Taking star trail pics

timstone · 05-05-2010, 06:59 PM

Can someone tell me how to identify which star is the one I need to point the camera at to get a circular star trail? I am going fishing this weekend and if it isn't cloudy I'd like to try and get some star trail pics...but I have never done it before.

icywarm · 05-05-2010, 07:06 PM

Ecliptic and star rotation in the sky

It is the North Star... you can find it on the handle of the little dipper, follow the big dipper, the two stars on the cup draw a line to the small dipper, it is the brightest star in that part of the sky...

timstone · 05-05-2010, 07:51 PM

Now....would it be best to just set it at infinity focus and then just crop out anything that might not be in focus?

icywarm · 05-06-2010, 12:08 AM

well I would use a trick called hyper focus if you want to keep something near to the camera in focus, such as a tree or a hill or what have you... depending on which lens you want to use and the distance to anything you want to keep in focus google for a DOF calculator for whatever lens you want and check what the hyper focal point is, write down one or two options and just ball park it in the field...

JeffJS · 05-08-2010, 07:08 PM

Originally posted by timstone

Now....would it be best to just set it at infinity focus and then just crop out anything that might not be in focus?

You'll probably find that with most objects in the sky, you are actually focused at Just before infinity. One would think the moon is at infinity focus but it's been my experience, it is not. Same with the stars in the sky. Just manual focus for the sharpest you can get and since you'll be using a relatively small aperture, the rest will fall in line.

05-05-2010, 06:59 PM	#1
timstone Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 400	Taking star trail pics Can someone tell me how to identify which star is the one I need to point the camera at to get a circular star trail? I am going fishing this weekend and if it isn't cloudy I'd like to try and get some star trail pics...but I have never done it before.

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05-05-2010, 07:06 PM	#2
icywarm Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Saskatchewan Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,278	Ecliptic and star rotation in the sky It is the North Star... you can find it on the handle of the little dipper, follow the big dipper, the two stars on the cup draw a line to the small dipper, it is the brightest star in that part of the sky...

05-05-2010, 07:51 PM	#3
timstone Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 400 Original Poster	Now....would it be best to just set it at infinity focus and then just crop out anything that might not be in focus?

05-06-2010, 12:08 AM	#4
icywarm Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Saskatchewan Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,278	well I would use a trick called hyper focus if you want to keep something near to the camera in focus, such as a tree or a hill or what have you... depending on which lens you want to use and the distance to anything you want to keep in focus google for a DOF calculator for whatever lens you want and check what the hyper focal point is, write down one or two options and just ball park it in the field...

05-08-2010, 07:08 PM	#5
JeffJS Inactive Account Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Michigan, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,484	Originally posted by timstone Now....would it be best to just set it at infinity focus and then just crop out anything that might not be in focus? You'll probably find that with most objects in the sky, you are actually focused at Just before infinity. One would think the moon is at infinity focus but it's been my experience, it is not. Same with the stars in the sky. Just manual focus for the sharpest you can get and since you'll be using a relatively small aperture, the rest will fall in line.