reply helpful.

I had a D3100 as my first DSLR and it was a great little camera, but it got replaced with a D3200 for better resolution (24MP) and then I added a D800 (36MP, full frame). What lens or telescope are you using for the Moon?

The crop sensor will be able to capture the full lunar disc with focal lengths up to about 1500 mm, but it is better sticking to less than about 1200 mm as the Moon moves pretty fast through the frame at these focal lengths. It should do a great job on the Moon. I have plans to image the Moon again this week if the clouds clear. Please do share your photos in here, it will be nice to see what you achieve with that camera.

[ONIKKINEN]

I would not worry about the big pixels for DSO work, in fact they are helpful for almost all setups as big pixels gather more light than small ones so the whole process of imaging goes by faster (in terms of how long a subexposure needs to be and partially how long an exposure is long enough in total). 14MP is still a very high resolution image for astronomy work, and unless you have excellent seeing night after night and a mount that guides your large aperture scope flawlessly, you are going to be oversampled even with that.

For comparison i bin x2 to 7.52 micron pixel size or x3 to 11.28 micron pixel size with a 200mm scope guided reasonably well on an AZ-EQ6, so you definitely dont need to worry about 5 micron pixels being too big.

[Seoras]

51 minutes ago, Mandy D said:

It is my pleasure to help and glad you found my reply helpful.

I had a D3100 as my first DSLR and it was a great little camera, but it got replaced with a D3200 for better resolution (24MP) and then I added a D800 (36MP, full frame). What lens or telescope are you using for the Moon?

The crop sensor will be able to capture the full lunar disc with focal lengths up to about 1500 mm, but it is better sticking to less than about 1200 mm as the Moon moves pretty fast through the frame at these focal lengths. It should do a great job on the Moon. I have plans to image the Moon again this week if the clouds clear. Please do share your photos in here, it will be nice to see what you achieve with that camera.

I don’t have a lens for the camera yet, I’m currently surfing EBay for a cheap bargain 🥴. My telescope is a Celestron Nexstar 8SE, I’ve been advised that the focal length is too long to capture all of the moon but I’d be happy to get anything that looks like the moon. I’ve been watching “The Old Gazer” on YouTube because he has the same telescope as me and a Nikon camera, (he’s about the same age too😉), he seems to do ok and is aiming at total beginners like me. I also find this forum to be super helpful and everyone is so friendly and understanding. I got quite a few things wrong when I started buying equipment and no doubt will continue to do so but I’m sure it’s all part of the learning process. 
regards, Geo

[Seoras]

52 minutes ago, ONIKKINEN said:

I would not worry about the big pixels for DSO work, in fact they are helpful for almost all setups as big pixels gather more light than small ones so the whole process of imaging goes by faster (in terms of how long a subexposure needs to be and partially how long an exposure is long enough in total). 14MP is still a very high resolution image for astronomy work, and unless you have excellent seeing night after night and a mount that guides your large aperture scope flawlessly, you are going to be oversampled even with that.

For comparison i bin x2 to 7.52 micron pixel size or x3 to 11.28 micron pixel size with a 200mm scope guided reasonably well on an AZ-EQ6, so you definitely dont need to worry about 5 micron pixels being too big.

Thank you for this 👍, another useful piece of information 

 

regards, Geo 

[Mandy D]

1 hour ago, Seoras said:

I don’t have a lens for the camera yet, I’m currently surfing EBay for a cheap bargain 🥴. My telescope is a Celestron Nexstar 8SE, I’ve been advised that the focal length is too long to capture all of the moon but I’d be happy to get anything that looks like the moon. I’ve been watching “The Old Gazer” on YouTube because he has the same telescope as me and a Nikon camera, (he’s about the same age too😉), he seems to do ok and is aiming at total beginners like me. I also find this forum to be super helpful and everyone is so friendly and understanding. I got quite a few things wrong when I started buying equipment and no doubt will continue to do so but I’m sure it’s all part of the learning process. 
regards, Geo

The 8SE is definitely too long to image the whole Moon with a D3100, but you should get some nice crater close-ups. Have a look at this thread by @astrolulu to see what can be achieved with similar focal lengths and apertures. Some of his images are incredible and he is very helpful and approachable.

I'm sure I've got a few things wrong with buying equipment, but I don't view it as "wrong", rather as being extra kit that will do another job. Just as long as it is not a big or expensive mistake it is all OK. My RC6 is the "wrong" scope for lunar and planetary imaging, but I love using it for that: It is so much fun and a bit of a challenge. OK, better results can be had with my 200P or 250PX, but sometimes that is not the point.

Enjoy the journey!

[MarsG76]

1 hour ago, Seoras said:

I don’t have a lens for the camera yet, I’m currently surfing EBay for a cheap bargain 🥴. My telescope is a Celestron Nexstar 8SE, I’ve been advised that the focal length is too long to capture all of the moon but I’d be happy to get anything that looks like the moon. I’ve been watching “The Old Gazer” on YouTube because he has the same telescope as me and a Nikon camera, (he’s about the same age too😉), he seems to do ok and is aiming at total beginners like me. I also find this forum to be super helpful and everyone is so friendly and understanding. I got quite a few things wrong when I started buying equipment and no doubt will continue to do so but I’m sure it’s all part of the learning process. 
regards, Geo

The 8SE is capable of some great images... the long focal length is a challenge but doable... I imaged with a 8SE and a astro modded Canon 40D for years... Adding a f6.3 focal reducer will get the whole moon into the frame with a APS-C sensor sized camera like the D3100.

Now I'm still imaging with a 8" SCT, same spec as the 8SE and with a QHY268M, same size sensor and still happy with some of the images I can get with that setup.
There was a total lunar eclipse visible from here on 8th November and the images I posted were taken with the C8, a f6.3 reducer and a unmodded stock Canon 40D... definitely doable.... the only change I did with my 8SE was to put it on a CGEM mount, but that more for long exposure DSO rather than moon photography.
Controlling that focal length comes with practise and is also more effected by seeing quality.

MG

[Seoras]

9 minutes ago, MarsG76 said:

The 8SE is capable of some great images... the long focal length is a challenge but doable... I imaged with a 8SE and a astro modded Canon 40D for years... Adding a f6.3 focal reducer will get the whole moon into the frame with a APS-C sensor sized camera like the D3100.

Now I'm still imaging with a 8" SCT, same spec as the 8SE and with a QHY268M, same size sensor and still happy with some of the images I can get with that setup.
There was a total lunar eclipse visible from here on 8th November and the images I posted were taken with the C8, a f6.3 reducer and a unmodded stock Canon 40D... definitely doable.... the only change I did with my 8SE was to put it on a CGEM mount, but that more for long exposure DSO rather than moon photography.
Controlling that focal length comes with practise and is also more effected by seeing quality.

MG

I think I’ve read about a focal reducer, since my Supreme Commander is now asking “do you really need that?” I’ll have to tread lightly on the buying front 🥴. Maybe I can persuade her to think about it as a Xmas gift 🎁!

[MarsG76]

4 minutes ago, Seoras said:

I think I’ve read about a focal reducer, since my Supreme Commander is now asking “do you really need that?” I’ll have to tread lightly on the buying front 🥴. Maybe I can persuade her to think about it as a Xmas gift 🎁!

I don't find it to be expensive when you consider the price of other astronomy gear.. but it improves images while "speeding" up you optics by halving the needed exposure time.
But yes, a Christmas gift is a great idea.