Finally found someone who addressed the absence of an infinity symbol on a mirrorless lens. Now that I know that is bogus for mirrorlessI can use your solution without worrying about it.! You are the first person I have heard to directly address that. Thank you.
Don't forget to turn off image stabilization when the camera is on the tripod as that itself may cause blur when working in an otherwise unmoving camera.
Not true if you’re using manufacturer’s prime lens as the camera is intelligent enough to adjust accordingly, which is great news, using a third party lens definitely needs it switched off
Interesting video, very informative, A question if I may? What are your thoughs please on using a laptop to help with the focus and shoot via tethering, and how long an exposure for star trails please.
Thank you alot for explaining it in a very clear way ! I was bored and tried to nightsky photography, thinking that i must use infinity and wondered why i got blops :D
I've never done astrophotography, but I'm wondering if such a high ISO setting wouldn't introduce a lot of noise to the image. I think I've read about or seen techniques to deal with this in which several lower ISO and faster shutter-speed exposures are taken and combined in post. What are your thoughts?
Hi @RockLakeMama, Yes, you'll absolutely have a "surprising" level of noise in your nightscape images, especially in shadowy foreground areas, if you're a landscape photographer who is used to shooting at ISO 100 all the time. Having said that, it comes with the territory and as long as you expose your images correctly, it's not that bad. Noise reduction stacking is possible, however it can require special techniques in order to avoid simply breaking even. In other words, if you merely cut your shutter speed in half and shoot two photos, then layer blend them in Photoshop, you'll have roughly the same amount of noise as you would if you'd just used a 1-stop higher ISO. The trick, then, is to shoot more than just 2 exposures, at whatever shutter speed can work for you, and then use a specialized app such as Starry Landscape Stacker or Sequator to re-align all the stars in the sky, while leaving the earth in the image un-moved. That's a technique which would require a whole separate video to teach! Stay tuned...
Hi, I have a nikon d5600, and have just bought a af-s nnikkor 50mm 1-1.8g lens. Is 1.8 my focal lenght? Do I take that x's 1.5 then into 500 or 400 to get shutter speed? ALSO, I cannot find the in camera sharpening , is there a place for this one on the nikon d5600? Thanks
Not mentioned, final evidence of having achieved optimum focus, surrounding dim stars will pop into view as their light is concentrated. It is also helpful to view the screen through a magnifying loupe.
Thanks for all the tips for good focusing. I use Bhatinov mask and Bhatinov grabber software on the computer when my DLSR lens is connected. If I use only DLSR camera and lens, I used Backyard EOS software for FWHM.
I have a sony a55 and it seems like my cellphone camera is better.. sharper, seems to be able to collect more light, everything. I set both to 20 second exposure and similar settings and it seems my cell phone blows my camera out of the water
Hello. Thanks for the reply..i read a review on B&H website about the leg adjustment clamps being rather flimsy or subject to breaking,id like to get the slik 700dx or the 780dx model,and get a seperate brand head assembly,i need a unit that wont have or show shake when manually adjusting focus for star clarity,but in turn my budget is about 230 bucks or less..benro and oben are a option but look like they have those thin legs which dont look solid/sturdy enough to prevent viewed camera shake when manually adjusting focus...any input appreciated,im looking to order by this friday for a venture on the 10th/11th of november for long exposure waterfall,landscape fall foliage shots and astrophotography shots those nights...need sturdy,reliable. Thanks....(do you use the slik 700dx?)
Yes, the Slik 700DX is my current favorite "heavy duty" tripod, because it's decently large and heavy, yet not /too/ ridiculously heavy for those times when I need to travel a bit further. The leg locks aren't flimsy, they're very strong and they will not break unless you absolutely neglect the tripod and let it get totally encrusted in mud or saltwater for a long period of time. If you take decent care of the 700DX, it will last a lifetime. Mine is probably getting close to 10 years old! For the price, you really can't beat it. I would recommend some others that are a bit lighter and yet even stiffer, however they're all far, far more expensive. (Such as Feisol) Benro and Oben are decent brands, and if you get one of the tripods in the 3-5 lb range you'll probably get one that is very stiff and strong, but it won't stand the test of time as well as the Slik 700DX; it'll start giving you a bit of trouble after a few years.
I'm definitely going to maximize my in camera sharpening next time I'm shooting stars. BUT, the 500 rule isn't really good enough anymore, not with modern cameras. Use the NPF rule (see PhotoPills). Seconding Colin, turn off stabilization. Shoot with Mirror Up if you have that option to avoid camera shake. Use shutter delay or a remote wireless shutter release.
Thank you,for the info.. Im looking to buy the slik soon for landscape and astrophotography...ill look into the head access.,im aittle tight on budget at the moment ..
Enjoyed your video and find it very informative, but have a concern about one of your comments. In the video you recommend going to y our "in-camera sharpness setting" for getting the best point stars. On my Nikon, that is is something Picture Controls, but everything I have read states that changes there are not recognized in the RAW files when imported into Lightroom or Adobe Camera RAW. Are you suggesting to just use this for the Live View focusing process, or am I missing something about how to use this increase in sharpness when actually capturing and editing the resultant images? Thanks..........
Hi Bill! You are totally correct- the "turn sharpening to the max" tip is just a visual aide for while you're shooting. It will not affect your raw photos at all once you import them into lightroom! (However, it will affect your raw photos by helping you NOT accidentally take soft pics anymore, haha!) Just remember that if you ever shoot video or JPG, DO NOT use this level of sharpening, it will totally ruin your JPG images or videos. Thankfully, more and more cameras are offering to memorize completely different Picture Styles or Picture Controls when you switch from photo to video mode, so it's not a problem if you only ever shoot raw stills and video, but never JPG stills.
The slik 700 dx pro,is it really sturdy and steady?ive got a couple of the manfrotto compacts and they really get on my nerves with being unsteady when i zoom in on the moon,and i see shake in the viewfinder while i manually focus...if the slik is pretty steady,what kind of head should i get with it for a decent price for astrophotography and for use in landscapes? Thanks...
the Slik 700DX is a much bigger, heavier model that is more along the lines of the older Manfrotto 3021 type series- built like a rock, heavy as a rock, and certainly able to stiffly support any of your big lenses and cameras. I don't know what you meany by "Manfrotto Compacts", but if you're talking about their BeFree series and those similar weight class tripod legs, then yeah, those are a bit flimsy and wobbly, even when they're brand-new, let alone when they've had a year of abuse. You'll always see a bit of shake when you're actually touching your focus ring, but with a heavy-duty tripod and head, it will certainly be minimized, and if you use live view at 100% or 200% zoom, you'll see just how quickly the shake will fade. My favorite head for pairing with the Slik 700DX is the Oben BC-126 or BC-139. They're a bit more expensive than most of the other "generic" brand ballheads, but they're worth it because they're all-metal, no rubber on any of the knobs, which is something that always melts or cracks on the other generic tripods after a few days in the hot sun. Also, they're one of the most affordable ballheads to have a tension screw that is built-into the main knob, instead of the annoying-as-heck third knob like on Mefoto tripods. I hate third-knob tension knobs because I always wind up accidentally turning the tension knob thinking its the panning knob. Hope this advice helps!
It looks like the stars were focused, but the trees and rocks were a little out of focus. Wouldn't it make for a better photograph to have the land or what ever in focus and the stars a little bit out because the only way to tell if the stars are in focus is to zoom in?
Hi Gerald! Great question. It's partly a matter of personal taste, and partly a matter of technical compromise. Personally, I agree with you- if I had to pick just one subject, I would probably focus on the trees in the foreground, and let the stars be slightly blurred, because I think that is a more artistic option than having a blurred tree. However, most everybody will probably rather have EVERYTHING in focus, to be honest. In which case, you'd have to either stop down, or do focus stacking. If people are interested in a video tutorial about nightscape photography focus stacking, we'll try and do one! It's definitely one of the more advanced subjects in nightscape photography, but it's a great challenge that is fun and rewarding to accomplish!
Oben, BC-126 is a great mid-sized head, or the BC-139 or 166 for truly massive setups; alternately if you're on lightweight legs and using a lightweight camera, the BC-108 and 117 are both still plenty strong. I like Oben heads because they're the only affordable brand on the market that isn't terrible. I've tried almost every other affordable (cheap generic brand, really) ballhead on the market, and they all start wobbling eventually. Some of them can fail catastrophically, others just have the grip rubber on the knobs start falling off. Either way, they're all terrible. Oben heads don't have any rubber knobs, and overall they stand the test of time when it comes to just being sturdy and not risking your gear smashing to the ground. :-) BTW I paid my own money for that head, so that's not a sales pitch haha.
Finally found someone who addressed the absence of an infinity symbol on a mirrorless lens. Now that I know that is bogus for mirrorlessI can use your solution without worrying about it.! You are the first person I have heard to directly address that. Thank you.
Don't forget to turn off image stabilization when the camera is on the tripod as that itself may cause blur when working in an otherwise unmoving camera.
I was waiting to hear that and thank goodness you mention it!
Not true if you’re using manufacturer’s prime lens as the camera is intelligent enough to adjust accordingly, which is great news, using a third party lens definitely needs it switched off
Interesting video, very informative, A question if I may? What are your thoughs please on using a laptop to help with the focus and shoot via tethering, and how long an exposure for star trails please.
Oh my, the trick with in-camera sharpening is ingenious!
Yeah, stars are closer than infinity (in my lens :)
Great work Matthew. I was wondering which camera and lens you used to record this video ...??
Thank you alot for explaining it in a very clear way !
I was bored and tried to nightsky photography, thinking that i must use infinity and wondered why i got blops :D
I've never done astrophotography, but I'm wondering if such a high ISO setting wouldn't introduce a lot of noise to the image. I think I've read about or seen techniques to deal with this in which several lower ISO and faster shutter-speed exposures are taken and combined in post. What are your thoughts?
Hi @RockLakeMama,
Yes, you'll absolutely have a "surprising" level of noise in your nightscape images, especially in shadowy foreground areas, if you're a landscape photographer who is used to shooting at ISO 100 all the time.
Having said that, it comes with the territory and as long as you expose your images correctly, it's not that bad.
Noise reduction stacking is possible, however it can require special techniques in order to avoid simply breaking even. In other words, if you merely cut your shutter speed in half and shoot two photos, then layer blend them in Photoshop, you'll have roughly the same amount of noise as you would if you'd just used a 1-stop higher ISO.
The trick, then, is to shoot more than just 2 exposures, at whatever shutter speed can work for you, and then use a specialized app such as Starry Landscape Stacker or Sequator to re-align all the stars in the sky, while leaving the earth in the image un-moved.
That's a technique which would require a whole separate video to teach! Stay tuned...
Great information. Thanks!
Hi, I have a nikon d5600, and have just bought a af-s nnikkor 50mm 1-1.8g lens. Is 1.8 my focal lenght? Do I take that x's 1.5 then into 500 or 400 to get shutter speed? ALSO, I cannot find the in camera sharpening , is there a place for this one on the nikon d5600? Thanks
Not mentioned, final evidence of having achieved optimum focus, surrounding dim stars will pop into view as their light is concentrated. It is also helpful to view the screen through a magnifying loupe.
Thanks for all the tips for good focusing.
I use Bhatinov mask and Bhatinov grabber software on the computer when my DLSR lens is connected. If I use only DLSR camera and lens, I used Backyard EOS software for FWHM.
I have a sony a55 and it seems like my cellphone camera is better.. sharper, seems to be able to collect more light, everything. I set both to 20 second exposure and similar settings and it seems my cell phone blows my camera out of the water
Use some software to plug camera into and recorded the Full Width Half Maximum method. Just dial the focus until you get the smallest number. Done .
Very useful tips here, thank you.
Hello.
Thanks for the reply..i read a review on B&H website about the leg adjustment clamps being rather flimsy or subject to breaking,id like to get the slik 700dx or the 780dx model,and get a seperate brand head assembly,i need a unit that wont have or show shake when manually adjusting focus for star clarity,but in turn my budget is about 230 bucks or less..benro and oben are a option but look like they have those thin legs which dont look solid/sturdy enough to prevent viewed camera shake when manually adjusting focus...any input appreciated,im looking to order by this friday for a venture on the 10th/11th of november for long exposure waterfall,landscape fall foliage shots and astrophotography shots those nights...need sturdy,reliable. Thanks....(do you use the slik 700dx?)
Yes, the Slik 700DX is my current favorite "heavy duty" tripod, because it's decently large and heavy, yet not /too/ ridiculously heavy for those times when I need to travel a bit further.
The leg locks aren't flimsy, they're very strong and they will not break unless you absolutely neglect the tripod and let it get totally encrusted in mud or saltwater for a long period of time. If you take decent care of the 700DX, it will last a lifetime. Mine is probably getting close to 10 years old!
For the price, you really can't beat it. I would recommend some others that are a bit lighter and yet even stiffer, however they're all far, far more expensive. (Such as Feisol) Benro and Oben are decent brands, and if you get one of the tripods in the 3-5 lb range you'll probably get one that is very stiff and strong, but it won't stand the test of time as well as the Slik 700DX; it'll start giving you a bit of trouble after a few years.
Great tips. Trying to tune my night sky (Astro) photography with my new Rokinon 12mm F2. Thanks
I'm definitely going to maximize my in camera sharpening next time I'm shooting stars. BUT, the 500 rule isn't really good enough anymore, not with modern cameras. Use the NPF rule (see PhotoPills). Seconding Colin, turn off stabilization. Shoot with Mirror Up if you have that option to avoid camera shake. Use shutter delay or a remote wireless shutter release.
Thank you,for the info..
Im looking to buy the slik soon for landscape and astrophotography...ill look into the head access.,im aittle tight on budget at the moment
..
Enjoyed your video and find it very informative, but have a concern about one of your comments. In the video you recommend going to y our "in-camera sharpness setting" for getting the best point stars. On my Nikon, that is is something Picture Controls, but everything I have read states that changes there are not recognized in the RAW files when imported into Lightroom or Adobe Camera RAW. Are you suggesting to just use this for the Live View focusing process, or am I missing something about how to use this increase in sharpness when actually capturing and editing the resultant images? Thanks..........
Hi Bill! You are totally correct- the "turn sharpening to the max" tip is just a visual aide for while you're shooting. It will not affect your raw photos at all once you import them into lightroom! (However, it will affect your raw photos by helping you NOT accidentally take soft pics anymore, haha!)
Just remember that if you ever shoot video or JPG, DO NOT use this level of sharpening, it will totally ruin your JPG images or videos. Thankfully, more and more cameras are offering to memorize completely different Picture Styles or Picture Controls when you switch from photo to video mode, so it's not a problem if you only ever shoot raw stills and video, but never JPG stills.
Great, thanks for the response, now to find some dark sky and get shooting.......
The slik 700 dx pro,is it really sturdy and steady?ive got a couple of the manfrotto compacts and they really get on my nerves with being unsteady when i zoom in on the moon,and i see shake in the viewfinder while i manually focus...if the slik is pretty steady,what kind of head should i get with it for a decent price for astrophotography and for use in landscapes? Thanks...
the Slik 700DX is a much bigger, heavier model that is more along the lines of the older Manfrotto 3021 type series- built like a rock, heavy as a rock, and certainly able to stiffly support any of your big lenses and cameras.
I don't know what you meany by "Manfrotto Compacts", but if you're talking about their BeFree series and those similar weight class tripod legs, then yeah, those are a bit flimsy and wobbly, even when they're brand-new, let alone when they've had a year of abuse.
You'll always see a bit of shake when you're actually touching your focus ring, but with a heavy-duty tripod and head, it will certainly be minimized, and if you use live view at 100% or 200% zoom, you'll see just how quickly the shake will fade.
My favorite head for pairing with the Slik 700DX is the Oben BC-126 or BC-139. They're a bit more expensive than most of the other "generic" brand ballheads, but they're worth it because they're all-metal, no rubber on any of the knobs, which is something that always melts or cracks on the other generic tripods after a few days in the hot sun. Also, they're one of the most affordable ballheads to have a tension screw that is built-into the main knob, instead of the annoying-as-heck third knob like on Mefoto tripods. I hate third-knob tension knobs because I always wind up accidentally turning the tension knob thinking its the panning knob.
Hope this advice helps!
Thanks for the information. Really helpfull.
What are the chances of getting a good shot with canon 17-40mm , f/4 lens?
You should do fine I have a 15-55mm that can go down to F/4.
It looks like the stars were focused, but the trees and rocks were a little out of focus. Wouldn't it make for a better photograph to have the land or what ever in focus and the stars a little bit out because the only way to tell if the stars are in focus is to zoom in?
Hi Gerald! Great question. It's partly a matter of personal taste, and partly a matter of technical compromise. Personally, I agree with you- if I had to pick just one subject, I would probably focus on the trees in the foreground, and let the stars be slightly blurred, because I think that is a more artistic option than having a blurred tree.
However, most everybody will probably rather have EVERYTHING in focus, to be honest. In which case, you'd have to either stop down, or do focus stacking. If people are interested in a video tutorial about nightscape photography focus stacking, we'll try and do one! It's definitely one of the more advanced subjects in nightscape photography, but it's a great challenge that is fun and rewarding to accomplish!
Matthew, which head are you using with this tripod?
Oben, BC-126 is a great mid-sized head, or the BC-139 or 166 for truly massive setups; alternately if you're on lightweight legs and using a lightweight camera, the BC-108 and 117 are both still plenty strong.
I like Oben heads because they're the only affordable brand on the market that isn't terrible. I've tried almost every other affordable (cheap generic brand, really) ballhead on the market, and they all start wobbling eventually. Some of them can fail catastrophically, others just have the grip rubber on the knobs start falling off. Either way, they're all terrible. Oben heads don't have any rubber knobs, and overall they stand the test of time when it comes to just being sturdy and not risking your gear smashing to the ground. :-) BTW I paid my own money for that head, so that's not a sales pitch haha.
Ha! I have a Slik 700 DX and I love it.
Awesome vid but the 500 rule is so outdated in a world of high megapixel count sensors. Check out the NPF rule :)
That's literally what the "Spot Stars" feature, which I mentioned, does for you- the NPF rule. Thanks for mentioning it specifically, though!
@@MatthewSaville Musta missed that. Probably too busy writing my comment immediately ha my bad!
my bad for not specifically explaining that it was the NPF rule.
Personally, I'm lazy, so I just go with the 250 rule and call it a day.
Thank you.
Heavy doody ?
Negative viewer. More talks less actual settings..