[wtlwdwgn]

Last night I went out to try some astrotracing and I followed all the instructions before I went out to make sure it was working. So out in the dark outside of town the stars and planets were magnificent. I set the camera up on the tripod, turned it on, and clicked the shutter. The capture seems to begin but after a minute the GPS light went out and then I wait for the exposure time to elapse. Nothing happens. The camera is unresponsive. I turn it off and back on again and nothing. I thought maybe the battery died so I replaced it. Set it up again and same thing happens.

So my question is what should the K-1 be doing and what indications are there to tell if it's working? I know it's operator error and somehow I must have done something wrong.

[FozzFoster]

What mode, and drive are you in? Bulb mode set to Astrotracer, and 2 second timer?

Also, did you calibrate, then precision calibrate, at the site you wanted to take pictures at - as well as before you went out?

On my O-GPS1, there's a light light on the back the lets me know when it's working..

[aaacb]

Did you have long shutter noise reduction on by any chance? In the dark especially, I've forgotten that was happening and thought the camera was dead.

[steve_k]

On my K-3 II it takes some time after the capture is complete to process the photo. It is possible that you just require a little patience for the process to complete. The longer the shutter speed the longer the processing.

[wtlwdwgn]

Thanks Fozz. I did did both the calibrations at home but not at the site. I'll try that too. I had it set to Bulb with the GPS on and had the AstroTracer symbol on the screen. The AF mode was set to MF. I'll play with it some more.

[wtlwdwgn]

Thanks for the info aaacb and steve. I'll try to be more patient.

[wtlwdwgn]

Okey dokey, I was more (im)patient and waited for awhile and lo and behold the camera came alive after processing. Now to try it at night again.

[wtlwdwgn]

Success!

[aaacb]

Great to hear it worked. Here's something I've read but have not done myself: Instead of letting the camera do the darkframe subtraction for you (which is what long shutter nr does), you could take one or more shots with the lens cap on and viewfinder covered, exposed for the same time as the actual photo, and use those instead in post. It may not be as accurate as letting the camera do it right after the actual photo because the sensor may be at different temperatures, but if you're taking series for stacking, you avoid doubling the overall time.

[jhankins]

So, as others have mentioned, if you have long shutter noise reduction enabled (I think it is by default on my cameras, but I don't have the K-1) and you take a 20s exposure, after 20s, you should hear the shutter close, then the camera will be totally unresponsive for 20s longer, then, in my case with the KP, the activity light flashes as the image is recorded. I also see a progress bar on the display, in cases where I have something like clarity enhancement turned on.

I believe the benefit of doing the long shutter NR in camera is that it is able to look at what the noise on *your* sensor looks like after being active for 20s (for example), at the ambient temperature and internal camera temperature at the time and place where *you* are shooting. As far as whether or not this is "better" at NR than various post-processing tools, I don't have enough experience to say.

You could always try taking the same exposures with and without long shutter NR turned on and compare them to each other, and then to what you can do in post.

FWIW, I recently spend 90 minutes out at the lake on vacation doing some astrotracer shots and those extra 20 or 30s during the NR felt like an eternity while I was standing on tired legs, underdressed for the cold 😑

[MaineNative]

I have the K-1. The Slow Shutter Speed NR is in capture menu 2 at the bottom. Like you, I get impatient. I turn off the NR when using Astrotracer and I think I still get decent shots.

During the noise reduction period, if you look in the upper left of the top LCD display, you will see the countdown of the time remaining and a blinking “nr” on the right. It is hard to see because the display does not light up, but it gives you confidence the camera is not dead. The counter also helps with that patience thing to prove time is actually moving... (The counter also runs during the exposure.)

---------- Post added 08-11-18 at 12:50 PM ----------

Update... just by accident, I discovered if you are in the Bulb mode with the countdown timer runnng, you DO NOT get the countdown timer in the top display.

This was a mode added during one of the firmware updates. It is intended for intentionally shooting star trails. In Manual exposure mode the longest exposure time is 30 seconds. Using the timer in bulb mode you can go up to 20 minutes, but the Astrotracer function stays off. The camera does appear dead in this case.

Getting the timer in bulb mode is a little tricky... You can get the timer by starting in bulb mode with Astrotracer on, pressing info and turning off Astrotracer on the info screen and exiting with the menu button.

So if you want Astrotracer, make sure the screen is showing the maximum exposure time below the ISO on the back of the camera in bulb mode. If not, turn on Astrotracer on the info screen. If you don’t get a count down on the top, you are not in Astrotracer mode.

[wtlwdwgn]

Thanks for the input!

[MJKoski]

Sony 36MP sensor camera bodies do not usually need long exposure noise reduction when time is 30 second or less. In extreme heat I would use it (+30C or more). When using astrotracer for longer than that, it is somewhat useful.

[interested_observer]

Sony 36MP sensor camera bodies do not usually need long exposure noise reduction when time is 30 second or less. In extreme heat I would use it (+30C or more). When using astrotracer for longer than that, it is somewhat useful.

I like your humor - +30C isn't extreme at all, especially here in the southwest sonoran desert - even at night, especially during the summer. That said, I've starting to use LENR on the foreground landscape shots, but my astro/star shots have been pretty clean.

I'm also considering taking a single dark frame at the end of the shoot and then using that to process all the previous foreground shots. I'm usually shooting 50 to 60 second sky and foreground exposures, although for some darker locations (Kofa*, would probably need longer foreground exposures).

*Kofa - Kofa (King of Arizona mine) National Wildlife Refuge, has supposedly been measured to be the second darkest location in the continental US.

[wtlwdwgn]

Thanks for your input!