star trail

[denniskee]

Use heat packs. You can buy them from Winter Clothing shops..pretty cheap..you can get them individually or in packs of 10.. Use a velcro or something like a rubber band, secure the heat pack ( one is enough) onto your lens ! : )

I posted this in FM forum, got reply stating we should not do that as it will heat up the sensor (ofcause depending on the pad's temp), which inturn cause more noise.

 

[denniskee]

Hi james, sure about ubin? like that can go camp overnight, than morning shoot sunrise, I have a tent for 4, anyone game enough?

 

[g.e.r.a.l.d.i.n.e]

I posted this in FM forum, got reply stating we should not do that as it will heat up the sensor (ofcause depending on the pad's temp), which inturn cause more noise.

are you using digital cameras? If yes, don't rub the heat pack untill sooo hot, just a bit of warmth will do..should be no problem for the sensor ..ya, i did came across this before about the sensor issue but i just whacked on my friends' camera.. but of course, i did not put such a hot pack on the lens.. my friend would strangle me.. !

If its SLRs, should be no problem!

 

[icarus]

Hi james, sure about ubin? like that can go camp overnight, than morning shoot sunrise, I have a tent for 4, anyone game enough?

I've done that before.. not easy hahaa...
cos after sunset at 7pm, there will be nothing to do there liao
unless u are into fishing

 

[boochap]

so when is the next outing to ubin to shot star trails?

 

[airconvent]

Hi Dennis Kee,
Do drop by www.singastro.org , a website for local amatuer astronomers.
You may want to check with Mr Chia YK over there who specialises in catching shooting stars.

cheers

 

[denniskee]

thanks airconvent, r u a astro photo enthuaist?

 

[Fluorite]

Hi Fluorite,

May I know what exposure time was used? My D60 max out @ 3min (before noise comes in).

I was using 10min plus exposure which was Ok... and i tried a 25min exposure and it was so noisy that you can hardly see anything.

 

[nuts]

I was using 10min plus exposure which was Ok... and i tried a 25min exposure and it was so noisy that you can hardly see anything.

Interesting.. I could do 50+min on my 10D and although noisy, it was still very much usable...
Not in Sg though...

 

[icarus]

dennis, i think the next star trail, we try film better....

btw, here are some interesting links on star trail photography:

http://www.danheller.com/star-trails.html

http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/I06/I0601/I0601.HTM

http://www.paragon-press.com/startrl.htm

http://www.weather-photography.com/techniques.php?cat=astronomy&page=startrails

:devil:

 

[Adrian]

Just to add on a bit, have you guys considered St John's island also?

As for Pulau Ubin, Che Jawa maybe a good location for shooting star trails. Away from city lights.

Actually i was thinking of another location which is the science centre.

 

[denniskee]

Just to add on a bit, have you guys considered St John's island also?

As for Pulau Ubin, Che Jawa maybe a good location for shooting star trails. Away from city lights.

Actually i was thinking of another location which is the science centre.

hi adrian

science centre is in the middle of HDB, alot of light pollution .

Go island no problem, provided we do BBQ ;p

hi james

yup, next star trail i will be using k1000. for a start, my concern is only the length of trail is i use 24mm lens, how many hour to get 40mm trail on 4r print.

 

[Adrian]

Hi Dennis,

You have a point there about science centre's location.
I live in west area and at certain nights, the stars there were plentiful. So i thought maybe a good location to shoot stars.

 

[denniskee]

not a bad idea ya? bbq with star trail outing.

 

[icarus]

As for Pulau Ubin, Che Jawa maybe a good location for shooting star trails. Away from city lights.

I spent one night al fresco at chek jawa before, there is still serious light pollution and also got low flying aircrafts around too....

But we can try noordin beach... it might be darker over that side (cos facing johor), any bros camped there before?

 

[djork]

how do u prevent lens from fogging?

use heat packs (hand warmers) which you can get it from winterwear shops (not all sell heatpacks though). get those without the adhesive. wrap it around the lens using a couple of rubber bands. 1 should be able to last you the whole night.

 

[djork]

Just to add on a bit, have you guys considered St John's island also?

As for Pulau Ubin, Che Jawa maybe a good location for shooting star trails. Away from city lights.

Actually i was thinking of another location which is the science centre.

there is a stretch of golf course behind the science centre, it's probably the worst place to shoot star trails. try ubin or somethin.

 

[icarus]

hi james

yup, next star trail i will be using k1000. for a start, my concern is only the length of trail is i use 24mm lens, how many hour to get 40mm trail on 4r print.

yo dude.. its pretty hard to get an exact length on the trails... what i suggest, just expose for 1 hours (if there is light pollution) or up to 3-4 hours (if zero light pollution)

 

[ykia]

Hi,

I got a 120pixel trail on a 4min exposure with my 50mm lens on the DSLR.

For film, you can calculate by the diagonal FOV angle of your lens and use the earth's rotational speed at 1deg every 4mins.

Assume you have a 24mm with FOV of 80deg at 4R size (approx 7" diag), so a 1.6" (4cm) trail will require...

80deg / 7" X 1.6" ~ 18deg, therefore 18deg X 4min/deg = 72mins.

Hope this helps!

 

[yanyewkay]

Hi,

I got a 120pixel trail on a 4min exposure with my 50mm lens on the DSLR.

For film, you can calculate by the diagonal FOV angle of your lens and use the earth's rotational speed at 1deg every 4mins.

Assume you have a 24mm with FOV of 80deg at 4R size (approx 7" diag), so a 1.6" (4cm) trail will require...

80deg / 7" X 1.6" ~ 18deg, therefore 18deg X 4min/deg = 72mins.

Hope this helps!

pro :thumbsup:

I stack my star trails in digital.. so no prob with mild light pollution.

The problem is not about getting the trails. it's about having an interesting foreground to the pic.