and so are good viewing conditions.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/who-will-see-it-geminid-meteor/2651755
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/who-will-see-it-geminid-meteor/2651755
The Geminids are coming....
- Thread starter 46er
- Start date
Look east as always and expect 120 meteors an hour in the early hours.
http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2012/12/11/skymap_geminids.gif
A great, free downloadable tool for the night sky that I found has helped me very much.
http://www.stellarium.org/
http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2012/12/11/skymap_geminids.gif
A great, free downloadable tool for the night sky that I found has helped me very much.
http://www.stellarium.org/
Tonight will most definitely be a stellar night to view and photograph the meteor shower. New moon, clear sky and chilly temperatures are a great combination for watching the night sky. Dressing warm and a thermos filled with a hot beverage will help while looking towards the heavens.
I went out at 10:00 and again at 11:00. Beautiful clear starry sky but no meteors. The cool beverage was good though.
Warren Grove was packed with people and their telescopes. I counted eight vehicles. We only stayed for a few and then headed to the shore at the end of Seven Bridges. Sandy made a mess of the area.
Looking out over the Atlantic, it was a beautiful night from the shore. The winter Milky Way is the faint band.
I was fighting the typical problem of the camera needing to be aimed in the other direction tonight but managed to capture a few streaks. Please excuse the noise, I was pushing the ISO higher and higher to see what the sensor would tolerate. 6400 was to much with F5 and a 30 second exposure. I need to learn how to use the timer that is built into the Pentax, my feet got cold.
A Geminid meteor.
Looking out over the Atlantic, it was a beautiful night from the shore. The winter Milky Way is the faint band.
I was fighting the typical problem of the camera needing to be aimed in the other direction tonight but managed to capture a few streaks. Please excuse the noise, I was pushing the ISO higher and higher to see what the sensor would tolerate. 6400 was to much with F5 and a 30 second exposure. I need to learn how to use the timer that is built into the Pentax, my feet got cold.
A Geminid meteor.
Nice - you caught one. 
At one point I thought I saw one out of the corner of my eye but I might have just imagined it. There's a lot of noise in my Nikon image too. But I was shooting at ISO 800 with a 10 or 15 second exposures using my 14mm Nikkor at f 2.8. I tried some at ISO 1600 but that was really noisy. With my Nikon it's pretty much like "pick your poison". You can either push the ISO higher on the camera or just do it in Photoshop, I think the results are about the same.
At one point I thought I saw one out of the corner of my eye but I might have just imagined it. There's a lot of noise in my Nikon image too. But I was shooting at ISO 800 with a 10 or 15 second exposures using my 14mm Nikkor at f 2.8. I tried some at ISO 1600 but that was really noisy. With my Nikon it's pretty much like "pick your poison". You can either push the ISO higher on the camera or just do it in Photoshop, I think the results are about the same.Boyd, I found that 3200 F5 30sec is the best setting for the 15mm lens that I mostly use for longer exposures. I need to mess with the EV values to tweak that setting. I shoot in RAW and just convert the photograph in camera. I have Elements and can use it, but I have been focusing on learning the proper settings. At some point I need to find a program that can import a RAW image that I can process and that is compatible with Elements. It has only been a year since I bought my first DSLR and I have much to learn.
The bright box star formation in both photographs is the constellation Orion and the lone bright star below that is Sirius. Those two will help identify any other celestial bodies pictured. Orion is also in Boyd's picture just above the tree tops in the bottom of his frame.
I wonder if a stargazer club had a meeting along Range Road last night? One of the telescopes I saw looked like a water heater on a tripod. I should have stopped and asked.
The bright box star formation in both photographs is the constellation Orion and the lone bright star below that is Sirius. Those two will help identify any other celestial bodies pictured. Orion is also in Boyd's picture just above the tree tops in the bottom of his frame.
I wonder if a stargazer club had a meeting along Range Road last night? One of the telescopes I saw looked like a water heater on a tripod. I should have stopped and asked.
Take a look at Adobe LightRoom, they offer a 30 day trial. It is the only software I now use for processing. I used to use free software called Rawshooter, then Adobe bought it; Rawshooter disappeared and and Adobe came out with Lightroom. Very similar to Rawshooter which was very intuitive, designed specifically for photo use. Adobe Photoshop products are compatable with each other.
I got the 14mm Nikkor because it's fast (f2.8) in addition to having a wide field of view (it cost quite a bit more than the camera though). That's almost two stops better than an f 5.0 lens, so 800 ISO is comparable to your setting of 3200. It's been awhile since I shot night sky photos and I need to re-learn some of the lessons. I tend to prefer faster shutter speeds so the stars look like points instead of lines. But I agree that the longer the exposure, the higher the probability of catching a falling star. I use a pretty hefty tripod that I originally bought for a video camera, so long exposures aren't a problem.
I have Photoshop CS3, which is old but really does everything I need. I used Photoshop Elements for years and it is really a great program, especially since it was included for free with a couple scanners/cameras I got. I still use it on my Windows machine but the Mac is my machine for photography, video and audio. I was pretty sure that Elements could open Nikon RAW images (NEF files) but maybe your camera uses a different format?
If it's clear again, I may give it another try tonight. I want to try some shots with my f1.4 50mm Nikkor. It will much less sky, but gives me almost another two f-stops which is a lot more light. Here's a 100% crop of a photo from last night. f2.8/15 sec/ISO 800
I have Photoshop CS3, which is old but really does everything I need. I used Photoshop Elements for years and it is really a great program, especially since it was included for free with a couple scanners/cameras I got. I still use it on my Windows machine but the Mac is my machine for photography, video and audio. I was pretty sure that Elements could open Nikon RAW images (NEF files) but maybe your camera uses a different format?
If it's clear again, I may give it another try tonight. I want to try some shots with my f1.4 50mm Nikkor. It will much less sky, but gives me almost another two f-stops which is a lot more light. Here's a 100% crop of a photo from last night. f2.8/15 sec/ISO 800
Thanks 46er, I will take a look at the newest Lightroom, but I need to review the newest ACR to see if the K5 is supported. If I remember correctly my camera was new at the time at that the software lacked any function for it. My camera saves RAW in PEF or DNG. (I have Elements 10 if that is of any help)
Boyd, that 14mm lens is a awesome piece of glass. I have made incredibly sharp night images with high ISO and short exposure, experimenting with my camera. In a blog I was reading, the write figured out a formula for the time it takes a pinpoint of light, a star for us, to move across a crop sensor and it was under one second, but more importantly the exposure time has more to do with the size of the finished image. I have been using the 600 rule as a starting point, shortening the exposure time until I was happy with what I saw. Any how, I agree with what you have to say about capturing a sharp images, but there is so much pollution here a longer exposure is a necessity. I use a mid level Vanguard tripod. I hang my backpack from the center hook for more stability. I also use a remote combined with a three second delay and mirror lock up.
Boyd, that 14mm lens is a awesome piece of glass. I have made incredibly sharp night images with high ISO and short exposure, experimenting with my camera. In a blog I was reading, the write figured out a formula for the time it takes a pinpoint of light, a star for us, to move across a crop sensor and it was under one second, but more importantly the exposure time has more to do with the size of the finished image. I have been using the 600 rule as a starting point, shortening the exposure time until I was happy with what I saw. Any how, I agree with what you have to say about capturing a sharp images, but there is so much pollution here a longer exposure is a necessity. I use a mid level Vanguard tripod. I hang my backpack from the center hook for more stability. I also use a remote combined with a three second delay and mirror lock up.
DNG is Adobe's RAW spec, you should have no issues with it. There are no pieces to LR, the RAW support is part of it. The K5 is supported by LR for both formats, PEF & DNG.
Scroll to the LR section and the supported camera tables in this link.
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/extend.html#dngcompatible
LR is unlike the CS and Elements products and will take some getting used to for folks coming from those products, but there are tons of excellent free instructional videos on the net, both Adobe and independents.
Two of the best features I've found is LR is non-destructive, in that it does not alter in any way the original image file, and I can do the majority of my post processing during the file import, which means I spend a lot less time on the computer working on image files
That is a great shot Gibby. I can't see all the way to the horizon at my house because of the trees, but it's nice to step right out the door without a road trip. I don't have a remote and didn't lock the mirror, although that's a good idea. OTOH, with a 30 sec exposure I wouldn't think the jolt from the mirror would be much of a factor.
I've gotten my money's worth from that 14mm lens, I use it for everything. Just started shooting panoramas with the camera mounted in portrait orientation on a swivel head. This gives a huge field of view and they stitch together perfectly. Will post some later.
I don't have a remote and didn't lock the mirror, although that's a good idea. OTOH, with a 30 sec exposure I wouldn't think the jolt from the mirror would be much of a factor.I've gotten my money's worth from that 14mm lens, I use it for everything. Just started shooting panoramas with the camera mounted in portrait orientation on a swivel head. This gives a huge field of view and they stitch together perfectly. Will post some later.
Thanks for the compliment.
There is vibration from the mirror moving with can contribute to motion blur. The effect depends very much on shutter speed, but that peak vibration is different for every camera. Locking the mirror is just another step to eliminating blur and to getting the sharpest image possible. Long lenses, long exposures and macro is when the shake of the "slap" from the mirror can become apparent in the results.
-From what I have read that vibration window can be between 1/15 to 2 seconds.
There is vibration from the mirror moving with can contribute to motion blur. The effect depends very much on shutter speed, but that peak vibration is different for every camera. Locking the mirror is just another step to eliminating blur and to getting the sharpest image possible. Long lenses, long exposures and macro is when the shake of the "slap" from the mirror can become apparent in the results.
-From what I have read that vibration window can be between 1/15 to 2 seconds.
Definitely, I do lock the mirror with the 300mm lens and have found that I need to push shutter speeds to 1/250 sec to get clear shots of the moon. But how long do you think the mirror vibration lasts? 1/2 second? That would only be 1.7% of a 30 second exposure and I'd think it would be too faint to see in a wide shot.
Boyd, you have raised a good question that I have asked myself as to what that length of time is. I can't image the vibration and the post resonance of the lock up lasting more than more than a quarter of a second. I would imagine there are dampeners of some sort engineered into the design and software too. I honestly don't know if it is that important for the subject matter that I am photographing, but it is a quick step that can only help image quality. Are we being over critical of something that is insignificant - splitting hairs if you will?
I found a light pollution chart and one of the darker areas (yellow) in the Pine Barrens is near the intersection of Burlington, Ocean and Atlantic counties. A guess to would be Bass or Wharton in that general area. That intersection is near your homestead Boyd isn't it? I reside in the red running through the center of the state.
Yellow (SQM 20.5 - 21.2)The summer Milky Way is immediately obvious, and it shows a large number of dark lanes on close inspection. Experienced observers can see many deep-sky objects naked-eye, including possibly M33. Relatively bright galaxies like M31 show a great deal of detail through large telescopes, and much of their true size is visible.
Yellow (SQM 20.5 - 21.2)The summer Milky Way is immediately obvious, and it shows a large number of dark lanes on close inspection. Experienced observers can see many deep-sky objects naked-eye, including possibly M33. Relatively bright galaxies like M31 show a great deal of detail through large telescopes, and much of their true size is visible.