What Are The Best Settings And Lenses For Astro-photography Using Only The Camera And No Telescope?
Monday, December 14th, 2009 at
6:25 am
I have a Canon Digital Rebel XTi with the standard 18-55mm lens that has an aperture of 3.5-5.6 I think and was wondering what is the best setting for that camera and lens combination to get the best results for taking pictures of the night sky (in terms of shutter speed, aperture, white balance, etc.). I do have a tripod but it is not equipped to move with the planets--no equitorial mount if that is what it is called. Also, I would like to get an inexpensive but still nice additional lens that may be better suited for astro-photography without a telescope, any suggestions?
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something to try, go into your menu and turn on the long exposure noise limiter, then, get a remote and a good, strudy, heavy tri pod, go to a place with a good view of the night sky, make sure its a clear, windless night, set up the cam on the pod with the remote attached, use about an F 16 – 20 Aperture and point the cam on the biggest grouping of stars… now, zoom as far as your lens will go and put your cam into manual mode, set the shutter to “BulB” mode, this will do this: when you hit the remote, it will open the shutter, let it stay open as long as you want it.. usuall 30 mins to an hour, then hit the remote again and it closes the shutter, now, let the camera write the image to the card, this will take about the same time as it did to take the shot. What youll get: Star trails… youll be able to see the trails of light in a circular pattern made by the stars moving across the sky while your cam was filming it.. but, you need to be absolutly, in a place where you will not have any ambient lighting at all and a place with no wind or vibrations from you walking around and such.
To amplify fhotoace’s excellent advice. First I’ll hand out a caveat. I’m not especially familiar w/ digital photography so my advice is related to film gear experience. But it is, for the most part, applicable to digital photography. However, I did use my son’s Canon 10D for about 1/2 a year and liked it. I still use my old 35mm film gear and sometimes my medium format equipment as they are familiar old friends. The 35mm equivalent for your 18-55mm lens is roughly 30-85mm. This is pretty much what you’ll need for weather shots (lightening, etc.), moonscapes, early morning/evening cloudscapes and general night sky shots. A stable tripod is a necessity in most night photography. You may find that a “beanbag tripod” is useful. They can be purchased or you can put a handful or 2 of navy peas or un-popped popcorn in a self-closing plastic bag to make your own. Put enough peas in the bag that a “nest” can be made for the camera. A flash is usually not needed unless you’re trying to pop-out a foreground; for example, a person or a mood setting object in a moonscape or weatherscape. The “B” setting on cameras holds the mirror up and the shutter open for as long as the shutter is depressed. This means you’ll need a short, shutter cable release that can be locked in the depressed position then unlocked when you wish to close the shutter, otherwise you’ll be standing at the camera holding the shutter button down. “B” stands for “Bulb” and is a hangover from the earlier days of photography when exposure times were measured in seconds. A flash(s) was often fired when the lens was open – you can still do this when highlighting an object, just don’t get yourself between the camera and the object you’re lighting if your using the flash off-camera. You’ll probably find that white-ballance is best if set manually. A starting point for moonscapes is ISO 100, f11-16 @ 1/30 – 1/60 second for shutter speed (The moon is surprisingly bright). For lightening-bolts a starting point is ISO 100, f16 and “B” – close shutter after the strike. Lightening is a “happening”. You have to point the camera to where you think the next strike will occur, set the camera and wait. Fireworks offer two basic scenarios. The first is where you capture a burst with no trails and the second is where you capture the trails. For the burst with no trails start at ISO 100-200, f5.6, 1/60, click the shutter just as the firework bursts. Obviously this is primarily a timing problem, but you’l get the hang of it quickly. As fhotoace pointed out, digital film is cheap, so shoot-em-up. For fireworks with trails start at ISO 100 or less, f16-22 and “B”. As with lightening you have to guess where the next burst will occur. As for the lens extension, that will depend on your proximity to the fireworks. White-balance will probably be a trial-and-error thing with fireworks. I would start with one of the cameras fixed scene white-balance settings if your camera has that option or use automatic. Meteor showers are fun but very frustrating. A starting point is ISO 200, f-stop at the lowest number (largest aperature) for the lens extension and “B”. Close the shutter and advance to the next frame after a couple of minutes as the ambient light may start to become a distractor in the shot. Cloudscapes are variable to the extreme. When they’re lit by a bright moon they reguire higher ISOs, wider aperatures and longer exposures than when lit at near sunset/sunrise. Of course the speed of the clouds is a big factor. You’ll just have to “intuit” the scene. Be patient. Keep track of what camera parameters you’ve set, observe the results, compensate as needed.
Photography does not lend itself well to haphazard techniques. Become intimate with the parameters you will be manipulating. That way you won’t have to stop and think what happens if you adjust ISO up or f-stop down, etc. When you break out the camera for photo ops take a moment to mentally gear yourself to the situation.
Photography is a most rewarding hobby. As with any hobby, excellence will be achieved thru diligence. And remember the old adage from T.A. Edison and others – You are not making mistakes, you’re only finding another way not to do things.
If there is a photography club in your area think about joining. Photo hobbists are a friendly lot and will gladly share their experiences with you. Most clubs also have “teaching” nights. This is where old-timers and new-comers present their learning experiences; and sometimes they have presentations from professional photographers. You’ll also get the latest news on what is happening in the world of photography. Happy hunting and Welcome to the hobby!
You can do this yourself.
Using different ISO sensitivities to find the break-point where noise overcomes the night sky.
Next shoot at a fixed shutter speed that will capture the night sky with no camera movement (camera attached to the earth kind of movement) adjusting the f/stop until you find the best exposure for the various stars, bright to dim.
Play with different focal lengths and putting various foregrounds in the image (plants, notable buildings even a low fire with people moving around (for long exposures)
Once you have the optimum exposure/ISO combination then have some fun with your exposures. Long ones to get star streaks through the image, lighter sky at the horizon if you are near a city, those kinds of things. Since you are using a digital camera, film is cheap!!
I like to put my camera back down on the hood of my 4×4 (engine off of course) and use the self timer with the mirror locked up so I don’t introduce camera shake.
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Advance apology – still tinkering with blog settings:
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How many celestial bodies can you see in this image of the Great Nebula in Orion, which an amateur astrophotographer took with a Stellarvue 70mm telescope and a modified Canon XT camera? Apparently, there are a dozen, including two nebulas.
(via You Could Have Taken This Photo Of The Orion Nebula Yourself — With A Lot Of Patience – Space – io9)
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Samsung introduced a few new point-and-shoot cameras yesterday and while some were more of the same, one stands out from the crowd. The HZ35W pairs a 12 megapixel sensor with Schneider KREUZNACH lenses and both optical and digital image stabilization for crisp, clear pics. The 24mm lens extends for an optical zoom of 15 times [...]
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Get a neti pot. They sell them at most herbal/alternative medicine stores. It's just this little thing that looks like a teapot. You put a warm saline solution in it and put it in one nostril and tip your head. The solution goes through and clears out your nose and sinuses.
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depending on the tech, powered glasses are needed…so lenses may be out.
An international team of astronomers, using the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii, has discovered what may be the coolest sub-stellar body ever found outside our own Solar System.
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“Welcome to MIRROR IMAGE – a collection of astrophotography images by Amateur Astronomer PETER SHAH. I do hope you enjoy the images presented here and in the near future I hope to expand the site and offer prints for sale.”
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For those that missed it last night; first deep space astrophotography atempt: Andromeda Galaxy
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Ken I want to know what type of telescope do you use and how do you hook up your Dslr with the telescope.
There are two aspects to aligning a German equatorial mount (GEM): setting the mount for your latitude, and then aligning the polar axis with the north celestial pole. The mount itself should come with instructions on how to do this properly.
Essentially, there will be screws or bolts (often called, appropriately enough, "latitude adjustment bolts") that you loosen in order to match the "tilt" of the polar axis of the mount to your latitude. After that, there will be other adjustment screws or bolts that allow you to rotate the mount on its tripod in small increments so that the polar axis of the mount is pointing precisely at the north celestial pole. Good polar alignment is essential for long-exposure astrophotography. There are many websites that have detailed instructions on polar alignment. A good explanation can be found at
As for astrophotography in general, I would recommend the forums at There are many very experienced astrophotographers there who would be glad to lend assistance.
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You will still need two cameras. One still camera (you can get the Sony DSLR that uses your Minolta lenses) and keep your mini-DV.
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An engineer who designed the telescope that discovered the first planets beyond our solar system has died aged 92.
Progressive lenses have less power at the top edge and maximum power at the bottom edge. The power of the lens increases gradually from top to bottom. The idea is that you can adjust your head so that you are looking through the part of the lens which is just right for the distance of the thing you are looking at. Most people don't like these at first because it takes a change in the way glasses are used. Older people do not like change. However people who will work with the progressive lenses and learn to use them usually end up liking them.
A no-line bifocal lens is one which does not have a distinct line between the top and the bottom lens. It has a more gradual change from upper to lower, like the progressive, but not totally, it is a compromise between bifocals and progressive lenses.
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Thats easy the transtion will turn dark outside on sunny days just remember they don't work inside cars you will need extra sunglasses for driveing. regular glasses will stay clear
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Or just delete the old ones from your memory card after you have backed them up on your computer, that way the next time you only have new pictures on the card.
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go to options and then calibration
follow what it says to re calibrate it
Last week we covered creating ‘day trails’ in Photoshop using the technique in Astrophotography known as ’star trails’. Today we take the same technique and use it to create a view of city activity at night.