Psergel Loc: New Mexico

I don't know if anyone else suggested it but....you might trying hanging a significant weight off the bottom of the center column if your tripod has a hook and place the tripod either close to the building or the support posts.

Also....a couple of weekends ago I had my eyes opened regarding tripods.
I thought I had a pretty decent tripod....and I do...for light camera/lens combinations but...I encountered a pro with a really heavy duty carbon fiber tripod while I was out trying to get some bird shots.
He had a Sirui R 4203L tripod and it made mine look (and feel) like a toy.

I am about to buy one from B&H

RichieC Loc: Adirondacks

Yeah, forget the deck... I have a friend who has a huge telescope... we had it on the deck in the winter, its above a room! We would sneak out and gaze in the cold in northern NY's winter... we'd call the girls out, and even tiptoeing, you couldn't see a *&^%$*#&^% thing... especially the one ants-in-the-pants excitable one, that would look through and then dance around in excitment! ( but she gets a bye as shes so freakin cute!) LOL

Same with your tripod, weigh it down with something.

RichieC Loc: Adirondacks

Apparently, one of the features of carbon fiber is a dampening of wind vibration that even heavy aluminum tripods transfer... from a breeze! Skimp on a tripod means n never ending series of ever better ones, till you arrive at the expensive model... might as well start there and save a lot of money! LOL

Though I would suggest a Gitzo or RRS. The bigger/heavier ones can be found for a deal used. The lighter/smaller ones are in too much demand for a deal.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

That is tough to say, but I think walking on the deck while the shutter was open, might be the main culprit in this case. Using a remote would probably help.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

:thumbup:

wlgoode Loc: Globe, AZ

Even on a tripod IS should work if the equipment is vibrating. The problem comes when there is no vibration and the IS system is hunting for movement,

wlgoode Loc: Globe, AZ

Gallon of water works well. In the field I carry one of those small fabric shopping bags, hang it from the bottom hook and find a couple of rocks.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Good idea for the bag. I hang plastic grocery bags and my trailer hitch assembly from the tripod hook when close to the car. When hiking I hang my old fashioned hiking kit or camera bag from the tripod hook. That way I do not carry extra weight

big ed Loc: Dudley UK

Hi Morning Star... If you are taking images of stars I recommend that your shutter speed be less than 10sec (unless you are taking images of star trails) otherwise your images will be blurred due to the rotation of the earth..... good luck...

stan0301 Loc: Colorado

Astronomy stores--and Amazon--sell vibration dampers to put under your tripod legs
Stan

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

The sound of an unmuffled truck pulling on a grade can be felt as well as heard.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Can't speak for the tripod, Paul, but I do have a Sirui monopod in CF that I love.
I'd like to see their CF tripod.

fantom Loc: Colorado

Since you are getting vibrations I wud think it is OK to use IS. You turn off IS when the tripod transmits not vibrations to the camera.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

Here I've been away for just over 24 hours and I'm amazed at the number of posts that have come in on this thread. I started out bragging about achieving the starburst in my photo, even though the overall quality of the photo certainly would not win me any competition (unless it's a competition for worst photo).
But to all of you posting here with some excellent information, I thank you very much. I am determined to perfect this process of getting the starbursts in my photos.
I am answering a number of you all in this one posting, I hope it doesn't come across in too big a jumble.


Neal, I imagine that these squares would work as a vibration damper?
I have no idea what "durometer of 40 Shore A" means. I tried to Google it, but that seems a hopeless task.
What kind of store would I find this material?


Lens: Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M1
Tripod: Manfrotto O55XPROB, Head 498RC2, Shopping bag with some weight (3 2-litre bottles of pop).
I'm postponing posting an image till I see some improvement. Don't forget that this was the first time ever I even attempted to get the starbursts - and I'm still mighty proud of myself for at least getting that!


When I take the lens off the camera and hold it up to a lightsource, it seems that the aperture opening has straight edges. I just wish it was bigger, so I could see it better....
Interesting about the cumulative effect of different kinds of vibrations!


I may try the driveway tomorrow night. Not tonight, as we're kind of expecting company and I don't want the tripod in the way should they arrive while I'm out there.
As to a remote release, I have a remote cable release, and love it. I'm sure that cable would not add any vibrations, my finger pushing down the shutter release button would cause more vibration.


We're close to the Cascadia Fault, which I believe is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. I have felt at least 4 or 5 earthquakes since I've lived in BC, the most notable was the one that did a good bit of damage in Seattle, WA.


No, not an option as an evergreen tree would then obscure the lights I am trying to catch.


I don't know either if you can do this Nikon or not, doesn't matter anyway as I shoot Olympus. And yes, I can shoot in live view, and I can magnify (part of) the image before shooting.


I'm not going to be too fussy about shock-absorption on the deck. Although I will bookmark this entire thread, there's some good info about vibration and shock.
As to locking the mirror: That's one thing I don't need to worry about, the camera I'm using for this doesn't have one ;)


And not walk away... ???
Next summer we'll likely travel through the Rockies again, nice solid rocky ground, yea, I might try a long exposure like that there. No problem with city lights either, unless we're too close to Jasper, Banff or Lake Louise ;-)


Going to my lens won't do much good, as the image stabilization is built into my camera body. Interesting though, that it has also been suggested to keep IS on, because of the vibration caused by things other than my shaky hands. Something to experiment with as well.


Actually no, at this time I'm not interested in taking photos of stars. the interest is in taking photos of lights (porch lights, street lights, etc) and have them show up as stars in the photo.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

This is the photo with the stars. First one I've ever attempted to get these stars in. Even though the overall IQ sucks, I am mighty proud of it, because I tried it without help and succeeded. Now on to perfection.... if that exists ;-)
I have reduced the image size - a lot. I believe the exif data has not been stripped, but just in case:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M1, 12-40mm 1:2.8 PRO lens.
Aperture: f/16, Exposure 60 seconds, ISO-200, focal length 40mm (equivalent to 35mm view of 80mm focal length), Metering mode: Centre Weighted Average.

The next starry photo I post will be a good one, however long that might take me ;-)

PS - the blurring in the golden-coloured tree is, I believe, movement of the leaves by the wind, not movement from vibration, which is visible in the stars themselves.

Stars

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