Exposure times for star light sky ?

BADGER.BRAD

BADGER.BRAD

Suspended / Banned
Messages
4,252
Edit My Images
Yes
Hello All,

It's the time of year were I start to use some of the Welsh mountain Bothy's I was thinking of taking a film camera with me as the skies can be spectacular My equip will be quite basic a small tripod ,remote shutter cable a camera of course and a single lens (I have to carry all the gear on my back or bike) I was wondering what sort of exposure times I would use for this.My intention was to take multi photos but was wondering where I should start. I'm aiming for dark skies with very little moon light. Am I best to use colour or Black and white or would this make no difference. Thanks all and should I use small or large apertures ?

Thanks all
 
Last edited:
I'd start at about f2.8 with a 28mm and 20 seconds, but you have to up the ISO (or ASA :) ). Any longer and you get star trails.
You could try with a DSLR and then transfer the settings. ISO would tend to be about 3200, so you need a fast film that you can push a bit. (don't quote me on this!, I think that is the correct ballpark figure, experiment and see what appeals to you, image wise)

And of course there is reciprocity failure :eek:

I'd avoid Fomapan 100!
 
Last edited:
I would use as wide a lens as I had available and play with a roll of 400 ISO slide film. 20s or so should give you plenty of stars without any (or, at least with minimal!) trailing. Locking the shutter open for several minutes (or even longer if it's an older camera with mechanicals rather than electricals!) will give reasonable trails. Look for tutorials from Matt ( @MWHCVT or similar ) for more tips. I'd use colour - not all the stars shine white...
 
Nod said:
I would use as wide a lens as I had available and play with a roll of 400 ISO slide film. 20s or so should give you plenty of stars without any (or, at least with minimal!) trailing. Locking the shutter open for several minutes (or even longer if it's an older camera with mechanicals rather than electricals!) will give reasonable trails. Look for tutorials from Matt ( @MWHCVT or similar ) for more tips. I'd use colour - not all the stars shine white...
Click to expand...

Cheers buddy, for the OP a link to my guide is in my signature, as to settings it's pretty much been covered but if you are set on using film your going to have to expect and plan for long exposures don't be surprised is your using a 100-400 class of film to be working with 5 minute plus times, I've not ever don't stars on film so will have to leave film specific advice to those who actually know about film
 
I've done astro stuff including wide field starry sky shots on film (before digital was invented) but only on a driven mount so no trailing problems. To be honest I'd never use a film camera again especially as a first attempt with a subject as tricky as this. There's nothing more frustrating than finding out days later that you've made a mess of it. Use a digital camera, turn the iso up and use a wide angle fast lens at its largest aperture to get the longest time without trailing. Depth of field isn't an issue unless you're intending light painting a foreground. Shoot raw and experiment with exposure time. You might end up with a background that looks a bit red in the camera back but that can be fixed in post. If you take multiple shots you'll have to stack them, and using a fixed tripod you'll be getting some field rotation. Using a wide angle lens any minor focusing errors won't show too much, and focus can be difficult as an autofocus lens is capable of going slightly beyond infinity, if that makes any sense. You can autofocus on a distant light source if there is one, otherwise do it manually zooming in on the camera back or use live view if you have it. Just another thing you can't do with a film camera............
 
Unfortunately I don't have any digital gear other than a cheap Bridge camera. Are we saying using film is bound to end in failure ?
 
Last edited:
BADGER.BRAD said:
Unfortunately I don't have any digital gear that I can do anymore than a 30 second exposure and that is a bridge camera so not the best. Are we saying using film is bound to end in failure ?
Click to expand...
It's a bit of a specialist area.
Have a go but be prepared for disappointment :)

Thirty seconds is too long if you want to avoid star trails. It was mentioned above that about 20 seconds is the limit for about a 28mm lens.
The rest is maths.
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
Unfortunately I don't have any digital gear that I can do anymore than a 30 second exposure and that is a bridge camera so not the best. Are we saying using film is bound to end in failure ?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I understand the first sentance but I assumed you had a dSLR. Note to self - not everyone has a dSLR...............
Film isn't bound to end in failure - it just has more chance of doing so, but if that's the best camera you have then go for it. You'll still need a wide angle lens set on maximum aperture, and the fastest film (colour) you can get. I've no idea what's available these days as it's quite a few years since I gave up using 35mm for astro. I would start at about 15sec and take lots of shots increasing the exposure time for each one as you will have no way of knowing when the stars start to trail.
 
Not that I'm going to attempt this but how long would it take to get the circular type star trails ? I take it we are talking hours! I I did buy a cheap second hand DSLR Jannyfox but the results were so unreliable that I gave up on it and decided to stick with the cameras I had inherited from my dads collection Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it I have way too many hobbies and not enough time or money to go into any of them fully I some times wish I could concentrate on one of them.
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
Not that I'm going to attempt this but how long would it take to get the circular type star trails ? I take it we are talking hours! I I did buy a cheap second hand DSLR Jannyfox but the results were so unreliable that I gave up on it and decided to stick with the cameras I had inherited from my dads collection Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it I have way too many hobbies and not enough time or money to go into any of them fully I some times wish I could concentrate on one of them.
Click to expand...

Yes you'll need all night for the classis circular trail but you could frame with Polaris in a corner rather than in the centre and just leave the shutter open for as long as you can. If you can just kick back and watch the sky while the camera does its thing for an hour or more you could get something quite nice. In that scenario a longer lens would be helpfull, though chances are you'd be sacrificing aperture, so it's swings and roundabouts. If you're only able to take one lens you'll have to prioritise and take the one most useful for everything you want to do with it. At least with old 35mm cameras you don't have any battery issues, which is the bane of my life with digital! If you're using a small lightweight tripod it probably isn't the most rigid, so make sure you bed it down on the ground so nothing can move and position it so it's well sheltered from any breeze (and well away from where anyone might switch a torch on. There's nothing quite like doing a loooooong 35mm exposure and having someone wave a torch around half way through.............!) All astrophotography is about experimenting, which is why it lends itself to digital, but just play around, note your settings and see what you get. Better to come back with something than nothing :)
 
Jannyfox said:
There's nothing quite like doing a loooooong 35mm exposure and having someone wave a torch around half way through.............!)
Click to expand...


:plusone:

About 1/4 mile away, there's a relatively dark area that looks North and is a decent place to do a bit of meteor or similar spotting. Until the students arrive and try to take photos of them. With a smartphone. Using flash. And they're supposed to be the bright ones!

BRAD, I have an old, completely manual and clockwork rangefinder that I've used for looooong exposures on film. I can set it to B and lock the shutter open for an unlimited time (using a lockable release cable). Too much time and/or too sensitive an emulsion can result in an overcrowded shot - the trails can start blurring into each other and lose definition. As Jan suggests, an hour or 2 will get some pretty results but you'll need to wait for the film to come back from the lab to see them!
 
Thanks Nod , I will give it a try anyway I have a remote shutter cable which will lock the shutter and have a number of cameras to give it a go with .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top