the big dipper

[bcsman]

trying out my new camera,panasonic lumix G2

[Dave]

Nicely done with some great foreground interest as well.

[Dave S]

Blimey stars!!

What are they. Don't think I've seen Ursa Major whole for weeks.

What exposure etc.

Dave...

[bcsman]

hi dave

25 sec exposure,ISO-125,focal length 14mm,f-stop f/3.5

hope this helps

[Dave S]

hi dave

25 sec exposure,ISO-125,focal length 14mm,f-stop f/3.5

hope this helps

Yep that makes sense. According to my calcs you could have gone upto about 45sec before star trails. That would be nice to see.

Dave...

[bcsman]

ok thanks dave,i will try that next time there is clear skies.

im just a beginner really,i wonder if you could give me a few tips please?

how do i get more detail in the milky way?

is there a small motor driven eq mount i could use for my camera for taken longer exposures without seeing star trails?

thanks again dave

[Dave S]

Hopefully the guys on the forum who have way more experience will give you the pointers you need but basically.

1. More details needs longer exposures.

2. Longer exposures means the need to track the stars.

3. So long as your camera has a tripod mounting thread then an eq mount with motor will do the job. At wide angles the tracking doesn't have to be super accurate and you you do have the option to take several short exposures and stack them. Alternatively if your camera has a movie mode you could effectively 'video' the stars (whilst tracking) and use something like Deep Sky Stacker to stack the avi into a single image.

Dave...

[Pete Presland]

couldnt you up the iso setting a bit as well for a bit more detail,and set noise reduction?

[saturn5]

couldnt you up the iso setting a bit as well for a bit more detail,and set noise reduction?

I would definately up the ISO to at least 400.

Each camera performs differently and has a different "sweet spot"

regarding noise levels at certain ISO's

My Canon 5DMKII can be used at ISO 1600 without there being a noise problem.

Personally i never use the in camera noise reduction, whatever length exposure you take thats how long it takes the camera to do its noise reduction,so you end up wasting a lot of time.I use the Imagenomic Pro plug in for Photoshop.

Lovely shot btw.

[Sierra Golf Mike]

Nice image and pretty sharp.

Dave S,

How do you calculate when star trails begin.

Steve

[Dave S]

Sorry took so long to reply. So many posts to the forum at the moment it takes ages to get through them.

the calculation is basically 660 divided by the lens diameter in mm.

Can't remember why it is though.

Dave...

[Sierra Golf Mike]

Thanks Dave.

[tiwar]

I think i might have to invest in a DSLR....

T x