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Forum: Photographic Technique
03-25-2023, 02:05 AM
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@ken lee thanks for the informative post. That's really useful, and your photos are beautiful. One issue - the first link isn't working 😃.
I'm still keen to learn about what specific changes I would need to make in my technique if I wanted to include a foreground in the photo, like a city scape or mountain etc.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-22-2023, 06:57 AM
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Hi All,
I've been working on getting it right for the past few days as there's been a shockingly long spell of good weather. I've really been enjoying myself and I think I managed to get a great result last night. A combination of clear skies and zero air traffic (the latter was an absolute shocker) resulted in what I think is a wonderful result.
I've outlined the steps I took below, as well as the result of each step. Note that the photos were taken from a 7th floor terrace in central London with considerable light pollution.
Once I have everything down to a T, I will create a new thread with a step-by-step guide to help anyone else keen on creating similar photos.
Equipment- Pentax KP with a fully charged battery
- Pentax DA 50mm F1.8
- THIS wired shutter release cable
- Half decent tripod
- THIS lens cleaning kit - I suggest to clean your lens before and after, as the cold weather creates moisture on the lens, especially after you bring it indoors after spending more than an hour in zero degrees
- A smartphone with Google sky map or Stellarium installed
- A laptop or PC with an SD card reader (internal or external) and "Startrails" and "Darktable" software installed (both are free)
- Weather appropriate clothing
Camera Settings- Manual focus with focus set to infinity, or point to a distant object and use that to manually focus
- 30 second exposure
- F 5.6
- ISO 1600
- Drive mode set to high speed continuous
- Slow shutter noise reduction turned off
- Astro tracer turned off
- Shake reduction turned off
Steps - Taking the photos- Find the North star / Polaris (if you are in the Northern hemisphere) using Google sky map or stellarium
- Point the camera in the general direction of the North star / Polaris
- Activate and lock the wired release cable
- Set a timer for 1 hour 45 minutes and left the camera alone, although I think that the battery probably died at around 1.5 hours
- Retrieve camera once the timer finishes and put the SD card into laptop
- Question - I've attached one of the images from the sequence - See attachment 01 (resized and compressed). Do you reckon I should make any changes in the camera settings, or is this a suitable result?
Steps - Post Processing - Startrails software- Open all the images in Startrails
- Click the "startrails" button to process / stack them
- Question - There are two processing options - "Lighten" and "Lighten screen blend". I tried both of them and thought that the output with "Lighten" was better and produced a better result in post processing. Any insight in the two options or advice on which I should use?
- See attachment 02 for the output (resized and compressed)
Steps - Post Processing - Darktable software- I'm no expert at this, but a quick Google search took me to
You Tube
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ol0hpbSsNi8?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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instructional video
- I went through all the steps, making minor adjustments here and there based on the instructions, but I found that the biggest change in the photo was when I clicked on the colour picker at 0:37 of the video
- Final output - Attachment 03 (resized and compressed)
Questions- Any advice or tips on what I can change or do better at any stage of the process?
- What changes would I need to make in settings etc. if I wanted to include a foreground in the photo? For example, a city scape or mountain scape
- I was lucky to have no aircraft flying overhead last night, but that was not the case on previous attempts. Previously I excluded the photos with an aircraft, but that left noticeable gaps in the trails. Any quick and easy solutions to fill those gaps? I don't think the Startrails software has this option
Thank you so much to everyone who answered my questions. I'm finding this extremely enjoyable and can't wait to try it out somewhere with lesser light pollution.
Ducky
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-17-2023, 12:02 PM
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Thanks all. I think I have got the hang of it now thanks to all the excellent help and advice over here. I'm still experimenting with different settings, and I will also attempt it with the 50mm on the next clear night.
Only issue I have been having is with the battery. A fully charged battery gets completely drained after about an hour of continuous shooting. I guess I will have to buy a spare.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-15-2023, 03:27 PM
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Getting better :D
At least the trails are straight now.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-15-2023, 09:08 AM
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Thanks Grimmus. I went through the settings are noticed two things that were on that should probably be turned off -
Shake reduction (although this should be disabled automatically for long exposure, as you mentioned)
Astro tracer - This option was on. Perhaps this is what was causing the squiggles. I've turned it off now.
Hopefully my next attempt will be better. Hopefully I'll have a clear sky soon.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-14-2023, 05:43 PM
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It's pretty overcast today, so I'll try taking a new batch with the suggested settings whenever it clears up next. In the meantime, I downloaded Startrails and loaded the same sequence of photos. The results are more in line with what I expected (see attached), but I don't understand why the trails are so squiggly. Agreed that my tripod isn't top of the line, but it's definitely not that bad and it wasn't windy at all. Any camera settings that might be causing this?
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-14-2023, 05:07 PM
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Thanks both. Very useful tips. I don't own photoshop or Lightroom, but will download one of the software options that you listed and revert back with my second attempt.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-14-2023, 05:16 AM
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Hi All, so I had a somewhat clear sky last evening, but my first attempt wasn't great. I use a wired release cable to take a sequence of night sky photos over the course of 35 minutes. I've attached one of the photos (resized) to this post (see attachment "Example for PF"). You can clearly see the stars even though there was quite a bit of ambient light. The settings that I used were -
- 15mm lens
- Manual focus (set to infinity)
- F6.3
- 30 seconds exposure
- 100 ISO
- Drive mode set to high speed continuous
- Slow shutter noise reduction off
I then followed these steps - - Deleted a handful of photos in which an airplane flew overhead
- Loaded the remaining 38 photos into DeepSkyStacker - By default they were "light" files
- I had also taken a couple of photos with the lens cap on with the same settings, as per MossyRocks advice. I loaded these into DeepSkyStacker as "dark" files
- Clicked on "Check All" and then on "Stack checked pictures"
The final result is attached - See attachment "Stacked for PF". I wasn't expecting any spectacular results out of this as there was plenty of ambient light, but I thought that I would at least see some faint trails, but the stars look static. I have a feeling that I am missing something very obvious here :o:o
Any advice or insight on what I am doing wrong?
Thanks,
Ducky
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-05-2023, 11:48 AM
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@MossyRocks thank you so much.
Is an intervolometer the same thing as a remote shutter?
The one that you posted doesn't seem to be available in the UK. Do you reckon the alternative that I suggested would do the job?
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-05-2023, 04:54 AM
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Thanks all. Any recommendations for an inexpensive wired shutter release that will hold the button down? I found THIS on Amazon. Will it be sufficient?
Thanks @interested_observer. Unfortunately that one isn't available. I've found an alternative (see above), but not sure if it's suitable. Any thoughts?
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-04-2023, 03:43 PM
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Thanks both. Much appreciated. Really helpful :-)
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-04-2023, 09:37 AM
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Thank you all for such informative and helpful answers. I genuinely appreciate that.
I'm going to try a few test shots in the coming days, but I live in London so clear skies are quite rare :-D. I'll definitely need some practice before the big trip to Iceland in Feb, so I hope that I'll get at least a few days of clear skies between now and then, and obviously in Iceland too.
One noobie question - How do I update my firmware?
@MossyRocks, your post is exactly what I am looking for. Thank you so much. Just a couple of questions though -
If I am setting it to high speed continuous then why would I need a wired release cable (point 8 in your post)? Apologies but I'm very unfamiliar with this feature.
Under which menu would this be? I can't find the option to do this.
Is there a way around this if I don't own a release cable? Or is it a must have? I don't want to be standing behind the camera and pressing the shutter release every 30 seconds for half an hour, so I have a feeling that it is a requirement unless the camera has a setting or feature that does this :lol:.
Note that I have taken plenty of Northern lights and one presentable milky way photo in the past, but all of them were taken using a single photo with 30 second exposure. I used the 2 second delay for the shutter to avoid vibrations.
Thank you again and I really appreciate the help.
Ducky
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-04-2023, 04:47 AM
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Hi All,
Happy new year! I hope all of you are doing well.
I wanted to try getting some star trail photos like the one below. I've tried finding some online resources, but most of them are for the K1 which has a intervalometer. I did find plenty of generic articles, but am looking for some KP specific advice on what camera settings etc. I would need to use. Also, if there is post processing involved, which I am sure there will be, I could find some resources for Darktable (which is what I use), but I would need to know specifically what to look for.
I have a Pentax KP, decent tripod + the following lenses -
Pentax DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6
Pentax HD DA Limited 15mm F4
Pentax DA 50mm F1.8
Pentax DA 200mm F2.8
Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Ducky
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-07-2021, 11:05 AM
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Thanks everyone. I'm starting to think that the 1.8 is probably my best option. Looks like a cracking lens and it's hard to not be tempted by the price :):)
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
11-07-2021, 09:35 AM
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Thanks everyone. I will look into all the suggestions. Really appreciate all the answers.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-07-2021, 09:29 AM
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Thanks everyone. I'm torn between these 3 lenses. I'll do some research on them, but any feedback over here would be much appreciated. All of them are within budget, so was wondering if there was an "obvious" choice?
Thanks
Pentax-DA smc 50mm f1.8 Lens
Pentax-FA smc 50mm f1.4 Lens
Samyang 50mm f1.4 AS UMC Lens - Pentax Fit
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
11-07-2021, 07:48 AM
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Hi All,
I've been into digital photography for almost two decades, but have never forayed into the world of post processing beyond making some minor adjustments in the Windows photo app. Off late I have realised that post processing is an important aspect of digital photography so I wanted to at least attempt to learn some basics.
Lightroom seems like the obvious choice as a step-up from the Windows photo app, but I'm not keen on having to subscribe and I don't need help organizing my photos. Hence I was hoping to get some suggestions for alternatives.
I don't mind paying, but nothing too crazy and I'm not keen on a subscription service. I don't need cloud space and would rather have the software installed on my laptop and be able to edit photos saved on my hard drive without uploading them to a cloud. Finally, I'm not looking to make any complex edits like the ones that Photoshop tends to offer.
Looking forward to seeing some suggestions :)
Thanks,
Ducky
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-07-2021, 07:27 AM
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Hi All,
I'm interested in adding a 50mm prime to my lens kit. I know that there are a few options to choose from, so was hoping to get some advice and insight.
I'll be using it primarily for landscape photography with my Pentax KP. Autofocus is a must and I don't want to spend more than £400 (£500 if it's really worth it). More keen to buy something brand new and I am not opposed to buying non-Pentax brands.
Thanks,
Ducky
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
07-14-2020, 03:08 AM
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Thanks Dan. I'll give it a shot once the weather permits.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
07-13-2020, 05:53 AM
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Should have mentioned that my camera is is Pentax KP :o:)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
07-13-2020, 03:46 AM
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That is an amazing photo! Love the scene & the composition. I'm going to try & photograph it myself tonight. Any tips re camera settings? I'll be using my 200mm F2.8 so reckon that my shutter should be no more than 2.5 seconds.
Thanks,
Ducky
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Forum: Photographic Technique
08-07-2018, 02:04 AM
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Thank you all for the kind replies. The quality of the photos in my first attempt is a true reflection of the amazing advice that is provided on these forums.
Questions – If I were to attempt to edit the photos, what do you reckon I should do? Please keep it simple as I have almost zero experience with post processing. Also, is there any free software that you reckon I could use? Or any Pentax software that I can dig up? I’m really keen to see how much better the photos can get with post processing so if any of you want to have a go with the photos I posted then please go ahead.
Thanks
Ducky
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Forum: Photographic Technique
08-06-2018, 02:54 PM
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Hi All,
I finally made my way up to Wales & found a reasonably isolated spot on a somewhat cloudless night & tried astrophotography for the 1st time. I followed the amazing advice that was given to me in THIS THREAD (thank you :D) & the results are below. These were shot in RAW, using my Pentax KP & Pentax 15mm F4, no astrotracer. All of them were 30 second shutter, ISO 3200 (2nd one is 1600) F5. I have done zero post processing.
So what do you think? Any feedback? What could I have done better? Do you reckon that I should have used different settings? I played around with the ISO but felt that the 4 images below were the best ones. Also, how much better do you think I could make these images with post processing? Please note that I don't own Photoshop or Lightroom? I have no idea what the scale of improvement is with post processing or how to go about it so any basic advice would be much appreciated.
Cheers,
Ducky
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Forum: Photographic Technique
04-16-2018, 09:14 AM
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Forum: Photographic Technique
04-16-2018, 09:08 AM
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That's a really helpful post & an absolutely stunning photo. Did you use an astrotracer?
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