Questions tagged [stars]

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How can I take good photos of stars out of a cockpit window using the Samsung 21 ultra?

I am an airline pilot and as the winter is coming and we get nice clear nights I am seeing masses of stars out the flight deck windows. At night we have dim lighting in the flight deck and when I try ...
pilotman's user avatar
  • 201
4 votes
1 answer
2k views

What causes stars to appear like this?

What causes stars to appear as strange blobs sometimes as in this image? Source: Nikon P900 Stars- Real Stars and Planets vs NASA images. Stars are not what they tell us!
gunwin's user avatar
  • 143
3 votes
1 answer
146 views

Stars at night without long shutter speed lines

I've seen breathtaking milky way photos that have no trail/streaks which of course I always get when shooting my DSLR at 30 seconds or longer - I can't find a clear answer that doesn't include using ...
Elle's user avatar
  • 31
2 votes
3 answers
555 views

Proper exposure for taking a sunset, stars, and moonrise timelapse

I'm planning to take a sunset to nighttime to moonrise timelapse. On the day in question, the conditions are: Sunset at 7pm Nighttime at 8pm Milky Way visibility at 8:30pm Moonrise at 2:30am at 15% ...
oneself's user avatar
  • 261
2 votes
2 answers
217 views

What causes the multiple instances of the same object (star or planet) that appears on this photo?

On a photo I took, there seems to be multiple instances of the same object, is it a result of my low quality camera and lens, or something else? ISO: 3200 3s Body: Sony alpha 57 (mirroless) Lens: ...
Philip J's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
271 views

Take stacked photos of night-sky with the Moon

I would like to ask about photographing night sky (stacked photos) with 80% Moon. It's about 80%, but the moonrise will be at 21:59. So technically when I would like to take photos of the opposite ...
Marcel Kopera's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
112 views

How to better enhance this star field image using Photoshop?

I have a bunch of images I took this night with my binoculars and my phone camera attached to it (8 second exposures using OpenCamera). The light from the city and from the Moon made the background ...
Swike's user avatar
  • 113
2 votes
6 answers
274 views

Unsmooth Star Trails

My setup: Peak Design Carbon Fiber Tripod Sony A7r4 + Sony GM 16-35 lens shooting at 16mm ISO 640, f/3.5, 30 seconds Camera set to continuous shooting mode Remote shot for 1+ hours continuously ...
Tinker's user avatar
  • 353
2 votes
2 answers
3k views

Do I need to wait for new moon to get a Milky Way photograph?

I know that similar questions have been answered, but this is very specific. I know that I need as much darkness as possible, and hence the recommendation for new moon days. But, would you get the ...
Roman Rdgz's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

Taking picture every x seconds [duplicate]

I would like to make star trails picture and I saw that one good way to do so is to take picture every like 30 seconds and them stack them all. I have Sony a6500 camera. Is there a way to set this in ...
Ben's user avatar
  • 179
0 votes
2 answers
807 views

I'm trying to take a photo of the stars however it's either white or black

I have a Canon EOS 2000D with a Tamron AF 70-300mm, EFS 18-55mm and a 500mm & 1000mm manual lenses; I have it set on bulb for long exposure, F5.6 which is the smallest aperture, ISO I've tried ...
Isaac Hand's user avatar
17 votes
4 answers
5k views

Why are the star trails in Richard Angle's photos of a SpaceX launch and landing so non-uniform?

Teslarati's SpaceX just expanded the envelope of rocket recovery with 50th booster landing includes some beautiful examples of Richard Angle's work portraying time and motion and physical processes. ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 1,827
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

gphoto2 - interval photography with bulb mode

I discovered gphoto2 a couple of days ago and I've been digging into the documentation but I've not been able to solve my problem. I would like to create a star trail with my Nikon D3400. The camera ...
Davide_sd's user avatar
  • 123
1 vote
2 answers
390 views

Which programs can be used for landscape night photography stacking on a Mac?

I am interested in landscape night photography and would like to avoid star trails. The research I did so far suggests that I should use image stacking to accomplish this but I am having some trouble ...
Orbit's user avatar
  • 1,530
1 vote
2 answers
169 views

Star photography noise

I am using the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera (original) to play around with capturing images of the night sky. So this is a Super16 2.1MP sensor with a 135mm cinema lens at T2.2 capturing 12-bit ...
52d6c6af's user avatar
  • 133
0 votes
4 answers
1k views

Milky way photography without startrails [duplicate]

I am from sri lanka. I want to photograph milky way. Canon 750D EFS 18-135 lens I know that i should increase aperture & increase iso. What should be the shutter speed for this camera to ...
user3111290's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
631 views

Why do some star trails appear blue?

I was trying to photograph some star trails last night and I kept noticing that a number of stars in the upper half of the photo were showing up as blue. I'm really not too sure as to what's going on ...
Philip Gibbons's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
466 views

Will my finepix s8600 be enough for the milky way

I'm planning on buying a DSLR soon but impatience got me I decided to take my moms 4 year old bridge camera and give a shot, I took pictures in a mildly light polluted area, and it seemed to have ...
Mohamed elsadig's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
196 views

Is Star trail photography possible on smartphone cameras

I own a motorola G5s+ and I was wondering if we shoot video in manual mode, is it possible to have the camera record star trails. If so, what settings would be ideal? How would you change them ...
Rajath Pai's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
141 views

Is it possible to take photographs of the stars at night using lower-end equipment?

I have tried taking photographs of the night sky using a tripod with the following portable cameras / cell phones in manual and automatic modes: Canon Powershot SX230HS Sony DSC-TX10 Sony DSC-TX30 ...
End Anti-Semitic Hate's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
219 views

The 500 rule - astrophotography [duplicate]

I'm a newbie on everything that surrounds astrophotography. I've been reading about the 500 rule and how to avoid star trails. My question is why you divide by the focal length? I mean how the focal ...
LittleWing's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
771 views

How to achieve a timelapse effect where stars streak through the sky?

I can't really explain it so I'm finding it hard to Google for tutorials. I was wondering how to get this effect: Instagram Video By using something like Photoshop CS6 or a freeware program. I'm ...
adam's user avatar
  • 699
6 votes
1 answer
771 views

How can those star-trails be non-circular?

Due to the rotation of the Earth, over the course of the night, stars will appear to turn around the celestial pole. This means we can photograph star trails (desired or not). Physically, any star ...
gerrit's user avatar
  • 1,490
5 votes
2 answers
711 views

How would one get a moon shot like this?

Here is the shot, taken off Reddit: As you see, the moon has a perfectly exposed shadow (you can see the details in the unlit side of it) which I want to achieve. I understand you want to have a ...
adam's user avatar
  • 699
1 vote
1 answer
297 views

Why is DeepSkyStacker output resolution off?

I am using DeepSkyStacker version 3.3.2 to stack 20 light frames of some stars. The registration and stacking goes off without a hitch, but the resulting image resolution has drastically changed. The ...
Scorb's user avatar
  • 1,048
1 vote
3 answers
1k views

Why is my nighttime sky image so poor (few stars and a yellow glow)?

I am new to astrophotography and I take most of my pictures at around 11pm, which is reasonably dark. The only lights which are on near me are street lights and they are behind trees. I am struggling ...
codingfailure's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
2k views

How can I avoid star trails? [duplicate]

When shooting deep sky objects such as Andromeda or the Orion nebula, I find that I'm between a rock and a hard place. I can get passable results by running 3600 ISO and four second exposure. Any ...
Josh's user avatar
  • 31
2 votes
2 answers
378 views

What settings might have been used to get this photo with clear stars and long trails from car lights?

Di ritorno dalla Val Gardena — alto adige, by Stefano Guerrini I am assuming that the photographer used 400- 800 ISO along with the 15-20 seconds of shutter speed. But, If there is a long exposure ...
Amit Pal's user avatar
  • 133
0 votes
3 answers
1k views

How to choose the correct white balance for star trail photography (Nikon D3200)

These last days I've been practising star trails photography. It's not complicated, but there's a problem that keeps me giving headaches: the white balance. I know, for this type of situations, I ...
spund3's user avatar
  • 526
8 votes
4 answers
3k views

Long exposures blurred images due to mirror movement - film photography

I currently own a Contax 139 which, unlike many other models, doesn't feature a switch you can lift the mirror with. I'm planning to do some night stars bw photography with very long exposures (i.e. ...
Eugenio's user avatar
  • 333
2 votes
4 answers
2k views

Are these stars or noise?

Tonight I decided to take a couple of shots with my Nikon D3200 on a tripod for the first time. When I was looking at them on my computer, I noticed these dots. Are these stars or just noise? I highly ...
Tardigrade  Snake's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
859 views

How to get the Milky Way bright enough without overexposing foreground objects?

I went out and captured the Milky Way and because I have a 18mm-55mm 1: f3.5 5.5 lens I had to turn the camera sideways and stitch them together in photoshop and just having to work with what I got at ...
Zaq's user avatar
  • 31
3 votes
1 answer
819 views

How do star trackers work to take a photo for 5 minutes without blur, and are they worth it?

I'm contemplating trying to make one of these star trackers, but after everything I've read, including the two star tracking related stackexchange posts, I don't know if I understand how they work. (...
user3768258's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
219 views

Can I use the same lens for landscape and star photography?

My wife loves landscape photography and I love capturing the stars. We are both amateurs and we have been using our stock Canon EOS 750D lens (18-55mm) so far with 'ok' results (both kit and user-...
avanwieringen's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
892 views

Affordable lenses for nightscape photography (nikon d5300)? [duplicate]

I just bought my first DSLR camera Nikon D5300 and currently I only have the kit lenses. I am looking to get some new ones soon to use them to take pictures of the moon and maybe even the stars. As ...
user3755632's user avatar
2 votes
5 answers
2k views

How can I tell if something in a photograph is a star or a planet?

A couple days ago, I zoomed in with my 30x optical zoom camera, and after some exposure adjustments, a bright star in the night sky turned into this: Are those other planets or other stars? Or is ...
Bobdabiulder's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
1k views

Why does photographing the Milky Way require short exposure, when star trails need long exposure?

I can't understand — how do they work differently? I mean, when 2 secs exposure is required for photographing milky way, while 30 mins exposure is needed for photographing star trails, why isn't the ...
user152435's user avatar
  • 1,515
0 votes
1 answer
849 views

Which compact camera to buy for starry skies, city lights and close ups? [duplicate]

I'm looking to purchase a compact camera that has all the common features e.g. portrait, landscape, video etc. But can also allow me to take pictures of stars and city lights, and will allow close ...
Soph Kay's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
1k views

Astrophotography exposure setting for noise reduction

I was on a hiking for a week into the dense forest of Western Ghats with my Sony slt a58. I am into Astrophotography. The place was absolute black with millions of stars. The perfect place for ...
Suresh Karia's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
192 views

What speed to shoot stars at? [duplicate]

What speed do I use to shoot the night sky? I tried last night, first tried with 30", then 10", then even 6", but all the times there were movement from the stars themselves, like this: And that was ...
Sartheris Stormhammer's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
2k views

Black sky for night long exposure

I have recently started DSLR photography, and love taking long exposures of the night sky. I would like to have the sky be black, instead of blue, seen here: https://flic.kr/p/xRVXcw I have a Nikon ...
Max Rosen's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
3k views

is it possible to take photographs of the Milky Way with a Panasonic FZ-30 camera?

I have a Panasoinc Lumix FZ30 "SLR-like" camera It can take raw images. It has ISO speed between 80 and 400 and max aperture f2.8 and max 60 seconds of exposure time. I am really eager to take ...
user43339's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
1k views

Night Sky SuperResolution (instead of star trails) - possible?

I don't know if this is possible, or runs into fundamental limits of sensors and photo sharpness. I want to "pretend" that I have a fancy night sky motorized rig - through software. Take a few ...
Benjamin H's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
446 views

How to create an image with star trails in the background and clear, bright foreground objects?

Take a look at the following image by Franky Chou: I'm trying to understand how it was even possible. I mean, it's clear how you do a stars' trail shot, but with a long exposure, I feel like the ...
Noldor130884's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
324 views

Why did I get blurry star trails?

This is my first star trail photograph stacked with StarStaX and can't seem to find out why they are so blurry. I have a sturdy metal tripod with a cable release and shined a light to focus on the ...
Seantography's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
3k views

Why should I use the widest aperture for star photography?

In the article, Photographing Stars Using a Kit Lens, the author talks about keeping the widest aperture, e.g. ƒ/3.5. But it's my understanding that a wide aperture means a smaller area will be in ...
Saurabh Bayani's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
396 views

Am I experiencing field distortion while astro photographing when stars on the edges give trails?

I have started astrophotgraphing. My primary lense I use is Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 APO with Nikon D7100 and Sigma 2X TC. I also use Astrotrack without guidance. I have gotten rid of the coma by making ...
Arnold Star's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
520 views

median stack mode is blurring my stars

i am trying to reduce noise with median stack filter but all the stars are smeared/blurred. Gear nikon D7100, Samyang 10mm, tripod, PS CC
Ter Mix's user avatar
  • 11
3 votes
1 answer
224 views

Does an already set (or not yet risen) moon still wash out stars?

If there's a decently sized moon (say, 50% visibility or more) but you still have a few hours of time before moonrise/after moonset, will the moon still wash out stars the same as if it were visible ...
Austin Gayler's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
4k views

Which Canon lens would be best for landscapes and night skies? [duplicate]

I have a Canon Rebel T3i. It came with an EF 75-300 and EF-S 18-55. I like to take pictures of wilderness, especially at a distance, and some photos at night of stars and building clouds. What lens ...
Kim w's user avatar
  • 11