Star and star trail photography?

[Mike Wrankmore]

I'm off to Beaverlac in the Cederberg for the weekend and want to try my hand at freezing stars as well as star trail photography for the first time.I have read up on both types....on this forum as well as the internet...and don't want to go the multiple image route.
The equipment i will be using:
5D MKI + 7D Bodies
17-40mm f4 L and 24-70mm F2.8 L
Tripod,cable shutter release etc...
My question is can the 5D handle a high ISO around 1600 for a 30s exposure at f2.8 to freeze the stars....or will there be too much noise....? and too short an exposure?
I plan on also trying a 35min exposure f4 ISO 100 for star trails....( i have read about the battery life...and double the time for NR time after exposure etc...) have spare batteries.
Long exposure NR in Camera on or off in your opinions?..... and why?
I want to try get away with as Little Post production noise reduction as possible( if i can but don't know if that is a possibility)

So my main question is....what camera,lens combination will work best.....?
I plan on using the 5D,24-70mm at 24mm,f2.8....ISO 1600.....to try and freeze movement....will this work......(should i be using the 7D instead.....Higher ISO capability but noisier?)
And 5D....17-40mm.....at 17mm,ISO 100....around 35min exposure for star trails.....???

All advice appreciated

[alistair swartz]

Also very interested in any advice you get here. off to the farm this weekend and also want to give it a proper go.

[MadWab]

not sure about the other info but i did this to stack photos and i could only get about 8 seconds expsure time (maybe less - can't remember) to freeze the stars. any longer and yopu could see the stars starting to elongate from there movement. i would use the 2.8 for the freezing pics.

mmmm - i think i used my 70-200 2.8 so this would be for the 70mm end. going down to 24mm will probably give you a longer time but don't think you'll get close to the 30 sec mark.

i know there are formulas to work out rotation of the earth and focal length ect but i just went out and played around - not too clued up on the technical stuff.


hope this helps

[Gerrit Bastiaanse]

Basie van Zyl has just finished a fantastic ebook on star photography. From how to set your alarm clock right thru until you switch of the printer

[Mike Wrankmore]

Thanks Gerrit...Heinrich sent me a PM last night letting me know....bought and downloaded it this morning at 4am.....incredibly detailed...everything you need to know.

[alistair swartz]

Hi mike

Could you please post the link where I can buy the ebook?

Thanks

[Basie]

Hi Mike, Thanks for the support. I spent 18 months on this 180 page e-book ''Star Photography - The Ultimate Star Shooting E-Guide''.
At R150.00 it is a whole new genre of photography that will open up for you.
A somewhat mysterious kind of extreme photography with a technical undertone, somewhere between art and maths.
The camera lens combination will depend on the rule of 600 (600 / crop factor x mm = seconds) to freeze the stars.
How to apply the Rule of Reciprocity and determine the Exposure Value (EV)of the scene will be the chapters to study intensely....and to focus in the dark etc.etc.
The Quick Exposure Value Chart and the Night Exposure Value Chart is one of a kind and work extremely well under any ambient light condition.
Like Gerrit said, from the P-Puzzle (Prospecting, Preparation, Planning, Patience,Persistence, Practise and lots of Passion right through to the last click of your mouse...it's all there.
The link is below my signature.
Basie

[Mike Wrankmore]

Hi Basie

Fantastically detailed and very well laid out e-book.....and i can see it's not the type of genre of photography that one can get right immediately.....but your tips and charts go a long way to narrowing that margin of error.

Just a couple of pointers for your site.Nowhere do you give an idea of how big the file is to be downloaded....this might put some people off....and it did put me off initially(44MB i found out once i had paid).
I then tried to send you an e-mail via the contact details on the page......but the spam checker(the box that asks you to type in the letters.....was illegible to me....(there were 2 letters i could not make out at all)....so i could not contact you via that channel.
Apart from that .....the PAYPAL system worked like a charm.....and i had the e-book downloaded within 6 min!

Thanks for all the work and dedication that went into it.....and your photography sure is inspirational!

[Henk Coetzee]

600 (600 / crop factor x mm = seconds)

At the risk of being labelled pedantic, you mean 600 / (crop factor x mm) = seconds.

I just checked this out, thinking about my 70mm and got 28000s which is obviously wrong. 70mm on APS-C gives 5.7s which sounds about right.

[Hennie Cilliers]

Mike, I was fortunate enough to spend time with Basie in the Richtersveld. With his help and guidance, following the principles from his book, I was able to take a number of Star Trails and Stars shots which I,m very happy with. As you mentioned, not a genre that you will get right first time, but trust me, follow the instructions/hints and you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Check link for one of my shots.

http://www.outdoorphoto.co.za/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=518

[Basie]

Thanks for the pointers and tips Mike, appreciate your input and will look into it.
Thanks Henk, you are wide awake and100 % correct. The ''movement in the stars'' will also be more significant the further away you point the camera from the Celestial Poles.
Thanks Hennie, it was an amazing 11 days of star photography in the Richtersveld !
Remember that one night I fell in Kokerboomkloof and your hands and feet were swollen like melons from the muggies, when we did the final tests of the exposure value chart ?
I captured 4 shots of my 5 shot portfolio that came second out of 9000 in the Wanderlust Travel Photographer of
the Year Competition displayed in London during February 2012 that night. http://www.wanderlust.co.uk/magazine...htersveld/1697
The judge said: '' When I saw this...it is phenomenal. I tried it in Kenya and failed dismally.
Not only is it extraordinary execution... it is different star and star trail shots. This is certainly not a one trick pony, These are superb !
"This photographer is not just another photographer, but a sensitive , thoughtful, researcher, never mind his photo skills which in anyway he has in abundance''

So...determination and patience will be rewarded most of the time.
Genoeg gebrag :-) ...lol... Hope the e-book helps you to get yours....the way I got mine.
Basie

[alistair swartz]

Thanks Basie. Just purchased your document. look forward to testing it out this weekend. one question. i am a bit confused when it comes to focusing. every document i read says i must set focus to infinity. could you perhaps help me out with what this means?

Thanks again

[Mike Wrankmore]

Hi Alistair....Have you read the description on focusing....he explains it in depth there....
I'm battling to work out my focus distance with the Hyperfocul chart.....don't really understand what i am seeing when i put the info in????

[Mike Wrankmore]

Okay,think i have worked it out:
With the 5D and 24-70mm lens.....at F2.8,24mm....my hyperfocul distance would be 7 meters.....therefore if i focus on that point.....everything from 3.5 meters to infinity would be in focus....when shooting starscapes.
With the 5D and 17-40mm lens.....at F4,17mm...my hyperfocul distance would be 2.5 meters....therefore if i focus on that point...everything from 1.25 meters to infinity would be in focus........
Yes???

[Basie]

Correct Mike. Now for the measurement of the distance as on page 109...and then lock the focus, page 111

[Mike Wrankmore]

Thanks Basie

I hope i have some clear sky,no wind and not too much light pollution this weekend......It's actually my sister in laws 40th......so i'm just expecting to use this first try as a major learning curve going through all the important fundamentals that you have mentioned......if i get anything usable it will be a bonus

[Jeffreysa]

Thanks Basie, just bought and downloaded. First quick impression is that it looks very comprehensive, even how to PP. Much appreciation for all your hard work. I'm looking forward to a new genre of photography for me.

[Hannes Thirion]

I took my widest lens (18mm) at it's widest f-stop (f3.5). Take one shot of less than 30sec at a high ISO (3200) and 3 shots of 20 minutes each at 100 ISO and stacked them in Photoshop.

[Henk Coetzee]

Okay,think i have worked it out:With the 5D and 24-70mm lens.....at F2.8,24mm....my hyperfocul distance would be 7 meters.....therefore if i focus on that point.....everything from 3.5 meters to infinity would be in focus....when shooting starscapes.With the 5D and 17-40mm lens.....at F4,17mm...my hyperfocul distance would be 2.5 meters....therefore if i focus on that point...everything from 1.25 meters to infinity would be in focus........Yes???

This is/was so much easier when the DOF markers were marked on the lens barrel and the focus distances weren't/aren't vague concepts hidden behind a plastic window.Set the infinity mark on the focusing ring to the relevant aperture marking and it's all good.Of course this isn't so easy to mark on a zoom.

[Mike Wrankmore]

@ Henk
As i only became interested in photography since the dawn of the digital age......my knowledge of fundamental principles is sadly lacking.....however.....a bit of RETRO.....as you have shown....would come in so handy right now...