Problem with D7100 Night shots

K

Kong

New member
Hi guys,

Im new to shooting astrophotography and I'm having a bit of problem with my Nikon D7100. I've recently some shots and find the shots very grainy and looks like theres some distinct green red lines in the photos. This was taken at pitch dark environment with the following setting.


Lens: Sigma 8-16mm @ 8mm
1st photo: Manual mode: Shutter speed 30s, F 4.5, EV+2 , iso 1250, NR on Hi, Active D-lighting Hi
2nd Photo ISO 800, NR low, Active D-lighting Lo

I've tried taking photo at lower ISO (like 800) and i cant see much with all else switched off. My friend who has a D7000 was with me and he used a sigma 10-24mm and his picture was much much better (less grainy, clearer foreground) . He uses the same settings except with his NR an D-lighting off. I tried with active D-lighting off too but it was so bad.

I've asked nikon technicians and they ran an analysis and said the photo was "fine" and expected. How is this possible when all the photos I seen online are all done at ISO so much higher but clearer (photoshop might have helped but I cant even save these shots with LR5)

Please advice!
 

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M

Mark F

Senior Member
Looks to me like you have light pollution creeping in on you. Astro photography is kind of hard unless you are out in the boonies with no town lights or a full moon out to mess with things


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
R

Ron Carlson

Senior Member
I've shot a few stars and have found turning off NR and active D both off produces better results. Plus I noticed you are shooting in the 30 sec range. Have you tried an ISO of around 3200 at 10-12 or so secs? Or a prime 1.8 or 2.8 lens?StarryNight2.jpg
24mm 12.0S at f/2.8 ISO 3200
 
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M

Moab Man

Senior Member
I shoot night photography with the D7100 and the Tokina 11-16mm. The D7100 does outstanding night work. However, editing is a skill that very much goes with night photography.

Few problems

1. I see is the light pollution. You don't list where you are.
2. You're shooting jpeg. In jpeg the camera is trying to make its best auto corrections to the photo which can give you goofy colors.

Here are a couple of my D7100 night shots.

A very bad photo of mine from a long while ago. Didn't know what I was doing yet or how to process. I think it was also shot in jpeg.
Day139MilkyWay.jpg

Studied, learned, developed my technique, traveled to a truly remote location with no light pollution, and shot in raw.
Long exposure star trail.
Day168StarTrail.jpg

A lot more practice of both my technique and a major emphasis on editing skills.
Remote location in the desert of Nevada.
Day223MilkyWay.jpg

Goblin Valley, Utah
Day224GoblinMilkyWay.jpg

What to do? Keep practicing. Shoot in raw. Develop your editing skills. I can't speak to the quality of the lens you're using - I have no idea. However, the camera is more than up to the job.
 
K

Kong

New member
Thanks guys! Sorry I took the shot in Tasmania, Australia. Yup there was a boat or something with this red light that I was unable to get rid of. But it was really dark that night. I was trying to do time lapse (my first try) that's y I used JPEG. I was really puzzled cos my fren's D7000 did a much better job with the same settings and similar lens.. And he had his NR and Dlighting off and he could take the Milky Way but if I turned off mine I can't really make up the milky way..

If anyone would like to I can sent the photos and you can see that red green lines on them. That's actually my bigger concern here..

I'll try to shoot with higher ISO and shorter time nx time. Thanks guys!
 
S

SteveH

Senior Member
I don't think for a first attempt these shots are bad at all! As others have said, I think shooting in RAW would be the best starting point to move forwards.
I recently acquired the Sigma 8-16mm too, and as soon as we have a clear night I'll be trying myself although light pollution near me is pretty bad.
 
A

aroy

Senior Member
Shoot with fast primes. They will require less exposure time and have less distortion.

In general longer lenses give better results, so instead of using 8-16 zoom, try using a 50mm F1.8 prime. The D version sells under US $100, so it is not a bad investment.

Shoot in RAW with all the corrections switched off - D light, NR, Distortion etc. All these can be done while processing RAW. Remember that D7100 RAW will have a DR of 13+EV, while jpeg has 8 or less. Shoot RAW and then use post to extract information in the deep shadows (so to speak).

One trick used by astro photographers is to do; a 50 to 200 shots of 1 sec or less; time lapse and then merge the shots. That eliminates a lot of noise and any extra object (boat, plane, meteorite etc) which may spoil one shot. You may search the net for guidance. There are literally hundreds of posts on this aspect.
 
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