Focusing for night sky shots (Page 2): Thanks for all the input. I guess I was not specific enough in my question. Focusing to get the sharpest possible image is what I am having a...

axiesdad Loc: Monticello, Indiana

Thanks for all the input. I guess I was not specific enough in my question. Focusing to get the sharpest possible image is what I am having a problem with. I am using manual focus, I can't see stars either through the viewfinder or with livescreen so how can I best preset the focus? I'm thinking the only thing I can do is bracket focus as I would exposure, just start slightly to one side of "in focus" and adjust in small increments. Or am I just wasting my time with the kit lens and D3100 and this is as good as it gets?

DaveC1 Loc: South East US

Should be at infinity focus. You can check that by manually focusing on the moon and see where you are on the focus ring but should be all the way CW when viewed from the rear of the camera. Oh and make sure your eye piece is adjusted correctly.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

axiesdad wrote:

Thanks for all the input. I guess I was not specif... (show quote)

All you need to do is find out how much back from the extreme adjustment you need to come to get sharp focus at infinity. For that you could use the moon. To do it in live view you don't have to use the same settings that you'll be using to take the shot. To get a focus lock you could try turning up the ISO, which may give something visible on the screen.

Selene03

You can also focus on something 50-100 yards away in good light. When you get focus on that point, tape your lens down, so you can't move it. That should be the infinity point, and as others have said here it is not necessarily the farthest point you can focus on the lens. Once you have that point, you should be able to point the camera on what you want to shoot, say the milky way, and it should be good.

Harvey Loc: Pioneer, CA

Thanks for posting these sites - particularly this one -How to Shoot the Night Sky - several great tips here I have not seen before - particularly the layering- I have been practicing with night/star shots and when I finally got my infinity spot on I was then stuck with one or two images that I could not get the detail and color seen in so many posted images - I have been succesful with layering in macro so I should be able to do it here in my night shots-
Thanks again
Harvey in the sierras

Shellback wrote:

Here are some good resources - enjoy...
Catching the Light
Quick Start Guide Part 1 for Beginner Digital Astrophotography
How-To: Astrophotography 101
How to Shoot the Night Sky

IHH61 Loc: Homestead Fl

Selene03 wrote:

You can also focus on something 50-100 yards away in good light. When you get focus on that point, tape your lens down, so you can't move it. That should be the infinity point, and as others have said here it is not necessarily the farthest point you can focus on the lens. Once you have that point, you should be able to point the camera on what you want to shoot, say the milky way, and it should be good.

Make sure you switch to manual focus as well!!

Harvey Loc: Pioneer, CA

I am going to follow what most have suggested - shoot in manual with f3.5 (my lens max) 20 sec exp. ISO 800 - 1,600 with tripod & 2 sec delay or remote shutter. I am going to try light painting with colored lens covers on a flash and /or flash light - I have had success with flash light in the green in pine trees but I don't want to wash out the yellow and golds of the Aspen and willows.
I'll be running up the hill to the first Aspen groves next tue or wed - it is just 50 mi to the start just past Silver Lake on Hwy 88 -8,000 ft elevation.
Harvey in the Sierras

uote=IHH61]Make sure you switch to manual focus as well!![/quote]

repleo Loc: Boston

R.G. wrote:

All you need to do is find out how much back from the extreme adjustment you need to come to get sharp focus at infinity. For that you could use the moon. To do it in live view you don't have to use the same settings that you'll be using to take the shot. To get a focus lock you could try turning up the ISO, which may give something visible on the screen.

You can’t use the moon to focus when shooting the Milky Way. You need a night with no moon for best MW shots.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

repleo wrote:

You can’t use the moon to focus when shooting the Milky Way. You need a night with no moon for best MW shots.

Once he knows where that focus point is he can mark it on his lens. As Selene suggested, you could probably do it in daylight if you were careful about what was giving you the focus lock (the more distant the better) and if haze wasn't a problem.

axiesdad Loc: Monticello, Indiana

All the good advice has really helped. Thanks again to all who responded. These are last night's results. With some more practice I may be ready to go looking for some really dark skies.

(Download)

Yodagirl Loc: All Over-Fulltime RV (Originally from NH)

axiesdad wrote:

All the good advice has really helped. Thanks again to all who responded. These are last night's results. With some more practice I may be ready to go looking for some really dark skies.

You're right-all the advice made a huge difference-great shots!

R.G. Loc: Scotland

axiesdad wrote:

All the good advice has really helped. Thanks again to all who responded. These are last night's results. With some more practice I may be ready to go looking for some really dark skies.

Looking good.

PaulR01 Loc: West Texas

Great shot, sharp stars, no tear drops and no star movement. The shutter speed is great. Need to try focus stacking next, 3 to 7 shots on the Milkyway to really bring it out.

axiesdad Loc: Monticello, Indiana

PaulR01 wrote:

Great shot, sharp stars, no tear drops and no star movement. The shutter speed is great. Need to try focus stacking next, 3 to 7 shots on the Milkyway to really bring it out.

I've tried stacking using Registax,
but except for one attempt at the moon I've had little luck. What program can use 3 to 7 shots?

PaulR01 Loc: West Texas

axiesdad wrote:

I've tried stacking using Registax,
but except for one attempt at the moon I've had little luck. What program can use 3 to 7 shots?

Sequator is what I use. Our local Astro expert turned me on to it. It loads kind of weird, like an app. So add a folder in your documents to load it to. But it works great.
https://sites.google.com/site/sequatorglobal/download