Perseid Meteor Shower
Jul 28, 2013 15:40:18 #
Fellow members, the Perseid's meteor shower is almost upon us. This is the biggest and best meteor shower of the year. Should be great viewing because the moon will be below the horizon just after midnight (at least in the Northern Hemisphere). So PLEASE, I need some help. I've never taken pictures of a meteor shower and of course I know it's hit or miss. I will be up in the Kern River area of, Calif. Wonderful dark skies. I will be using a Canon T3, with the 18-55mm kit lens. The lens will be set at 18mm(focused to infinity),AF off, IS off, camera on a tripod with a remote shutter release. The camera will be set to Manual "Bulb". I'm assuming a low ISO of 100 or 200. White balance ??? F-Stop ???? So if any of you wonderful folks out there could help me out with the WB and F-Stop and/or any other suggestions I would grateful appreciate it. Thank You
Jul 28, 2013 16:01:35 #
missletoe wrote:
Fellow members, the Perseid's meteor shower is alm... (show quote)
Shoot RAW.
Turn off manual focus.
Turn off IS.
WB auto.
Play with f/stop. f/5.6 - f/11 should be ok.
Not bulb. Set to 25 secs, or so. Lock remote shutter release for continuous shooting.
Set camera to continuous shooting.
Stack later using software. I use a free one called "startrails". This will give you the meteors as well as the stars moving across the sky. Also, get some hand or feet warmers from the sporting goods store. Wrap these around your lens once you have everything set. This keeps your lens from fogging up.
Take a chair & a sixpack.
Have fun.
Jul 28, 2013 16:12:45 #
Thank You PigPen, that's the information I needed to know. Any and all other comments more than welcome
Jul 28, 2013 16:14:25 #
PigPen, you said to turn off Manual Focus......I should leave the camera on Auto Focus???
Jul 28, 2013 16:19:31 #
missletoe,
I have very limited experience shooting meteors. I have done it only once. And I have never shot star trails! When I was shooting the meteors, I set the ISO at about 1000 and my shutter speed was set at different speeds from 20-30. After all that, I still needed to lighten the photos a bit to see the meteors. I did some adjustments of speed and f-stop as I saw my results. I was shooting RAW.
Logic tells me that you wouldnt need to set your ISO that high if you are shooting star trails. Is that correct?
I would like to read several replies to see how far off base I am, so everyone, please enlighten us.
I have very limited experience shooting meteors. I have done it only once. And I have never shot star trails! When I was shooting the meteors, I set the ISO at about 1000 and my shutter speed was set at different speeds from 20-30. After all that, I still needed to lighten the photos a bit to see the meteors. I did some adjustments of speed and f-stop as I saw my results. I was shooting RAW.
Logic tells me that you wouldnt need to set your ISO that high if you are shooting star trails. Is that correct?
I would like to read several replies to see how far off base I am, so everyone, please enlighten us.
Jul 28, 2013 16:41:25 #
I should have read the post today(7/28) about the meteor shower. It has some good information.
Jul 28, 2013 16:45:17 #
Have you friend who lives in a location about 3 miles from you (upstream on the normal pathway of shooting stars) keep on his cellphone with you. When he see a shooting star pass him by he is to let you know to turn on the camera! However, you gotta be quick about it!
Well, only kidding of course. Ha Ha LOL
Well, only kidding of course. Ha Ha LOL
Jul 28, 2013 16:55:27 #
Kingmapix, I was thinking about bringing a butterfly net to see if I could catch a shooting star. LOL
Jul 28, 2013 18:02:49 #
Jul 28, 2013 18:20:34 #
What pigpen said.
And have lots of space on your memory card.
And have lots of space on your memory card.
Jul 28, 2013 18:21:13 #
What pigpen said.
And have lots of space on your memory card.
And have lots of space on your memory card.
Jul 28, 2013 18:57:02 #
thank you for the link, settings and techniques are all over the place I'm just going to have to digest the information and practiced a lot
Jul 29, 2013 08:05:56 #
missletoe wrote:
Fellow members, the Perseid's meteor shower is alm... (show quote)
if you want to capture the meteors, First a wide angle lens, tripod, everything manual, focus on infinity, f stop not higher the f/4, ISO 3200 -6400, time - take 600 divide by the focal length id the lens But no longer than 30 seconds; Use a shutter release and keep shooting or get an interval timer to fire the shutter with a 2 sec delay between photos and aim 45 degrees from the radiant and have some thing in the foreground
Jul 29, 2013 12:33:34 #
mborn wrote:
if you want to capture the meteors, First a wide angle lens, tripod, everything manual, focus on infinity, f stop not higher the f/4, ISO 3200 -6400, time - take 600 divide by the focal length id the lens But no longer than 30 seconds; Use a shutter release and keep shooting or get an interval timer to fire the shutter with a 2 sec delay between photos and aim 45 degrees from the radiant and have some thing in the foreground
mborn has given you the best advice. Wide angle about 12mm is good, ISO 3200-6400, 20-30 second shutter speed. One more thought, shooting meteors is a lot like fishing...you can only shoot one part of the sky and hope that meteor comes when your shutter is open. Plan on staying up most of the night.
Jul 29, 2013 12:39:41 #
missletoe wrote:
PigPen, you said to turn off Manual Focus......I should leave the camera on Auto Focus???
A fumble-finger on PigPen's part.
Turn OFF auto-focus and manually set the focus for infinity.
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