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Night Sky Photos with a T2i

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J-rok
Posts: 1193 - Karma: 1,221
I've tried this many times and its never worked...

*I had the shutter speed at 30"
*The ISO at 6400
*and the aperture at like 4.5

What am i doing wrong, advice and tips to make this work?
Aug 5 2012 1:30PM
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norgeanders
Posts: 1051 - Karma: 367
what happens when you do it? your iso should def not be so high
Aug 5 2012 1:32PM
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J-rok
Posts: 1193 - Karma: 1,221
you can barely see like 3 stars... i thought the iso had to be high to pic up the light?....
Aug 5 2012 1:34PM
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norgeanders
Posts: 1051 - Karma: 367
not when you have that long of a shutter you want it as low as possible, while still having it bright enough to see, but i think that was your problem try it again, but im not 100% sure if im correct somebody who knows more answer him?
Aug 5 2012 2:01PM
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Sklar
Posts: 8864 - Karma: 31,612
i shoot plenty of night shots on my t2i
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx11/MattSklar/camp/IMG_1881.jpg

where are you shooting? that seems to be the problem. you need to be as far away from all light sources as possible
Aug 5 2012 2:05PM
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norgeanders
Posts: 1051 - Karma: 367
^ yes that too, you cant have any light interferance like a perfect situation would be the middle of the night in the woods outside of city limits wherre you are sure of all the stars are showing!
Aug 5 2012 2:56PM
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norgeanders
Posts: 1051 - Karma: 367
here
Aug 5 2012 2:56PM
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SSteezle
Posts: 9338 - Karma: 6,666
you sure it's at 30 seconds and not 1/30 shutter? somethings not working right, even with light polution it would just be blown out white
Aug 5 2012 4:24PM
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ONTerriible
Posts: 1210 - Karma: 126
are you shooting RAW or jpeg. Try using RAW because you can get a higher quality image and use that in post processing to get a better image.
Aug 5 2012 6:02PM
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Bmo.
Posts: 4908 - Karma: 2,669
youre definitely doing something wrong. at 6400 iso you could see stars with a 3" shutter
Aug 5 2012 6:45PM
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SSteezle
Posts: 9338 - Karma: 6,666
hate to even say it, but lens cap? maybe the dots you're seeing are specs of dust on your filter
Aug 5 2012 6:54PM
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Bmo.
Posts: 4908 - Karma: 2,669
cant even count the number of times ive done this hahahah
Aug 5 2012 7:01PM
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SSteezle
Posts: 9338 - Karma: 6,666
filter? sensor, I need sleep

^to Bmo, it happens to me far too often
Aug 5 2012 7:15PM
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MillPiddy
Posts: 218 - Karma: 668
I shoot with my iso at 100
Aperture at like 3.4 (i dont remember) but 1.8 was too bright cause of light pollution so i just put it up
As for exposure, i got real ghetto. First go to full manual mode and set your shutter speed/exposure to 'bulb'. (bulb is the setting where as long as you hold the shutter button down (picture taking button) the shutter will stay open. in order to keep it open and still be able to walk away i used a rubber band and a pencil to hold the button down. This will get you the star trials you want cause you can hold the shutter open for as long as you want. one thing to look out for though are heat pixels. (T2i is digital so it will heat up as you keep the shutter open so you will get red pixels that contribute to the noise of the photo). the way to get around this are take multiple shorter exposures (say 3 minute exposure with bulb) then use a program like photoshop to stack them on each other. also make sure you put the cameras noise reduction settings on strong. that will also help with the noise. hope this works.

i never really got to try a final product with my star trails but i put one on here. this photo was taken with one 24 minute exposure (which explains the red heat pixels) aaaand with all of my noise reduction settings on 'disabled'. so im hoping if i had changed these things the picture would have come out sharper...but yeah. you should give it a try and see how it comes out.

(this photo is also scaled down from its orignal size)

Click for larger image
Aug 5 2012 8:28PM
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MillPiddy
Posts: 218 - Karma: 668
click on the picture (the preview there looks worse than gary busey)
Aug 5 2012 8:32PM
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J-rok
Posts: 1193 - Karma: 1,221
that actually happened once haha
Aug 5 2012 11:52PM
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J-rok
Posts: 1193 - Karma: 1,221
thanks that defiantly helped
Aug 5 2012 11:54PM
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J-rok
Posts: 1193 - Karma: 1,221
Also... my camera won't let my aperture go below F5.0... what is that?
Aug 5 2012 11:57PM
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
Its not your camera. Its the lens your using. Your lens can only open up to light a certain amount. Im guessing your lens is variable aperture. As you zoom, the lowest aperture you can go will increase. Make sense?
Aug 6 2012 12:21AM
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J-rok
Posts: 1193 - Karma: 1,221
Wow i feel retarded for not knowing that... That helps a lot thanks!

So to go to F1.8, you would need like an 11mm lens?
Aug 6 2012 1:10AM
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phreshpow
Posts: 834 - Karma: 133
no, just a more expensive one haha. more expensive lenses are often not variable aperture and could shoot at f/2.8 through their whole zoom range. A fixed focal length lens will, in general, allow you to have a wider aperture than a similarly priced and quality zoom lens. great photos can be taken with inexpensive lenses though, if you put the time in.

Also, I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but it is key to get your focus correct if you want to see anything. I'm pretty sure it is a little before infinity...I would take some practice photos when trying to get it right.
Aug 6 2012 3:18AM
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J-rok
Posts: 1193 - Karma: 1,221
Oh ok thanks
Aug 6 2012 11:35AM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24730 - Karma: 30,002
If I'm doing night photography, I'm usually using a fast lens, so my aperture is going to be more closer to 2-2.8. maybe f4 at the most.

I really wouldn't bump my ISO over about 400-800. I'll use a timer to take a minute long exposure if I need to...


Aug 6 2012 2:16PM
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gravel
Posts: 5524 - Karma: 42,378
I shoot the night sky all the time with my T3i...

Here are my pointers:

1. Shoot at low aperture, I shoot at 3.5 because I've got the shitty kit lens
2. Shoot at ISO 1600
3. Exposure for 30 seconds
4. Shoot in RAW (unless you don't know how to use lightroom or photoshop because one of the main purposes of shooting RAW is so you have more workability in post)
5. Shoot where you don't have light pollution
6. Take the lens cap off
7. Take test shots at ISO 6400, lowest aperture, 10 second exposure
8. Learn how to use lightroom or photoshop to help pop the pictures in post.


I did these... Shitty kit lens, T3i, etc.


Aug 7 2012 1:22AM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24730 - Karma: 30,002
I lol'd.
Aug 7 2012 1:31AM
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C.Wood
Posts: 2524 - Karma: 180
Shot at f22, ISO 100 and a 30 second exposure

Click for larger image
Aug 7 2012 1:24PM
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J-rok
Posts: 1193 - Karma: 1,221
do you have to use photoshop to stack the pictures or something?...

or can you just open the shutter for a while (with correct settings) and get a good shot?
Aug 11 2012 11:33PM
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J-rok
Posts: 1193 - Karma: 1,221
I kind of got it to work but this isn't that good...

I had:
ISO: 1600
Shutter: BULB (1:10)
Apature: 4.5
Lens: 25mm (18-55 stock lens)

Advice?

Click for larger image
Aug 12 2012 1:09AM
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ONTerriible
Posts: 1210 - Karma: 126
It could be your focus. I know i have trouble with my 18-55 because it doesn't have a marker where to focus your camera to infinity. And if you don't have the stars in focus that would be why they aren't showing up and you just get a black image.

Advice, either find where the 18-55 lens focuses to infinity and mark it down on the lens so you can find it easier in the future or buy a better lens that has it marked out already.
Aug 12 2012 3:17PM
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Mkvackay
Posts: 1903 - Karma: 5,459
Click for larger image
Milky way starry night - Marquette by Mike Kvackay

this was a 30 second shutter speed

iso 2000

aperture 4.0

lens 10-20mm at 10mm
Aug 12 2012 3:42PM
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SkiJay.
Posts: 1550 - Karma: 653
thats a good shot right there... how did you get the trees to look soo crisp and not blurry?
Aug 12 2012 4:39PM
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ONTerriible
Posts: 1210 - Karma: 126
High f-stop, low iso.
Aug 12 2012 6:01PM
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m3owzza
Posts: 411 - Karma: 4,528
that has nothing to do with why they look crisp

the long shutter speed would have blurred anything moving, so there must have been no wind
Aug 12 2012 6:09PM
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ONTerriible
Posts: 1210 - Karma: 126
Yes there not being a strong wind plays a factor.

But.

Higher f-stop allows for a greater depth of field, that's why the trees in the background as well as the ones in the foreground are in focus therefore making the overall image look "crisp". Second the low ISO reduces the noise in the image and I would think that reduction of noise or graininess would make the image more"crisp".


Aug 13 2012 12:16AM
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