Best Nikon for star gazers?

Clint

Clint

New member
Currently I have a D7000. I had taken a friends d7200 and the `D7000 out and tested them on
long exposures/star trails. It was immediately evident that the d7100 could resolve more detail
and therefore capture more stars than the D7000. This went against everything i had read on
other sites regarding the pixel size and night time photography. Supposedly the larger pixel should
capture more light yet the D7100 outperformed it hands down. Now currently I want to upgrade
the D7000. I was considering the D7100 and maybe the D810. To be honest the D810 is a monster
in terms of size and weight, so taking it on holidays would be difficult.

Question is, with the D810 having been design for astronomy photography, have they put "image detail" above
noise? I have not yet seen any samples of a 36mp vs 24mp vs 16mp for use in astronomy so I cannot
compare noise. I have no doubts what so ever that the D810 will create astounding detail but how much better
will the images be compared to D7200 24mp? is it enough to justify the price difference?
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
While I have no real experience in this area, I have to wonder if the absence of the AA filter (aka the Optical Low Pass Filter) wasn't contributing significantly to the difference you saw between the two camera, possibly more so than the increased resolution? The D7100 doesn't have the filter, while the D7000 does. I've had cameras with OLPF's and without, and I'm convinced that filter affects image quality significantly; so much so I paid to have it removed from my current D750. I point this out in part because the D800 has an OLPF, while the D810E does not.

Again, I'm NOT an astro-photography sorta guy but I think this might be something you want to investigate further before you plunk down any serious cash. Maybe it matters, maybe it doesn't but I'd want to know, personally.
....
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
For astro pixel size is what makes the difference. During the same duration the larger pixels (more surface) collect more light which leads to a more accurate signal. The D810 should do better than the D7100.

How much better depends on what you shoot I guess.

That the D7000 doesn't do better than the D7100 is likely because of the AA as the others mentioned. Maybe in-cam noise may be part of it too. All cams differ slightly when it comes to their quantum efficiency, full well capacity and in-cam noise.
 
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M

MartinCornwall

Senior Member
I had the d7000 and it was good for night sky photography. It died and now I have the d7100, but the d7100 doesn't show the current settings when using live view to focus a star/moon like the d7000 did. If you try to focus on the moon it just shows an overexposed white blob, this is a serious let down as this is supposed to be an upgrade to the d7000. Although the funds are not really there I am seriously looking at the D750 as this shows your current settings in Live View and the low noise capabilities are outstanding. The D7100 maxes out at ISO1600 before noise becomes to much of an issue but the D750 can be pushed to iso6400.
 
Bourbon Neat

Bourbon Neat

Senior Member
I am curious about the differences you have observed. Were you using the exact same lens? Same aperture, SS and ISO? I have done just a few star trails but will do more in the future. What I use for astro now is the D700 (big pixels) and a Rokinon 24 f/1.4 with an acceptable result. Is more, or less stars what you desire?

I am thinking that the astro version of Nikon's has a night sky filter. Whether or not you can use the same camera for other photography I am thinking not, maybe with another filter to offset the sensor mounted one? That is a lot of cash for astro dedicated use.

Clint said:
Currently I have a D7000. I had taken a friends d7200 and the `D7000 out and tested them on
long exposures/star trails. It was immediately evident that the d7100 could resolve more detail
and therefore capture more stars than the D7000. This went against everything i had read on
other sites regarding the pixel size and night time photography. Supposedly the larger pixel should
capture more light yet the D7100 outperformed it hands down. Now currently I want to upgrade
the D7000. I was considering the D7100 and maybe the D810. To be honest the D810 is a monster
in terms of size and weight, so taking it on holidays would be difficult.

Question is, with the D810 having been design for astronomy photography, have they put "image detail" above
noise? I have not yet seen any samples of a 36mp vs 24mp vs 16mp for use in astronomy so I cannot
compare noise. I have no doubts what so ever that the D810 will create astounding detail but how much better
will the images be compared to D7200 24mp? is it enough to justify the price difference?
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