Night Sky Photoshoot PLEASE HELP?

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Sk306Mitch

New member
Basically im brand new to photography! green as the day is long, I recently purchased the Nikon d3100 as a beginner camera, Im interested in astronomy (astrophotography) and basically anything to do with night sky. I have a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6g vr lens. the lens is awesome ive been fooling around with iot since I got it but im looking for something with a little more zoom capability such as a maybe a telephoto lens? but like I said im new and don't really have any cluse as to where to start or even which type of mode or settings to use as a starting point. the internet is a wonderful thing and that's why im reaching out to you guys any input to the above would be greatly appreciated, I am just starting out but Im not willing to sacrifice quality and as for prices of lenses etc im a really motivated saver with a decent full time job loool so price isn't really a question as long as its not an astronomical number haha get it? thanks you guys look forward to hearing from you.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
You've come to the right place but are just looking in the wrong forum. There's a Low Light & Night forum that has several threads dedicated to How-To suggestions, many with links to great blogs about it. Have a look over there.

Two keys for the gear you want are 1) bright glass (f1.4-2) and 2) low noise with high ISO on the camera. The D3100 should work for most of your needs, but you're going to want something like a 28mm f1.8. A lot of night photography relies on you setting things yourself because it's tough to autofocus in the dark, so don't be afraid to look for old, bright manual lenses as well since they can save you some money if that's all you want to use them for.
 
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patrick in memphis

Senior Member
hi there mitch i use a d3100 as well and i have been doing astrophotography for about 3 months now. generally speaking 18-55 lens is a good lens. i also have a 55-300 that is awesome(300-500$), for astro you will more often be using your 18-55 for wide field views. if you look in my gallery i have a moon shot that was done with my 55-300mm. then cropped in windows live gallery. to get deeper in space than that you will need a telescope. then your choices are afocal,prime or eyepiece projection techniques. the last two you take your lens off of the camera and use a t-ring & adapter. then of course there are considerations as to scope type if you want to get into that. message me for further info if you are that interested. astro can be an extremely expensive hobby. find a cheap scope on craigslist to start off with because your going to end up selling as soon as you grow out of it.lol. check out cloudynights.com for equip reviews and sales..or astromart.best of luck...p.s. 800 or 1600 iso at any range of shutter speed make nice photos and get as far away from city lights as you can
 
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patrick in memphis

Senior Member
lol so much to remember, set cam on timer mode to cancel out vibs and use tripod some peole say to turn of vib reduction in your settings (i have not been)because the camera anticipates the vib from you pushing button???canons tend to give better night pics due to the ccd chip. but i like my d3100..
 
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Sk306Mitch

New member
right on thanks all you guys ill be posting some picks soon and Patrick which type of telescope would you recommend? I use to have 1 but did sell it I think lol
 
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patrick in memphis

Senior Member
hi mitch just a quick update these are as good as i have gotten so far on moon close ups and the moon was to bright tonight to see much else.i still need a focal reducer to get the moon all in one pic. but will send it when i get one as well as some others..sincerely patrick
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