[max77p]

Is there any specific guide/tutorial for k50 which deals with getting photos of the night sky? I am fairly new to this, want to learn how to do it and what i need.

I searched for guides, but i am not sure which one to follow lol. Looking to shoot pin point stars and trailing type of shots.

thanks!

[gtis]

Hi
This might be useful
https://photographylife.com/how-to-photograph-the-milky-way
Neil

[joebarfly]

Is there any specific guide/tutorial for k50 which deals with getting photos of the night sky? I am fairly new to this, want to learn how to do it and what i need.

I searched for guides, but i am not sure which one to follow lol. Looking to shoot pin point stars and trailing type of shots.

thanks!

Hi,
Definitely what gtis said. After reading that article and searching through the forums for other night shooting info here was my first attempt. Don't be afraid to experiment.
Joe

[Aaron28]

looks good joe...great starting point and exif data looks like a very good base line to work from
I like taking multiple shots then stacking them for star trails.....starstax is excellent for this plus time lapse vids can be made as a bonus!
shoot wide open, iso around 400, a helpful tool for exposure time is the 500 rule (500 divided by (focal length * 1.5 (crop factor)) for a static field... i.e. 18mm 18 seconds
bounce around this as a base line and adjust to your conditions (light pollution, etc)
if you decide to use the on board intervalometer.....the interval must be longer than your set exposure time (it's all inclusive).....if I have 15 second exposure the interval will be set at 17 sec.........

[max77p]

looks good joe...great starting point and exif data looks like a very good base line to work from
I like taking multiple shots then stacking them for star trails.....starstax is excellent for this plus time lapse vids can be made as a bonus!
shoot wide open, iso around 400, a helpful tool for exposure time is the 500 rule (500 divided by (focal length * 1.5 (crop factor)) for a static field... i.e. 18mm 18 seconds
bounce around this as a base line and adjust to your conditions (light pollution, etc)
if you decide to use the on board intervalometer.....the interval must be longer than your set exposure time (it's all inclusive).....if I have 15 second exposure the interval will be set at 17 sec.........

thanks for the info, ill start reading the above link then just start practicing

[Aaron28]

just start practicing

you bet! and practice is your greatest advantage! i'm still goin thru trial and errors but almost a year later I have made nice improvements......some of my first trails are ridiculous in comparison
good luck and happy shooting

[SuperSyx]

Here are my basic settings on my K-30 (almost identical to the K-50): Set to 18mm, 15 sec exposure and iso 3200, manual focus to infinity (may need to go back a bit), 2 sec delay or remote and shoot from a tripod. Look at result and recompose. Find a map of the light pollution to choose your shooting spot. I use Exsate Golden Hour on Android to know when the sky will be the darkest. I also have info on golden hour and blue hour as a bonus!

If my settings are satisfying, I set the intervalometer to shoot once every 20 seconds or so. After that, stack for star trails or assemble for timelapse.

[Aaron28]

15 sec exposure

intervalometer to shoot once every 20 seconds

good settings and info!......maybe tighten the interval a little to prevent gaps or dots for a smoother trail.....usually use 2-3 seconds

[SuperSyx]

Star dot trail, yep it happened. Definitely shorter interval.

One other thing, stop the auto display after every pictures. Less power consumed, more pictures.

[Aaron28]

Star dot trail

still useful for time lapse and sometimes the dots are a good effect that makes the sky look like a vinyl record

auto display after every pictures

I leave it on as a personal preference.....so I can check exposure and for condensation blur...........but I only do about 120 shots or an hour worth and generally run 2 to 3 cameras.......however if I were to run longer I believe I would turn auto display off for battery


also some stacking programs that are free
for star trails I really like the results I get from starstax and its pretty quick
Software - StarStaX


for static stacks deep sky stacker is good but not so quick
DeepSkyStacker - Free


and for some milkyway and star field panos I use Microsoft ICE.....quick and easy!
Image Composite Editor - Microsoft Research


this stuff works for me but my editing/post skills suck pretty bad!!!!

[Aaron28]

another thing I turn off noise reduction so I don't hafta wait 2x the exposure time to see results but keep in mind to get dark frames for noise reduction......cap on lens for identical exposure time........