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Star photos with 50mm f1.7
Lens: Pentax M 50mm 1.7 Camera: K-x Photo Location: Ontario Shutter Speed: >6s 
Posted By: DK77, 10-23-2011, 12:17 PM

I'd like to share some photos of the milky way that I took last night (been waiting a while for a clear. moonless night!) with my K-x and an old Pentax manual 50mm 1.7 lens, to show what this camera and lens is capable of. It's not the critique forum, but I would love to hear any suggestions for improvement. This was the first time trying out this lens, and one of the first times I've tried this type of star photography at all.

Location is in a rural area, but not far enough away from the city. Last night was as good as it gets (until the clouds came).

Since it's a manual lens, the aperture wasn't recorded in EXIF, but all three were between f2.8 and f1.7. All were edited in Lightroom (NR, increased exposure, contrast, black levels, clarity, WB). I've included 100% crops for the first two.

Photo 1: ISO 800, 8 sec

Photo 2: ISO 6400, 6 sec

Photo 3: ISO 3200, 10 sec

Thanks for looking.

Last edited by DK77; 01-12-2014 at 10:26 PM.
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10-23-2011, 01:15 PM   #2
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WOW impressive set, just love no.3 with the shooting star. Makes you realize how big this galaxy is we live in.
10-23-2011, 01:24 PM   #3
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Yes, yes it does!

Thank you, I think that meteor was a remnant of the Orionid shower (which I didn't know about until after I took the photos).

I'm anxious to try this with the DA 18-55 kit lens. Minimum aperture of 3.5 (and not great IQ), but the wider angle will let me take a 30-second exposure without seeing star trails. In theory I should end up with similar results to those above, but we shall see. Oh how I wish for a fast wide angle!
10-23-2011, 01:48 PM   #4
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Wait just a friggin' minute. 6-10 seconds at ISO 3200-6400 is all that is needed to get such stunning shots of the North America nebula? My jaw hit the floor when I saw those. What part of the sky is #1, I haven't ID'd it yet. I've been trying to convince myself that I have no interest in getting into astrophotography, and now you go and post these. My K-5 lust kicks into gear again ... Suggestion: get something like a manual 28mm f/2.8 for wider shots; you can probably pick one up in the Marketplace for pretty cheap.

TFS. I don't have any suggestions for improvement as I have about zero experience with astrophotography. But these are really good.

10-23-2011, 02:09 PM   #5
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Yep, no lie! 8 sec, ISO 3200, f1.7 is quite sufficient for these particular photos. f2.8 with a wider lens would work great as well, and I'm hoping to get some decent results even with the kit lens, but that's yet to be determined. And I'm just slightly more of an expert at astrophotography than you, by virtue of having taken these photos, and a few others in the past, and by reading a bit about the subject. The cool thing is how easy it is for anyone to take photos with this budget equipment, provided they have the same sky. Pick a good night, grab a tripod, open the lens wide up, point at the sky, and try different settings!

I wouldn't know how to describe the amount of light pollution where I live... there's a city about 30k away that lights up one horizon pretty well, and a town that brightens up the other horizon. There aren't enough houses close enough to have an immediate effect in my yard. Last night was unusually dark (for a brief period) because the moon wasn't visible. All these photos were taken pointed straight up because that's where the milky way was; I took others closer to the horizon and of course the number of stars dropped off. I can't tell you exactly where in the sky photo #1 was (I don't know the night sky very well at all). It's possible the yellow patch is a bit of cloud. If you can ID it please let me know!

Good suggestion, I'll look for that lens to see what it sells for. My 50mm was about $50 on ebay, a great lens for the price. A 28mm manual prime is not something I'm likely to put a lot of money into, but you never know...

For anyone who's interested, here is what the 2nd photo looked like straight out of the camera, before editing.

Last edited by DK77; 01-12-2014 at 10:26 PM.
10-23-2011, 02:47 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by DK77 Quote
Pick a good night, grab a tripod, open the lens wide up, point at the sky, and try different settings!
As it happens I was in a reasonably un-light-polluted spot last weekend and did a little night photography. Between the moon and my K10D's low ISO range I got nothing like yours. But now I want to try again, next time I'm away from light pollution. Hard for me to find dark skies near home.

QuoteOriginally posted by DK77 Quote
All these photos were taken pointed straight up because that's where the milky way was; I took others closer to the horizon and of course the number of stars dropped off. I can't tell you exactly where in the sky photo #1 was (I don't know the night sky very well at all). It's possible the yellow patch is a bit of cloud. If you can ID it please let me know!
Actually the yellowish bit is normal color for parts of the Milky Way. From your info #1 must also be in or near Cygnus but I can't pinpoint it.

QuoteOriginally posted by DK77 Quote
Good suggestion, I'll look for that lens to see what it sells for. My 50mm was about $50 on ebay, a great lens for the price. A 28mm manual prime is not something I'm likely to put a lot of money into, but you never know...
I just picked up an M28 for less than that on the Marketplace.

QuoteOriginally posted by DK77 Quote
For anyone who's interested, here is what the 2nd photo looked like straight out of the camera, before editing.
Even there the North America nebula is unmistakable.
10-23-2011, 03:12 PM   #7
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QuoteQuote:
As it happens I was in a reasonably un-light-polluted spot last weekend and did a little night photography. Between the moon and my K10D's low ISO range I got nothing like yours. But now I want to try again, next time I'm away from light pollution. Hard for me to find dark skies near home.
The moon seems to make a huge difference. The sky last night was unusually good even viewed with the naked eye.


QuoteQuote:
Actually the yellowish bit is normal color for parts of the Milky Way. From your info #1 must also be in or near Cygnus but I can't pinpoint it.
...
Even there the North America nebula is unmistakable.
I have some reading to do.


QuoteQuote:
I just picked up an M28 for less than that on the Marketplace.
Sounds like a steal. I haven't found one for QUITE that cheap yet, but I'll keep an eye out since it's more affordable than I anticipated. Could be great to have in the bag anyway.

10-23-2011, 03:25 PM   #8
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Wow I'm impressed. I wish I could find skies that dark around here. Like baro-nite mentioned if you want to get some different photos buy a good 28mm f2.8 lens. Or even a Vivitar 28mm or 24mm f2. Another option is a 135mm f2.8 and none of these old lenses should cost a whole lot. Also try out the free program Deep Sky Stacker: http://deepskystacker.free.fr/english/index.html Stacked images can reduce noise and bring out fainter nebula.
10-23-2011, 03:28 PM   #9
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I'm really jealous when I see pictures such as yours.I'm just outside of Boston and the light pollution is horrible.I made this unit for taking star pictures but it is really wasted in my area North of Boston.I work in Tool & Die at GE Lynn and this manual tracker was made there but now it is collecting dust downstairs.I'm always hoping for a power failure in the region at night. Check out the link to the star tracker.--charliezap
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-camera-field-accessories/58843-answer-what.html
10-23-2011, 03:29 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by DK77 Quote
I have some reading to do.
I used to spend countless hours out with a telescope, which is why the NA nebula is so instantly recognizable for me.
My scope was stolen some years ago and I never got around to replacing it.

QuoteOriginally posted by DK77 Quote
Sounds like a steal. I haven't found one for QUITE that cheap yet, but I'll keep an eye out since it's more affordable than I anticipated. Could be great to have in the bag anyway.
Yep, good normal focal length on a Pentax APS-C DSLR.
10-23-2011, 03:37 PM   #11
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I was able to retrieve the the photos and repost them but the original posting tell its own story.Keep up the good work.--charliezap
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10-23-2011, 04:12 PM   #12
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Wow, nice rig Charlie, and from your Orion photo it looks like it does the trick for long exposures.
10-23-2011, 04:24 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by krp Quote
Wow I'm impressed. I wish I could find skies that dark around here. Like baro-nite mentioned if you want to get some different photos buy a good 28mm f2.8 lens. Or even a Vivitar 28mm or 24mm f2. Another option is a 135mm f2.8 and none of these old lenses should cost a whole lot. Also try out the free program Deep Sky Stacker: DeepSkyStacker - Free Stacked images can reduce noise and bring out fainter nebula.
I think it's awesome to be able to get good glass at these prices with Pentax, part of the reason I chose Pentax in the first place. I haven't tried that stacker but I do have one for startrails that I've used (just haven't gotten good photos to put into it). I wonder if this would let me take multiple photos of 10 seconds each and then let it match them up after. That would be very handy.....


QuoteOriginally posted by charliezap Quote
I'm really jealous when I see pictures such as yours.I'm just outside of Boston and the light pollution is horrible.I made this unit for taking star pictures but it is really wasted in my area North of Boston.I work in Tool & Die at GE Lynn and this manual tracker was made there but now it is collecting dust downstairs.I'm always hoping for a power failure in the region at night. Check out the link to the star tracker.--charliezap
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-camera-field-accessories/58843-answer-what.html
Yeah, well, I'm jealous that you live just outside of Boston, great city. Be careful what you wish for, lol. That's quite a rig, very impressive! I hope you get to use it sometimes. Maybe take it with you on a camping trip or something?

QuoteOriginally posted by baro-nite Quote
I used to spend countless hours out with a telescope, which is why the NA nebula is so instantly recognizable for me.
My scope was stolen some years ago and I never got around to replacing it.
Ouch. I've never had a telescope, though it's been something I've wanted, always had a vague interest in stars although I've never applied myself to learning about them.

It's great to hear from other people who have an interest in this sort of photography.
10-23-2011, 05:04 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by DK77 Quote
I've never had a telescope, though it's been something I've wanted, always had a vague interest in stars although I've never applied myself to learning about them.
If you decide to pursue it, a great way to start is with a pair of 7x50 binoculars and some basic reference books and/or charts. Hours of fun! I started with the Peterson Field Guide to the Stars and Planets and got a huge amount of use out of it. You don't really want to buy a telescope until you have some idea of what objects you're most interested in.
10-23-2011, 05:12 PM   #15
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The Orion pic was taken with a 135mm Takumar lens maybe close to a minute.I tested the tracking one night using a 400mm lens.I centered a star smack dab in the middle of the view finder and waited 4 minutes and turned the tracking screw 4 exact turns and lo and behold it was right in the middle of the view finder again.It does work but it needs a good home with good viewing conditions.--charliezap
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