This being the first Tips and Tricks, I decided I'd share how I managed to capture the Astrophotography shot from November Skies.
Lets start with Gear:
- Camera: This can be a High-End Mirrorless camera or it can be the camera built-in to your phone
- Tripod: Lets face it, no one has steady enough hands. Plus holding one position for long enough gets tiring. Make it easy and have a tripod hold it for you.
- Flashlight: It's dark out there, take a flashlight or use the built-in flashlight on your phone to stay safe.
- Chair (Optional): You may get tired of standing, why not bring a chair so you can be more comfortable.
Alright, lets talk about Focus.
Once you got your camera mounted on the tripod, chair in place, it's time to find the stars and get focused. Having a sharp focus means that the stars don't look like giant blurry dots.
Tip: If your using a DSLR that has a screen on it's back, it more than likely has a Live View option. You can use this and the zoom in option, usually looks like a magnifying glass with a + in it.
Once you've found your focus point or focus star, using manual focus can let you bring the star into focus. You don't want the star looking like a giant white dot, at the same time, you don't want it to be nothing but glare either. This takes time to get the right focus point.
Tip: Set your camera to manual mode so you can adjust shutter speed, focus, and aperture.
Now that we have our focus, it's time to discuss time and the 500 rule. Which recommends the following:
500 ÷ equivalent focal length = Shutter time
So, what the heck does that mean? Well, if our lens is a prime (non-zoom) lens with a focal length of 50mm, then the math looks like this:
500 ÷ 50 = 10 seconds
It's that simple, but of course the rule was meant as a starting point for Full Frame camera's. Which means we have to make some adjustments to the rule. For example, Nikon's DX format is 1.53x smaller than Full Frame. So we'd have to adjust our focal length AND make a change to the 500, which it's recommended to bring it down to 300. Ugh, math.
1.53 × 50mm = 76.5mm
300 ÷ 76.5 = 3.915
In my case, using a 50mm prime lens, it has a Full Frame focal length equivalent of 76.5mm, then divide from 300 giving a starting time of just under 4 seconds. I chose to start with 6 seconds. This actually turned out to be perfect for a great starfield and even to capture the timelapse blur of an aircraft passing.
Tip: If you leave the shutter open for longer, you'll end up with really bright stars and starfield. You also risk developing star trails or elongated stars.
Next we need to set our aperture to be fully open. If you don't know already, the higher the number aperture, the smaller the actual opening is. So, ƒ/22 is almost closed where as ƒ/2 is almost wide open. Check your lens for the widest aperture available. My 50mm prime lens has a aperture of ƒ/1.8 giving me a ton of open lens to capture available light. Below is an example
- Focus ✔
- Shutter Speed ✔
- Full Open Aperture ✔
You can always review the image and using the camera's zoom option, check your focus, brightness, and if you need to adjust the timing. And viola
