dark sky photography: I am headed to Hawaii in a couple of months and plan to drive up Haleakala on Maui and Mauna Kea on the Big Island. I want to shoot time exposures of the Milky...

shutterbob Loc: Tucson

I am headed to Hawaii in a couple of months and plan to drive up Haleakala on Maui and Mauna Kea on the Big Island. I want to shoot time exposures of the Milky Way, capturing the reds, greens oranges, etc. I will be using a Nikon D610, but don't know the best lens, settings, etc. I have read everything from needing a f1.4 wide angle for 30 seconds to a f2.8 normal for 2 minutes, which seems to me would leave star trails, which I do not want. Any help. I am willing to spend $$$$ for the right lens.

ptcanon3ti Loc: NJ

As far as star trails are concerned - The time of your exposure will depend on the focal length of your lens, not the aperture.

For FF cameras if you use the formula - 600 divided by the focal length - that should give you a safe time to leave your shutter open to avoid trailing.

Ex: 600/24 (if using a 24mm lens) = 25. So you should be safe with a 25 second exposure without star trails.

mechengvic Loc: SoCalo

shutterbob wrote:

I am headed to Hawaii in a couple of months and pl... (show quote)

The shorter the focal length of your lens, the longer you can expose. Once you start zooming in, motion blur becomes more noticeable so you have to shorten exposure times. The low light gathering power of your D610 should allow you to use higher iso's and smaller apertures, but if you're willing to get the best then a fast lens with a focal length of 50mm or less will work. If you want to capture whole skies then get a wide angle (Nikon 24mm f/1.4 G AF-S). As far as settings go, you'll find your camera is capable of capturing amazing details in a wide variety of settings. Use a remote and experiment!

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

shutterbob wrote:

I am headed to Hawaii in a couple of months and pl... (show quote)

The 14-24mm F/2.8 is popular.
The 24mm F/1.4 is as well.
Or you can go the Rokinon/Bower/Samyang/Pro Optics versions for a lot less money and surprisingly good image quality, just don't drop them.

600 over focal length for maximum exposure time to keep star points. So 24mm lens up to 25 secs and 14mm lens up to 42 secs.
ISO 800-1600-3200 will probably be required.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

shutterbob wrote:

I am headed to Hawaii in a couple of months and pl... (show quote)

There is a 500 rule. Basically you divide 500 by your focal length, and that will give you the longest shutter speed before you get star trails. With a full frame camera, 20mm lens means you can use a 25 sec exposure before you get noticeable trails.

You might want to take a look at this article:

http://photographylife.com/how-to-photograph-the-milky-way

Nightski

Gene51 wrote:

There is a 500 rule. Basically you divide 500 by your focal length, and that will give you the longest shutter speed before you get star trails. With a full frame camera, 20mm lens means you can use a 25 sec exposure before you get noticeable trails.

You might want to take a look at this article:

http://photographylife.com/how-to-photograph-the-milky-way

Thanks for this link, Gene. It's a good one. I copied and pasted it into my email for future reference.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Nightski wrote:

Thanks for this link, Gene. It's a good one. I copied and pasted it into my email for future reference.

Great! Post some pics when you get a chance.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

lighthouse wrote:

The 14-24mm F/2.8 is popular.
The 24mm F/1.4 is as well.
Or you can go the Rokinon/Bower/Samyang/Pro Optics versions for a lot less money and surprisingly good image quality, just don't drop them.

600 over focal length for maximum exposure time to keep star points. So 24mm lens up to 25 secs and 14mm lens up to 42 secs.
ISO 800-1600-3200 will probably be required.

Haven't done this in an while, but from what I remember, the 600 rule was not good enough to avoid star trails. The 500 rule with its shorter max exposure is better.

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

Gene51 wrote:

Haven't done this in an while, but from what I remember, the 600 rule was not good enough to avoid star trails. The 500 rule with its shorter max exposure is better.

Yes, you are right, its close but by converting it to the 500 rule brings in a margin of safety.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

shutterbob wrote:

I am headed to Hawaii in a couple of months and pl... (show quote)

You won't be alone up there, so be prepared to arrive early and stake out a spot.

If you Google "star photography," you will get dozens of articles.

lhdiver Loc: Midwest

There is a new book now available on Amazon.com, Photography Night Sky: A Field Guide for Shooting After Dark by Jennifer Wu. Saw her live recently & am sure it will be good, just placed my order.

AIR BOSS 1 Loc: western new york

lighthouse wrote:

The 14-24mm F/2.8 is popular.
The 24mm F/1.4 is as well.
Or you can go the Rokinon/Bower/Samyang/Pro Optics versions for a lot less money and surprisingly good image quality, just don't drop them.

600 over focal length for maximum exposure time to keep star points. So 24mm lens up to 25 secs and 14mm lens up to 42 secs.
ISO 800-1600-3200 will probably be required.

where do you get 600 from?

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

AIR BOSS 1 wrote:

where do you get 600 from?

It's a rule of thumb that some use. Others uses a more conservative 500. It has to do with the magnification of the image on the sensor, and how much movement will be recorded as a trail. Through trial and error, it has been established that if you do not exceed 500 (or 600) over the effective focal length in seconds, you will minimize the trails.

AIR BOSS 1 Loc: western new york

Gene51 wrote:

It's a rule of thumb that some use. Others uses a more conservative 500. It has to do with the magnification of the image on the sensor, and how much movement will be recorded as a trail. Through trial and error, it has been established that if you do not exceed 500 (or 600) over the effective focal length in seconds, you will minimize the trails.

OK Thanks