Heya Mike, I looked it up because I am not familiar with any differences with the LL-20 Dual lens version. On Amazon I found one that is more expensive and says it is still a 10x zoom but called LL-20 and it also comes with a 17.5x zoom loupe. The bigger magnification of the 17.5x would work even better. But the need for it isn’t really there. Not worth the extra $10. But you personally might love the extra magnification. Without knowing what the benefit would be to getting the LL-20 over the LL-10 if BOTH are still only 10x zooms, I would say get the cheaper LL-10 since it works terrifically. Without talking to Carson or finding a listing that compares the 10 to the 20 I don’t believe that there is any need to seek out the LL-20. Thanks for the question and for watching my videos! -Aaron
Just one other tidbit of advice...When setting up your MW alignment to your composition...set ISO at 12,800+ at widest aperture. You can find the MW and align your comp with 1-3 second exposures instead of trying to align with a normal ISO 1600 shot at 20+ seconds. Once you've got your alignment setup, you can then adjust ISO for longer exposure.
Great advice! Seriously you spend so much time adjusting your composition that you do NOT want to wait 8 seconds let alone 13-20 depending on your favorite exposure time for Milky Way. I do the same thing Ryan does until I get my position and then move to getting my histogram exposure correct at 13 seconds of exposure. Thanks for adding that, Ryan! -Aaron
Thanks Aaron. I've had trouble finding stars on the back of my Nikon. I had not considered running the ISO up and maxing out the shutter in order to see stars in live view. Can't wait to get out after dark and give it a try. One tip regarding too far out of focus to see anything. I start by setting the lens to the infinity focus mark and tweak from there. Learned this while practicing shooting the sun prior to the eclipse.
Oh awesome! I am really glad this helped! It seriously makes a big difference! And yeah, that is a great tip! I know I neglect to get my lens to infinity before I start. And speaking of that eclipse! It was amazing! I became an Eclipse chaser that day! I didn't get a good shot last time either so that is a huge motivation for me to get out there again! Thanks for letting me know you liked the video and hope you keep watching! :D -Aaron
Great video! I was getting ready to buy a $60 sharp star focusing tool for my lens and then saw this video. I can't believe that I can be confident in my focus for only $5. Thanks again!
You really can! Now SHARPSTAR 2 confident is a different story. The Bahtinov mask you get from the Sharpstar 2 from Ian Norman is really fantastic! I don't have one personally yet, but a close friend of ours does and I haven't had a chance to compare my focus method to me using a Sharpstar. (But that is a plan very soon. In fact, I can do it long before the Milky Way is up longer and it is truly Milky Way season.) So I want to say, YES you don't need one. BUT the X pattern that the Sharpstar 2 provides takes ALL of the guess work out of it. Try out the Carson Lumiloupe method for a simple $5 and see if you like it as much as I do and it will save you $55. I do love Ian's work and support Lonely Speck 100% so my method is admittedly just one rung under the sharpstar 2 focusing method as for success rate. :D Thanks for watching and please let me know how it goes for you! -Aaron
Hahaha! It’s been up for years and you are first person to comment on me doing that through out the video! 😆 Thanks for watching my channel! Hope you come back for more! 😃 -Aaron
Really glad I could help, Patricia! I am often surprised by how universally difficult getting focus can be! Hopefully these tips helped you make it easy. So long as you can see the orb of the planet/star on the back of your screen and can easily watch it go from large to small and can discern which orb is the smallest, you have your focus! The rest of the battle is exposure and composition! Thanks for watching, Patricia! :D -Aaron
I tried this out in an area w/very low light pollution compared to my usual Denver Suburbs location. This was ~30 miles from Boulder in the mountains at ~10,000'. I found that if I kept the moderate wide angle lens wide open (F1.8) and an exposure > 3 seconds, the result was considerably over exposed. Stopping the lens down somewhat also usually gives you a noticeably sharper image. Using shutter speeds of a maximum of 10 seconds and the lens stopped down gave me the best star field pics have taken yet! I used the same ISO of 3200 I'd used at home. This was with a Sony A6000 APS-C Cam.
Totally awesome! I just got my first SLR today! (bottom of the barrel Canon T6). I've always been fascinated with Astro-photography, going out tonight to shoot the milky way. I had planned on using "infinity" focus from Photo Pills in the field, thinking that would be my only option. Wrong...yahoo! I just focused on Jupiter, and used a 10x for fine tuning. Wow! Thank you! The sliver of a moon will be below the horizon in about an hour so it's time to go, I'm so excited, my biggest worry was focus but not anymore.
your last vid was ace. bought a lumen that same night. im in uk but good luck with your courses.im doing first star trail over weekend. thanks for the tips
Good video! On my mirrorless Sonys I used to use Focus Peaking since it's always in Live View. It is able to actually pick up the brighter stars and planets. But I'd suggest turning the Peaking off as I think its easier to see the stars come in and out of focus more clearly than relying on the Peaking function. PS - I was wondering how your grew your beard back after seeing you without it last weekend. Glad it was just due to the magic of older video!
Hahaha yeah not that manly. :D The beard grows in much more slowly unfortunately. I am going to shave again but soon grow one this size. I have watched it as I edited the video and missed the beard. haha As for Focus Peaking, my friend Brent from the Facebook group says his Fuji has the Focus Peaking as well and the extra highlight they add to the in-focus parts makes the white stars bigger and it is impossible to use this method in live view with that going on so it is much easier to turn off like you said! I wouldn't trust the focus peaking to know which size white blob is the "in focus" white blob when doing Milky Way Photography. Thanks for the kind words and for watching as always, Kirk! -Aaron
You welcome for the kind words. But I gotta let you know I prefer the beardless Aaron look! Maybe that look if burned into my retinas from watching all your videos! Back to focus peaking in the Sony - it is very cool for daylight scenes, but not so useful at night. But I got to say, those cameras seem to pick up a lot of stars at night in the live view with the magnified view turned on, especially when you have a lens at f/1.4.
Haha you and all the women in my life....not winning the beard votes. :D I have seen the sky on your Sony and Drew's Sony and I am always jealous to see how many show up in your LCDs where on my canon I can't see most of them only the brightest. But I haven't checked on the 5DMiv so I am optimistic it will perform much better than the 6D there even though probably not touch the Sony performance. -Aaron
One other thing to think about all of the time in warmer weather is to store your gear in the temperature it will be operated in or close to it, preferably warmer. In the car and hotels with the A/C cranking you cool your equipment. Then when you setup at night the equipment will keep condensating and that can cause focus issues. Especially if you change lenses and the rear element and internals gets sweaty. In a hotel, store your equipment on the bathroom counter with the light on and the door closed it will get nice and warm. In the car store the equipment on the floor with blankets over it on the side where the exhaust pipe runs to the back. Warm equipment no condensation!
Nice tip with the LumiLoupe. I'm going to try one next time. I've been using a bahtinov mask and zooming in on the rear panel, but it looks like with one of these loupes I can go wider (the wider your aperture, the more resolution your lens has - but the less depth of field, making focus stupid-critical). Also, are you stacking frames? What are you using? I've been using Sequator - but I'm open to alternatives. My issue with a star tracker is that I don't want to carry the extra weight, and guidestar setup is kind of a PITA (my eyes are bad),
Excellent summary on focusing Aaron. There is no need for a Bahtinov mask. If you follow Aaron's tips, your focus will not be a problem. I've been using these techniques for a couple years and it works great.
Awesome second witness for this method, Nevada! Appreciate you confirming that this works for you and man can you believe it is almost time to get back out there for the Milky Way!? Muahahaha I am so excited! :D I am going to go tonight maybe if clouds are good to capture a January Milky Way Core for my first time! :D -Aaron
That's right! I was just planning that last night! I really need to do my Astro Photog podcast again so we have an Astro Primer to remind people about it :D -Aaron
Yeah! I was reading about that! It all depends on where you are in time zone because of what month it technically was a full moon in your area but yeah! A second Full Moon in one month that is actually going to be a Lunar Eclipse! I am excited! I will definitely be out there with my camera gear and hopefully Brendon as well! :D -Aaron
Great advice Aaron, I've only been at it for a few months. Never heard about a Lumiloupe before so I just bought one and look forward to better focus :D Thank you.
Awesome, Shane! I LOVE my lumiloupe! Such a perfect addition to my gear that is so cheap! Getting the easier view of the orb as I am focusing makes it so much easier to tell when I have the tightest circle. I love it! :D Good luck with yours, Shane! :D -Aaron
Hi Aaron. Just watched this video, fantastic. I'm new to night photography and have found some of my MW images to be out of focus. My specific question re: the video is this. One of your tips is referring to setting the longest shutter speed available. I don't understand this setting, as we are just in the focusing stage, why would shutter speed be part of this process??? Thanks, Susan
Heya Susan! That is specifically for cameras like my Canon 5DMiV that does "Exposure Simulation" on the LCD screen. Without turning up my shutter, I sometimes won't see the stars. The exposure simulation is too dim. If I go the EXTREME with high ISO and long SHUTTER it can help the exposure simulation be brighter and help the stars show up. Whenever I have a student out on a workshop and they can't see any stars on the back of their screen I will have them turn their LCD brightness up to MAX and then change their settings to MAX to see if stars show up and often that does it! When it doesn't work there are other issues and quite possibly a bad camera or lens for Milky Way is keeping the stars from showing up. If you can't see them you can't focus on them so it is way frustrating when we can't get a camera to reveal any stars. :D Thanks for the question, Susan! -Aaron
before i saw Aaaron's video this confused me as well. Because I was using live view i did not think it mattered what shutter speed i used, but exposure simulation is a better name and you can get a brighter image for focusing by using longer shutter speeds
Aaron, loved the video. Did my first ever night shooting on Mauna Kea, Big Island, this last March. I'm hooked.. In reference to the camera settings you said to set to what shutter speed??? I got the aperture and iso.. Susan
Thanks for the kind words, Susan! Shutter is simple. You just need to use the NPF rule. Which if you use PhotoPills, can be easy to find. I have a TWO-MINUTE TIP video that talks Shutter and the NPF rule and it will get you ready for go out for your next adventure! SHUTTER VIDEO: th-cam.com/video/kNa5gGuG6Go/w-d-xo.html And by the way, I am crazy jealous of your Mauna Kea adventure! That would have been amazing to join you there! :D -Aaron
@@PhotogAdventures Hi Aaron. I just realized you had answered me, dang! I will connect with the reference link you gave me. If ever visiting the Big Island look up Don Slocum, you will find him on the internet easily. I booked time with him and away we went, what an adventure. My comment just a few moments ago was asking you when in the focusing to infinity process you mentioned as a tip to use the longest shutter speed. Did i hear that right? One wouldn't use a shutter speed just during focusing the lense, right???
Great tips, Aaron. Thanks. I noticed last night while freezing that the rear screen wasn't as cooperative as it is at warmer temps. As if refresh rate was sluggish in a way. Lost was that twinkling star effect you get. Anyway, I suspect your 10X loupe trick will probably sort that out stat.
Yeah it really is nice to be able to zoom in even further with the loupe and have a very very clear idea of what the tightest you can make your focus on the star or planet be. -Aaron
@Hoc Est Pseudonym You sure can't take a joke can you. A kodak Brownie is a old camera that is made in the 1900 and later I joke with friends about the cheap Kodak cameras all the time.
I loved your video and I went out and tried to take a photo of the stars. The stars were amazing but when I took the photo it was black there are no stars- I went high up the mountain, so it’s very dark in the sky was filled with stars, but I couldn’t zoom to find any light. I don’t know what else to do, I have a Canon rebel E5 T100 DSLR. Any advice will be so appreciated. I bought the little lense thing too. When I look at my view panel - all I saw was black
Hi thanks for the demonstration the steps you did for focusing directly at the star can you advice me how to focus if i want to include scenery such as tree or house with the sky? because i guess the closer part will be out of focus.
Heya Dan! Right on! I love my Carson lumiloupe! I can imagine these loupes are extremely useful for your work! Any ultra high quality glass loupes you could recommend as a leveling up options for those interested? -Aaron
I am about to purchase a new camera with astrophotography in mind. I have purchased a Carson magnifier as shown in this TH-cam. This is my question. I assume I need a camera that has an LCD that angles or rotates ? Has LiveView?? If it is a touch screen will it create a problem placing the magnifier on the touch screen ?? Thanks !
Very helpful thank you for the great information. i have question when you said 5 or 6cross pixels what do you mean by that? how do I find it to make sure i have the right focus. Thanks
Thanks, Ahmed! The pixel comment was saying that with my Lumiloupe I have such a tight view on my LCD screen I can see the screens pixels. The squares of lights that make up the screen. And not 100% but roughly I can see that my White Orb of a Star is as wide as 6 pixels but if I rotate my focus I can see clearly that the white orb is now only 5-pixels wide. That make sense? Sorry it took me a month to reply to this! :D Thank you for watching, Ahmed! -Aaron
Thanks, Moe! I appreciate you saying that! It is going to be fun creating these videos over the next 14 days. Hope you like the others too. Enjoy your lumiloupe, you won’t regret it! 😃 -Aaron
Thank you, Moe! You have always been really supportive. I hope everyone feels the way you do! 😃 -Aaron P.S. Haven’t forgotten about your show recommendation! Just need to find some time to watch still. Come Feb. 2nd when I have the course completed and launched I will take a breather and enjoy it!
Thanks, Man! Always great to hear from you and really glad you liked the video and the new setup here! Making my off-garage studio into something really fun! 😃 If you can find a really low horizon view looking East you can see the Milky Way already at my latitude and lower! It is back baby! And I am getting ready to record a video about that right now! 😃 -Aaron
Hahaha! Man now that I look at that you are right! I was pretty cavalier about the whole thing. :D Thanks for watching this, Ryan even though I know you and Moe don't need this kind of lesson! I keep saying this but I appreciate it! -Aaron
That can be a huge frustration, Arjun. I am lucky with my Canon 5DMIV where I don't have noise or anything else in the way like all sorts of data or red focus peaking etc. In my workshops, the first challenge is seeing how well EACH CAMERA & LENS is able to resolve stars in LIVE VIEW so that we can have success getting focus with the aide of the lumiloupe. When their cameras have too much going on like NOISE it can be nearly impossible. So you have to get rid of the noise. If yours is full of noise, then you need to choose a REALLY BRIGHT PLANET each time and if even THAT is hard to make out from the noise, you may be in a situation where you need a lens that is terrific at its infinity point where you don't need live view OR you will want to upgrade your camera. Sorry that it might be an upgrade needed. That is tough. Please try it out and let me know how it goes! I will be looking for your report! :D Thanks for watching my video and hope you will keep coming back for more! -Aaron
I recently discovered your channel and am getting caught up on all your videos. I'm anxious to compare your focus method to my current "hyper focus" technique. I use Photopills to determine my hyper focus distance and light up a foreground object a bit farther away than that. I start at infinity and adjust in until the foreground starts setting off the peaking highlights. So far it's worked well for getting both the foreground and stars in sharp focus.
Does doing a prefocus stay the same? Or can the lens change with conditions or jostling around. If the lens can stay the same with a prefocus session, can you mark the precise focus mark on the lens ring with a fine point metallic sharpie?
I thought if your lens were focused to infinity. That everything would be in focus. That is how I do lightning photography. Wouldn't it be the same for astro photography? 2 minutes later you addressed the issus. Thank you very much!
Great video. Very informative and very practical advice. However, I am little confused by 7:45, when you say 5 across or 6 across. What do you mean by that? Any comments will be highly appreciated. Thanks.
I think he was saying it as a point of reference when trying to focus in on the star you'll see pixels and depending on those pixels you'll be able to calculate the exact point more or less when the blob goes from big and blown out to sharp and tight again so while turning your focus ring trying to find focus you can be able to have that point of reference of focus. I could be totally wrong! I was just as confused as you when I herd it but that's best thing I could come up with. ..
How does auto focus work, and why can't automatic control by camera assign numbers to the range each lens can turn so you can simply remember a number to plug in?
UHF, one of the major reasons that wouldn’t work is temperature. The point at infinity is a range. So anywhere IN that range on a given night might be infinity. So differing temperature conditions you will find that being at “spot x” on the ring still isn’t as sharp as moving it a little. It depends on the lens etc. BUT I agree with you! If a camera can focus on the pixels of the eye of an animal, how can the auto focus not be trained to handle the tight focus of a white orb?? I mean, the sensor could easily report back how many white pixels vs. black pixels and choose the focus where the white orb is smallest! How is this NOT already a feature?? I think it isn’t because they don’t make features for a niche group that often and no one has…yet. Someday they will. I am counting on it! 😃 -Aaron
What an you do about camera shake when using a long focal length lens (500mm) and having the magnification set to 10x? The slightest touch to anywhere on the camera causes the object to focus on to move all over the live view screen. Suggestions?
Basically I was saying that IF you have good enough magnification in your loupe and great eyesight you MIGHT even be able to COUNT the LCD screen squares or "pixels" and see that the white light is ten across at this focus but when I tighten it even more it gets as small as say maybe FIVE SQUARES/PIXELS ACROSS. This is emphasizing that with the added magnification of the loupe, you are even able to GET THAT CLEAR of a view of the size of the star on the back of your LCD screen and it will help you see when the star is as small and tight as possible which is when you are in best focus. Hope that clears it up! Let me know if it doesn't. Thanks for watching my video and I really appreciate your patience waiting for my reply! I am a month late, sorry about that! -Aaron
hello, new to dslr photography here. i am planning a trip to iceland and want to get a nikon d3500 with 18-140mm f3.5-5.6 lens. is this setup any good for low light photography, northern lights, stars and whatnot? please give some advice, thanks
The camera is good in its price range but i suggest u buy a 35mm or 50 mm f/1.8 prime lens if u want to shoot astro.The 18-55mm can also work but u will get the best results on a prime lens
Arron: I have a Canon 5D mark II with the stock focusing screen (EG-A). When I put the 10x loop up to the LCD screen as you advised, I see what looks like a window (bug) screen that I never noticed before. I am using a Canon 16-35mm 1:2.8 set at 16mm. Is that normal? or did you change your focusing screen to something like the Super Precision Matte focusing screen?
Wow. Photography as has advanced to the level we see today, and this kind of archaic methodology has to be used to get 'infinity' in a lens? Infinity can't be a setting established by the camera/lens manufacturers? It seems an obvious necessity, yet putting a loupe on an LCD screen (after all those other 'tweaks') to assure focus on an advance digital camera is the only way?
Tell me about it! You would think that it would be an easy request for an auto-focus system to handle stars. See white pixels -> zoom in on white pixels -> change focus until the smallest amount of white pixels is on the screen versus a bloated out of focus star and BOOM! It seems like it should be easy. I wonder if there is a reason it isn’t or if it is just something too niche and camera companies don’t want to take the time to add the feature. As for an “infinity” point on a lens, some lenses ARE true to their infinity point good enough. Like the IRIX lenses, they can be consistent. But true infinity will CHANGE BASED ON TEMPERATURE and so the conditions of a night during the summer might be one spot for infinity and then a cold night another spot. So we can’t trust a single infinity point so we manually focus. Using the Carson lumiloupe you can see even easier and make that manual adjustment. But seriously…I think that an autofocus for stars is only a year or two away. Some cameras like one of the Olympus ones purport to have it. Seeing clients in workshops use it once it seemed to work great. But I would have to play with it and do a side by side comparison to know for sure. Thanks for watching my video! I hope you will keep coming back for more! 😃 -Aaron
I hope the 'fix' comes soon too. I bought a zoom a year or so ago, didnt even think to include manual focusing authority in my decision process - being also so auto-focus entranced. Until I tried to take a photo of Venus recently. No lens data or easy control at all. Doh! Just like video cams, always refocusing on distant/sky related footage. Need a 'go to infinity' button, or good old manual focus ring and markings. Thx much for reply and sharing tips.
You need to test it yourself. See what settings you can get with a 6400 or a little higher ISO and a stop or 2 smaller aperture so that your depth of field is the greatest before getting star trails, unless you use a tracker.............. Try 2,4,8,16 second images. Make sure you shoot RAW+JPEG. What size lens and max f stop does it have?
Hey Thelma! Sorry for the delayed response but yes so long as you get some good magnification that will work. The Carson lumiloupe I have is 10x magnification and that is enough for me and wouldn't focus on stars without it. But I am betting your hoodman loupe would do the trick as well! -Aaron
i have the same question another person asked, what exactly are you talking about when you mention the 6-5 numbers on focusing. at 7:45 where you talk about using the 'pixels as your guide'.
YES! I have even tried to 3D print a Bahtinov Mask. Ian Norman has a GREAT mask using his Sharpstar 2 but my tamron lens is so big that the cost was too great to get into it at the beginning and I got good with my method and haven't needed it. Thanks for watching, Natarajan! :D -Aaron
Haha! Never thought anyone would ask me that one, Matt! 😄 That was my gaffer’s tape I used to tape it on there. It actually was a little hard to get to keep it up there flush against the LCD Screen! 😅 Thanks for watching, Matt! Hope you come back for more again! 😃 -Aaron
Photog Adventures Oooh! I see it now. Black tape was hard to see against the camera. I thought it was some type of suction cup! Great idea though. Thanks for the video. Picked one up and can't wait to try this awesome method..
Dumb question, why not use autofocus selector on lens and a second dumb question: why is there a button on the lens for manual or auto focus and then on camera also? Are these redundant ?
I am getting prepared to photograph, for the first time, the Milky Way in Upper Mustang, Nepal. I watched this video and I was wondering about focusing. Since I will be using a 20mm f1.8, couldn't I just focus on an object slightly further than the HF distance (24') in the daylight and tape the ring - ensuring maximum DoF?
Hey Allen, sorry for my delay in replying! Been sick 😅 You can absolutely make that approach to your focusing. The temperature change from the moment you focus to the moment you shoot might give you a loss of focus. But that isn’t always the case. I am not familiar with Nepal’s climate enough to say that August temperatures fluctuate enough to worry about it. But I will advise this: Do both! 😃 Get your focus the way you described and get your shot. Then try focusing in the moment and see how it goes. Unless you want to take 4-5 compositions before testing the in-the-moment focusing method I like to use, it should be very little effort to get yourself a good A/B comparison. The success rate of the kind of focus method you describe is highly dependent on the photographer and the lens. Not to mention the tape-off job keeping it there while traveling and the temperature factors on the lens. Which is why I always prefer dialing my focus in right before I take my shot. Helps me know I got it. Good luck in Upper Mustang! I know nothing about that area but I am still very jealous of you! 😃 Let us know how it goes! -Aaron
Thank you Aaron. Your reply is actually very prompt. I leave in 4 days and thought that I would take a run at getting my confusion resolved. I didn't really expect a response. You have given me some good pointers , eliminated my confusion and perhaps most importantly ... given me more confidence. Upper Mustang is a restricted region in Northern Nepal south of Tibet. It is remote , sparsely populated and high (3,000 to 4000 meters) with 6 of the highest mountains in the world. I was there in October/November so I scouted out some locations for the Milky Way this time around. My only concern now is the weather, but there is nothing I or anyone can do about it. If I am successful, I will share for sure.
You are welcome! Definitely has to be an area with dynamic and quickly changing weather so I hope you get opportunities to see the core of the Milky Way. Should be an amazing sky if you do! Good luck and really crossing my fingers you come back with some great stories! Might even need to have you on the podcast. 😃 -Aaron
@@allenahale1 I was in Lower Mustang in November and the sky was unpredictable even when clear during daylight it got cloudy at night and was a bit chilly. Hope you got the shot would love to see it and maybe share with a couple guides I know in Nepal.
@@tomgarrison2967 In terms of Milky Way photography, my trip in August to Upper Mustang was a disaster. The Monsoon was still going on. It was a struggle to even get there - impossible rivers to cross in a vehicle, deep mud on "roads", and cancelled flights. Every night the sky was obscured by heavy clouds if not by rain. Other than that it was a great trip. I am returning at the end of May and hopefully before the start of the Monsson this year for another festival and another crack at photographing the Milky Way.
Hey, I was about to get a 85 1.8 usm, mostly for portrature, but I don't have any other lens at the moment and I am going on a hike to a place filled with stars. Can some one tell me how long of a shutter speed can cause star trails at 85 mm (135 because I have an APS-C camrera?
Hey buddy thanks again fro subscribing, love your videos. I just uploaded an awesome Milky Way photograph trip in the Mojave Desert and Racetrack Playa.
I need to use exposure override with magic lantern for ANYTHING to show up on my display. its far far too dark on my canon 500D/rebel T1i LCD even at 100% screen brightness otherwise it will never show the live display at a brightness higher than iso 3200 and shutter speed 1/30
Especially does in the Infinity range that lenses have. That range exists because dependent on conditions your infinity point could move slightly. Sometimes that slightly isn't enough to ruin it for you and sometimes you are like me and prefer to just get the tightest focus you can on the spot in the moment. Thanks for watching! :D -Aaron
Focus peaking hasn't been the most accurate for me when it comes to very small distant objects. Peaking works great on "normal" working distances. Making sure the star is at it smallest never fails.
Definitely the brightest. IF you have any difficult at all seeing the white blog you are focusing on, going the brightest you can would be best. Most only turn theirs down to be nice to people shooting from behind or close around them. Normally mine is on full brightness because looking at my screen at all will mess with my night vision so I just don't worry about that. If people are near me and my screen is too bright and I can tell it is showing up in their shot I turn it alllll the way down. THE ONLY WARNING: If you use full brightness on your LCD screen you can sometimes under expose your shot thinking that the backlit image looks good. But back home you notice it is way dark. So PAY ATTENTION TO THE HISTOGRAM when you use the screen at its brightest. Get the right histogram and you got it made! :D Thanks for watching, Gyanrosling! -Aaron
Yes! This THIS is the first major challenge for people. If you can’t even SEE the stars then my method of live view focusing doesn’t work at all. So next time you are out there make sure you turn on your LCD brightness to the max. Then go for brightest settings to make the exposure simulation show more on your camera. I will demonstrate this in a new video this week! -Aaron
No single lens can be claimed as THE BEST for Milky Way as many are great and I can have my favorites but it depends on your camera body. BUT I can comfortably say that the BEST CHARACTERISTIC of a GREAT LENS for Milky Way is a LENS that is f2.8 or greater! Some of my best images are captured on a Rokinon f1.4 and using a 50mm f1.2! LOVED the outcome of the images taken with the 50mm f1.2 especially with it needing to be a panorama. Looks amazing! So grab your BEST really large aperture lens and get to capturing the Milky Way. You will have success for sure! Thanks for watching, Harry! :D -Aaron
It all depends on how close or far you are from your foreground. Sometimes it's a little blurry, sometimes it looks great! usually it's not that much of an issue. ~Brendon
That can be our biggest limitation here, whether our camera body actually helps us zoom in sufficiently. The Carson Lumiloupe helps to mitigate that but it definitely gets easier with a camera body with a good LCD screen zoom in feature! When you see that orb nice and BIG and can see the minor changes as you focus the lens, it gets REALLY easy to pick the tightest focus you can get! -Aaron
Just out of curiously, how well does it work out to focus on something that is at or a little beyond the hyperlocal distance, which is the focus distance beyond which is supposed to provide "acceptable" focus? In other words, if I shoot at 14mm f2.8, the HF distance in about 7'7". If I focused at that distance (or a little beyond) would that provide acceptably sharp stars?
Yes, I would find the term acceptable the best way to promise it. It all really depends on the conditions of your setting. The cold etc. Re-focusing manually on the planet or star of your choice FROM LOCATION is definitely the BEST WAY to make it sharp. But that doesn't mean that knowing your hyperfocal distance or focusing to your lens' point of infinity and going with that won't work. It can work great! Just have to try it! If you do try it, Bcfbasil, please let me know how it goes! :D -Aaron
Hey Linda, so sorry it took me a month to get back to you...these comments on this old video had completely gone under my radar! The $5 Carson Lumiloupe is all you need. I linked to it above in the description but here is that link again: goo.gl/ovjVVF Thanks for watching, Linda! -Aaron
You know earth is moving right? So, when you are trying to manually focus on a single star you don't have infinite time to do it. Unless you are using a proper support that can track your star or planet.
If the focus ring of your Rokinon/Samyang lens should be too easy to move, it's pretty easy to fix. If you fold down the upper half of the rubber ring you will see 3 tiny screws - you can losen or thighten it a little bit to get the focus ring more loser or stiffer.
Is Carson LumiLoupe 10X Power Stand Magnifier with Dual Lens LL-20 better than LL-10?
Heya Mike, I looked it up because I am not familiar with any differences with the LL-20 Dual lens version. On Amazon I found one that is more expensive and says it is still a 10x zoom but called LL-20 and it also comes with a 17.5x zoom loupe. The bigger magnification of the 17.5x would work even better. But the need for it isn’t really there. Not worth the extra $10. But you personally might love the extra magnification. Without knowing what the benefit would be to getting the LL-20 over the LL-10 if BOTH are still only 10x zooms, I would say get the cheaper LL-10 since it works terrifically. Without talking to Carson or finding a listing that compares the 10 to the 20 I don’t believe that there is any need to seek out the LL-20. Thanks for the question and for watching my videos! -Aaron
3:31 "...you can't see anything on the back of your LCD screen?..." It might be because you didn't take the lens cap off 😂😂😂 Trust me, it happens
hahaha yep! Me too! :D -Aaron
Just one other tidbit of advice...When setting up your MW alignment to your composition...set ISO at 12,800+ at widest aperture. You can find the MW and align your comp with 1-3 second exposures instead of trying to align with a normal ISO 1600 shot at 20+ seconds. Once you've got your alignment setup, you can then adjust ISO for longer exposure.
Great advice! Seriously you spend so much time adjusting your composition that you do NOT want to wait 8 seconds let alone 13-20 depending on your favorite exposure time for Milky Way. I do the same thing Ryan does until I get my position and then move to getting my histogram exposure correct at 13 seconds of exposure. Thanks for adding that, Ryan! -Aaron
Exactly. A very fast and helpful way to fine tune your comp.
That's exactly what I do. Works like a champ.
Nice work Aaron I like the gaffa tape tip gonna use it on my sammy cheers 📷📷
Thanks Aaron. I've had trouble finding stars on the back of my Nikon. I had not considered running the ISO up and maxing out the shutter in order to see stars in live view. Can't wait to get out after dark and give it a try. One tip regarding too far out of focus to see anything. I start by setting the lens to the infinity focus mark and tweak from there. Learned this while practicing shooting the sun prior to the eclipse.
Oh awesome! I am really glad this helped! It seriously makes a big difference! And yeah, that is a great tip! I know I neglect to get my lens to infinity before I start. And speaking of that eclipse! It was amazing! I became an Eclipse chaser that day! I didn't get a good shot last time either so that is a huge motivation for me to get out there again! Thanks for letting me know you liked the video and hope you keep watching! :D -Aaron
Great video! I was getting ready to buy a $60 sharp star focusing tool for my lens and then saw this video. I can't believe that I can be confident in my focus for only $5. Thanks again!
You really can! Now SHARPSTAR 2 confident is a different story. The Bahtinov mask you get from the Sharpstar 2 from Ian Norman is really fantastic! I don't have one personally yet, but a close friend of ours does and I haven't had a chance to compare my focus method to me using a Sharpstar. (But that is a plan very soon. In fact, I can do it long before the Milky Way is up longer and it is truly Milky Way season.) So I want to say, YES you don't need one. BUT the X pattern that the Sharpstar 2 provides takes ALL of the guess work out of it. Try out the Carson Lumiloupe method for a simple $5 and see if you like it as much as I do and it will save you $55. I do love Ian's work and support Lonely Speck 100% so my method is admittedly just one rung under the sharpstar 2 focusing method as for success rate. :D Thanks for watching and please let me know how it goes for you! -Aaron
Thanks for the tutorial. My shot of comet Neowise worked.
Try:
- Auto focus on stars
- switch to manual focus right after to freeze focus settings. Zoom in to verify.
Go shoot
So, so helpful!
Very good video! Drinking game take a shot everytime he sets camera on lens 🍻
Hahaha! It’s been up for years and you are first person to comment on me doing that through out the video! 😆 Thanks for watching my channel! Hope you come back for more! 😃 -Aaron
Great tip on focusing which is my biggest problem.
Really glad I could help, Patricia! I am often surprised by how universally difficult getting focus can be! Hopefully these tips helped you make it easy. So long as you can see the orb of the planet/star on the back of your screen and can easily watch it go from large to small and can discern which orb is the smallest, you have your focus! The rest of the battle is exposure and composition! Thanks for watching, Patricia! :D -Aaron
I tried this out in an area w/very low light pollution compared to my usual Denver
Suburbs location. This was ~30 miles from Boulder in the mountains at ~10,000'.
I found that if I kept the moderate wide angle lens wide open (F1.8) and an exposure
> 3 seconds, the result was considerably over exposed. Stopping the lens down somewhat
also usually gives you a noticeably sharper image. Using shutter speeds of a maximum
of 10 seconds and the lens stopped down gave me the best star field pics have taken
yet! I used the same ISO of 3200 I'd used at home. This was with a Sony A6000 APS-C
Cam.
Totally awesome! I just got my first SLR today! (bottom of the barrel Canon T6). I've always been fascinated with Astro-photography, going out tonight to shoot the milky way. I had planned on using "infinity" focus from Photo Pills in the field, thinking that would be my only option. Wrong...yahoo! I just focused on Jupiter, and used a 10x for fine tuning. Wow! Thank you! The sliver of a moon will be below the horizon in about an hour so it's time to go, I'm so excited, my biggest worry was focus but not anymore.
Great tips. I will definitely try the Lumiloupe 10x. Thanks!
that loupe idea is awesome - I just ordered one for me and one for my son!
Very Nice! I have been following 1-4 and I just ordered my Carson LumiLoupe 10x.
Haha awesome! You will not regret it. Not to mention that $5 is really never a risky purchase. :D -Aaron
your last vid was ace. bought a lumen that same night. im in uk but good luck with your courses.im doing first star trail over weekend. thanks for the tips
Thanks, Andrew! It has been three weeks since you wrote this, how did your first star trails go? -Aaron
This video was what I needed.
Really love to hear that, Maryam! Thanks for letting me know! Hope you keep watching the channel! :D -Aaron
Good video! On my mirrorless Sonys I used to use Focus Peaking since it's always in Live View. It is able to actually pick up the brighter stars and planets. But I'd suggest turning the Peaking off as I think its easier to see the stars come in and out of focus more clearly than relying on the Peaking function.
PS - I was wondering how your grew your beard back after seeing you without it last weekend. Glad it was just due to the magic of older video!
Hahaha yeah not that manly. :D The beard grows in much more slowly unfortunately. I am going to shave again but soon grow one this size. I have watched it as I edited the video and missed the beard. haha As for Focus Peaking, my friend Brent from the Facebook group says his Fuji has the Focus Peaking as well and the extra highlight they add to the in-focus parts makes the white stars bigger and it is impossible to use this method in live view with that going on so it is much easier to turn off like you said! I wouldn't trust the focus peaking to know which size white blob is the "in focus" white blob when doing Milky Way Photography. Thanks for the kind words and for watching as always, Kirk! -Aaron
You welcome for the kind words. But I gotta let you know I prefer the beardless Aaron look! Maybe that look if burned into my retinas from watching all your videos!
Back to focus peaking in the Sony - it is very cool for daylight scenes, but not so useful at night. But I got to say, those cameras seem to pick up a lot of stars at night in the live view with the magnified view turned on, especially when you have a lens at f/1.4.
Haha you and all the women in my life....not winning the beard votes. :D I have seen the sky on your Sony and Drew's Sony and I am always jealous to see how many show up in your LCDs where on my canon I can't see most of them only the brightest. But I haven't checked on the 5DMiv so I am optimistic it will perform much better than the 6D there even though probably not touch the Sony performance. -Aaron
One other thing to think about all of the time in warmer weather is to store your gear in the temperature it will be operated in or close to it, preferably warmer. In the car and hotels with the A/C cranking you cool your equipment. Then when you setup at night the equipment will keep condensating and that can cause focus issues. Especially if you change lenses and the rear element and internals gets sweaty. In a hotel, store your equipment on the bathroom counter with the light on and the door closed it will get nice and warm. In the car store the equipment on the floor with blankets over it on the side where the exhaust pipe runs to the back. Warm equipment no condensation!
Nice tip with the LumiLoupe. I'm going to try one next time.
I've been using a bahtinov mask and zooming in on the rear panel, but it looks like with one of these loupes I can go wider (the wider your aperture, the more resolution your lens has - but the less depth of field, making focus stupid-critical).
Also, are you stacking frames? What are you using? I've been using Sequator - but I'm open to alternatives. My issue with a star tracker is that I don't want to carry the extra weight, and guidestar setup is kind of a PITA (my eyes are bad),
Excellent summary on focusing Aaron. There is no need for a Bahtinov mask. If you follow Aaron's tips, your focus will not be a problem. I've been using these techniques for a couple years and it works great.
Awesome second witness for this method, Nevada! Appreciate you confirming that this works for you and man can you believe it is almost time to get back out there for the Milky Way!? Muahahaha I am so excited! :D I am going to go tonight maybe if clouds are good to capture a January Milky Way Core for my first time! :D -Aaron
Sounds great Aaron! I'm gearing up for the total lunar eclipse. I can't wait. Please clear skies!!!
That's right! I was just planning that last night! I really need to do my Astro Photog podcast again so we have an Astro Primer to remind people about it :D -Aaron
Last total eclipse of a blue moon was March 31, 1866! Don't miss it! 152 years is a long time to wait :)
Yeah! I was reading about that! It all depends on where you are in time zone because of what month it technically was a full moon in your area but yeah! A second Full Moon in one month that is actually going to be a Lunar Eclipse! I am excited! I will definitely be out there with my camera gear and hopefully Brendon as well! :D -Aaron
really great tips thank you.
Great advice Aaron, I've only been at it for a few months. Never heard about a Lumiloupe before so I just bought one and look forward to better focus :D
Thank you.
Awesome, Shane! I LOVE my lumiloupe! Such a perfect addition to my gear that is so cheap! Getting the easier view of the orb as I am focusing makes it so much easier to tell when I have the tightest circle. I love it! :D Good luck with yours, Shane! :D -Aaron
Hi Aaron. Just watched this video, fantastic. I'm new to night photography and have found some of my MW images to be out of focus. My specific question re: the video is this. One of your tips is referring to setting the longest shutter speed available. I don't understand this setting, as we are just in the focusing stage, why would shutter speed be part of this process??? Thanks, Susan
Heya Susan! That is specifically for cameras like my Canon 5DMiV that does "Exposure Simulation" on the LCD screen. Without turning up my shutter, I sometimes won't see the stars. The exposure simulation is too dim. If I go the EXTREME with high ISO and long SHUTTER it can help the exposure simulation be brighter and help the stars show up. Whenever I have a student out on a workshop and they can't see any stars on the back of their screen I will have them turn their LCD brightness up to MAX and then change their settings to MAX to see if stars show up and often that does it! When it doesn't work there are other issues and quite possibly a bad camera or lens for Milky Way is keeping the stars from showing up. If you can't see them you can't focus on them so it is way frustrating when we can't get a camera to reveal any stars. :D Thanks for the question, Susan! -Aaron
before i saw Aaaron's video this confused me as well. Because I was using live view i did not think it mattered what shutter speed i used, but exposure simulation is a better name and you can get a brighter image for focusing by using longer shutter speeds
Aaron, loved the video. Did my first ever night shooting on Mauna Kea, Big Island, this last March. I'm hooked..
In reference to the camera settings you said to set to what shutter speed??? I got the aperture and iso..
Susan
Thanks for the kind words, Susan! Shutter is simple. You just need to use the NPF rule. Which if you use PhotoPills, can be easy to find. I have a TWO-MINUTE TIP video that talks Shutter and the NPF rule and it will get you ready for go out for your next adventure! SHUTTER VIDEO: th-cam.com/video/kNa5gGuG6Go/w-d-xo.html And by the way, I am crazy jealous of your Mauna Kea adventure! That would have been amazing to join you there! :D -Aaron
@@PhotogAdventures Hi Aaron. I just realized you had answered me, dang! I will connect with the reference link you gave me. If ever visiting the Big Island look up Don Slocum, you will find him on the internet easily. I booked time with him and away we went, what an adventure. My comment just a few moments ago was asking you when in the focusing to infinity process you mentioned as a tip to use the longest shutter speed. Did i hear that right? One wouldn't use a shutter speed just during focusing the lense, right???
Great tip on using the loupe. Off to try it next time. Love you're easy to follow videos.
Haha awesome! Glad you are enjoying them and watching so many of them today! :D -Aaron
Great tips, Aaron. Thanks. I noticed last night while freezing that the rear screen wasn't as cooperative as it is at warmer temps. As if refresh rate was sluggish in a way. Lost was that twinkling star effect you get. Anyway, I suspect your 10X loupe trick will probably sort that out stat.
Yeah it really is nice to be able to zoom in even further with the loupe and have a very very clear idea of what the tightest you can make your focus on the star or planet be. -Aaron
Going Mirror-less makes me happy ;)
@Hoc Est Pseudonym You sure can't take a joke can you. A kodak Brownie is a old camera that is made in the 1900 and later I joke with friends about the cheap Kodak cameras all the time.
I loved your video and I went out and tried to take a photo of the stars. The stars were amazing but when I took the photo it was black there are no stars- I went high up the mountain, so it’s very dark in the sky was filled with stars, but I couldn’t zoom to find any light. I don’t know what else to do, I have a Canon rebel E5 T100 DSLR. Any advice will be so appreciated. I bought the little lense thing too. When I look at my view panel - all I saw was black
Hi thanks for the demonstration the steps you did for focusing directly at the star can you advice me how to focus if i want to include scenery such as tree or house with the sky? because i guess the closer part will be out of focus.
I work in a optics mfg, we use loops like the one you are using to inspect the night vision lens.
Heya Dan! Right on! I love my Carson lumiloupe! I can imagine these loupes are extremely useful for your work! Any ultra high quality glass loupes you could recommend as a leveling up options for those interested? -Aaron
Thanks for the info and tutorial!
I am about to purchase a new camera with astrophotography in mind. I have purchased a Carson magnifier as shown in this TH-cam. This is my question. I assume I need a camera that has an LCD that angles or rotates ? Has LiveView?? If it is a touch screen will it create a problem placing the magnifier on the touch screen ?? Thanks !
Very helpful thank you for the great information. i have question when you said 5 or 6cross pixels what do you mean by that? how do I find it to make sure i have the right focus. Thanks
Thanks, Ahmed! The pixel comment was saying that with my Lumiloupe I have such a tight view on my LCD screen I can see the screens pixels. The squares of lights that make up the screen. And not 100% but roughly I can see that my White Orb of a Star is as wide as 6 pixels but if I rotate my focus I can see clearly that the white orb is now only 5-pixels wide. That make sense? Sorry it took me a month to reply to this! :D Thank you for watching, Ahmed! -Aaron
I had the same question. Thanks!
Thank you for the tips.
Great lesson Aaron. I'm going to have to get a Lumiloupe.
Thanks, Moe! I appreciate you saying that! It is going to be fun creating these videos over the next 14 days. Hope you like the others too. Enjoy your lumiloupe, you won’t regret it! 😃 -Aaron
I know they will be great. I'm looking forward to watching them. I'm ready to get back taking more pictures of the Milky Way.
Thank you, Moe! You have always been really supportive. I hope everyone feels the way you do! 😃 -Aaron P.S. Haven’t forgotten about your show recommendation! Just need to find some time to watch still. Come Feb. 2nd when I have the course completed and launched I will take a breather and enjoy it!
Really nice and clear explanations, thank you.
You are welcome! Thanks for watching! 😃-Aaron
does it matter about your composition and placement of camera/tripod before you focus?
Hi Aaron thanks for the great informative video, love your new set. Cant wait February marks the start of the new milky way season.
Thanks, Man! Always great to hear from you and really glad you liked the video and the new setup here! Making my off-garage studio into something really fun! 😃 If you can find a really low horizon view looking East you can see the Milky Way already at my latitude and lower! It is back baby! And I am getting ready to record a video about that right now! 😃 -Aaron
Will try that with my Nikon p1000. This will be awsome. Thx.
Nice informative vid Aaron. BTW...you were skirting with disaster having that tripod leg sitting on the edge of the table. lol.
Hahaha! Man now that I look at that you are right! I was pretty cavalier about the whole thing. :D Thanks for watching this, Ryan even though I know you and Moe don't need this kind of lesson! I keep saying this but I appreciate it! -Aaron
Dang that really was close. Especially with the way I love to wave my arms around when I am talking! -Aaron
Damn, that is close 😂
How did you get the lumiloupe stick to the LCD ? Also when I try to look thru it to focus the live view turns black !?
amazing tips on lumi loupe.. One question is how do we deal with focusing in live view when there’s loads of noise on the screen? anytip?
That can be a huge frustration, Arjun. I am lucky with my Canon 5DMIV where I don't have noise or anything else in the way like all sorts of data or red focus peaking etc. In my workshops, the first challenge is seeing how well EACH CAMERA & LENS is able to resolve stars in LIVE VIEW so that we can have success getting focus with the aide of the lumiloupe. When their cameras have too much going on like NOISE it can be nearly impossible. So you have to get rid of the noise. If yours is full of noise, then you need to choose a REALLY BRIGHT PLANET each time and if even THAT is hard to make out from the noise, you may be in a situation where you need a lens that is terrific at its infinity point where you don't need live view OR you will want to upgrade your camera. Sorry that it might be an upgrade needed. That is tough. Please try it out and let me know how it goes! I will be looking for your report! :D Thanks for watching my video and hope you will keep coming back for more! -Aaron
Thank you! I will let you know for sure!!
This was Superb!
I recently discovered your channel and am getting caught up on all your videos. I'm anxious to compare your focus method to my current "hyper focus" technique. I use Photopills to determine my hyper focus distance and light up a foreground object a bit farther away than that. I start at infinity and adjust in until the foreground starts setting off the peaking highlights. So far it's worked well for getting both the foreground and stars in sharp focus.
Does doing a prefocus stay the same? Or can the lens change with conditions or jostling around. If the lens can stay the same with a prefocus session, can you mark the precise focus mark on the lens ring with a fine point metallic sharpie?
I thought if your lens were focused to infinity. That everything would be in focus. That is how I do lightning photography. Wouldn't it be the same for astro photography? 2 minutes later you addressed the issus. Thank you very much!
Excellent!
Great video. Very informative and very practical advice. However, I am little confused by 7:45, when you say 5 across or 6 across. What do you mean by that? Any comments will be highly appreciated. Thanks.
I think he was saying it as a point of reference when trying to focus in on the star you'll see pixels and depending on those pixels you'll be able to calculate the exact point more or less when the blob goes from big and blown out to sharp and tight again so while turning your focus ring trying to find focus you can be able to have that point of reference of focus. I could be totally wrong! I was just as confused as you when I herd it but that's best thing I could come up with. ..
Hello, i wanted to get an intervalometer for my Canon 200D. Can you recommend one ? I tried searching the net.. but couldn't find anything :(
This is from canon’s website.. Remote Controller/ Switch
Remote Switch RS-60E3, Remote Controller BR-E1, Timer Remote Controller TC-80N3 via Remote Controller Adapter RA-E3
Can You take a picture of stars with canon 70D and lens 24-105 ?
Excellent, thanks.
How does auto focus work, and why can't automatic control by camera assign numbers to the range each lens can turn so you can simply remember a number to plug in?
UHF, one of the major reasons that wouldn’t work is temperature. The point at infinity is a range. So anywhere IN that range on a given night might be infinity. So differing temperature conditions you will find that being at “spot x” on the ring still isn’t as sharp as moving it a little. It depends on the lens etc. BUT I agree with you! If a camera can focus on the pixels of the eye of an animal, how can the auto focus not be trained to handle the tight focus of a white orb?? I mean, the sensor could easily report back how many white pixels vs. black pixels and choose the focus where the white orb is smallest! How is this NOT already a feature?? I think it isn’t because they don’t make features for a niche group that often and no one has…yet. Someday they will. I am counting on it! 😃 -Aaron
What an you do about camera shake when using a long focal length lens (500mm) and having the magnification set to 10x? The slightest touch to anywhere on the camera causes the object to focus on to move all over the live view screen. Suggestions?
What is that 5 across in the pixels wit the loupe that you mentioned ? I didn't quite get that part
Basically I was saying that IF you have good enough magnification in your loupe and great eyesight you MIGHT even be able to COUNT the LCD screen squares or "pixels" and see that the white light is ten across at this focus but when I tighten it even more it gets as small as say maybe FIVE SQUARES/PIXELS ACROSS. This is emphasizing that with the added magnification of the loupe, you are even able to GET THAT CLEAR of a view of the size of the star on the back of your LCD screen and it will help you see when the star is as small and tight as possible which is when you are in best focus. Hope that clears it up! Let me know if it doesn't. Thanks for watching my video and I really appreciate your patience waiting for my reply! I am a month late, sorry about that! -Aaron
hello, new to dslr photography here.
i am planning a trip to iceland and want to get a nikon d3500 with 18-140mm f3.5-5.6 lens.
is this setup any good for low light photography, northern lights, stars and whatnot? please give some advice, thanks
The camera is good in its price range but i suggest u buy a 35mm or 50 mm f/1.8 prime lens if u want to shoot astro.The 18-55mm can also work but u will get the best results on a prime lens
Arron: I have a Canon 5D mark II with the stock focusing screen (EG-A). When I put the 10x loop up to the LCD screen as you advised, I see what looks like a window (bug) screen that I never noticed before. I am using a Canon 16-35mm 1:2.8 set at 16mm. Is that normal? or did you change your focusing screen to something like the Super Precision Matte focusing screen?
Wow. Photography as has advanced to the level we see today, and this kind of archaic methodology has to be used to get 'infinity' in a lens? Infinity can't be a setting established by the camera/lens manufacturers? It seems an obvious necessity, yet putting a loupe on an LCD screen (after all those other 'tweaks') to assure focus on an advance digital camera is the only way?
Tell me about it! You would think that it would be an easy request for an auto-focus system to handle stars. See white pixels -> zoom in on white pixels -> change focus until the smallest amount of white pixels is on the screen versus a bloated out of focus star and BOOM! It seems like it should be easy. I wonder if there is a reason it isn’t or if it is just something too niche and camera companies don’t want to take the time to add the feature. As for an “infinity” point on a lens, some lenses ARE true to their infinity point good enough. Like the IRIX lenses, they can be consistent. But true infinity will CHANGE BASED ON TEMPERATURE and so the conditions of a night during the summer might be one spot for infinity and then a cold night another spot. So we can’t trust a single infinity point so we manually focus. Using the Carson lumiloupe you can see even easier and make that manual adjustment. But seriously…I think that an autofocus for stars is only a year or two away. Some cameras like one of the Olympus ones purport to have it. Seeing clients in workshops use it once it seemed to work great. But I would have to play with it and do a side by side comparison to know for sure. Thanks for watching my video! I hope you will keep coming back for more! 😃 -Aaron
I hope the 'fix' comes soon too. I bought a zoom a year or so ago, didnt even think to include manual focusing authority in my decision process - being also so auto-focus entranced. Until I tried to take a photo of Venus recently. No lens data or easy control at all. Doh! Just like video cams, always refocusing on distant/sky related footage. Need a 'go to infinity' button, or good old manual focus ring and markings. Thx much for reply and sharing tips.
Great tutorial, what max ISO would you recommend for canon 5d mk III?
You need to test it yourself. See what settings you can get with a 6400 or a little higher ISO and a stop or 2 smaller aperture so that your depth of field is the greatest before getting star trails, unless you use a tracker.............. Try 2,4,8,16 second images. Make sure you shoot RAW+JPEG. What size lens and max f stop does it have?
I have a Hoodman Loupe. Will that work just as well as the Carson Lumiloupe?
Hey Thelma! Sorry for the delayed response but yes so long as you get some good magnification that will work. The Carson lumiloupe I have is 10x magnification and that is enough for me and wouldn't focus on stars without it. But I am betting your hoodman loupe would do the trick as well! -Aaron
i have the same question another person asked, what exactly are you talking about when you mention the 6-5 numbers on focusing. at 7:45 where you talk about using the 'pixels as your guide'.
@@thatsambloke_ Perfect reply! Thanks, Sam for doing that! Especially since I missed this comment months ago! -Aaron
Hey Aaron have you ever or thought about MW down Hole in the Rock Road with Sunset Arch or Chimney Rock in the frame?
Definitely something I really want to try later this year with a vertical Milky Way to play with. Would be really cool! :D -Aaron
Sorry i got a bit loss on the 5 or 6 cross focusing using the loupe tool...in which exact point to stop for sharp focusing?i dun quite get it.
I believe you want the smallest number to get the best focus.
thanks most helpful video
for infinity focus in night
Have you ever considered using Bahtinov mask?
YES! I have even tried to 3D print a Bahtinov Mask. Ian Norman has a GREAT mask using his Sharpstar 2 but my tamron lens is so big that the cost was too great to get into it at the beginning and I got good with my method and haven't needed it. Thanks for watching, Natarajan! :D -Aaron
Question for you! How did you manage to get the lumi loupe to stick to the view finder like that? Thanks! Cheers!
Haha! Never thought anyone would ask me that one, Matt! 😄 That was my gaffer’s tape I used to tape it on there. It actually was a little hard to get to keep it up there flush against the LCD Screen! 😅 Thanks for watching, Matt! Hope you come back for more again! 😃 -Aaron
Photog Adventures
Oooh! I see it now. Black tape was hard to see against the camera. I thought it was some type of suction cup! Great idea though. Thanks for the video. Picked one up and can't wait to try this awesome method..
Sweet, Matt! Hope you love it as much as I do! Let me know how it goes! -Aaron
man! i wish i could spend a session with you, if you ever come in the banff area i beg you to get in touch with me
My first went badly. Blurred...but I got polar star correct and got full circle. Just blurry and pinky. Probably too high iso
Set your focus to manual and you should find focus at infinity. Zoom in to check and make fine adjustment. Simples.
Dumb question, why not use autofocus selector on lens and a second dumb question: why is there a button on the lens for manual or auto focus and then on camera also? Are these redundant ?
I am getting prepared to photograph, for the first time, the Milky Way in Upper Mustang, Nepal. I watched this video and I was wondering about focusing. Since I will be using a 20mm f1.8, couldn't I just focus on an object slightly further than the HF distance (24') in the daylight and tape the ring - ensuring maximum DoF?
Hey Allen, sorry for my delay in replying! Been sick 😅 You can absolutely make that approach to your focusing. The temperature change from the moment you focus to the moment you shoot might give you a loss of focus. But that isn’t always the case. I am not familiar with Nepal’s climate enough to say that August temperatures fluctuate enough to worry about it. But I will advise this: Do both! 😃 Get your focus the way you described and get your shot. Then try focusing in the moment and see how it goes. Unless you want to take 4-5 compositions before testing the in-the-moment focusing method I like to use, it should be very little effort to get yourself a good A/B comparison. The success rate of the kind of focus method you describe is highly dependent on the photographer and the lens. Not to mention the tape-off job keeping it there while traveling and the temperature factors on the lens. Which is why I always prefer dialing my focus in right before I take my shot. Helps me know I got it. Good luck in Upper Mustang! I know nothing about that area but I am still very jealous of you! 😃 Let us know how it goes! -Aaron
Thank you Aaron. Your reply is actually very prompt. I leave in 4 days and thought that I would take a run at getting my confusion resolved. I didn't really expect a response. You have given me some good pointers , eliminated my confusion and perhaps most importantly ... given me more confidence. Upper Mustang is a restricted region in Northern Nepal south of Tibet. It is remote , sparsely populated and high (3,000 to 4000 meters) with 6 of the highest mountains in the world. I was there in October/November so I scouted out some locations for the Milky Way this time around. My only concern now is the weather, but there is nothing I or anyone can do about it. If I am successful, I will share for sure.
You are welcome! Definitely has to be an area with dynamic and quickly changing weather so I hope you get opportunities to see the core of the Milky Way. Should be an amazing sky if you do! Good luck and really crossing my fingers you come back with some great stories! Might even need to have you on the podcast. 😃 -Aaron
@@allenahale1 I was in Lower Mustang in November and the sky was unpredictable even when clear during daylight it got cloudy at night and was a bit chilly. Hope you got the shot would love to see it and maybe share with a couple guides I know in Nepal.
@@tomgarrison2967 In terms of Milky Way photography, my trip in August to Upper Mustang was a disaster. The Monsoon was still going on. It was a struggle to even get there - impossible rivers to cross in a vehicle, deep mud on "roads", and cancelled flights. Every night the sky was obscured by heavy clouds if not by rain. Other than that it was a great trip. I am returning at the end of May and hopefully before the start of the Monsson this year for another festival and another crack at photographing the Milky Way.
Hey, I was about to get a 85 1.8 usm, mostly for portrature, but I don't have any other lens at the moment and I am going on a hike to a place filled with stars. Can some one tell me how long of a shutter speed can cause star trails at 85 mm (135 because I have an APS-C camrera?
helpful video thanks man!
if there was something in foreground doesn't widest aperture makes it out of focus?
Hey buddy thanks again fro subscribing, love your videos. I just uploaded an awesome Milky Way photograph trip in the Mojave Desert and Racetrack Playa.
Great!
I need to use exposure override with magic lantern for ANYTHING to show up on my display. its far far too dark on my canon 500D/rebel T1i LCD even at 100% screen brightness
otherwise it will never show the live display at a brightness higher than iso 3200 and shutter speed 1/30
I didn't know coldness could affect the focus point ⏲️
Only a tiny bit, but it does. :)
Especially does in the Infinity range that lenses have. That range exists because dependent on conditions your infinity point could move slightly. Sometimes that slightly isn't enough to ruin it for you and sometimes you are like me and prefer to just get the tightest focus you can on the spot in the moment. Thanks for watching! :D -Aaron
I've been using Focus Peaking and setting it to red to get stars in focus. I guess that's wrong?
It could work, but sometimes focus peeking can be off. Try both ways and see what works best at 100% magnification.
Focus peaking hasn't been the most accurate for me when it comes to very small distant objects. Peaking works great on "normal" working distances. Making sure the star is at it smallest never fails.
0:43 - hehe, it's Canon. Now I have Canon too, but don't have place for shooting with low city lights.
what should be the brightness of the lcd screen or does it matter?
Definitely the brightest. IF you have any difficult at all seeing the white blog you are focusing on, going the brightest you can would be best. Most only turn theirs down to be nice to people shooting from behind or close around them. Normally mine is on full brightness because looking at my screen at all will mess with my night vision so I just don't worry about that. If people are near me and my screen is too bright and I can tell it is showing up in their shot I turn it alllll the way down. THE ONLY WARNING: If you use full brightness on your LCD screen you can sometimes under expose your shot thinking that the backlit image looks good. But back home you notice it is way dark. So PAY ATTENTION TO THE HISTOGRAM when you use the screen at its brightest. Get the right histogram and you got it made! :D Thanks for watching, Gyanrosling! -Aaron
I have yet to figure out how to get anything to show up in live view. Total dark.
Yes! This THIS is the first major challenge for people. If you can’t even SEE the stars then my method of live view focusing doesn’t work at all. So next time you are out there make sure you turn on your LCD brightness to the max. Then go for brightest settings to make the exposure simulation show more on your camera. I will demonstrate this in a new video this week! -Aaron
What if I dont have a infinity focus option on my lens?
With lens the best to shoot MW body's
No single lens can be claimed as THE BEST for Milky Way as many are great and I can have my favorites but it depends on your camera body. BUT I can comfortably say that the BEST CHARACTERISTIC of a GREAT LENS for Milky Way is a LENS that is f2.8 or greater! Some of my best images are captured on a Rokinon f1.4 and using a 50mm f1.2! LOVED the outcome of the images taken with the 50mm f1.2 especially with it needing to be a panorama. Looks amazing! So grab your BEST really large aperture lens and get to capturing the Milky Way. You will have success for sure! Thanks for watching, Harry! :D -Aaron
What happens to the sharpness of foreground objects when you focus at infinity in this way?
It all depends on how close or far you are from your foreground. Sometimes it's a little blurry, sometimes it looks great! usually it's not that much of an issue. ~Brendon
dbltapp00 take two images and blend them. My foregrounds are almost always blurry at 2.8 at infinity
0:00 Even if it was in focus it still wouldn't be a sharp image. id reccomend a tripod handheld for astro would be a challange
My DSLR doesn't allow to go bellow 1/60 in live view
I use d5600 nikon
That can be our biggest limitation here, whether our camera body actually helps us zoom in sufficiently. The Carson Lumiloupe helps to mitigate that but it definitely gets easier with a camera body with a good LCD screen zoom in feature! When you see that orb nice and BIG and can see the minor changes as you focus the lens, it gets REALLY easy to pick the tightest focus you can get! -Aaron
Always make sure to take the lens cap off.
hahaha DEFINITELY the first step! lol -Aaron
Just out of curiously, how well does it work out to focus on something that is at or a little beyond the hyperlocal distance, which is the focus distance beyond which is supposed to provide "acceptable" focus? In other words, if I shoot at 14mm f2.8, the HF distance in about 7'7". If I focused at that distance (or a little beyond) would that provide acceptably sharp stars?
Yes, I would find the term acceptable the best way to promise it. It all really depends on the conditions of your setting. The cold etc. Re-focusing manually on the planet or star of your choice FROM LOCATION is definitely the BEST WAY to make it sharp. But that doesn't mean that knowing your hyperfocal distance or focusing to your lens' point of infinity and going with that won't work. It can work great! Just have to try it! If you do try it, Bcfbasil, please let me know how it goes! :D -Aaron
There are many styles of Carson Lumiloupe Which one are you recommending? The Peak or what?
Hey Linda, so sorry it took me a month to get back to you...these comments on this old video had completely gone under my radar! The $5 Carson Lumiloupe is all you need. I linked to it above in the description but here is that link again: goo.gl/ovjVVF Thanks for watching, Linda! -Aaron
Instead of adjusting camera to fully brightest settings, just turn to bulb mode
what does that do
Bright settings?
High ISO, slow shutter speeds and wide apertures.
why not use a hartman mask?
I don't have magnifying loupe, now what ?
buy one
temp
You know earth is moving right? So, when you are trying to manually focus on a single star you don't have infinite time to do it. Unless you are using a proper support that can track your star or planet.
If the focus ring of your Rokinon/Samyang lens should be too easy to move, it's pretty easy to fix. If you fold down the upper half of the rubber ring you will see 3 tiny screws - you can losen or thighten it a little bit to get the focus ring more loser or stiffer.
Wow nice tip! I certainly haven't played around with that and of course that makes sense! I am going to try that out! Thanks, Andreas! :D -Aaron